Lost Highways - American Road Songs from the 1920s - 1950s

Taking stops by all the great American genres, from raucous rock & roll to shimmering jazz, country, blues and folk, this compilation on the Viper label plays out like the ultimate road trip mixtape, bringing together Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Woody Guthrie, Nat 'King' Cole and Jerry Lee Lewis to name but a few.

Classic renditions of songs you'll already know clash with plenty of material you might never have heard at all, making for a relentlessly fun, rootsy romp. "The Mythology that has built up around America's epic road system is as broad as the continent itself. Until recently it was the only way for normal folk to travel, passing through small towns, past farmsteads, gas stations, staying in cheap motels and watching the vast landscape through the windshield. It's the world of Jack Kerouac's On the Road and the place where the 'Road Movie' and the 'Road Song' were invented!

The U.S. route map penetrates the American song book to the core- Musicians touring by bus or car on the way to their next show ate up the road influencing their lives and material whether it be Country, Blues, Gospel, Soul or Rock n Roll.The road too is often used as a metaphor for life's rich journey, death or straying from the good Christian path.

This is a unique album that's been created over many miles and one you should maybe listen to whilst taking a 'road trip' all of your own, preferably under wide open skies - or just listen at home and let the songs fuel and colour your own imaginary journey!"