Ranking the Albums: Drive-By Truckers Version

I've learned everything I know about the South from listening to Drive-By Truckers. They're one of the best straight up rock and roll bands in the business today and their music is both a glorification and a refutation of southern mythology and culture. Frontman Patterson Hood has long written about "the duality of the Southern thing" and a lot of their songs could easily be made into short films. He's the most prolific writer in the group and generally writes straight forward story-songs with descriptive lyrics that form perfect visuals and are the basis of the albums. Guitarist Mike Cooley is the other original member still on board and his contributions are more vague but they end up being the funniest (but not in an obvious way) tracks and are usually my favorite songs on each DBT album. The rest of the band has gone through numerous lineup changes but they seem to have settled on drummer Brad Morgan (since 1999), bassist Shonna Tucker (2003), guitarist John Neff (off and on throughout their history but permanent since 2007) and keyboardist Jay Gonzalez (2008). I still miss Jason Isbell's (2001 - 2007) presence in the band but his solo work is excellent and the Truckers music hasn't suffered much if at all since his departure.

The Truckers have established themselves as a versatile band that should be taken much more seriously than their name suggests. They're capable of playing anything from loud three guitar rock to pure classic country with with some soul thrown in for good measure. All these styles (and more) are done with a great mix of exuberance, attitude and professionalism and the bands love of all types of music is very apparent. With the release of their newest album, Go-Go Boots, on Tuesday, February 15, this is the perfect time to look at their career thus far. All of their albums have their good points and this will attempt to sort out the best from the lesser best. I knew going in what the number one album would be and what the bottom of the list would look like but distinguishing between the middle albums is next to impossible.

For the sake of this post I didn't include either of their live albums (1999's Alabama Ass Whoopin', 2009's Live From Austin, TX) or the 2009 rarities compilation The Fine Print: A Collection of Odds and Rarities.

8. Gangstabilly - 1998

DBT's debut album is their most country orientated. The loud guitars that would become the bands signature only a few years later show up from time to time but "Buttholeville" is the only track they dominate. There's also a lack of consistency from song to song making Gangstabilly an uneven listen. The album does contain "The Living Bubba" which is still one of Hood's favorite (and best) compositions and even the lesser tracks are entertaining. You can hear the start of what the Truckers would eventually do so well on Gangstabilly, but they weren't there yet.

7. Pizza Deliverance - 1999

Even though Pizza Deliverance also has a jokey title, it's a pretty big step up from Gangstabilly. The stories behind the songs are more fully formed and this where you can really hear the "sound" of DBT form. Cooley's songwriting took a big step forward here contributing three great tunes in "Uncle Frank," "One of these Days" and "Love Like This." "Bulldozers and Dirt," "Nine Bullets" and "The Night G.G. Allin Came to Town" are all great Hood tracks. The rest of Pizza Deliverance has it's ups and downs and it's a few track too long but is still a winner.

6. A Blessing And A Curse - 2006

I was a little late to the DBT party and A Blessing and a Curse is the first of their albums that I ever heard. I fell in love with it instantly only to find out that it wasn't all that representative of what the band sounded like. The first half in particular is different. "Feb 14," "Easy on Yourself" and "Daylight" are as close to power-pop as the band has ever gotten. They're all good songs but sound out of place when looking over the bands discography. "Gravity's Gone" and "Aftermath U.S.A. are great songs that could easily be mistaken for Small Faces covers. Cooley's beautiful ballad "Space City" and  the closing"A World of Hurt" carry the second half of the album that is more in line with what the band generally does. The title track is one of my least favorite DBT songs ever recorded and really drags down the album. I have a soft spot for this record since it was my first experience with the band but there are better albums in their catalog.

5. The Big To-Do - 2010

After years of playing around with varying styles, DBT got back to straight ahead hard rock on The Big to-Do. The album kicks of loud and strong with Hood's "Daddy Learned To Fly, "The Fourth Night of My Drinking," and Cooley's "Birthday Boy." "Drag the Lake Charlie" and "The Wig He Made Her Wear" slow it down a bit to tell their dark tales of murder. Bassist Shonna Tucker gets a couple winning tracks in with the piano based "You Got Another" and "(It's Gonna Be) I told You So" which is a great mix of rock, country and soul. "Get Downtown" and "This Fucking Job" are great opposing takes on the current financial crisis. The album closes out of a softer note with "Sante Fe," "The Flying Wallendas" and  "Eyes Like Glue." There are no bad songs on The Big To-Do and I really like it. Having it this low on the list seems harsh but there's something missing, even if I don't know exactly what that something is.

