 | Tracklist:
1. Where The Devils Don't Stay
2. Tornadoes
3. Day John Henry Died, The
4. Puttin' People On The Moon
5. Carl Perkins' Cadillac
6. Sands Of Iwo Jima, The
7. Danko/Manuel
8. Boys From Alabama, The
9. Cottonseed
10. Buford Stick, The
11. Daddy's Cup
12. Never Gonna Change
13. Lookout Mountain
14. Goddamn Lonely Love
| Ranking: #69 for 2004 | |
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On 7 Lists
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A man, we’ll put him at 64, sits on a rocking chair on his front porch. His grandkids sit in front of him as he tells them story about the bloodiest of wars. In one hand he holds a 5th of jack. In the other, a shotgun. A man drives by in a pick-up truck, blasting punk music. The grandfather shoots him in the head with the shotgun. His blood covers the asphalt. The children listen for their story to end.
This scene may or may not be Drive-By Truckers singer Patterson Hood’s childhood in Alabama, but it’s what I picture every time I listen to his band. The DBT hold a strange place in my heart since when my dad first threw their gritty Lynrd Skynyrd worshiping third album Southern Rock Opera on our road trip to Vermont. Oddly enough when I listen to DBTs today I hear one simple sentence.
Forget Lynyrd Skynrd.
I’m sure this is not what their music is supposed to say, but it gets the message across pretty well. DBT’s newest, The Dirty South, paints a picture of the south that Lynyrd could not even dream of pulling off. The album centers on a crunchy 3 guitar attack and Patterson’s unmistakable rasp. The bass and drums are decent, but fall short of some of the albums high marks. Patterson sings about everything from Nascar (Daddy’s Cup) to suicide (Lookout Mountain) the lyrics are clever and depressing. They can put a fire inside you that may never go out.
“Used to have a wad of hundred dollar bills in the back pocket of my suit
I had a .45 underneath my coat and another one in my boot
I drove a big ole Cadillac, bought a new one anytime I pleased
And I put more lawmen in the ground than Alabama put cottonseed"
Patterson’s voice fits these lyrics only far too well. It rasps, shouts and screams in pain. The album’s poppiest moment too no surprise is it’s worst. We Ain’t never Gonna Change, the album’s only single, is a fistful of sloppy southern pride. The lyrics are fairly simple and some of the worst DBT ever wrote. This is why people hate the south.
On the other side of things comes an epic tale of life in the south. Where the Devil Don’t Stay is the perfect choice for an opening track. The song begins calm and shifty, but soon changes into a heavy cry for help. The lyrics are based on a poem by Ed Cooley with music written by the Truckers. Along with Where the Devil this album has it’s share of genius tracks. Danko/Manuel, The Day John Henry Died and Carl Perkin’s Caddilac are fairly mellow country rock tracks that tell incredible stories. For a teenager who’s idea of the south is Orlando, Drive-By paint a pictue that he will never forget. Carl Perkins is a tale of early rock & roll. Perkins steals money from Johnny Cash's royalties to fufill his life time dreams of owning a Cadillac. who would sell himself to a record company just to fulfill his life dream of owning a Cadillac. The Day John H. Died is a retelling of an old folk tale about the strongest railroad track layer in the south attempting to save the jobs of his friends and family by beating a machine in a track laying race.
Three guitars can often be a curse to a band, but the really special ones use all three axe-man to their advantage. Like their biggest influences Lynyrd Skynrd before them, The Drive-By Trucker’s three guitar attack is amazingly accurate. The guitars always have distinct parts or tones, the solos while short and sparse are well thought out and the guitars are never too loud.
So you may be reading this review over and thinking to yourself, what does a dead punk have to do with anything the Drive-By Truckers play? Well, in a time where post-emo crap and the dreaded pop-punk control what used to be music’s most rebellious genre, This album is one of the most punk CDs of the past few years. The Drive-By Trucker’s sound took my two years to get into so it pains me to say that, but listen to it and realize the truth. DBT intense and refreshing take on tired genres will leave you hungry for more. The Drive-by Truckers sound will remain fresh for years and years to come like canned soup and will always be refreshing like Jack Daniels on a hot southern night.
