These are songs that conjure up images of wind blown landscapes, tumbleweeds, sunbleached rocks, dusty roads and heat waves rising off the ground. Of course most of the music in this mix has an ambient/atmospheric feel.

I remember the first time I heard Daniel Lanois' use of slide guitar on "Apollo - Atmospheres & Soundtracks", I hated it. I guess I thought of the slide guitar as too close to "country music" which I definitely hated.

Well over the years I've come around on the slide guitar, I love it now. I'm still not a big country music fan, though I do have a ton of Johnny Cash recordings. I've come to appreciate the lonely, melancholy feel that can be expressed through twangy, dusty western music. Of course the ultimate in great ambient twang is Ry Cooder's "Paris, TX" soundtrack. That makes an appearance in this mix along with standbys like Lanois, Steve Roach & A Small Good Thing. I was happy to sneak in a piano tune, "Alice & twins" by Japancakes. It just sort of fit with the overall feel & then the slide guitar comes in to make it even more "dusty".

Whether it's the twang of an acoustic guitar, the wail of a harmonica or the ethereal sound of a slide guitar, this mix will drop you off on an abandoned rail line in the middle of nowhere.

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