CortezTheKiller Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I think the new album is solid. It's not in the same category of the "Big Three" (DD, SRO, TDS), but there's some good stuff in there. I will say I'm more excited about this:I finally got to watch it last night. It drags a bit in places, but overall I absolutely loved it. Hardcore fans will love it, but I think even casual fans will develop a greater appreciation for the band and their story after watching it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 ^^ My copy of that is supposed to be delivered by Amazon tomorrow, looking forward to it. I saw it today while record shopping but naturally had to bypass it. Just as well, I got enough other things to keep me entertained. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 the production is 1000x better than the last one. i like it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CortezTheKiller Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Pitchfork gives it a 7.7The review concludes with: On the heels of Go-Go Boots comes the DVD release of the documentary The Secret to a Happy Ending, which chronicles the period in the mid-2000s when the Drive-By Truckers almost broke up. There's a telling moment when former guitar player/songwriter Jason Isbell asserts that that line-up was the most solid and the most creative in the band's long history of turnovers. It's no reflection on him, but Go-Go Boots goes a long way to proving him wrong, suggesting a band that knows where all the bodies are buried. They talking to you there solace? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Pitchfork ranks it 7.7. I'd rank it higher, but it's a positive review that I pretty much agree with. I particularly like the last paragraph. I agree that there's a nice "textural range". As a whole, it ranks very high in the Truckers' catalog of music. There are two corpses on the Drive-By Truckers' new album, Go-Go Boots. Both the title track and the eight-minute forensic epic "The Fireplace Poker" are about women who meet bloody ends at the hands of their husbands, who are both preachers. These two songs are the inverse of the true-crime saga "The Wig He Made Her Wear", a standout from the band's 2010 album, The Big To-Do, about a woman in a small Tennessee town who shoots her allegedly abusive husband, a Church of Christ pastor, in the back with a shotgun. "Go-Go Boots" is the better of the two new songs, not only because it's shorter but because songwriter Patterson Hood is more interested in the aftermath than the murder itself. The pastor's ne'er-do-well son, with a pregnant teenage girlfriend and a job pumping gas, can't confront his father for fear of losing his temper, so his anger just sizzles and fizzles inside him, with no outlet. Hood intimates a sad arc to his life in a single verse, an impressive lyrical trick that lends the song its considerable gravity. By comparison, "The Fireplace Poker", with its curious guitar curlicue wrapping around Brad Morgan's stoic drumbeat, just recounts the details of the crime and sits aghast at a man's capacity for cruelty. Enthralled by small-town violence (he's reportedly working on a film about a southern crime syndicate), Hood has explored this material before, documenting crime scenes in song and relating blood splatter and gunshot residue in verse while the band draw the chalk outlines on the floor. As always, it's the carefully chosen details that give these songs heft and personality and keep them from becoming redundant. Hood is telling stories that are rare in rock music, if not altogether nonexistent, and the Truckers boast two other songwriters with similarly distinctive styles and subject matter. Mike Cooley writes in a cursory first-person, emphasizing aw-shucks wordplay and wry self-deprecation: "The Weakest Man" is classic AM country at its wryest, while "Cartoon Gold" is his Zevon anthem, set in a dark L.A. bar seen through even darker sunglasses. "I think about you when I can," he laments, "and sometimes when I do I still get caught." Over three albums (she's been playing for five but only writing songs for three), bass player Shonna Tucker has grown into a sharp, imaginative lyricist, and her one track on Go-Go Boots shows she's absorbed Hood and Cooley's knack for character sketches. "Dancin' Ricky" depicts a man out on the dancefloor with a tight shirt and his "freedom out in the open," which I read as "tight pants." Rather than depict him as a fool, she paints him as a sort of antihero: "Hey Ricky, don't let the Diabetes get you!" Tucker cheers. Tucker may not have written "Where's Eddie", but she sings it like she did, in a performance that's restrained and soulful-- a bit of feminine guile to offset so much masculine songwriting. Eddie Hinton wrote "Where's Eddie", and the Muscle Shoals Sounds singer and friend of the Hood family figures prominently on Go-Go Boots-- just as prominently as murderous preachers. The band recently recorded two covers of Hinton's songs for Shake It