Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
You don't need a bottle of Jack or even a trace of Southern lineage to appreciate the genius of Drive-By Truckers' Southern Rock Opera. Without a hint of irony, the Athens, Georgia, quintet creates a fast-driving, hard-living tribute to the indelible music and legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Like any good concept album, there's a modicum of plot and a theme to these 20 songs (loosely based around the rise and fall of fictitious Southern rock band Betamax Guillotine), but the best tracks make you forget the story line altogether: "Birmingham", "Zip City" and "Let There Be Rock". The "opera" aspects bog things down a bit--you probably only need to hear the spoken-word track "The Three Great Alabama Icons" once--but the overall concept still comes off without a hitch. The lyrics are great, the trio of electric guitars is blessed with raw production, and the tunes--though lacking the pop sensibility of, say, "Gimme Three Steps"--will have you cranking up the album for your friends. And, after a few spins of Southern Rock Opera, you might even find yourself digging out those old Skynyrd LPs to hear the real thing again. --Jason Verlinde
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I like Lynyrd Skynyrd and it was this that drew me into buying this CD. Thank you to the Sunday Times for bringing this album to my attention. This is a concept album but the Drive By Truckers don't let the concept get in the way of the songs. The loose concept is the story of a rock fan growing up in the southern US and the linked story of Lynyrd Skynyrd, here disguised as Betamax Guillotine. The Truckers have three guitarists on this album, just like Lynyrd Skynyrd at their peak and the sound is awesome. This is not commercial, radio friendly rock, it is far superior to that and if you like Skynyrd you won't regret buying this.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
..A brilliant, intelligent homage to southern rock. Musically the Truckers put me in mind in different moments of Skynard, Green on Red, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Steve Earle - a growly, dirty southern rock style. There are different singers too which keeps things varied and intersting but still sounding consistent. If I had one contention its that the live production style muddies some of the dynamics of the three guitars. But its a minor niggle as the quality of the songwriting is quite superb - stylistically varied and with lyrics full of genuine feeling, reflection, insight and humour.
The CD is really nicely packaged in a gatefold sleeve with lots of artwork and lyrics and you can just tell that its a real work of love which seems a rare thing for a record these days. If you like the southern rock thing, this CD is essential.
29 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Don't be deterred by the rather misleading title. Not a rock opera in the sense of Tommy or Jesus Christ Superstar, this sprawling double disc is more akin to a song cycle about Southern rock, in particular Lynyrd Skynyrd. Almost six years in the making, the Drive-By Truckers have created a startlingly intelligent work that proudly stands with the best music of their obvious inspiration. Largely written and conceived by lead trucker Patterson Hood (son of famed Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood), who sings the majority of the songs in a torn, ragged but emotionally charged twangy voice somewhere between Tom Petty and Rod Stewart, these 20 literate tracks encapsulate a remarkably objective look at what Hood calls "the duality of the South." Rocking with a lean hardness, the story unfolds over 90 minutes, but the savvy lyrical observations never overburden the songs' clenched grip. While bands like the similarly styled Bottlerockets have worked this territory before, never has a group created an opus that's thematically tied to this genre while objectively exploring its conceptual limitations. The two discs are divided into Acts 1 and 2; the first sets the stage by exploring aspects of an unnamed Southern teen's background growing up as a music fan in an environment where sports stars, not rock stars, were idolized. The second follows him as he joins his Skynyrd-styled dream band, tours the world, and eventually crashes to his death in the same sort of airplane accident that claimed his heroes. The Drive-By Truckers proudly charge through these songs with their three guitars, grinding and soloing with a swampy intensity recalling a grittier, less commercially viable early version of Skynyrd. A potentially dodgy concept that's redeemed by magnificent songwriting, passionate singing, and ruggedly confident but far from over-the-top playing, Southern Rock Opera should be required listening not only for fans of the genre, but anyone interested in the history of '70s rock, or even the history of the South in that decade. More the story of Hood than Skynyrd, this is thought-provoking music that also slashes, burns, and kicks out the jams. Its narrative comes to life through these songs of alienation, excess, and, ultimately, salvation, as seen through the eyes of someone who lived and understands it better than most.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Drive Straight By ?,Now there's a mistake!
If you liked "God and Guns" by Skynyrd,then you'll probably like most albums by this band.Each and every track nothing like the previous,or following,song. Read more
Published 8 months ago by jinx
A classic eulogy!
Like a previous reviewer I have experienced the Drive By Truckers in reverse order and started with A Blessing and a Curse . Read more
Published 12 months ago by Alastair Bateman
Southern Rock Opera
Start your journey here. In my opinion this is one of the best live acts in the world. Their music is just mind blowing. Read more
Published 12 months ago by M.A.Bancroft.
A tribute to rock
This is very much a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd and the influence Southern America and Ronnie Van Zant have had on the band, but it rocks, well and truly. Read more
Published 22 months ago by The Pez
Love Skynryd? Love Southern Boogie? Love the Deep South? Buy this!
This was my first Drive By Truckers purchase, after seeing them on Jools Holland and thinking how they reminded me of early Steve Earle, so I had to buy. So, what did I think? Read more
Published 22 months ago by Little Cat Voom
Sweet Home...wherever!
I had somehow remained oblivious to the DBT's but once bitten....!!! At times languid, they suddenly just become rocky with the Southern edge and then can drop down to almost... Read more
Published on 16 April 2010 by hungry sponge
average
Disc 2 is better than disc one, but nothing to really write home about. If i'd listened to it in a shop before buying i probably wouldn't have. Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2009 by E. Swift
Outshines its subject
After recording Pizza Deliverance, DBT quit their day jobs and embarked on a frenetic musical road trip, during which they composed Southern Rock Opera and became a different band. Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2006 by Steve Keen
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
