hypersongs

Southern Rock Opera

The double album that made the band, recorded above a uniform shop.
Drive-By Truckers, 2001

The release date is contested between September 12 and September 25, 2001. Dick Cooper and Earl Hicks engineered and Rodney Mills mastered; the sessions ran in an early-September heat wave with fans turned off for takes, and Hood later called it a miserable time making it. The idea predates the band, a discussion between Hood and Hicks on a road trip, and Hood told Pollstar the album sprang out of boredom touring in a van. Per a Wikipedia statement flagged citation needed, the band issued a prospectus offering investors 15% interest and raised $23,000 through their online newsgroup. Disc one is Act one, Betamax Guillotine; disc two is Act two. Kelly Hogan sang backing vocals, credited as Cassie Gaines. Metacritic scores it 86, AllMusic gave 5 stars, Christgau an A-minus, calling it three-guitar heaven, and Cooley told WBHM it is the one everybody comes back to.

Track listing

  1. Days of Graduation2:36
  2. Ronnie and Neil4:52
  3. 72 (This Highway's Mean)5:26
  4. Dead, Drunk, and Naked4:51
  5. Guitar Man Upstairs3:17
  6. Birmingham5:03
  7. The Southern Thing5:08
  8. The Three Great Alabama Icons6:51
  9. Wallace3:27
  10. Zip City5:16
  11. Moved4:17
  12. Let There Be Rock4:19
  13. Road Cases2:42
  14. Women Without Whiskey4:19
  15. Plastic Flowers on the Highway5:04
  16. Cassie's Brother4:58
  17. Life in the Factory5:28
  18. Shut Up and Get on the Plane3:38
  19. Greenville to Baton Rouge4:11
  20. Angels and Fuselage8:00

More from Drive-By Truckers

Gangstabilly (1998), Alabama Ass Whuppin' (2000), Decoration Day (2003), The Dirty South (2004), A Blessing And A Curse (2007), Brighter Than Creation's Dark (2008), The Big To-Do (2010), Go-Go Boots (2011), English Oceans (2014), It's Great To Be Alive! (2015), American Band (2016), The New OK (2020), The Unraveling (2020), Plan 9 Records July 13, 2006 (2020), Welcome 2 Club XIII (2022)

Sources

  1. Southern Rock Opera, Wikipedia
  2. Southern Rock Opera revisited, WBHM (2024-07-26)
  3. Patterson Hood on touring Southern Rock Opera, Pollstar (2024-06-04)