Terroir Blues

Jay Farrar | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 24, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Artemis Records
• ASIN: B00009KDR9
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,343 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. No Rolling Back

2. I

3. Hard Is The Fall

4. Fool King's Crown

5. II

6. Hanging On To You

7. Cahoklan

8. Heart On The Ground

9. Out On The Road

10. All Of Your Might

11. III

12. California

13. Walk You Down

14. IV

15. Dent County

16. Fish Fingers Norway

17. V

18. Hanging On To You II

19. Hard Is The Fall II

20. Jam

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Album Of The Year So Far, July 17, 2003

By 

darya cowan (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terroir Blues (Audio CD)

As Steve Earle says at most of his shows before he plays one of Jay's songs, Jay Farrar is one of the finest songwriters in the country. And Terroir Blues is one of his best albums.

This album is a collection of songs Farrar wrote around the time his father was dying. The lyrics deal with pain, loss, cherishing the past and looking toward the future. And as with most of Farrar's work, a look at the American landscape, both it's beauty and bleakness, as only he can. Musically, most of the songs feature Farrar's acoustic guitar strumming, accented by Mark Spencer and Eric Heywood's slide guitar and lap steel. There's a beautiful piano based song about Farrar's father called "Dent County." One song features a cello, another a flute, each winding its way alongside Farrar's guitar and incomparable voice. "Fool King's Crown" features a funky electric slide sitar. The album also has 6 short electronic interludes Farrar calls Space Junk that help shape the album. At worst, the space junk doesn't bother you and is over before you know it. But I think it breaks up and adds to the album nicely and keeps a solid flow all the way through.

The songs on Terroir Blues are not feel good country rock. But they have great hooks and melodies all the same, and finely crafted tunes. Terroir Blues grabs you at first listen and gets better and better the more you play it. It's an album that demands to be heard on a good set of headphones.

I have to laugh at a couple of the reviews I've seen posted here so far. Someone who says to be a longtime fan of Farrar's work says Jay has hit rock bottom with this one. There seems to be a few old Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt fans who don't want to hear anything from Jay that's not exactly like his great work with those bands. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to give this album 2 stars and to say Farrar has hit rock bottom is a joke. It's a great album. I like it as much as Son Volt's "Trace."

And another reviewer complains that he looked up the word "Terroir" in the American Heritage dictionary and can't find it. Terroir is a French word that is not easily defined but a fairly close definition is the delicate balance between nature and man. That's much of what the album is about. This is music that hits you hard, touches your soul and makes you think.

Near the end of the album there are 4 alternate takes of songs heard earlier. To me, this is just a great bonus. Instead of having to find these takes on a B-side or on the Internet, they're right there on the album to do what you want with.

The worst I've heard about this album from anyone without an agenda is that they either liked it but didn't love it at first - or that they didn't know what to make of it all at first listen - but that it's the kind of album that makes you want to spin it again and the more you listen to it, the better it gets. I agree it gets better with each listen, but it grabbed me right away.

Comparisons between Farrar and his former partner in Uncle Tupelo, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, are getting old and tiresome. The only comparison worth mentioning anymore is that both are responsible for some of the best American music the last dozen years or so. Bottom line, if you like Farrar's work in Tupelo or Son Volt, you should get Terroir Blues.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars hello, again, old friend, September 18, 2003

By 

Brian Jirousek (White Plains, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terroir Blues (Audio CD)

Okay, I admit this is the first I've listened to Jay in quite some time. I think I lost interest sometime after "Trace" when I felt like he was just spinning his wheels. If anything, the buzz about this being a more "experimental" release (which seems to have ticked off few people) is actually what brought me back to give this a spin. Truth be told, Jay's experiments here aren't anything earth-shattering (some backwards effects, a few odd echoes here and there, and some alternate takes), but just the fact that he's willing to put forth such a raw effort is heartening. There are some truly beautiful moments here. The sparseness reminds me some of UT's "March" album, but still feels like a move forward. Not necessarily an easy listen, but why should it be? Overall, I like it. Its true that this one isn't likely to win many new converts, but that's only because a lot of people unfortunately probably won't ever get to hear this.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love it or leave it, it's a great offering!, September 10, 2003

By 

The Mascara Snake (Deepintheheartof Appalachia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terroir Blues (Audio CD)

Maybe this isn't quite what people who have too many expectations about what "alt country" "should be" are into, but who cares? This is a great album and it's gonna end up being one of my top favorite albums of this year! I couldn't believe the overall negitve tone of some of the reviews I've read. I think that the previous stuff this man has put out is all good enough to last me a very long time, and I really respect the fact that he dosen't seem too interested in rehashing/reusing the same old moods and sounds. This release proves to me that he is extremeley versatile and a very adept creator of music. If I want "SV" or "UT" then I'll go listen to them! Because I have intrests in a wide variety of music, I won't wear that stuff out for a very long time. It will nourish me for years to come. Farrar is the man because he apparantley can create a musical box, then step outside of it and into another one. All the while retaining his own voice and style. Just like all the masters of Rock, Jazz, and the Folk and Classical musics of the world have done and continue to do.
That being said, the main reason why I like this album is because of the sparse, dark, cold and far away quality of the music. The overall texture, timbre, and feeling of this album really reminds me of the John Lennon song "Across The Universe". When I first listened to this one I got a sneaky feeling that Mr. Farrar might have a vacation home that is a large sattelite/small space station and that he might be broadcasting this stuff down to us on Earth from it.
Coming from an individual who is deeply into Sun Ra, psych and space-rock, the seemingly dreaded "Space Junk" couldn't be more desireable. In my outtawack opinion it really adds a lot to the mood and overall quality of the album as a whole. But then again, I'm not an expert on what "alt country" should and shouldn't be (I'll leave that to the musicians who create it). And I have to mention that this is gonna make incredible winter time listening! Thanks Jay!