It was the ‘Sounds of the New West’ compilation CDs issued by Uncut magazine in 1998 that opened so many musical doors for me, bringing to my attention a slew of new acts, as well as forging an obsession in what we were tending to call ‘alternative country’ 20 years ago ago. One of the acts appearing on the first of those CDs, the Pernice Brothers, and their song ‘Crestfallen’ generated huge interest in the work of Joe Pernice and his various side projects, even if his musical output has somewhat dimmed in recent years. ‘Crestfallen’ featured on the 1998 album, ‘Overcome by Happiness’ and was a fine example of Byrdsian and Big Star sounding chamber pop –literate, melodic, elegantly constructed and influenced by a number of acts such as Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, Burt Bacharach and Scott Walker.
Continue reading “AmericanA to Z – Joe Pernice”
