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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding, 4 Feb 2008
No band has excited me as much as DBT since I first heard The Clash. I first came across them in Chris Willman's excellent book Rednecks & Bluenecks shortly after the release of A Blessing And A Curse. After purchasing that album I began to buy up the back collection until I reached Pizza Deliverance, which seemed to be far enough. The high point for me is 2004's The Dirty South, but right back to Southern Rock Opera the only fault I found with the music was there just wasn't enough of it, so how folks can complain that this latest offering is too long is beyond me.
The Live DVD seems to confirm the contention by some aficionados that this is the best live act around. I search in vain for a UK appearance, or one within a thousand miles of me when I'm in the US.
This is a less rocking, more acoustic and "country" set than previously, laden with plenty of slide guitar, but there's also plenty of variation, so the second track, 3 Dimes Down, is reminiscent of the Stones, and this is followed by the grungy The Righteous Path.
But what DBT do with country is pack it with surprises and dissonances. So we get songs such as Cooley's Checkout Time In Vegas feeling very conventional musically but lyrically it's totally brutal, opening with "A bloody nose, empty pockets, a rented car with a trunk full of guns". Much of its strength is in its brevity; it leaves us only able to guess the backstory. Similarly we can only guess the relationship with Lisa in Lisa's Birthday, another country pastiche though not a country put-down.
Self Destructive Zones is a Cooley rocker apparently about the state of Rock'n'Roll. The commoditisation and trivialisation of rock has partly been hastened in by the advent of the download, but as the song seems to be saying the rot set in when radio began to play stuff that had previously been considered unacceptable - Radio 2 in the UK now plays the kind of music once considered too edgy for Radio 1. The fact is that rock is no longer as dangerous or subversive as it once was. When the likes of Mick Jagger claim that there is no longer such a thing as the establishment it proves the point: Sir Mick, you are the establishment now! Paul McCartney, someone I've held a personal animus for since the horror of Wings, mistakes shouting "Freedom" 500 times at Super Bowl for making a statement. Indie rock is dreary and bland (what I've heard, anyway) and where substance abuse was once a sign of rejection of conventional mores it's now often a publicity stunt followed by a spell in a millionaires' rehab facility. There's nothing clever about Pete Doherty's antics. (DBT's own contempt for the "drug scene" comes later in Hood's biting You And Your Crystal Meth.)
Since Blessing, the band has carelessly lost one third of its writing team, Jason Isbell, but that has given bassist Shonna Tucker the chance to step up to the plate, contributing three songs to the latest DBT collection, as well as a delicious additional backing vocals which mean there's more texture to the singing. I'm Sorry Huston, the first of Tucker's songs, is good but not especially outstanding; Home Field Advantage and The Purgatory Line are more in that direction, and on the second of those Tucker's southern pronunciation is beautiful, as for example where she skips the vowel and elongates the consonant in "Prrgatory". It also features the immortal line "If Jesus walked on water then where'd he get them shoes?"
A puzzling statement in another review relates to the disposability of That Man I Shot. I suggest a listen to get over that. This is a song of power and agony, sung from the heart and the guts, about the bewilderment felt by the "liberators" of the (presumably) US armed forces at their rejection by those they come to liberate, at the trauma of killing a man, and the self-doubt of the justification of their mission that many in the US military must be feeling. This doesn't seem to be particularly an anti-war song, as such, unlike The Home Front a couple of tracks later, which makes some points about how the Iraq war was sold to us and the way it has been pursued even a warmonger such as I cannot but agree with.
The collection closes with The Monument Valley, a reflective and soft-focussed song which had a similar feel to some of the moodier pieces on Joe Jackson's Big World.
Like Blessing, this set is outstanding overall without reaching the phenomenal heights of The Dirty South (like Sandinista was to London Calling, I guess). Isbell's departure is disappointing but not disastrous, and pretty well compensated by John Neff's pedal steel and particularly by Tucker's contribution. As usual, Cooley's songs provide the grit, and though lacking some of the lyrical gymnastics of a song like Daddy's Cup they still have the kind of cleverness we used to get from the likes of Elvis Costello. Patterson Hood's contribution is more thoughtful and thought-provoking, although Goode's Field Road has an edge of its own. And anchoring the whole thing are Brad Morgan's drums and the legendary Spooner Oldham on keyboards. What more can you ask, short of the revolution itself?
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pedal off the metal and onto the steel guitar, 22 Jan 2008
A veritable double album this, 20 tracks and listed as side one, two, three and four on the liner notes. As the previous reviewer notes this album takes a route more into country territory, with the banjo, pedal steel and snare drum often help make a more pared down sound compared to the last few albums. The emphasis here is on the song, the lyrics and the singing, with those duties being shared around the band. Shona Tucker in particular shines, lovely harmonies on many tracks and apparent enjoyment of singing lead when given the chance, particularly on one of the rockier tracks, "Home field advantage". This is a well paced album with a good mix of slow, mid and up tempo songs, and although influences are sometimes obvious (the usual Southern Rock suspects, but I think they have also been listening to old Faces' tracks), they have made a style all their own which rewards repeated listening.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Alternative Country Rock Of The Highest Order, 26 Jan 2008
For some people the merest hint of a pedal steel guitar is enough to send them scurrying into the woods with their hands on their ears screaming 'Run For Your Lives' and though there are more country influences on this album than previous, rockier albums like Southern Rock Opera it has to be remembered that Drive By Truckers have always had a country influence to their sound, be it firmly rooted in the 'Alternative' region of a territory of music that for some reason some people find hard to stomach. But there would certainly be no place for the DBT at the Grand Ole Opry, nor does the music on this album bear any resemblance to Kenny Rogers. The Deep South is steeped in country music tradition and that influence has shined through to varying degrees in Southernrock from Skynyrd and Creedence to Kings Of Leon and Drive By Truckers. What we have here is a continuation of all that is great about DBT, the same excellent character studies whether it be the middle aged loner 'Bob', the drug dealer facing hard truths 'Checkout Time In Vegas' or the touching viewpoint of alcoholism to young eyes that is 'Daddy Needs A Drink'. The hard rocking axe welding is still there and even though it is not so much to the fore the laid back vibe suits this album well and even their lighter moments would be more akin to 'Anodyne' era Uncle Tupelo than anything 'mainstream country'. The bassist Shonna Tucker has filled the void of Isbell by lending her voice which makes a potent contrast in three efforts the best being the haunting 'The Purgatory Line' which is more comparable to Neko Case than anything Tammy Wynette might release.
There are 19 songs and it is a long album but I'm sure what are highlights for some will be skip button friendly for others and everyone will have their favourites. It's that kind of album. I don't like reviewing albums until I've had it for at least a good month as I feel the best albums evolve over a longer period of time anyway. But i felt compelled to respond to what I thought was a harsh and ill-informed review that only gave 1 star. No way is it a 1 star album. Whether it is a five star album only time will tell but even at this early stage it sounds like some of the strongest, if not strongest material they've ever released. 4 and a half stars.
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