Son Volt - Straightaways
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CD Details
Artist: Son VoltEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2012-02-28
Music Label: Warner 1061
Soundtracks:
- Caryatid Easy
- Back Into Your World
- Picking Up The Signal
- Left A Slide
- Creosote
- Cemetery Savior
- Last Minute Shakedown
- Been Set Free
- No More Parades
- Way Down Watson
Music reviews of Straightaways
Music Review: "Born Under Widespread Changes"
Rating: 5 Stars
Straightaways was the first Son Volt album I ever purchased (back when it was first released-I recently had to buy it again, as my original copy was stolen), the first time I'd heard Jay Farrar's moody voice and thoughtful, mysterious lyrics. It remains my favorite Son Volt album, maybe because it was my first exposure to this group. At the time, I had no idea who Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy, or Wilco were, or that those bands were in any way connected to Son Volt. I had also never heard Trace, so I had no preconceptions about Straightaways. Back in 1997, I was listening to a lot of Neil Young, Los Lobos, and R.E.M. and had no knowledge of the "alt-country" genre.
Straightaways has always somewhat reminded me of Young's Harvest, with its searching lyrics and country-rock sound. Farrar writes songs that bear repeat listening, sinking deeper into your brain every time you hear them. In the intervening years, I've purchased Trace, and while I enjoy that record, I think the songs on Straightaways are a touch stronger, especially "Creosote", "Cemetery Savior", "Caryatid Easy", and "Picking Up the Signal". I don't think there's a weak track on the album and the musicianship is strong throughout.
Farrar has moved on from this kind of sound and broken up the original band. I still enjoy the records he's putting out with the reconstituted Son Volt and his own music. Personally, I'm glad he's not still trying to remake Trace or Straightaways all these years later. He's already done that, and done it so well that it doesn't bear doing again. No matter what direction Son Volt takes in the future, this will always be the album of theirs I think of first and the one I still return to the most.
Description of Straightaways
Straightaways by Son VoltThis product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
When Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar, his former partner in Uncle Tupelo, split up in 1994, the common wisdom was that Tweedy was the melodic and optimistic Paul McCartney of the team, while Farrar was the cathartic and moody John Lennon. That analogy seemed to stand up when Wilco's debut disc A.M. was sweet and tuneful, while the first album by Farrar's Son Volt, Trace, was angst-ridden country-rock. Tweedy transcended his pigeonhole with the diverse, ambitious Being There, but Farrar remains trapped in his on Son Volt's follow-up Straightaways, a more laid-back, understated version of Trace. Farrar does one thing really well, and that is his use of a gravelly baritone and suspended guitar chords to capture the exhaustion and desperation of a man at the end of his rope. Unfortunately, he tends to do it over and over and over again. --Geoffrey Himes
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