Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation’s Dark Review

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 01.22.2008

DBT returns with a dark and heavy album that’s as deep as it is long…

My Story
I’d heard of the Drive-By Truckers for a while, both through their relentless gigging and then through their acclaimed work on the 2002 breakout release Southern Rock Opera. And while a band that had a reputation as equal parts Lynyrd Skynyrd and R.E.M. sounded both interesting and right up my proverbial alley, I just didn’t feel I had the time to get into a brand new band. That changed in 2004 when my brother wisely picked up The Dirty South, at which point the Truckers jammed three guitars up my ass and DEMANDED my attention. With a body of work now eight superb albums long, that attention was well placed.

Still, even your favorite bands can go through changes. On 2006’s A Blessing And A Curse, DBT seemed to let up a bit on their down and dirty rock side in order to create a unique and different groove. The vibe was there, but the songs just didn’t live up to my lofty opinion of the band. Couple that with the exit of guitarist/singer/songwriter Jason Isbell and you had the potential for a major disappointment when it came to the band’s latest effort. How will DBT hold it together?

Their Story
When the Athens, Georgia-based punk(ish) outfit Adam’s House Cat finally gave up their dreams of success in the mid-90’s, it left guitarists/singers Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley in an interesting position. Both were staring at their 30’s, seeing the work they’d spent their 20’s doing end with little to show. They could’ve given up, gotten straight jobs and chalked it up to youth and experience, but instead the pair of Shoals, Alabama natives decided to give it one more go. And Drive-By Truckers, a mix of southern rock ‘n’ roll and punk sensibility, was born.

In 1998, the band released Gangstabilly via tiny indie label Soul Dump. While the band (which at the time featured third vocalist/guitarist Adam Howell, pedal steel guitarist John Neff and drummer Matt Lane) had been road testing a good deal of new material over their two years together, Gangstabilly was a collection of new songs, proclaimed by Patterson Hood years later as “probably their most country”. Pizza Deliverance, a more rocking collection of newly recorded songs that mostly predated Gangstabilly, followed in 1999. While both Neff and Howell made appearances on the second DBT album, by this time the Truckers officially consisted of Hood, Cooley, Lane and third vocalist/guitarist Rob Malone, though drummer Lane would soon be replaced by Brad Morgan. It was this line-up that would record the psychobilly live set Alabama Ass Whuppin’ in late ’99. That album, which was released via Second Heaven Records, is currently out of print.

By 2000, Drive-By Truckers were not only beginning to solidify as a unit (three of the four members from that era are still there today), but the band was also growing a dedicated fan base thanks to constant touring and a unique internet presence. Still, the Truckers couldn’t have anticipated the huge response that their third studio album would draw. In 2001, they released Southern Rock Opera (with longtime band producer and new bandmate Earl Hicks on bass), once again via Soul Dump. The double CD was a concept album – the story of the rise and fall of the south told via the parallel stories of Lynyrd Skynyrd and an upstart southern rock band. The high minded model was golden in the hands of DBT, a group of Alabama-born musicians who understood the intricacies, music and true good and evil of life below the Mason-Dixon line. The hooky, swampy Southern Rock Opera became DBT’s magnum opus, drawing a four-star review from no less than Rolling Stone magazine. Demand was so high for the CD that DBT signed a new deal with alt-country label Lost Highway, who re-released the album in 2002.

Unfortunately, the success of Southern Rock Opera didn’t come without its complications. Prior to the Lost Highway deal, Rob Malone had left the band, leaving a significant hole in DBT’s signature three guitar/three vocalist attack. The Truckers filled that space with young Alabama-based singer/songwriter Jason Isbell, who proved to be as great a songwriting force as both Hood and Cooley. The group returned to the studio to work on their follow-up, but before the CD could be released, Lost Highway unceremoniously dumped the band from their contract. Luckily, DBT had a full album recorded to shop around to interested new labels and, in 2003, Decoration Day was released via New West. Decoration Day, a mix of hard hitting rock tunes and pointed ballads, became the band’s first charting album, reaching #27 on the Independent Albums list and #29 on the Heatseekers poll.

Another line-up change occurred just as the band set out to record their fifth studio album, as Earl Hicks left the group at the tail end of 2003. DBT brought in young bassist Shonna Tucker to take his place, and the new fivesome went into the studio in early 2004. The result was The Dirty South, a more loosely assembled concept album, once again dealing with the band’s point of origin. The album was a collection of songs about hard living and the mythology of America’s southern states, all set to the backdrop of DBT’s down and dirty guitar riffs. The Dirty South reached #147 on the Billboard 200, the band’s first ever appearance on the main chart. A live DVD, Live At The 40 Watt: The Dirty South, followed in 2005.

In 2006, the band released their sixth studio album, A Blessing And A Curse. It was the first time the same Drive-By Truckers line-up had been featured on two consecutive albums. Blessing was a step into new territory for the band, as DBT explored a richer, more soulful sound, influenced by the classic R&B Muscle Shoals sound, which Patterson Hood’s father, David Hood, was very much a part of. Critics and fans alike respected the change up and A Blessing And A Curse became the band’s highest charting album yet, nearly cracking the Top 50.

