Rewind: The Knitters - Poor Little Critter on the Road

The Knitters' -- Exene, John Doe, and D.J. Bonebrake of X, plus guitarist and songwriter, Dave Alvin, and bassist Jonny Ray Bartel -- Poor Little Critter on the Road straddles the line between punk and country, and set the stage for a slew of other punks wanting to embrace country without resorting to irony or cheap jokes.

Release it 1985, there are plenty of gems among the dozen songs, most of which are covers or traditionals like "Rock Island Line," and "Poor Old Heartsick Me." The highlight, in my book, is John Doe's soulful cover of Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings:"



John Doe has such an incredible voice he can flow effortless from rock to punk to country as if he's been singing it his entire life, but the real magic is the interplay between his voice and Exene's: