My "Most Under-Appreciated Album": Cheri Knight


Thought I'd throw this out there...for alt-country fans, a sadly underappreciated album was Cheri Knight's "The Northeast Kingdom". It was released in 1998 on Steve Earle's label, and was produced by the Twangtrust. Guests include, not surprisingly, Steve Earle, and Emmylou Harris.

It is an eclectic album, with everything from an Irish lament, Byrd-ish jangle pop, greasy Southern rock, Western swing, and Neil Young Hey hey, my my fuzztone rock (something Earle is fond of). Knights voice is untrained but sincere, and she shows a number of nice turns of phrase in her lyrics.

This album would be on my "10 albums on a desert island" list, it's that good. I hope some of you check it out.
bigswede
My most underappreciated LP is Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden-a reord my wife recently turned me on to. It is not the kiddie pop you might think of when recalling this band. Rather this album reminds me of Roxy Music's Avalon-very smooth. The album has real musicians playing real musical instruments-which was rare for this period in time when digital was king. The LP captures the space between the musicians and is very revealing. Anyway, its a great record.
I liked that Cheri Knight record a lot, but I liked the Blood Oranges' (Knight's old band) "Crying Tree" even better. Haven't listened to either in a while - I'll have to dig them out and cue 'em up again. I seem to recall that her follow up record "Knitter"(IIRC) was a bit of a disappointment, though.

Too many great obscure records out there to pick just one as my favorite.

Marty
Marty, I think "The Knitter" actually preceded "The Northeast Kingdom". It rocks out a bit more (and is less eclectic). It is pretty good IMO, but not an outstanding album like "The Northeast Kingdom"...
Bigswede thanks for the tip, not quite my cup o tea but I did buy a Talk Talk CD Laughing Stock (only because it was $3 cheaper than Spirit of Eden) thanks to Tbromgard!

I love finding new music on Agon Thanks guys!

Portland Cello Project is my latest find and they are very good...