During its first 11 months on the air, the Arctic Cactus Hour sought to introduce Alternative Country/Americana to KNBA's Southcentral Alaska listening audience. I think we succeeded. The top 11 Arctic Cactus Hour discs of 1998 are based on airplay and reflect the continuing popularity of some discs released in the later months of 1997. The next 11 discs all received equal airtime and they also deserve recognition as favorites of our listeners.
Top 11 Arctic Cactus Hour Discs for 1998
- #1 The Derailers - Reverb Deluxe (Watermelon)
- #2 Moonshine Willy - Bastard Child (Bloodshot)
- #3 Cheri Knight - Northeast Kingdom (E-Squared)
- #4 Chris Hillman - Like A Hurricane (Sugar Hill)
- #5 Janet Martin - Cloud Cover (Planetary)
- #6 The Backsliders - Throwin' Rocks At The Moon (Mammoth)
- #7 Reckless Kelly - Millican (Cold Spring)
- #8 Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (Mercury)
- #9 The V-Roys - All About Town (E-Squared)
- #10 Mr. Henry - Jackhammer (Mighty Hudson)
- #11 Grievous Angels - Miles On The Rail (Bloodshot)
The Next 11
- The Hangdogs - East Of Yesterday (Crazyhead)
- Son Volt - Wide Swing Tremelo (Warner)
- Donna The Buffalo - Rockin' In A Weary Land (Sugar Hill)
- The Revenants - Artists and Whores (Epiphany)
- The Lonesome Strangers - Land Of Opportunity (Little Dog)
- The Steam Donkeys - Cosmic Americana (Landslide)
- Bap Kennedy - Domestic Blues (E-Squared)
- One Riot One Ranger - Side Tracks (Hayden's Ferry)
- The Honeydogs - Seen A Ghost (Mercury)
- Lonesome Brothers - Lonesome Brothers (Tar Hut)
- Kevin Gordon - Cadillac Jack's #1 Son (Shanachie)
Here's a few other 1998 releases that, while not receiving the airplay of the 22 listed above, are still great discs...
- Chris Knight - Chris Knight (Decca)
- Salamander Crossing - Bottleneck Dreams (Signature-Sounds)
- Junior Brown - Long Walk Back (Curb)
- BR5-49 - Big Backyard Beat Show (Arista)
- Robert Earl Keen - Walking Distance (Arista Austin)