Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Hat Trick of Great Albums, 15 Oct 2004
The Drive By Truckers produce their third masterpiece in a row. They have continued with the theme of last year's Decoration Day in looking at life in the Southern US. As always the musicianship is superb with the three guitars weaving in and out of the mix while the rhythm section drives on. Highlights are hard to pick but "Where the Devil Don't Stay" is a superb opening, "Tornadoes" is an older song reflecting childhood memories of the day the tornadoes hit. "The Day John Henry Died" is a great song which really rocks but don't expect dumb lyrics, the song retells the story of how automation replaces human workers. The next song "Puttin' People on the Moon" is an angry song about a widower who lost his job in an car factory, resorted to drug dealing then lost his wife to cancer before taking a menial job in Wal-Mart to feed his kids. All the time people in the next town work for NASA "puttin' people on the Moon". They lose their jobs too."Carl Perkins' Caddilac" is a slice of Rock history featuring Sam Phillips, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. It contains the immortal lines
"Dammit Elvis, I swear son I think it's time you came around
Making money you can't spend ain't what being dead's about". The "Sands of Iwo Jima" is a gem, an affectionate, acoustic tribute to the singer's great uncle who fought in the Second World War. The next song is "Danko/Manuel" in which Jason Isbell pays tribute to The Band while examining his own life as a touring musician. It's a really beautiful song and one of the CD's highlights. The next three songs, "Boys From Alabama", "Cottonseed", "The Buford Stick" form a sort of trilogy about corrupt policemen who became famous and his criminal enemies. "Cottonseed" is another highlight. The CD closes out with four superb rockers, a tale of a NASCAR fanatic in "Daddy's Cup", the bleak "Ain't Never Gonna Change", the contemplation of suicide of "Lookout Mountain" and the lost love and drowning sorrows of "Goddamn Lonely Love". I love this album, it is less country tinged and more rocky than Decoration Day but I would recommend them both to any fan of intelligent, rootsy rock.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best album of 2004, 12 Oct 2004
I can't believe that nobody has reviewed this classic as yet.When 'Southern Rock Opera' was released it brought the Drive-By Truckers to a whole new audience. That album was a stone cold classic guitar rock album, with more than a nod towards the southern rock sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the subject of this particular 'rock opera'. The following album, 'Decoration Day', showed the Truckers taking their foot off the gas and turning down the amps to produce a more considered and restrained follow up. There were still electric rock workouts but the main sound of the album tended towards acoustic guitars. I wonder if I was the only listener who considered what would happen if the Truckers managed to incorporate the sounds of these two wonderful albums for their next release. Well there's no need for wondering any longer, as that's precisely what we've got with the exemplary 'The Dirty South'. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but the Drive-By Truckers have produced the best album of their careers, with the best songs they have ever written. Tracks 4 to 7 are a perfect example of the progression and maturity to be found here. 'Puttin' People on the Moon', 'Carl Perkins' Cadillac', 'The Sands of Iwo Jima' and 'Danko/Manuel' are simply wonderful and give a cross section of this band's writing talents, with two songs from Patterson Hood and one each by Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell. To have one songwriter of this ability would be more than most bands have but to have three is, quite frankly, greedy! The song 'Danko/Manuel', written about the two deceased members of The Band, is one of the best and most beautiful songs I've ever heard, and probably my song of the year, which is saying something coming from someone who's been obsessed with popular music for the last 35 years. The only album I've heard this year that even comes close to the excellence of 'The Dirty South' is Richmond Fontaine's 'Post to Wire', but even that pales alongside this fantastic work of art. Right now the Drive-by Truckers are one of the best bands on the planet and if you don't own this album then you owe it to yourself to rectify the situation as soon as possible. Next to seeing them live, where they never fail to deliver, this is the best there is. You won't regret it.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Southern. Grimey. Dusty and Dirty., 17 May 2006
'The Dirty South', if Im honest, is the only album by Drive By Truckers that Ive heard and actually liked. Well, loved. Adored. And also, been very much obsessed with. There is quite a raw and untouched element about the entire collection of songs making them feel covered in dirt, dust, and drenched in Whiskey. Personally I would rate this above 'Southern Rock Opera' as a first buy. There is something immediately accessible about the songs on this album which demand a listen and 'The Dirty South' has a far more distinctive flavour. They certainly dont shy away from making the drums as loud and as hard as possible - a quality I significantly appreciate.
The highlights of the album have been mentioned in previous reviews but Ill re iterate. 'Tornadoes' is a relatively gorgeous slow-paced mellow song but gets your head nodding. Clearly, its about the day the tornado's came. 'Sands of Iwo Jima' is the album's knockout track. Just a beautiful song well written, well performed, and awesomely sung. A throaty high pitched southern twang over some country-guitar goodness. Other superb tracks include 'Puttin people on the moon', 'Danko/Manuel', 'The Buford Stick', 'The Boys From Alabama' and 'Never Gonna Change'. Another absolute must-hear on the album however is 'Cottonseed' - a song that contains the lyrics to perhaps my favourite dark chorus of all time.
"I 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 old cadillac, bought a new one anytime I pleased/And I put more law men in the ground than Alabama put cottonseed"
Genius. As I write this, there are some tracks on the album that Im not over-keen on. This, however, is something that will almost certainly change with time. They simply require more listening effort. All in all, if you like rock, or country, or hip-hop, then listen to this album. There is a song on it certain to drive you a little wild. Amazon are selling this for £6.67 secondhand. For as little as £6.00, The Drive By Truckers really do deserve your ears. Whoever you are.
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