Various - 25 YEARS - [CD]

If the sound of Canadian music truly is roots rock, then Stony Plain is our Motown or Blue Note. Over the course of 25 years, the Edmonton-based independent label has released more than 250 roots, folk, country, and blues records and helped define the twanging sound of Canada. This two-disc set shows the diversity of founder Holger Petersen's label, featuring tracks by Canuck stars like Sylvia Tyson, Valdy, and bar rocker David Wilcox as well as international artists like a just-out-of-jail Steve Earle, blues shouter Duke Robillard, and N'Awlins piano giant Professor Longhair. If the sound of Canadian music truly is roots rock, then Stony Plain is our Motown or Blue Note. Over the course of 25 years, the Edmonton-based independent label has released more than 250 roots, folk, country, and blues records and helped define the twanging sound of Canada. This two-disc set shows the diversity of founder Holger Petersen's label, featuring tracks by Canuck stars like Sylvia Tyson, Valdy, and bar rocker David Wilcox as well as international artists like a just-out-of-jail Steve Earle, blues shouter Duke Robillard, and N'Awlins piano giant Professor Longhair. It's a diverse collection but one where all the music seems to come from the same place. Throw in remarkably detailed sleeve notes and unreleased cuts from turbaned steel player Sonny Rhodes and blues icon Long John Baldry and you've got yourself a crucial bit of Canadiana. --Matt Galloway