Flaunting a mix of Southern pride, erudite lyrics, and a muscled three-guitar attack,
Drive-By Truckers became one of the most well-respected
alternative country-rock acts of the 2000s. Led by frontman Patterson Hood and comprising a rotating cast of Georgia and Alabama natives, the band celebrated the South while refusing to paint over its spotty past. History, Southern folklore, politics, and character studies all shared equal space in the
Truckers catalog, which offered up its first blast of gutsy, twangy rock with 1998's
Gangstabilly. However, it was the band's ambitious double-disc concept album,
The Southern Rock Opera, that became their unlikely magnum opus. A two-act affair, the album explored Patterson Hood's fascination with 1970s Southern rock (specifically
Lynyrd Skynyrd) while tackling the cultural contradictions of the South.
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Flaunting a mix of Southern pride, erudite lyrics, and a muscled three-guitar attack,
Drive-By Truckers became one of the most well-respected
alternative country-rock acts of the 2000s. Led by frontman Patterson Hood and comprising a rotating cast of Georgia and Alabama natives, the band celebrated the South while refusing to paint over its spotty past. History, Southern folklore, politics, and character studies all shared equal space in the
Truckers catalog, which offered up its first blast of gutsy, twangy rock with 1998's
Gangstabilly.
However, it was the band's ambitious double-disc concept album,
The Southern Rock Opera, that became their unlikely magnum opus. A two-act affair, the album explored Patterson Hood's fascination with 1970s Southern rock (specifically
Lynyrd Skynyrd) while tackling the cultural contradictions of the South.
In 1985, college friends Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood (whose father, David Hood, was a Muscle Shoals session player whose bass can be heard on
the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There") formed a
punk-inspired band named Adam's House Cat. The group disbanded six years later, and Cooley and Hood launched several follow-up projects before moving to different cities. They eventually reconvened in Athens, GA, where the duo formed
Drive-By Truckers in 1996.
Gangstabilly announced the band's official debut in 1998, while
Pizza Deliverance saw Mike Cooley emerging as a competent songwriter. (The sonic contrast between Cooley and Hood's songs, as well as those compositions written by members Rob Malone, Shonna Tucker, and
Jason Isbell, would soon prove to be one of
the Truckers' strongest assets.) In 2000, the band documented its strength as a live act with
Alabama Ass Whuppin', a concert recording taken from a show in Athens.
The vision for
Drive-By Truckers' heralded
rock opera took shape as Hood began to deeply address his own Southern roots. Recorded during a September heat wave in Birmingham, AL -- and boasting the band's three-guitar attack (à la
Skynyrd) -- the album veered from nervy, powerful
rock & roll to a bruised, jagged tone that recalled
Neil Young & Crazy Horse. It was also an underground success, receiving a four-star rating from Rolling Stone and catching the ear of
roots rock label Lost Highway, which reissued the album in 2002. Unfortunately for the label, many people who would have otherwise purchased the album already owned a copy; unfortunately for
the Truckers, they were released from their contract just as their first album for Lost Highway was finished. After several months of between-label limbo, the band was picked up by New West Records, a Texas-based label that released
Decoration Day in mid-2003. The album featured several songs by newcomer
Jason Isbell, a young singer/guitarist who had replaced Rob Malone two years prior.
Touring and further lineup changes followed the album's release, with bassist Earl Hicks departing and studio musician Shonna Tucker (who was also
Isbell's wife) climbing aboard to join Hood, Cooley,
Isbell, and drummer Brad Morgan. The new lineup made its debut on 2004's
The Dirty South, a concept album that spun Southern tales of small towns, violent sheriffs, and legendary record producers. A concert DVD, Live at the 40 Watt: August 27 & 28, 2004, arrived in 2005, followed by
Isbell's final album with the group, 2006's
A Blessing and a Curse. In light of
Isbell's decision to leave the band in favor of a solo career, pedal steel guitarist John Neff officially joined the lineup in 2007, having contributed to several
Drive-By Truckers albums since 1998.
Brighter Than Creation's Dark then arrived in early 2008, with Shonna Tucker making her first songwriting contributions. ~ Andrew Leahey & Erik Hage, All Music Guide
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