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Notes of Blue is really great.

 

Maybe Jay can produce the next Wilco record. Notes sounds great and is definitely a focused record. Definitely borrows a lot from old school blues - but there is nothing wrong with that. Hopefully, Jay can transfer it to the stage and put on a great concert. Jay can catch a few Wilco shows / Jeff can take note of Notes and both would benefit. 

 

 

Did flip through some of Jay's book - okay, nothing earth shattering. Very antidotal, which was his point, I suppose. 

The new album is very good.  The book?  Not so much.

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I like listening to most of the Son Volt records.

 

Going to see Son Volt play live is like listening to the records, only I'm not in my favorite recliner. And I've paid $ to not sit in my favorite recliner. Not sure I am going to do that again. Maybe if they come to Portland (15 minutes away) I'd pull the trigger; I don't envision ever traveling the 2 hours to Boston to see them.

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Given the amount of times I've participated in this thread, I'm obviously a big Jay fan.  I'm really digging this after having a full week or so to listen.  I'd put Lost Souls, Cherokee St, Sinking Down and Promise the World up there with anything he's done previously.

 

This is a huge step following Honky Tonk.  When they released the title of this album months ago, I was worried this record would be a Jay Farrar plays the blues thing like Honky Tonk was for classic country.  Outside of Shine Down and Angel of the Blues, that record is very easy for me to forget.  On Honky Tonk the instrumentation is Bakersfield, but the song writing doesn't match the mood.  Nobody in a real Honky Tonk would ever dance to those songs. On Notes of Blue, he's playing with blues tuning and themes, but it still has Jay's fingerprints all over it.

 

I'm also liking the promotion they're getting this time around.  Somebody has convinced Jay that he needs a Facebook/Twitter presence to get the word out, and I sense a lot more buzz around this release.  I don't see a live Q&A with his fans anytime soon, but I like the updates/retweets.

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This is a huge step following Honky Tonk.  When they released the title of this album months ago, I was worried this record would be a Jay Farrar plays the blues thing like Honky Tonk was for classic country.  Outside of Shine Down and Angel of the Blues, that record is very easy for me to forget.  On Honky Tonk the instrumentation is Bakersfield, but the song writing doesn't match the mood.  Nobody in a real Honky Tonk would ever dance to those.

I agree with your assessment of Honky Tonk, but no love for Seawall and Down the Highway?  Those are the two standouts off that album for me.

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^^Cortez and Analogman...I like both of your song choices, but not enough to put that record back on.  I have a Son Volt playlist on my Spotify and Angel of the Blues (which is top 5 Farrar in my eyes) and Shine On are the only HT songs to make the cut.

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Given the amount of times I've participated in this thread, I'm obviously a big Jay fan.  I'm really digging this after having a full week or so to listen.  I'd put Lost Souls, Cherokee St, Sinking Down and Promise the World up there with anything he's done previously.

 

This is a huge step following Honky Tonk.  When they released the title of this album months ago, I was worried this record would be a Jay Farrar plays the blues thing like Honky Tonk was for classic country.  Outside of Shine Down and Angel of the Blues, that record is very easy for me to forget.  On Honky Tonk the instrumentation is Bakersfield, but the song writing doesn't match the mood.  Nobody in a real Honky Tonk would ever dance to those songs. On Notes of Blue, he's playing with blues tuning and themes, but it still has Jay's fingerprints all over it.

 

I'm also liking the promotion they're getting this time around.  Somebody has convinced Jay that he needs a Facebook/Twitter presence to get the word out, and I sense a lot more buzz around this release.  I don't see a live Q&A with his fans anytime soon, but I like the updates/retweets.

 

There has even been two photos of him smiling posted. 

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I cheated and looked up a set list.  I won't get to see them until Chicago on 4/1 and I just don't have that kind of self restraint.  Anyway, I know a lot of people complain that Jay never changes his set list.  This time around, I hope he doesn't change the set from what I saw he played last weekend.  It's a nice mix of electrified new and old.  

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Son Volt shows seem to be few and far between - 

 

I think someone upped a showed from 1995 on the The Traders' Den the other day. I don't think I have any Son Volt shows in my collection. 

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I have a few.

 

A few are still seeding on Dime and bt.etree. I can't say I listen to them often - if at all.

 

I was with a friend who taped a Chicago show that they played - Randolph Street Fest - I don't think he ever seeded it, though.

 

It seems like there are a lot of dead ones on bt.etree.

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Excellent show last night. The new drummer and guitarist are excellent. Jay was really into it. He just exudes folk/americana. To me he is part of that lineage. Few famous old tunes played and people went nuts!

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Excellent show last night. The new drummer and guitarist are excellent. Jay was really into it. He just exudes folk/americana. To me he is part of that lineage. Few famous old tunes played and people went nuts!

Did they play graveyard shift again??
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