08-03-2013, 19:20
online listen
first one I've heard by these guys
had my hopes set too high
thinkin' earlier albums were better
2 I liked, but not the clip, an almost
1.5 from me and a converted 2.4 from allmusic
from the album - Hearts And Minds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn2_XK9EQTI
released Mar 5th, 2013
![[Image: MI0003497124.jpg?partner=allrovi.com]](http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0003/497/MI0003497124.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Bio - from allmusic
After touring in support of their 1993 masterpiece, Anodyne, the seminal alternative country
band Uncle Tupelo split up over long-simmering creative differences between co-leaders Jay
Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. Tweedy recruited much of the band to form Wilco, while Farrar teamed up
with original Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn to form Son Volt, the more tradition-minded of the
two Tupelo offshoots. Joined by brothers Jim (bass) and Dave Boquist (guitar, fiddle, banjo,
fiddle, steel guitar), the band signed to Warner Bros. and released its debut album, Trace, in
1995. It was greeted with excellent reviews from most critics, offering a set of stark, subtle,
mostly downbeat songs that drew from traditional country, folk, and roots rock. The single
"Drown" was successful on both college and rock radio, and the band subsequently added
unofficial fifth member Eric Heywood on mandolin and pedal steel for its second album, 1997's
Straightaways.
While Straightaways mined territory similar to Trace and again received positive reviews, some
found Farrar's lack of creative progression troubling, and although 1998's Wide Swing Tremolo
was a somewhat harder-rocking affair, the erosion of critical support for the group continued.
They ended up on an unofficial hiatus (rumors of their breakup were denied), and Farrar debuted
as a solo artist with 2001's Sebastopol, putting the future of Son Volt in further doubt. He
continued with his solo career throughout 2002 and 2003, and in 2005 Rhino issued
Retrospective: 1995-2000. But Son Volt weren't over. Farrar revived the nameplate in July 2005
with the issue of Okemah and the Melody of Riot (Legacy). For the album, recorded in St. Louis,
Farrar was joined by drummer Dave Bryson, bassist Andrew DuPlantis, and ex-Backsliders
guitarist Brad Rice. Search arrived in early 2007, followed by American Central Dust in 2009.
Honky Tonk, full of pedal steel guitars and twin fiddles, and a sort of homage to the
Bakersfield country sound, arrived early in 2013.
Album Review - from allmusic
Uncle Tupelo pretty much established the subgenre of alt-country in 1990 with the release of No
Depression, and the band's two main songwriters and singers, Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, seemed
to fulfill the promise that Gram Parsons, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Sweetheart of
the Rodeo-era Byrds had mapped out over two decades before, a perfect synthesis of rock and
country. When Uncle Tupelo split in 1993, Tweedy, always more on the pop side of things, formed
Wilco, which enjoyed commercial and critical success, while Farrar, who mapped out the moodier,
more hangdog country side of things, formed Son Volt, a band with no aspirations for the
charts, indie or otherwise, and while Son Volt's albums have been strong, interesting, and
decidedly uncommercial ever since, they all lead, it seems, to this new one, Honky Tonk, which
arrives at last squarely in country territory (more specifically, the Bakersfield country of
Buck Owens and Merle Haggard), with nary an electric guitar in sight. Full of slow and midtempo
waltzes and shuffles, and framed and led by pedal steel guitars and twin fiddles, along with
Farrar's weary, never-in-a-big-hurry, laid-back (but somehow mysteriously intense) vocals,
Honky Tonk is full of a beautiful, thoughtful, and almost Zen-like approach to life, all set
against a classic old-school Bakersfield country backdrop. Songs here like "Hearts and Minds,"
"Wild Side," "Bakersfield," "Angel of the Blues," and "Shine On" aren't rave-ups, and aren't
bitter barroom apologies, but are filled instead with a kind of stubborn hope and joy, made
perhaps even more powerful for being from the 21st century while sounding like they came from
the century before. The whole album accumulates in a powerful, meditative way, and its themes
are less about drinking and trying to forget the past than they are about making peace with the
past and trying to remember it and use it as a spark and a springboard to the future. Honky
Tonk is country facing forward informed by the past.
