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1994: The year that saw, amidst a spasm of hubris, boredom and naiveté, the release of Bloodshot Records’ first CD, the compilation, For A Life of Sin. 11 years and 125 releases later, we’ve learned some hard lessons and spent many a sleepless night wrestling in the venal snake pit that is the music industry.

To celebrate the improbable accomplishment of surviving in this racket, we’ve bypassed the usual retrospective route and hammered out a 42 song, 2 disc collection with a 24-page color booklet featuring only NEW and PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS. On board are current and past members of the Bloodshot family like Bobby Bare Jr., Bottle Rockets, Waco Brothers, Kelly Hogan, Old 97s, Wayne Hancock and Graham Parker, good friends we’ve made along the way like Sixteen Horsepower, Richard Buckner, Minus 5, Crooked Fingers, Mary Lou Lord, Cordero, Blanche, Handsome Family and My Morning Jacket, and a few folks we’ve long admired like Dr. Ralph Stanley, John Doe, Hank Williams III and Petty Booka. (See the full line up to the left).

Since the beginning, Bloodshot has been, in many ways, a damned enterprise. By not bothering with stylistic strait jackets, we haven’t made it too easy for anyone to get a solid grasp on what we do or what to call it- some of the time, we don’t even know. We’ve always loved the music that exists between the clearly defined genres, nestled in the dark, nebulous cracks where punk and country and soul and pop and bluegrass and rock mix and mingle and mutate. We’ve always been drawn to artists unafraid of molesting and caressing roots forms and tropes to create strange and wonderful new sounds.

Where will the next ten years take us? The thrill, as it’s been from the beginning, is in not really knowing. There’s never been a grand scheme, and the blueprint we scribbled on a bar napkin so long ago was getting brown and shriveled, so we tossed it.

"This marvelous collection is a not-so-subtle reminder of the beautiful and nebulous nuances that austere honest music can convey. To choose one standout track would be an unforgivable injustice as so many of these artists hit you hard and rattle you to your core...music that until now I didn't know I was waiting my entire life to hear." Dave Jaffer, Hour Magazine

“All this variety suggests that Bloodshot is doing something right. It has made a name for itself in a niche market while at the same time proving that niche isn’t so small.” -Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork

“Marvelously showcasing the likes of My Morning Jacket and Old 97’s, this comp from the Chicago-based roots record company is so good it’ll make you want to do bad things.” Entertainment Weekly

“This excellently diverse compilation manages to convey the attitude and soul of Bloodshot with surprises and guests throughout.” Relix

“Anyone drawn by the higher-profile favorites-Graham Parker, the Old 97’s. the Waco Brothers, My Morning Jacket-will likely discover a bunch of new favorites within the two-disc bargain.” Don McLeese, Amazon

“This is American music, goddammit. That’s it – American and there’s nothing better.” Julene McCoy, Chicagoist

"Bottom line: while label comps tend to be notoriously lax in the quality-control department, this one's that rare instance of all wheat, no chaff." Fred Mills, Harp

“Each of the two 21-song discs has the flow of a great radio show or a mixtape from a feisty lover.” David Greenberger, No Depression

“If you have any interest at all in the roots-oriented side of contemporary music, this set is outstanding listening and should welcome you to a few acts you’ve needed to hear.” Mark Deming, All Music Guide

“The problem is that there’s no way to summarize a compilation as diverse and consistently amazing as this one, and though the artists may share roots in traditional Americana, the ways they use these influences and combine them with other kinds of music are as different from one another as snowflakes.” Jennifer Kelly, Splendid

“Yes, its cliché to say that a comp disc contains something for everyone, but in this instance, it’s a cliché because its true.” Stephen Haag, Pop Matters