Following the release of Blessing, as with all of their other albums, Drive-By Truckers toured extensively. Joining them onstage was former pedal steel guitarist John Neff. In 2007, Jason Isbell exited the group to focus on his solo career and Neff once again became a full-time member. After Isbell’s departure, the new line-up teamed with legendary Muscle Shoals organist Spooner Oldham for an acoustic tour labeled “The Dirt Underneath”. The band would then return to the studio (along with Oldham) to work on their seventh studio album.

The Album
On January 22, 2008, New West Records released Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, the seventh studio album by Drive-By Truckers and their first since the departure of singer/guitarist Jason Isbell. The album is available on both CD and vinyl, as well as through digital services like iTunes.



The Band: 9.0
Patterson Hood: vocals, guitars, piano
Mike Cooley: vocals, guitars, banjo, harmonica
Brad Morgan: drums, tambourine
Shonna Tucker: vocals, bass
John Neff: guitars, pedal steel

With the loss of Jason Isbell, the Truckers not only lost 1/3rd of their songwriting team, but 1/3rd of their triple axe attack. Filling that space on album #8 is DBT veteran John Neff, who not only lends electric and acoustic guitar tracks here and there, but inserts his pedal steel into many of the new album’s arrangements. The result gives this album its overall feel; there’s a lonely darkness here, a universal loneliness that comes with hard choices and the light in the distance that may or may not be your final destination.

Another big change on this album is the emergence of bassist Shonna Tucker as both a singer and a songwriter. Tucker takes lead vocals on three of the nineteen tracks here. While Shonna is no Martina McBride, she does prove to be a great songwriter, and her whisky soaked vocals provide a world worn depth and even a little mystery to her brief paintings of missed opportunities and pained relationships.

For all the changes on Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, many things remain rock solid in the world of DBT. Patterson Hood is still an amazing high harmony singer and thought-provoking frontman, singing songs of the everyday outlaw and prisoners. Brad Morgan is still behind the kit providing the easy beat, while Mike Cooley continues to give the band a swift kick in the ass with his blazing guitar work and his own compositions about shady characters.

Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is a picture of a band that continues to evolve, both through new members and new opportunities to write about new issues, as they remain true to the southern-fried and, yes, intellectual rock that brought them to the game.

The Songs: 8.5
1. Two Daughters And A Beautiful Wife
2. 3 Dimes Down
3. The Righteous Path
4. I’m Sorry Huston
5. Perfect Timing
6. Daddy Needs A Drink
7. Self Destructive Zone
8. Bob
9. Home Field Advantage
10. The Opening Act
11. Lisa’s Birthday
12. That Man I Shot
13. The Purgatory Line
14. The Home Front
15. Checkout Time In Vegas
16. You And Your Crystal Meth
17. Goode’s Field Road
18. A Ghost To Most
19. The Monument Valley

At just over 75 minutes, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is a LONG album. And at nineteen tracks, there’s a wealth of new material to get through. How do the Trucker’s keep such a lengthy effort from weighing you down in its latter stages? One way is by never getting too deep. The songs on the album are all just snapshots, some that tell most of the story, but none that tell it all, allowing the listener’s imagination to run wild and deep. You’ll still be wondering about that man looking for Huston in Track 4 while the gun runner is contemplating his own check out time in Vegas. It’s this lack of depth that actually gives the songs their meaning, as we’re not only allowed to fill in the details, but to also decide the ultimate ends to these characters. It’s what Hollywood wishes they could do and what even the best songwriters have a hard time in doing.

Of course, that’s not to paint Brighter Than Creation’s Dark as a task to listen to. This is still the type of DBT rock record you can just throw on. “The Righteous Path”, for instance, is probably the best riff the band has written in years. Nevermind the fact that it’s story, the tale of a guy who has more debt and problems than answers, but maybe more sense than the next guy, is one of the best portraits of any American guy in his 30’s that has ever been written. Other great rockers like “3 Dimes Down”, “That Man I Shot” (perhaps the other side of the coin to Jason Isbell’s “Dress Blues”), and “Goode’s Field Road” continue the album’s quality of both depth and dancability.

While the more anthemic tracks, like “Self Destructive Zone” (which may be the first ever country rock tribute to the fall of hair bands) stand out, it’s the quieter moments that provide this CD with its soul. The acoustic opener, “Two Daughters And A Beautiful Wife”, is a stark look at the questions of life immediately after death, while “The Opening Act” observes the less than glamorous touring life of a falling star.

To talk about each of these tracks would be giving away the best secrets of Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, but you WILL be talking about them once you’ve heard it. There’s more than meets the eye on each song, and what meets the ear is a hard rock revolution. A continuing tradition for the Drive-By Truckers.

The 411: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark shows the Drive-By Truckers continuing to evolve, but rocking harder than on their previous effort. At nineteen tracks, the album proves that there’s still plenty of gas left in the songwriting tank, and the cuts here are deep and full of questions, much like life itself. Tracks like “The Righteous Path” and “That Man I Shot” are some of the best the band has ever written, but there’s really not a snoozer on this album of highlights. If you wanna know what Drive-By Truckers are all about, you can start here.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]