The Drive-By Truckers and their Southern Rock Opera: Part One (Introductions)

The first time I heard the Drive-By Truckers, I wrote them off as just another band in the long line of Uncle Tupelo wannabes. My girlfriend's cousin had given me a copy of Decoration Day saying it looked like something I would like. He was a big fan of mainstream country, and Columbia House had given him a free copy. On first listen I thought the band was copying the tried and true Americana formula, sounding very much like Uncle Tupelo with a greater southern flair. I thought they were just another in a long line of Tweedy and Farrar copycats, writing songs about their working-class roots and love of alcohol. The record just didn't speak to me. I filed it away with my other CDs, never expecting to return. I'm sure I went back to Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Whiskeytown, and other similar bands for my rootsy needs. I was late to the party on Steve Earle as well.

            A few years later, A Blessing and A Curse came out and I bought it. Stonesy and more rocking than Decoration Day, but also dripping with intelligence, it hooked me. I went back to my stacks and decided to give Decoration Day another listen. My mind was blown. How did I miss this songwriting and playing? There were three lead guitarists, a tight rhythm section, down and dirty lyrics. The songwriting was even better than Blessing, far more varied and interesting. Patterson Hood's songs were passionate and literate. Mike Cooley was the heart of the band, writing rocking, story-telling songs. Jason Isbell was the soul of the band, writing memorable, quite different songs and providing stunning guitar work. The Truckers were working class southern heroes, indelibly soaked in the cliched whiskey and rage of Alabama. As a unit, they had something special. Besides three great songwriters with in-depth knowledge of the region and past, they invested their songs with melodies and unforgettable characters.

         A Blessing and A Curse is often maligned as the worst record of this lineup, but even though it seems uneven, it still has impeccable songs and hooks. I played it for a friend who had never heard them and had laughed at their jokey name. His response was that he never expected them to rock so hard. I think he expected them to be psychobilly, or perhaps, just a southern rock revival band. While the Truckers have elements of both, their musicianship and ethics stack the playing field in their favor. Even those not prone to their particular take on southern, or even rock music, feel compelled to stand up and take notice. Psychobilly bands tend to be a homogenous bunch and most bands that have a strong connection to the southern rock sound are still trying to pack stadiums, i.e. Kid Rock. The band has developed a strong following because of their connection to independent music and d.i.y. methods that is far different from the big seventies Southern Rock bands, particularly Lynyrd Skynyrd or Allman Brothers Band, their obvious spiritual forebears. They make it a point to release their albums on vinyl, and have a penchant for playing smaller clubs and often doing stripped down acoustic sets.

            The Truckers do not just pay lip service to the mythology and folklore of the south. They know it first hand and craft literate and historically and personally accurate story songs. Each songwriter has their own take on the south and the band covers a surprising amount of time and musical genres.   Patterson Hood is a true rock 'n' roll poet, wearing his heart on his sleeve like a southern Bruce Springsteen, doing for the south what John Mellencamp did for the heartland. He has revitalized the art of speaking during a song, grabbing the listener through an honest approach concerning southern history. Mike Cooley writes rocking songs that sanctify like old country songs, telling new myths and surprising at every turn. Jason Isbell writes the most personal songs, creating a mythology of his own life.

            The band borrows and reworks many musical forms and tropes that are found in the bottomless record collection that is the musical tradition of the American south. Hood's songs are always the most representative when it comes to the band's platform; he mentions names and characters from Southern history, weaving them into his personal stories. The Truckers first magnum opus, Southern Rock Opera, began this intertwining of the historical and the personal as the band came into their own, creating an epic double album that encompassed much more than they had ever done before.  The album was the first to feature cover art by artist, Wes Freed, whose art has appeared on ever album since, defining the visual aesthetic of the band. Freed's work is creepy and stunning, presenting visual ghosts that mirror the Trucker's haunted historical south. The album covers an astonishing number of topics, wrapped up in the story of a faux Lynyrd Skynyrd band, their rise to stardom, and their eventual fall in a plane crash. 

(I originally wrote this essay as part of a failed proposal for the 33 1/3 series that I never completed. I wanted to share it somewhere. Stay tuned for subsequent reworkings of parts of the essay.)