Decoration Day

( 2 )

Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Mark Deming
For a musician, the trouble with making your best album is you have to figure out a way to top it next time out, and that isn't always easy. On their first three albums, the Drive-By Truckers were a better-than-average band from the harder-and-faster end of the alt-country spectrum who blended Replacements-esque snot and slop with a Lynyrd Skynyrd-influenced shot of twangy hard rock. But it was when the Truckers confronted the ghost of Skynyrd as well as the often confusing legacy of both Southern rock and what DBTs leader Patterson Hood calls "the duality of the Southern thing" that they finally achieved greatness; Southern Rock Opera was that modern rarity, a successful ...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Mark Deming
For a musician, the trouble with making your best album is you have to figure out a way to top it next time out, and that isn't always easy. On their first three albums, the Drive-By Truckers were a better-than-average band from the harder-and-faster end of the alt-country spectrum who blended Replacements-esque snot and slop with a Lynyrd Skynyrd-influenced shot of twangy hard rock. But it was when the Truckers confronted the ghost of Skynyrd as well as the often confusing legacy of both Southern rock and what DBTs leader Patterson Hood calls "the duality of the Southern thing" that they finally achieved greatness; Southern Rock Opera was that modern rarity, a successful concept album, a thoughtful examination of race and class in America, and a superb, balls-out hard rock album wrapped up in one proudly homemade package. The brilliance of Southern Rock Opera certainly upped the ante for the DBTs' follow-up, and it would be a lie to say Decoration Day is just as remarkable as the album that preceded it. But Decoration Day is every bit as ambitious a work as Southern Rock Opera, broadening the band's sound and style while staying true to their ideals and approach. If you're looking for tough, Southern-styled rock, "Marry Me," "Careless," and "Do It Yourself" offer it up in spades and "Hell No, I Ain't Happy" sounds like it could be a new generation's "Take This Job and Shove It"; but the quiet bad-seed ballads "The Deeper In" and "Heathens" and the tragic love songs "My Sweet Anette" and "Sounds Better in the Song" all display a subtlety and restraint one might not have expected from this band, while still boasting the flinty honesty of the Truckers' best work. Decoration Day lacks the narrative cohesion of Southern Rock Opera, but all of these songs are informed by the experience of living and dying in the Deep South, described with a deeply felt compassion but with no false illusions, and the DBTs draw their portraits with a deep and telling eye for the details; Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp never wrote a Farm Aid song as bitter and pointed as "Sink Hole," while "Outfit" and the title tune both celebrate a man's Alabama heritage while examining the toll it has claimed of his sons. Somber and smart, Decoration Day also manages to kick like a mule, and if isn't the same sort of masterpiece as Southern Rock Opera, it's strong enough to suggest the Drive-By Truckers may have a handful of masterpieces up their sleeves.
Rolling Stone - Christian Hoard
[Hood's] whiskey-soaked self-pity still makes for the best new-school Southern rock you can buy.
Spin Magazine - Joe Gross
A raging, ragged Behind the Music -- 15 coal-black odes to the casualties that art leaves behind and that life can't avoid. (A)
Blender - John Ratliff
The Truckers bring new changes to the old riffs in songs that are as much about atoning on Sunday morning as they are about partying on Saturday night.

A raging, ragged Behind the Music -- 15 coal-black odes to the casualties that art leaves behind and that life can't avoid. (A)
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 6/17/2003
  • Label: New West Records
  • UPC: 607396604722
  • Catalog Number: 6047
  • Sales rank: 29,381

Album Credits

Performance Credits
Drive-By Truckers Primary Artist
David Barbe Guitar, Keyboards, Wurlitzer, Piano (Upright)
John Neff Pedal Steel Guitar
Spooner Oldham Wurlitzer, Soloist
Mike Cooley Guitar, Vocals, Group Member
Bob Spires Harmony
Patterson Hood Guitar, Vocals, Group Member
Jason Isbell Guitar, Vocals, Group Member
Earl Hicks Bass, Group Member
Brad Morgan Drums, Group Member
Clay Leverett Harmony
Scott Danborn Fiddle
Technical Credits
David Barbe Producer, Engineer
Dick Cooper Facility Consultant
Glenn Schick Mastering
Wes Freed Visuals, Cover Art
Lilla Hood Art Direction
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 2 )
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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    I Hate Coutry Music! but. . .

    Generally, I hate country music or anything where the lyrics are sung in a thick twang. But after listening to "My Sweet Annette" I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! If you think you don't like country but have a knack for Counting Crows or other quasi-alternative bands. . . give this a try!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 18, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews