The Complete Dirty South

by Drive-By Truckers

Overview

After five years of playing anyplace that would have them and cutting three albums they released themselves, the Drive-By Truckers finally made a breakthrough in 2001 with Southern Rock Opera, a two-disc concept album about "the Duality of the Southern Thing" and the life and (literal) death of a band not unlike Lynyrd Skynyrd. The album's unanimously positive reviews and impressive indie sales led to the DBT's scoring a deal with Lost Highway Records, Universal's roots music imprint, which reissued Southern Rock Opera and signed on to release the follow-up. Lost Highway had already distributed promo copies of 2003's Decoration Day when they chose not to release it after all, and the band scrambled to find a new home, with New West rushing the album out three months after Lost Highway's original release date came and went. The following year, the DBT's turned in their next studio effort, a projected double set called The Dirty South, but New West balked, insisting the band trim it down to a single CD, and perhaps weary of music biz drama, they acquiesced and cut three songs from the set list. The edited version was a commercial and critical success, with many fans and critics citing it as their best album, but the band never forgot how the album was supposed to be, and in 2023, the Drive-By Truckers and New West partnered to release The Complete Dirty South. The "Director's Cut" edition restored the intended sequence with the addition of the songs "TVA," "The Great Car Dealer Wars," and "Goode's Field Road" (they re-cut the latter for 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark), while group leader Patterson Hood revised his lyrics and recut his vocals for "Puttin' People on the Moon" and "The Sands of Iwo Jima." Trying to improve an album that was already a standout in a band's catalog is a calculated risk, and The Complete Dirty South isn't radically superior to the album they put out in 2004. That said, the expanded release does have a smoother narrative flow, the unheard tracks are certainly up to the standards of the rest of the set, especially Jason Isbell's powerful "TVA" (though the Brighter Than Creation's Dark version of "Goode's Field Road" cuts a stronger groove), and the remastering makes a real difference, giving the material a stronger and bolder sound that flatters the band's three-guitar attack. Nearly 20 years after it was released, these stories of people struggling with the weight of the past and the burdens of the present day haven't dated a bit; in fact, they feel even more timely in the 2020s. Anyone who enjoyed The Dirty South as it appeared in 2004 will find The Complete Dirty South rewarding, and those who haven't heard it owe it to themselves to hear it in uncompromised form. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/16/2023
Label:	New West
UPC:	0607396572410
Rank:	18852

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Drive-By Truckers   Primary Artist
Patterson Hood   Piano
John Neff   Pedal Steel
Jason Isbell   Piano,Wurlitzer,Mellophone,Fender Rhodes,Vocals (Background),Guitar (12 String Electric)
David Barbe   Piano,Director,Fender Rhodes,Vocals (Background)
The Minor Hill Singers   Vocals (Background)
Mike Cooley   Banjo,Harmonica
Clay Leverett   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Patterson Hood   Composer,Liner Notes
Greg Calbi   Mastering,Remastering
Jason Isbell   Composer
David Barbe   Mixing,Producer
John Agnello   Mixing
Mike Cooley   Composer
Daniel Rickard   Engineer
Kevin Morris   Management
Marcus Thompson   Assistant
Wes Freed   Artwork,Paintings
Lilla Hood   Art Direction
Jimmy Nutt   Assistant
Christine Stauder   Management
Ben Hackett   Engineer
Matt Etgen   Project Manager