Records' singles series (Afghan Whigs' Greg Dulli has also contributed), and both sides appear on the album, forming a mini-tribute to the troubled artist, whose success never equaled his talents and who died in 1995 largely unknown. Hood doesn't quite have the vocal chops to put across "Everybody Needs Love" as confidently as Tucker sells "Where's Eddie", but thanks to the band's exuberant take, it proves a potent block of southern soul that reveals the Truckers' range and sensitivity beyond the Crazy Horse guitar attack of recent albums. In fact, Go-Go Boots sounds like a slight retreat from that rock noise, indulging Cooley's country jones as well as the band's more acoustic tendencies. It's a more dynamic record than The Big To-Do, recalling the ramshackle vibe of their first two albums. There's a greater textural range, from the noir ramble of "Ray's Automatic Weapon" to the spidery tension of "Used to Be a Cop", one of Hood's best character sketches. On the heels of Go-Go Boots comes the DVD release of the documentary The Secret to a Happy Ending, which chronicles the period in the mid-2000s when the Drive-By Truckers almost broke up. There's a telling moment when former guitar player/songwriter Jason Isbell asserts that that line-up was the most solid and the most creative in the band's long history of turnovers. It's no reflection on him, but Go-Go Boots goes a long way to proving him wrong, suggesting a band that knows where all the bodies are buried.— Stephen M. Deusner, February 18, 2011 (Sorry....Cortez and I obviously posted at the same time.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
choo-choo-charlie Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I think I'm in the very small minority of people that places Southern Rock Opera at the bottom of the list of favorite Truckers records. That's one that I really have a hard time sitting through from start to finish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Orkie Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Pulaski is incredible, but most of this feels like b-sides to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Pitchfork gives it a 7.7The review concludes with: On the heels of Go-Go Boots comes the DVD release of the documentary The Secret to a Happy Ending, which chronicles the period in the mid-2000s when the Drive-By Truckers almost broke up. There's a telling moment when former guitar player/songwriter Jason Isbell asserts that that line-up was the most solid and the most creative in the band's long history of turnovers. It's no reflection on him, but Go-Go Boots goes a long way to proving him wrong, suggesting a band that knows where all the bodies are buried. They talking to you there solace? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CortezTheKiller Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 FWIW solace, I agree with you. The creative zenith of DBT spans from SRO through TDS. Coming on board in 2001 while the band was on the road supporting SRO, Jason Isbell was a significant part of that era. I like Go-Go Boots, but it is not in the same league as SRO, DD, and TDS. Once the excitement/giddiness surrounding a new release subsides, I think the vast majority of Trucker Nation will agree with that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 After a couple of spins, I'm really liking the new one. Agree with Pulaski but I Do Believe is also extremely catchy. Although I miss Isbell, the timing seemed right to me. Great to see him solo. I do think Cooley should have picked up the slack rather than Shonna though. Her songs are nice but just don't fit the Truckers albums well to me. I'll have to check out that dockumentary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ih8music Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 After a couple of spins, I'm really liking the new one. Agree with Pulaski but I Do Believe is also extremely catchy. Although I miss Isbell, the timing seemed right to me. Great to see him solo. I do think Cooley should have picked up the slack rather than Shonna though. Her songs are nice but just don't fit the Truckers albums well to me. I'll have to check out that dockumentaryI agree 100%. Even though her songs on GGB show significant improvement over her previous work, her voice just doesn't fit with what I think of when I want to listen to them. And for comparison I almost always want more Cooley on their albums, this one included. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iamnotjerry Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Had the MP3 and Flac DL for a few days and now my beloved 180 gram Vinyl is here~! I now have all the DBT records on vinyl~PEACE jorge Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CortezTheKiller Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I do think Cooley should have picked up the slack rather than Shonna though.They were predominantly a two-man songwriting operation before Jason came on board. I don't understand why they didn't go back to this once he was gone. Shonna isn't terrible, but I do not consider her to be in the same league as Patterson or Cooley. A contribution every 2 albums or so (a la Rob Malone) seems reasonable. Plus, Patterson is so damn prolific there really isn't that big a void to fill. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
