Pitchfork

What was Ryan Adams like before he was famous? Before he was dating models and actresses and rapping about witches? Come March 4, you'll have a new shot at hanging out with the person Adams used to be. That's when Mood Food/Outpost/Geffen/UMe will reissue the 1997 album Strangers Almanac by his old band Whiskeytown.

Whiskeytown were around from 1994 to 1999, rising up from North Carolina to conquer the alt-country scene. Adams' bandmates Caitlin Cary and Phil Wandscher also went on to successful careers following the band's breakup. Strangers Almanac was their major label debut, following their 1994 album Faithless Street on the indie Mood Food.

Strangers Almanac: Deluxe Edition is a two disc set. The first disc features the original album bolstered by five previously unreleased radio performances. The second disc is a veritable treasure trove: all but two of its 21 tracks are previously unreleased recordings from early sessions for the LP, known by bootleggin' fans as the "Barn's on Fire Sessions". "Kiss & Make-Up", "Indian Gown", "Barn's on Fire", "Streets of Sirens", "Breathe", "Nurse With the Pills", and "10 Seconds" all appear for the first time on any official Whiskeytown release. Acoustic demos of album tracks "16 Days", "Avenues", and "Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart", covers of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", Gram Parsons' "Luxury Liner", Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone", and the True Believers' "The Rain Won't Help You When It's Over" round out the set.

Back in the present, Ryan Adams is currently busy checking out Fashion Week and posting weird stuff on YouTube.

Strangers Almanac: Deluxe Edition

Disc One:

Original LP:

01 Inn Town
02 Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight
03 Yesterday's News
04 16 Days
05 Everything I Do
06 Houses on the Hill
07 Turn Around
08 Dancing With the Women at the Bar
09 Waiting to Derail
10 Avenues
11 Losering
12 Somebody Remembers the Rose
13 Not Home Anymore

Bonus Tracks:

14 Houses on the Hill (live)
15 Nurse With the Pills (live)
16 I Don't Care What You Think About Me (live)
17 Somebody Remembers the Rose (live)
18 Turn Around (live)

Disc Two: (All previously unreleased unless otherwise noted):

01 Indian Gown
02 16 Days (acoustic version)
03 Somebody Remembers the Rose (acoustic version)
04 Avenues (acoustic version)
05 Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight (acoustic version)
06 Houses on the Hill (early version)
07 My Heart Is Broken
08 I Still Miss Someone (Johnny Cash cover) (acoustic version)
09 Kiss & Make-Up
10 Barn's on Fire
11 Dancing With the Women at the Bar (early version)
12 Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)
13 Breathe
14 Wither, I'm a Flower (previously released)
15 Luxury Liner (Gram Parsons cover)
16 Theme for a Trucker
17 Streets of Sirens (previously released)
18 Turn Around (alternate version)
19 10 Seconds
20 Ticket Time (early version)
21 The Rain Won't Help You When It's Over (True Believers cover) (early version)