Track Listing
1. Hearts And Minds
2. Brick Walls
3. Wild Side
4. Down The Highway
5. Bakersfield
6. Livin' On
7. Tears Of Change
8. Angel Of The Blues
9. Seawall
10. Barricades
11. Shine On
first one I've heard by these guys
had my hopes set too high
thinkin' earlier albums were better
2 I liked, but not the clip, an almost
1.5 from me and a converted 2.4 from allmusic
from the album - Hearts And Minds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn2_XK9EQTI
released Mar 5th, 2013
Bio - from allmusic
After touring in support of their 1993 masterpiece, Anodyne, the seminal alternative country
band Uncle Tupelo split up over long-simmering creative differences between co-leaders Jay
Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. Tweedy recruited much of the band to form Wilco, while Farrar teamed up
with original Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn to form Son Volt, the more tradition-minded of the
two Tupelo offshoots. Joined by brothers Jim (bass) and Dave Boquist (guitar, fiddle, banjo,
fiddle, steel guitar), the band signed to Warner Bros. and released its debut album, Trace, in
1995. It was greeted with excellent reviews from most critics, offering a set of stark, subtle,
mostly downbeat songs that drew from traditional country, folk, and roots rock. The single
"Drown" was successful on both college and rock radio, and the band subsequently added
unofficial fifth member Eric Heywood on mandolin and pedal steel for its second album, 1997's
Straightaways.
While Straightaways mined territory similar to Trace and again received positive reviews, some
found Farrar's lack of creative progression troubling, and although 1998's Wide Swing Tremolo
was a somewhat harder-rocking affair, the erosion of critical support for the group continued.
They ended up on an unofficial hiatus (rumors of their breakup were denied), and Farrar debuted
as a solo artist with 2001's Sebastopol, putting the future of Son Volt in further doubt. He
continued with his solo career throughout 2002 and 2003, and in 2005 Rhino issued
Retrospective: 1995-2000. But Son Volt weren't over. Farrar revived the nameplate in July 2005
with the issue of Okemah and the Melody of Riot (Legacy). For the album, recorded in St. Louis,
Farrar was joined by drummer Dave Bryson, bassist Andrew DuPlantis, and ex-Backsliders
guitarist Brad Rice. Search arrived in early 2007, followed by American Central Dust in 2009.
Honky Tonk, full of pedal steel guitars and twin fiddles, and a sort of homage to the
Bakersfield country sound, arrived early in 2013.
Album Review - from allmusic
Uncle Tupelo pretty much established the subgenre of alt-country in 1990 with the release of No
Depression, and the band's two main songwriters and singers, Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, seemed
to fulfill the promise that Gram Parsons, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Sweetheart of
the Rodeo-era Byrds had mapped out over two decades before, a perfect synthesis of rock and
country. When Uncle Tupelo split in 1993, Tweedy, always more on the pop side of things, formed
Wilco, which enjoyed commercial and critical success, while Farrar, who mapped out the moodier,
more hangdog country side of things, formed Son Volt, a band with no aspirations for the
charts, indie or otherwise, and while Son Volt's albums have been strong, interesting, and
decidedly uncommercial ever since, they all lead, it seems, to this new one, Honky Tonk, which
arrives at last squarely in country territory (more specifically, the Bakersfield country of
Buck Owens and Merle Haggard), with nary an electric guitar in sight. Full of slow and midtempo
waltzes and shuffles, and framed and led by pedal steel guitars and twin fiddles, along with
Farrar's weary, never-in-a-big-hurry, laid-back (but somehow mysteriously intense) vocals,
Honky Tonk is full of a beautiful, thoughtful, and almost Zen-like approach to life, all set
against a classic old-school Bakersfield country backdrop. Songs here like "Hearts and Minds,"
"Wild Side," "Bakersfield," "Angel of the Blues," and "Shine On" aren't rave-ups, and aren't
bitter barroom apologies, but are filled instead with a kind of stubborn hope and joy, made
perhaps even more powerful for being from the 21st century while sounding like they came from
the century before. The whole album accumulates in a powerful, meditative way, and its themes
are less about drinking and trying to forget the past than they are about making peace with the
past and trying to remember it and use it as a spark and a springboard to the future. Honky
Tonk is country facing forward informed by the past.
Track Listing
1. Hearts And Minds
2. Brick Walls
3. Wild Side
4. Down The Highway
5. Bakersfield
6. Livin' On
7. Tears Of Change
8. Angel Of The Blues
9. Seawall
10. Barricades
11. Shine On