suites Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 They were predominantly a two-man songwriting operation before Jason came on board. I don't understand why they didn't go back to this once he was gone. Shonna isn't terrible, but I do not consider her to be in the same league as Patterson or Cooley. A contribution every 2 albums or so (a la Rob Malone) seems reasonable. Plus, Patterson is so damn prolific there really isn't that big a void to fill. She only has 1 song really...the other is a cover. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CortezTheKiller Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 She only has 1 song really...the other is a cover.Should we ignore the 2 previous records? BTCD:"I'm Sorry Huston""Home Field Advantage""The Purgatory Line" TBTD:"You Got Another""(It's Gonna Be)/ I Told You So" Plus, the bonus track (which I've yet to hear in its studio form) on GGB, "I Hear You Hummin" is hers as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
suites Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Should we ignore the 2 previous records? BTCD:"I'm Sorry Huston""Home Field Advantage""The Purgatory Line" TBTD:"You Got Another""(It's Gonna Be)/ I Told You So" Plus, the bonus track (which I've yet to hear in its studio form) on GGB, "I Hear You Hummin" is hers as well. Yes just Ignore....lol Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Love this album. Pretty solid #2 of the year so far. I'm a pretty new DBT fan (only heard Decoration Day, Go Go Boots, Fine Print and Blessing and a Curse) but I saw them in October and loved it. I like Cooley and Patterson a lot more than Isbell anyway, so his not being around anymore isn't a big issue for me. GGB is a bit too long, but I don't really know what I'd cut. Lots of terrific songs that have been stuck in my head for a while now. Great album. Probably gonna end up viewing this the same way I view Evil Urges. Admittedly not their best, but it's the first new release since I got into the band, so I'll likely always hold it in higher regard than a lot of longterm fans. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
you ever seen a ghost? Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 what's number one Shakes? is it The King of Limbs or is it the SFA solo dude's record? -justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pmancini100 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I have to agree with the general sentiment here. I liked 'I'm Sorry Huston.' But 'Dancin' Ricky?' Not so sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 what's number one Shakes? is it The King of Limbs or is it the SFA solo dude's record? -justinHotel Shampoo, easily. Don't see that changing, even with just about everyone I like releasing something this year. King of Limbs hasn't done much for me yet. Pleasant listen, then I can't remember any of it immediately afterwards. But I'll readily admit Radiohead's electronic stuff isn't my favorite side of them. It's still early though. Three listens is not near enough to judge. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 i like this new one a lot. i think they need to make a nice tight 10 song album with a balance for rockers and ballads from both cooley and hood. i reckon this will happen in 20 years when they've been broken up for 15 years and finally get back together and record as hood and cooley. TBTD was really bogged down by shonna's tunes, especially 'you got another'. that is not good song given that the tunes on BTCD were basically gems and a nice break in a long album. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 So far it's either go go boots or Let England Shake by PJ Harvey that I have enjoyed the most this year and keep going back to for more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I'm on my third listen right now, and I have to say Go-Go Boots is soooo much better than the last album. I'm not crazy about "I Do Believe" or "Dancing Ricky," but it's pretty good otherwise. I know it's one of the covers, but I especially enjoy "Everybody Needs Love." Patterson's vocals are so soulful on that one (and I'm normally more of a Cooley kind of girl). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Finally got through the whole album. Thank goodness, too, because Mercy Buckets is the only good song on here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Finally got through the whole album. Thank goodness, too, because Mercy Buckets is the only good song on here. And yet you think the new Radiohead is a near-masterpiece. Our heads are in 2 different places. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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