Customer Reviews

Alabama Ass Whuppin

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Alabama Asswhuppin'" is truly representative of the best of the real Drive By Truckers. As Patterson Hood says in the liner notes "left rough and ragged just like the devil intended". Recorded in 1999 to 2000 when Rob Malone was still playing with them, it's as close as you can get to seeing them live during those days. For those of you who never got to see them play in a smoke filled club while drinkin' lots of whiskey. Pour yourself one and turn it up!

When I was a teenager and I wanted to get a decent overview of a band I didn't know much about, I would try to pick up a band's live album to see what songs I liked. The songs I liked would then be searched out and the appropriate studio albums purchased by the band thereafter. The unfortunate thing is that over time, I grew to believe that live albums were usually inferior to the songs on the studio counterpart. This is only untrue with the Cheap Trick at Budokan album (albums, if you didn't know there were two at one time) and the first three studio albums those live album tracks are taken from.

The latest album released by the Truckers as I write this is "The Dirty South." Since I now have all of the studio albums by the Truckers, I decided to pick this CD up to complete my collection. There are only three songs on this album not available on studio albums, "Don't Be in Love around Me," "People Who Died" (a Jim Carrol tune - yes, the same guy who wrote "The Basketball Diaries") and "The Avon Lady" which is more of a spoken-word piece with musical accompaniment.

For the most part, the songs are straightforward counterparts of the studio versions, in some cases more rockin', since nearly 60% of "Gangstabilly" is done with acoustic instruments. Such is the case for "Too Much Sex, Too Little Jesus." You get an extra spoken-word intro to "18 Wheels of Love" which is pretty funny and adds a little to the story behind the tune. "Margo and Harold" sounds the most different from its studio counterpart. I like the studio version better, but this version is pretty interesting. This is also the first time anyone had an official release of "Lookout Mountain," which was also released on the Trucker's latest, "The Dirty South." This version is a just a little more grungy, or slower than that studio version.

This is a nice collection, but like most live albums, it falls short of the studio versions. And if you're a Truckers fan, it is well known that they allow taping of their shows, which usually run the length of two and a half to three hours. This effort pales in comparison. This was a good collection, which covered basically the Trucker's first two studio releases and had an additional 4 songs that no one had heard at the time.

If you are just getting to know the Drive By Truckers from their recent classic "Southern Rock Opera," then you might not be ready for "Alabama Ass Whuppin'." "AAW" is as ragged and sloppy as "SRO" is polished and professional. The album was recorded before the "SRO" sessions, and therefore does not contain any songs from the band's breakthrough album. Even taking that into account, however, the track selection is strange. DBT's two best pre-SRO songs, "Bulldozers and Dirt" and "Nine Bullets," are not included.

Of the material that does appear, the best performance is on the autobiographical "18 Wheels of Love," featuring a lengthy spoken word intro by Patterson Hood that is remeniscent of "Wallace" from SRO. Also strong are the Aids victim tribute "The Living Bubba" (with another spoken word intro), the acerbic "Steve McQueen" and "The Avon Lady." Unfortunately, some of the other performances, like "Too Much Sex (Too Little Jesus)" and "Margo and Harold," come off flat and do not transcend the studio versions. ...

This is a great live album!! Not only does it give you a wonderful introduction to the Truckers it's a fine representation of their live show as well. In my opinion this was the turning point for the band and is it's caught on tape. CHECK IT OUT!!!

I bought this cd after I heard such good things about DBT. It seems to be tough to find any of their music in regular (not online) stores. I saw Alabama Ass Whoopin', and figured I'd give it a listen. A few of the tracks are good for a chuckle, particularly the storytelling on tracks 6 & 7. The music is good, but the live performance is a bit rough around the edges. All in all, this album is not bad, and I will be sure to check out their more polished (studio) efforts.

If it's got a bad word in the title it must be worth listening to. And it's excatly what I'm going to give my children if they say that bad word. But, Mmm, Mmm, the music sure does have a twang that makes a person want to slap his mama.

Lucy Adams, author of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny

This is out-of-print & hard-to-find.
I found one on ebay for a good price, but one needs to search.

I've toured much of the south with my many cover bands and this album title caught my attention. I asked Burns, do you think someone will beat us up if we go to Alabama? He said that an old wise man in Tecumsuh told him that indian legend has it that if you cross the alabama border for the first time, three men in an old truck are waiting at the border to give you your alabama ass whuppin. Well, I was a little worried because my adam ant one man tribute show was getting ready to hit the state of alabama and I evidentally was going to be challenged. I was ready. I rode my honda spree across the border and sure enough three guys were sitting in an old F-150 waiting for me. They pulled me over and asked if I was ready for my whuppin. I told them no and that I was going to destroy them by myself and sleep with the hottest of their sisters. Sure enough I did three crane kicks and picked the hottest sister to have relations with. My Adam Ant show sold out all over the south and no one from Alabama ever bothered me again. I'm awesome.