4. Southern Rock Opera - 2001

Southern Rock Opera is the album that put DBT on the map. A double concept album that's ostensibly about Lynyrd Skynrd but really about the Truckers themselves (and specifically Hood). It's full of southern mythology and three guitar rock and even if I don't think it's their best work, it's easily their most important. Among the many highlights are Hood's rockers "Ronnie and Neil," "The Southern Thing," "Let There Be Rock" and "Life in the Factory." Cooley again has my favorite tracks, contributing "72 (This Highway's Mean)" "Guitar Man Upstairs," "Zip City," "Women Without Whiskey" and "Shut Up and Get on the Plane." Former guitarist Rob Malone gets to sing three tracks ("Wallace," "Moved" and "Cassie's Brother") and they are all fine efforts as well. You can learn a lot about southern misconceptions, George Wallace and Rock and Roll by listening to Southern Rock Opera. It's not as varied as the best Truckers albums and the concept gets lost on occasion but anyone looking for one of the best straight ahead rock albums of the 2000's, Southern Rock Opera would be a great place to start.

3. Brighter Than Creation's Dark - 2008

Brighter Than Creation's Dark is the most eclectic album DBT has ever put out. While hard rock is represented with "3 Dimes Down," "The Righteous Path" and "That Man I Shot" the transition from Jason Isbell to John Neff means a lot more pedal steel and the highest number of pure country songs since Gangstabilly.  Cooley (who usually contributes about 3 songs an album) puts forth a whopping 7 this time, ranging from the aforementioned "3 Dimes Down" to the classic country of "Bob" and "Lisa's Birthday." "A Ghost to Most" and "Self Destructive Zones" find a middle ground between the two with "A Ghost to Most" being one of his finest compositions. Shonna Tucker made her first songwriting contributions and singing debut here with the soulful "I'm Sorry Houston," the rocker "Home Field Advantage" and the atmospheric "Purgatory Line." Hood contributes the rest ranging from the folky opener "Three Daughters and a Beautiful Wife" to the closing tribute to John Ford "The Monument Valley." In order to get to 19 tracks, Brighter Than Creations Dark probably has more filler than most DBT albums but that filler is very enjoyable. I would have preferred a couple more rockers to balance out the country and ballads but it's a fantastic album nonetheless.

2. Decoration Day - 2003

Coming off the heels of Southern Rock Opera and with new Guitarist Isbell in tow, I doubt too many people expected Decoration Day to begin with a folk rock tale of the only people in America to be jailed for incest but that's exactly what happened with "The Deeper In." The whole album is pretty lyrically dark and tells stories of people who are faced with tough choices that eventually lead to murder, heartbreak and divorce. Hard rock certainly isn't abandoned with Hood's "Sink Hole," "Hell No I Ain't Happy" "Careless," and "Do it Yourself" along with Cooley's "Marry Me" but there's a lot of acoustic tracks as well. As usual, Hood's songs form the backbone of the album but they are nicely augmented by the other songwriters as well. "Sounds Better in the Song" and "When the Pin Hits the Shell" are great Cooley contributions and Isbell's first two DBT songs "Outfit" and the title track, show off his talents as a songwriter and a vocalist. Decoration Day isn't quite the best DBT album but I won't argue too much with anyone who think it is.

1. The Dirty South - 2004

The Dirty South is DBT's most fully realized and best album. Cooley's "Where the Devil Don't Stay" starts it off with a bang and the rest of the the record never lets up. There's not too many albums where you'll find songs containing the history of John Henry (Isbell's "The Day John Henry Died"), Sun Records (Cooley's "Carl Perkins Cadillac") and Sheriff Buford Pusser ("The Boys From Alabama," "Cottonseed" and "The Buford Stick," all told from the point of view of the men on the wrong side of the law) told with great style and substance. The Dirty South leans to the rocking side of DBT with most of the previously mentioned songs as well as "Lookout Mountain," "Never Gonna Change" and "Puttin' People on the Moon" all being up-tempo electric guitar heavy tracks. Cooley's acoustic rave-up, "Daddy's Cup" deals with a subject matter I could really care less about (auto racing) but it's a nice change from the darkness surrounding it. The closing track, "Goddamn Lonely Love" is my favorite Jason Isbell song he's ever either with DBT or his solo work. It's a beautiful tune dealing with the loneliness of love that everyone has felt at one point in their life. The Dirty South represents all sides of DBT very well. It contains no weak songs and a large number of standouts. This is the perfect place for someone to start a brand new Drive-By Truckers obsession.