Whole Enchilada / Various (Bonm)

Three vinyl LP pressing plus book. The painstakingly compiled collection is a veritable Tucson musical family tree, leading us from from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s, from the swoony Bob Meighan Band and the honky tonk of the Dusty Chaps (both whom signed to major labels in the 1970's) to international indie giants Green On Red (Serfers), Howe Gelb and Giant Sandworms, Naked Prey, Al Perry and The Cattle, Desert Rock breakouts The Sidewinders, Yard Trauma, Black Sun Ensemble and many more. With varying styles covering honky tonk, power-pop, country and cow-punk, fusion, punk rock, eclectic and art-damaged, amped up bluegrass, blues and straight up sunbaked rock'n'roll, the album is full of pleasant surprises (unsung country great Ned Sutton, for example), collectible rarities, popular numbers and outright gems you'll wonder how you ever missed. Accompanying the three-record set is a 70-page companion book with rare photos, obscure histories and anecdotes, and dozens of biographical essays by many of the artists themselves and others by named writers, journalists, photographers and deejays, placing the reader centerstage at Desert Rock's halcyon days.