Pros:
Refreshing sound
Great Lyrics and Vocals
Guitar
Cons:
Very long
Rhythm section is lacking
Overall: 4.5/5
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
i honestly have never even heard of these guys, but i liked your review, and i might have to check this guys out
question on the solos: i am a solo nut, and cant stand a song without one...so by sparse do you mean there is only 4 or 5 on this album? it wont get me not to pick this up, im just wondering
Digging: Inepsy - City Weapons Digging: Inepsy - City Weapons
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
^^Thanks for the comment, I was a little afraid this would be one of those reveiws that never gets any comments.
As for the solos, they are a few more then your guess and when they are there they're really nice. Even if you are a solo nut I'm pretty sure you'll like this. The guitars are pretty kick @$$.This Message Edited On 03.26.06
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great, thanks man. Im really gonna have to pick this up.
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Hmmmmm... I keep seeing this name around. I think I'll imvestigate.
nice review.
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I've heard the name mentioned a lot. And I have one song of theirs on my computer. Is this their best cd?
And what's Danko/Manuel like? I'm a huge fan of The Band so naturally the name intrigues me a lot.
Nice review. This Message Edited On 03.26.06
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I might check this out, it sounds really cool.This Message Edited On 03.27.06
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I'm not sure I would call this their best CD, but it's real good. I would also reccomend Decoaration Day.
Danko/Manuel is really cool. It's a pretty mellow sort of story song. One of my favorites off the album.
Thanks for the commentsThis Message Edited On 03.26.06
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I fixed some of the spelling, thanks
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Goddamit I WAS GONNA REVIEW THIS!!!!!!!
However, I am extremely pleased that I'm no longer the only person who has ever heard of these guys.
Good review, except that its Mike Cooley who sings "Cottonseed"
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
lol sorry about that
I thought the vocals sounded a little different on that song. I knew the lyrics weren't written by Patterson, but I never knew that he didn't sing it.This Message Edited On 03.27.06
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
hey it's all good. When I get some free time I'm gonna review Southern Rock Opera
Like the guitars, the vocals and lyrics are a 3-man effort and they all take turns throughtout the albums, though Hood is arguably the band leader.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Like the guitars, the vocals and lyrics are a 3-man effort and they all take turns throughtout the albums, though Hood is arguably the band leader.
Really? I didn't know that.
Can't wait to read your SRO review.
This Message Edited On 03.27.06
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I really want to get this CD, good review.
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Nice review dude, though I'll argue with you allday about the lyrics to Never Gonna Change:
My brother got picked up in Parkers, got him a ride in a new Crown Vic
They said that he was moving on a Federal level but they couldn't really make it stick.
I'd kill to have written that.
Go back and listen to the lyrics to Carl Perkins' Cadillac. They're true. It is said Sam Phillips bought Perkins his Cadillac with money he took out of Johnny Cash's royalties.
Carl Perkins is in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, as are Cash and Phillips. Perkins wrote and recorded "Blue Suede Shoes." Phillips built Sun Records, discovered Elvis, and laid the bedrock of the rock industry. He was an original inductee, in 1986.This Message Edited On 03.31.06
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
New DBT CD is officially out.
Not much compared to the earlier stuff.
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Drive By Truckers is a good band, but they're about one hundred times better live than they are on their albums.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Why havent I commented on this album? Rules fucking hard.
Digging: Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction | | | Album Rating: 4.5
I sense a Drive-By Truckers binge coming on.
Digging: Propagandhi - Supporting Caste Digging: Propagandhi - Supporting Caste | | | Album Rating: 4.5
fucking love that band. Saw them live with the Hold Steady and I pretty much creamed myself.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I don't doubt it!
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