Stone, Steel & Bright Lights [LIVE]

Jay Farrar

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 2004)
• Original Release Date: June 8, 2004
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Artemis Records
• ASIN: B00023NCTG
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,982 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #16 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Live Albums > Alt Country & Americana
  #35 in	Music > Rock > Live Albums > Country Rock

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist
Jay Farrar, founder of both Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, is often credited with having started the Alt-Country/Americana genre.

Product Description
Recorded throughout September and October of 2003, as Farrar criss-crossed the country with the DC-based 5-piece, Canyon, as his backing band, Stone Steel & Bright Lights offers a diverse collection of Farrar’s solo career. The album features 2 new originals ("Doesn’t Have to Be This Way" and "6 String Belief"), 15 songs from Farrar’s 3 solo releases, as well as 2 well-chosen covers (Syd Barrett’s "Lucifer Sam" and Neil Young’s "Like A Hurricane). As a bonus, the album package also features an 11-song DVD with performance footage from Slim’s in San Francisco. The new originals, "Doesn't Have to Be This Way" and "6 String Belief", prove to be especially timely eventhough they were written and recorded in 2003. According to Farrar, "'Doesn't Have to Be This Way' reflects the headlines in the newspapers during that period," and frames its surging protest against a "new world of shame" with a chiming piano and mournful lap steel. "6 String Belief" touches on an issue that seems equally close to the songwriter's heart - the strength of rock and roll to renew and redeem itself in moments when it becomes jaded, corrupted and bankrupt. The song, says Farrar, "deals with the idea of rebellion against the status quo in a music industry context. When corporate blitzes and payola reach a saturation point at the mainstream level, it spawns a reaction of good music - a grassroots, do-it-yourself level." He calls the song "two-thirds idealism and one third reality."

Stone, Steel & Bright Lights documents the acrobatic swings from quiet intimacy to guitar roar that typify Farrar's approach to live performance. Resisting the urge merely to regurgitate his studio recordings, Farrar, with Canyon's help, reinterprets, reinvents and offers up new material. As Stone, Steel & Bright Lights unfolds, some of the best songs of Farrar's solo career roll out of the speakers in astonishing new guises or with clever new twists in arrangement or instrumentation. This collection proves that the heart of Farrar's last three records lay not in manipulating tape but in his superb songwriting.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jay Farrar's best work as a "solo" artist, July 6, 2004

By	C. Leitz "carlito72" (ATL, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the name just says Jay Farrar on the title, it is the performance of Canyon in a backup role which makes this such a successful album/DVD combo.

I have been a huge fan of Jay's solo projects, but it seemed as if something was missing from them. In Stone, Steel & Bright Lights Canyon provides a wonderful wall of sound that brings a more vibrant life to the collection of Jay Farrar's songs from his three solo releases. Everyone who was involved with Uncle Tupelo seems more interested in playing with the knobs in the mixing studio than just playing their instruments, the live format prevents Jay from taking that route on his own songs. It is a pleasant diversion for the listeners sake.

The two new songs on this album, Doesn't Have to Be This Way and Six String Belief are very impressive and I think his best creations since Greenwich Time(which I was pleased to see not just on the album but on the DVD as well). For me the highlights of his previous released material were: Vitamins, Feed Kill Chain, All Your Might, Clear Day Thunder, and Cahokian.

The two covers, Lucifer Sam and Like a Hurricane, are simply outstanding both on the album and DVD. It gives both Jay and Canyon a chance to get away from the core material and rock out. And in a way it brings up what I think is the one weakness in this album. It would be nice to see Jay take the same kind of turn it up and spit it out attitude to some of his own songs that he eagerly takes to the covers.

The DVD isn't that flashy, and it has most of the songs that are on the album. However just seeing the on stage antics of one Canyon band member itself is worth several viewings. I prefer the DVD version of the covers to the album versions.

I would hesitate to call this a Best Of album for Farrar's solo work, the ommission of Barstow and more of the original songs on ThirdShiftGrottoSlack was upsetting to me at least, but it is THE place for anyone interested in Jay's solo career to get started.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Live Album, June 19, 2004

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

Stone, Steel and Bright Lights is a great album, and you don't have to be familiar with Farrar's solo work to enjoy it. The album is a live collection of 15 songs from Farrar's solo albums, 2 new (awesome) originals, and 2 killer covers to close the album - Lucifer Sam from the Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and Neil Young's Like A Hurricane. The collection is from Farrar's recent tour with Canyon.

Since Farrar put Son Volt on hiatus, he's done basically 2 types of concerts. One of which is a duo with guitar virtuoso Mark Spencer, although with other musicians joining them occaisonally. Farrar plays mostly acoustic when he plays with Spencer. The two put on a great show and have a real feel for what the other one is doing. But without bass and drums and a full band, it's often a bit mellower version of some of Farrar's tunes. Farrar has a live album of this version of his live show available on his website, called Live In Seattle.

But in the last year, Farrar has gone on the road with a full band, including a couple of tours with Canyon, a 5 piece (at the time) band from the Washington, DC area. And with this lineup, Farrar changes the instrumentation and the arrangements of some songs and, in short, it's great music. The songs with Canyon run the gamut from pretty, mid tempo tunes to full fledged electric rockers. And there are two powerful Farrar solo acoustic songs.

If you've been a Farrar fan from his days in Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt but have dropped him from your radar since he's been solo, this is the album to get to rediscover him. I've heard some people didn't like the heavier production of Farrar's Sebastopol album, others had trouble getting into the quieter sounds of Terroir Blues. (Personally, I love both albums.) But Stone, Steel and Bright Lights takes a half dozen or so of the best of both albums, fleshes them out with a live band, changes up the arrangement on some, adds the great sound from Canyon's 2 guitarists and keyboard player , and the results are outstanding ... the Sebastopol songs have the live feel some think are missing on the studio verson ... the Terroir Blues songs have the muscle that's not on the studio version. A song like Heart on the Ground finishes with explosive Farrar electric guitar .. Fool King's Crown is more electric, harder and bluesier than the studio version, Clear Day Thunder just explodes.

The two new originals are "Doesn't Have To Be This Way", taped at a sound check with the full band and "Six String Belief", which features a tremendous guitar riff, is just Farrar on acoustic guitar. Both song have biting lyrics - the first about the state of our country, the latter about the music industry.

The album also comes with a DVD of a Farrar with Canyon show in San Francisco. Farrar breaks out an awesome bluesy harmonica solo in "Damn Shame" that I've never seen him do on that song. He solos on "Lucifer Sam" before the rest of the band comes out to join him. And "Like A Hurricane" to close the set is thundering.

Farrar has been doing great work since putting Son Volt on hold, although mostly under the radar. Stone, Steel and Bright Lights is an outstanding example of what he's been up to the last few years, and what some fans may have been missing.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant as a jay bird, September 11, 2004

By	Tankery "Tankery" (New Orleans) - See all my reviews

Wilco sounds like an outtake compared to this. With early REM and Neil Young influences, along with his own unique brand of folk and rock Jay is in a class by himself. Canyon adds a great touch to these songs. This is the best live album by anyone in a long, long time. From the opening acoustics to the Like a Hurricane jam at the end, this is a classic live album.
No one should pass on this one.