Son Volt: Live from Austin, TX (DVD)

When the seminal rock trio Uncle Tupelo disbanded in 1994 (their 1990 debut NO DEPRESSION virtually spearheaded the alt-country genre), the band split into two distinct factions led by their rival songwriter-guitarists: Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco to delve into more experimental rock stylings, while Jay Farrar continued in the country-rock tradition with his band Son Volt. Son Volt's superlative debut record, TRACE (1995), set the blueprint for the two albums that followed (1997's STRAIGHTAWAYS and 1998's WIDE SWING TREMOLO): twangy guitar; downbeat melodies; and sad, lonesome lyrics spinning tales of life's disappointments and delivered in Farrar's trademark world-weary vocals. Son Volt is captured live in this 1996 appearance on PBS's AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, which has been expanded from its televised half-hour episode to include all 90 minutes of the band's performance, featuring almost every song from TRACE (including the sublime "Windfall," "Tear-Stained Eye," and Out of the Picture"), a few songs from STRAIGHTAWAYS ("Back into Your World," "Picking up the Signal"), and even a couple of Farrar-penned Uncle Tupelo songs ("Chickamauga," "True to Life").