Nashville, Todd Snider says, is not a cutthroat town. But Snider, Snider says, will “fucking gut you like an animal for almost nothing.”

Snider was joking during his pandemic-era, full-album livestream performances known as “The First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder,” which are now the subject of a yearlong series of monthly giveaway audio releases. Aimless Records Presents: East Nashville Skyline (Purple Version) – finds Snider in the company of his brother and nephew Levi at his Purple Building HQ and telling short stories about the genesis of the songs, originals and covers, that make up his 2004 studio LP. 

Oh, he plays the songs, too. 

Snider’s in a good mood; likely quite high, though he says the cause of his cottonmouth is “one of the great mysteries of the world;” and armed with killer tracks including the originals “Age Like Wine,” “Tillamook County Jail,” “Conservative Christian, Right Wing Republican, Straight White American Males” and the Judge Judy-inspired “Incarcerated” and such covers as “Alcohol and Pills” and “Good News Blues.” 

Snider’s made a lot of good records – and East Nashville Skyline is one of them. But with few exceptions, his recorded legacy does even better during in-the-moment offerings such as this. As such, these Purple albums are the perfect addition to every fan’s collection and a perfect way for newcomers to get to know the man who will fucking gut them like an animal if he gets the chance.