Includes 5 previously unreleased tracks.

Son Volt: Dave Boquist (guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro, banjo, violin); Jim Boquist (bass instrument); Mike Heidorn (drums, percussion); Jay Farrar.

Personnel: Jay Farrar (vocals, guitar, dulcimer, harmonica, keyboards); Kelly Willis (vocals); Dave Boquist (guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro, banjo, violin); Dan Newton (accordion); Jim Boquist (piano, background vocals); Michael Heidorn (drums, percussion); John Maloney (drums).

Audio Mixers: Brian Paulson; Keith Keller; Jay Farrar; Christopher Williams; David Barbe; Jack Joseph Puig; John Agnello; Mark Haines ; Mike Martin; Peter Coleman.

Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot.

Liner Note Author: Ed Ward .

Recording information: Acoustic Cafe, Ann Arbor, MI; Chez Flames, New Orleans, LA; Echo Park, Blooomington, IN; Emerald Sound Studios, Nashville, TN; Jajouka Studio, Millstadt, IL; Pachyderm Studio, Cannon Falls, MN; Salmagundi, Northfield, MN; Sixteenth Avenue Sound; Solid Sound Studios, Ann Arbor, MI; WXPN Studios, Philadelphia, PA.

Photographer: Peter Grant .

Just because Wilco ended up getting all the press and the Jim O'Rourke hipster cred, that doesn't mean Son Volt should remain forever destined to be the "other" Uncle Tupelo spin-off band. In fact, hardcore UT fans should feel a strong attachment to the latter, as they stayed closer to the spirit of Tupelo's post-modern country-rock. RETROSPECTIVE does an excellent job of chronicling the group's first five years. All the key tracks from the first three albums are here, from the surprisingly heavy rock of the breakout hit "Drown" to the acoustic-guitar-and-pedal-steel lilt of "Creosote." Most attractive to Son Volt aficionados, though, will be the wealth of rare and previously unreleased tracks. There's a wide variety of cover tunes, with sources including Big Star (the funereal "Holocaust"), Leadbelly (an oddly elegiac "Ain't No More Cane"), and Bruce Springsteen (a countrified "Open All Night"). Equally compelling are SV leader Jay Farrar's solo acoustic demos of his own tunes "Tear Stained Eye" and "Loose String." An essential document of the mid-1990s alt-country renaissance, this collection makes a strong case for Son Volt as that movement's vanguard.

Dirty Linen (p.65) - "There's no denying Son Volt's influence within alternative country circles, and RETROSPECTIVE does a good job of documenting the band's contribution to the scene between 1995 and 2000."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 - "This set offers an excellent overview of their first three albums, while adding some nice odds and ends..."