Customer Reviews

Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities 2003-2008 [Vinyl]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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This is truly a mixed bag of tracks from Drive By Truckers covering the 2003-2008 period. A true odds and sods collection where you have a total of 12 songs, eight of which have been written by DBT (2 of these are alternate versions of songs from other DBT albums) and 4 excellent cover songs.

Many times these collections from bands don't work that well but that is not the case here. I think the layout of the album is excellent which in my opinion makes the album flow together well. Overall, some excellent songs from the vaults.

The standout DBT songs to me at this point are:

- George Jones Talking Cell Phone Blues - Excellent country rocker from Patterson Hood to kick off the album.

- TVA & When the Well Runs Dry - 2 Excellent Jason Isbell songs. If you enjoyed this period of the DBT you should appreciate these songs. The lyrics to TVA are great.

I think what puts this album over the top for me are the covers:

Play it All Night Long - A Classic Warren Zevon song which DBT absolutely tear up.

Mama Bake a Pie (Daddy Kill a Chicken) - A Tom T. Hall tune which I was not familiar with but great lyrics about a soldier coming home from Vietnam. Very well done.

Like a Rolling Stone - At first I was thinking, Great just what I need is another version of this song but it is Done really nicely with Patterson Hood, Shonna Tucker, Jason Isbell and Mike Cooley each taking a verse and then coming together at the end.. Very nicely done.

I think if you are a DBT fan, it is a must have. I don't think you will be disappointed. If you haven't been exposed to DBT yet and not familiar with their music, I think this isn't a bad place to start!

I must say that I am really impressed with this rarities album. This album is one or two songs from being a great "studio" album. What else excites me is that this oddities album takes me back to the time when the Truckers were making great records that made me feel like it was acceptable to be born and raised in the south. There are so many stereotypes that come along with being from the south but the Truckers wrote songs that made me feel like I was not the only one in my generation who found it difficult to be raised there. To me the last two albums were good but the lyrics seemed to lose their southern charm and they were written more for a wider audience. Lastly, it's great to hear a Jason Isbell song on a Drive by Truckers album. I have tried to like his solo albums but it's not the same as when he was with the Truckers when he too wrote songs about the southern way of life. This is album is absolutely worth getting.

The last few records have really gone downhill in quality for me. I was hoping for some choice nuggets here, but there is little to really get excited about. The first song about George Jones is pretty good and the Christmas song is fun in a twisted sort of way... but the covers are merely average takes

on classic songs. The two "alternate" versions are almost identical to the

originals. "Uncle Frank" is a masterpiece from "Pizza Deliverance" but this

version just sounds murky in a bad sort of way. I did really enjoy the Tom T.

Hall cover "Mama bake a pie..." Patterson Hood did a great job finding and

performing this one, but most of this stuff is forgettable.

To hear Hood talk these songs up in the liner notes - you would think one could not live without this disc. I am here to say you can... and probably

SHOULD live without this record unless you are a diehard fan who has to have

everything DBT.

With a head full of doubt I listened to this album thinking that it was another record company dump of product to capitalize on the band's growing success. But, these are heartfelt renditions of well written songs in a very approachable manner. I've been listening to popular music for over 50 years and this band is still surprising me with their talent and ability to grow creatively, while keeping in touch with the masses and their audience. They remain tied to their country and folk-rock roots while jumping across many supposed genres to tell there stories. It is refreshing to listen to and still holds an edge. This has quickly become one of my favorite Truckers releases.

How to review a bunch of scraps that compose a stronger meal than most? All I know is that after a few, DBT gets thrown on the stereo, and this collection is no exception. A cover of Petty? A cover of Zevon?...on the SAME disc? GOD. Says it all right there, I tell you what.

My upstairs neighbor is making a racket-it's NFL season after all. I sit here in my underwear on my 14th beer of the day with DBT. I'm a rich man.

The last time we'll ever hear Isbell/Patterson/Cooley on the same disc...and it's beautiful.

This is essential for any DBT fan. There is no reason for some verbose review of this album. One just needs to buy it. Everyone is different in their musical taste. Drop less than $10 and you'll be happy. Don't rely on some jackleg like me. Trust your ears and heart.

An assortment of outtakes and covers from the 2000's, "The Fine Print" manages to hold together as a cohesive DBT album thanks to the strength of the material. Apart from the inspired covers, the highlights of the collection have to be two Jason Isbell songs which are Must Haves simply because they add to the too few Isbel/DBT tracks in release, with "TVA" being an instant Isbell keeper, a somber track that would have fit in perfectly with the tales of despair and struggle on "The Dirty South". The bulk of the tracks are Hood's, from the "Carl Perkin's Cadillac"-esque "George Jones Talkin' Cell Phone Blues" (inspired by a near death accident Jones had as a result of talking on his cell phone), the typical Hood narrative "The Great Car Dealer War", and the alternate version of "Goode's Field Road" which lacks the slow burn of the original but nonetheless brings a new dimension to the song. Sadly, Cooley is represented on only two tracks, one of them being an updated "Uncle Frank", which brings new life to a live classic.

It is the covers, however, which push this album to another level. "Rebels" may be the perfect choice for a DBT cover, with every lyric sounding as if it could have been written by Hood's pen in the first place. "Mama Bake A Pie" is an effective war protest song, more subtle than Hood's anti-war efforts from "Brighter Than Creation's Dark". "Play It All Night Long", a live powerhouse, pays tribute to Zevon while lending a Southern edge. And amazingly enough, the cover of "Like A Rolling Stone" works, which in itself is a testament to the band.

This album fails to touch the Holy Three (Southern Rock, Decoration, Dirty) nor does it achieve the majesty of "Brighter", but it is a solid effort and finds that the band has deep pockets.

Just a great LP to kick back with your buds & get a good-buzz-on-too...

What more do you need?

I Love The Truckers (PERIOD.)

DiG... iT

So, I have to admit, I bought Gangsterbilly because of a review I remembered reading in Maxim, and the cover is hilarious, and I had a $10 store credit, and I truly think that Drive by Truckers is a fantastic band. And even though sometimes rarities and b-sides albums are mediocre, there are some great moments. Big Horse and Little Pony is a pretty song, their cover of Mama Bake a Pie is worth the price alone, and a nice cover of Play it All Night Long, and the out take Great Car Dealer War were a cut above. I'm looking forward to their next album, but this will do in the interim.

This is a must-have for any fan of DBT. A collection of outtakes, covers and rarities from the best era of the band.