The Dirty South

Drive-By Truckers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New West Records
• ASIN: B0002E5OIW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,630 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Alternative Rock > American Alternative > General
  • #17 in Music > Classic Rock > Southern Rock
  • #20 in Music > Country > Americana

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Dirty South is the sixth album by Muscle Shoals, Alabama-based Drive-By Truckers. While previous Southern rock bands have celebrated certain regional mythologies, this quintet revels in the towering glory of small, gritty realities. They can kick up a righteous storm, as on the country lick-filled opener "Where the Devil Don't Stay," or the swamp and fuzzy "Lookout Mountain." However, within the latter is a daunting verse: "If I throw myself off Lookout Mountain, No more for my soul to keep, I wonder who will drive my car, I wonder if my Mom will weep." It's clear these guys deliver emotional wallops at every turn. "Carl Perkins' Cadillac" honors the honesty of Sam Phillips, while writhing in the melancholy of changing times and circumstances. --David Greenberger

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars These Guys Matter!, January 5, 2005

By 

S. Finefrock (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dirty South (Audio CD)

In their heyday, The Clash adopted the motto "The Only Band That Matters". It takes an awful lot of balls to make such a claim, and you had better be able to back it up or be prepared to look pretty foolish. Could you imagine a band like Matchbox 20 making a claim like that with a stright face? Didn't think so. The Drive By Truckers have yet to make such an auspicious claim, but if there is any band out there that could....



Like the Clash, DBT's champion the underdog in the world and offer such a detailed chronicle on the underbelly of life in the Sun Belt(Bible Belt) that it sometimes seems like musical sociology. On top of that they can also hitch their ideas to solid hook filled hard rock.

That being said, though THE DIRTY SOUTH is as strong an album that you will hear this year, it pails alittle when compared to their last two albums, SOUTHERN ROCK OPERA and DECORATION DAY. Patterson Hood, the highest profile of three excellent writers in the band, comes up short on a couple tunes (TORNADOES and THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA), though he does come through on THE BUFORD STICK and LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. Jason Isabell contributes two of the best songs on the record (disk?), with THE DAY JOHN HENRY DIED and GODDAMN LONELY LOVE. Mike Cooley then strikes gold with the hardnosed opener WHERE THE DEVIL DON'T STAY and the nod to their predecessors, The Band, in DANKO/MANUAL.

Anyone who feels that rock has passed it's expiration date need only look to THE DIRTY SOUTH to see that it's still alive and kicking and has original and important thing yet to say. This is music that matters.

7/15/2005. Just an update, Iwrote this about a week after purchasing it. I would now give it five stars withour reservation.

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rich mélange meriting a wide audience, September 15, 2004

By 

loce_the_wizard "loce_the_wizard" (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Dirty South (Audio CD)

Pardon me if I don't keep the adjectives tucked away during this review, but "The Dirty South" deserves some lofty platitudes. The Drive-By Truckers have always embraced---even wallowed---in the traditions, stories, myths, and hallucinations that fuel lore about the South. This rich mélange merits a wide audience, and no doubt will---or should--- swell the numbers of Drive-By Truckers' fans.

Familiar themes of moonshine, cards, John Henry, love, stock car racing, and pride are given fresh treatments. The wonderful Buford Stick presents the flip side of Buford Pusser's legend (Buford is the bad guy here); The Sands of Iwo Jima contrasts the portrayal of reality with the actual reality of WWII; Danko/Manuel offers a bittersweet tribute to the dead members of the Band.

Drive-By Truckers rev up their multiple guitar attack to good effect but the crunching riffs in tracks such as Where the Devil Don't Stay and Daddy's Cup, but they invoke dread and fear through layers of sound in tracks like Tornadoes and Puttin' People on the Moon.

It's a great thing when the lyrics actually mean something, and the depth and allusion here show these folks do their homework. The biting irony of a reference like "I never saw John Wayne on the sands of Iwo Jimo" or to Elvis like "Making money you can't spend ain't what being dead's about" causes one to stop and think.

Throw in some wonderful artwork, well-crafted packing, and 70-plus minutes of riveting songs and, well, you have to go with 5 stars for this effort.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CAUTION: DRIVE BY TRUCKERS ARE HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!, October 14, 2005

By 

"Old # 7" (Iron Station, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dirty South (Audio CD)

The Drive By Truckers are highly addictive; people have been hopelessly hooked after just one listening....like I was.

"The Dirty South" is the best CD I have purchased in a number of years. The Truckers have a unique sound and a three-pronged attack of Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, and Jason Isbell. These three have their unique styles but work together like a well oiled machine. As a companion to "The Dirty South" CD, the DVD "Live at the 40 Watt" is an absolute must.

It is difficult to pinpoint what the Truckers' strongest aspect is. All are great; the lyrics, the music, the vocals, the stage presence, the energy....I could on and on.

There is not a bad track on "The Dirty South". Mike's "Where the Devil Don't Stay", "Carl Perkins' Cadillac", "Cottonseed", and "Daddy's Cup" have a hard country drive and over the top lyrics. Mike has one of the best country-rock voice's in the business.

Patterson's songs "Tornadoes", "Puttin' People on the Moon", "The Sands of Iowa Jima", "Boys from Alabama", "The Buford Stick" and "Look Out Mountain" have a hard political bite and shed light on what it means to be a working-class southerner. Patterson also disspells a lot of myths and stereotypes. He makes us think about why things are the way they are. "Putting People on the Moon" is a good example; why does the government spend such outageous amounts of money on things like the aerospace program when there are people dying because they can't get health insurance. "Look Out Mountain" has a heavy metal drive remensicent of Metallica.

Jason's song "The Day John Henry Died", "Danko/Manuel" and "Goddamn Lonely Love" are outstanding. "Danko/Manuel" and "Goddamn Lonely Love" are on the slower, softer side. But the lyrics still hit hard; Jason's music is softer and stays with you long after you've finished listening.

Three song writers of this caliber in one band is extraordinary.
The lyrics to all the songs are phenomenal; I often find myself
reading the lyrics even when the CD is not playing.

The Truckers are coming to nearby Charlotte, NC on November 17 and you can bet your ass I will be there.

If you have been putting off buying this CD, BUY IT NOW! I hope to hear a lot more from the Truckers in the very near future.