Customer Reviews

Smoke

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

 

 

Coming off the success of 1990's metallic Fly Me Courageous, which included two FM and MTV hits, Drivin' 'n' Cryin' returned in 1993 with Smoke, another collection of heavy, riff-oriented songs. Although both records were produced and engineered by Geoff Workman, Smoke had a less-polished, raw feel that should have fit right in to the new post-grunge world. But, as they'd done on many prior albums, they (or the label) made a horrible choice for the first single, the uninspired "Turn It Up Or Turn It Off," and the album never took off.

Which is a shame. While not as lyrically strong as prior albums, Smoke still contains some great songs; meaty riffs on insanely heavy opener "Back Against The Wall," the driving title track, the soulful "Whiskey Soul Woman" and Zep-homage "All Around The World."

And while the album is pretty heavy as a whole, fans of the band's lighter (crying) side will find some nice stuff here as well: the haunting dirge "When You Come Back," the wistful feedback of "What's The Difference?" and the slowly building Civil War epic "Patron Lady Beautiful."

Lead singer and songwriter Kevn Kinney has dismissed Smoke as too riff happy, and says he wrote the words to fit the riffs instead of the other way around, but it's still a classic album from one of rock's most underrated bands. Light it up.

As mosh-pit success loomed ever closer for dnc, Island Records pushed them into this riff-heavy follow up to regional smash "Fly Me Courageous." The resulting affair continues the trend toward AC/DC-style brain-pounding rock that had begun with "Malfunction Junction" on the "Mystery Road" album. While the band owes debts to the Stooges, the MC5, the Dictators, other heavy bands from the 70s, much of "Smoke" veers too close to the spandex sounds of the 1980s. Tracks such as "She Doesn't Wanna Go" and "1000 Swings" sell the band short of their nouveau-Crazy Horse potential. Only half of the songs, including "Turn it Up or Turn it Off," "What's the Difference," or "Eastern European Carny Man" does the Georgia quartet remind us what kind of band they had been. The album failed to "break" dnc to a nationwide audience, but it did "break" them with Island and with guitarist Buren Fowler. When dnc returned after "Smoke," they steered as far away from the hard rock excesses as possible. For an interesting comparison, listen to frontman Kevn Kinney's 1994 solo album "Down Out Law," which showcases a number of songs squeezed from "Smoke" to make room for more head-banging.

I recently purchased this cd through the Amazon marketplace for only a few bucks. It was well worth it. Granted, this album may take a few listens to appreciate, but it is well worth the patience. It is harder rockin' than "Fly Me Courageous". My favorite tracks are "Turn It Up Or Turn It Off", (which I think has some poignant lyrics despite its hard rockin melodies),"Eastern European Carny Man","Whiskey Soul Woman" and the quirky "Patron Lady Beautiful". Definitely worth it if you can get it cheap like I did.

Hard Rock has taken many forms since its inception five decades ago when The Kinks first used makeshift distortion; drivin n cryin have added to the genre with "Smoke" - a multidimensional, layered work that employs driving guitar riffs and heavy drum kicks. The album, with two exceptions, is loud, brutish, harmonic, and highly cohesive. Kevn Kinney's lyrics are thoughtful with tinges of aggravation, frustration, and hopefulness. "Turn it Up or Turn It Off" is a brilliant song as are "Back Against the Wall" and "Whisky Soul Woman". This CD simply isn't one to fall asleep to.

This DNC cd comes out of nowhere and hits the pedal for some 90's hard rockin southern metal. It still holds up and most songs are good. I missed this one back in the day. DNC Smokes through this underated cd. Original lineup in tact, go see them live!!

This is probably my second favorite D&C album. MYSTERY ROAD is my favorite. If you like heavy guitar riffs, than this album is for you. To me the best tracks are "Back Against The Wall", "Patron Lady Beautiful", "She Doesn't Wanna Go", and "Whiskey Soul Woman". The songwriting may not be the best, but, the guitars really rocks!. So if you like the hard-rocking version of D&C check this album out.

For a band once labelled as quirky rootsy rockers, this effort doesn't half sound like AC/DC as in 'She Doesn't Wanna Go' or -gulp!- Motorhead even. On the flipside their more familiar style does bring to mind ol' Cranky himself, Bob Dylan, particularly on 'What Difference Does It Make'. However my main gripe with 'Smoke' is that it lacks fire. I dunno, but at times the music's too dense, too stodgy and the songs tend to blend into sub-metal riffery with Kenny's raspy vocals dissolving into a whine. But if you stick with it 'Smoke' does send some good signals, the punchy and impassioned 'Eastern European' being a good example, or how about the no-nonsense rocker 'Turn It Up'. A fine live band with a commendable recorded history, but the verdict must be can do better.

DNC is great rock music. I don't know how you would really classify them as they are not metal or hard rock. They just rock and have a unique sound.

loud, hard, and good for the soul

Quirky southern rockers Drivin'N'Cryin' followed up their best album, 1991's masterpiece "Fly Me Courageous," with the album that is easily their worst. Whereas "Courageous" is loaded with top notch songwriting and killer hooks, "Smoke" is marred by a decided absence of the same. Even when it starts to take off, like on the intermittentaly powerful "Patron Lady Beautiful," or the beautifully accoustic "What's the Difference," inappropriate sonic intrusions mar the groove. It's as if the band deliberately sabotaged their strengths in an effort to avoid merely repeating their past success. The second half is considerably better than the first, and the best song on the disc is rocking "Whiskey Soul Woman."

Overall, a failed effort that marked the beginning of DNC's unfortunate fade into obscurity. At their best, they were a force to be reckoned with.