Lambchop - Tools In The Dryer (2001)

The Nashville-based Lambchop "is and has been" almost two-dozen different members with a discography that boasts something like 23 cassettes, singles, EPs, and full-lengths, as well as numerous one-off appearances on compilations, best-of collections, and the like. It's fairly safe to say, then, that Tools in the Dryer -- unlike most odds-and-ends collections -- isn't entirely uncalled for. In fact, for fans of the prolific band, a collection of 16 "A-sides, B-sides, live tracks, and remixes" is downright appreciated. Spanning 1987 to 2000 and compiled by member Jonathan Marx, the excellent Tools in the Dryer is a consistently enjoyable -- though anything but comprehensive -- collection that includes everything from the Vic Chesnutt-penned "Miss Prissy" to disorienting dance remixes and demos recorded before the band even officially formed. Newcomers to the quirky, countrified world of Lambchop should start with Nixon or How I Quit Smoking, but die-hard fans should dive right into this trip through the band's memory lane of musical miscellany.