Stream Honky Tonk in its entirety

[turpentim]

angel of the blues is a bad motherfucker. i hope it gets used in some high-profile tv drama during a breakup/abortion/execution scene, and that Jay pockets 41million dollars.

jay shouldn't have to fight his way free from us idiots' expectations about him "returning" to country or "returning" to "form." awaiting this record i was frightened - largely because we are left with only press releases and our weird attachments from which to make our own fearful calculations - that we would have to suffer through listening to Son Volt try and shoehorn its way into some imagined past. alas, son volt fans like me do way more of the shoehorning than does son volt, dig? who cares if this sounds more like indie rock dudes who love the byrds playing country than it sounds like jimmy rogers: seriously, who fucking cares? is "authenticity" a thing with our alt-country dudes, now? isn't jay allowed to like PiL even when he asks some bro to skank the dobro? i hope so, jesus.

alb sounds good. i wasn't gonna go see the show in Ann Arbor but now i just gotta go. maybe the four songs that don't devastate me are in fact my fucking problem. or maybe they're no problem at all.

+1 to all of that -- the $41 million, the ridiculous expectations, the imagined past, the imagined authenticity, the fact that the great majority of this record is devastatingly good... Thanks for all of it. Somebody needed to say it.

Tim in the ATL

[seger_and_priest]

angel of the blues is a bad motherfucker. i hope it gets used in some high-profile tv drama during a breakup/abortion/execution scene, and that Jay pockets 41million dollars.

jay shouldn't have to fight his way free from us idiots' expectations about him "returning" to country or "returning" to "form." awaiting this record i was frightened - largely because we are left with only press releases and our weird attachments from which to make our own fearful calculations - that we would have to suffer through listening to Son Volt try and shoehorn its way into some imagined past. alas, son volt fans like me do way more of the shoehorning than does son volt, dig? who cares if this sounds more like indie rock dudes who love the byrds playing country than it sounds like jimmy rogers: seriously, who fucking cares? is "authenticity" a thing with our alt-country dudes, now? isn't jay allowed to like PiL even when he asks some bro to skank the dobro? i hope so, jesus.

alb sounds good. i wasn't gonna go see the show in Ann Arbor but now i just gotta go. maybe the four songs that don't devastate me are in fact my fucking problem. or maybe they're no problem at all.

[Tokyo Fan]

First listen through with the following at the top of my list: Wild Side, Down the Highway, Livin' On, and Angel of the Blues.

Again, after just a once over I find Brick Walls, Tears of Change and Seawall too straight country for me (with perhaps "Brick Walls" a tad up the scale...maybe I'll plant some wheat while listening to this).

Leading up to this new album I went back and listened to American Central Dust again and find that I haven't changed my mind about not caring for "When the Wheels Don't Move" and "Sultana". I also found that I actually like the record version of "Down to the Wire" while really disliking the live version. The only reason I am mentioning this is because I look at the current live set and scratch my head when I see Down to the Wire, When the Wheels Don't Move and Seawall being a part of the set. It's not like there is a lack of a back catalog to draw from! (Yes, I understand that others might really like all of these tunes. In fact, I am assuming that there must be some kind of feedback or input from Someone in order to come up with the set list).

Overall, a good initial impression of the new album.

[camaroheadus]

Thanks!
First impression: nice to have another Jay record; a bit underwhelming. I think I was expecting it to be a bit more honky tonky, and a bit more oldy country.

im with trellis on this one. angel of the blues is outstanding!

[turpentim]

Hey Tim -- Your sig line... What is that from?

It's actually from a song I wrote and have never gotten around to recording... A song about my city. Atlanta has been known historically as the city "too busy to hate" -- an official slogan which sought to disassociate the city from the racial discrimination common throughout the rest of the South. The goal of the slogan was to label Atlanta as a progressive center of commerce in order to attract even more big business. Unfortunately, the slogan is only half true. It's a busy place, no doubt, with lots of big business. But it's also a place of deep racial inequality, no more evident than in the distinction between its wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods (Buckhead and Bankhead respectively). Buckhead has a bunch of bars, high-rise condos, ritzy restaurants, etc., and it's popular with college-age kids and young professionals. Bankhead is home to a major prison, and lots of crime.

Tim in the ATL

[wrecking ball operator]

Hey Tim -- Your sig line... What is that from?

[turpentim]

the first few songs are great, stand alone- they are really good, but i think it kicks in with "Bakersfield" straight thru till the end...

this is by far- MUCH better than ACD.

Agreed on both, except to say that I think "Down the Highway" is where it kicks in (like you said, the first three are great, but from #4 to the end it is just other-worldly). "Down the Highway" is so earnest, so heartfelt, one that I think is instantly one of his best ever. I just love the way he chose to sing the verses, lilting his voice up rather than down at the end of each line. I don't know if that makes sense, but whatever he does just makes it soar, much like 'Still Be Around.'

I have to say too that "Livin' On," "Angel of the Blues," "Barricades," and "Shine On" literally take the wind out of me. All instant classics.

As a whole, this one stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his best ever. Achingly beautiful and sincere. Sublime.

Tim in the ATL

[thatbeat]

the first few songs are great, stand alone- they are really good, but i think it kicks in with "Bakersfield" straight thru till the end...

this is by far- MUCH better than ACD.

[Tupelo Son]

I ordered it and will hear it when it shows up in my mailbox....

[Duckman]

I just f-in love it. Jay has done it again, and I'm back in love.

[Trellis]

Thanks!
First impression: nice to have another Jay record; a bit underwhelming. I think I was expecting it to be a bit more honky tonky, and a bit more oldy country.

[turpentim]

And 'Shine On' is utterly badass. Talk about going out with a bang. I love the constant warble of the guitar, the marching drum beat, and that voice -- that friggin' voice.

This is Jay in his zone. I am so happy.

Tim in the ATL

[turpentim]

ANGEL OF THE BLUES.

Incredible, and unlike anything I've ever heard him do.

Sorry to hear you're not feeling it, Sturg. I, for one, am fucking blown away.

Tim in the ATL

[sturgeongeneral]

wow, didn't think i would get to this point. i hear absolutely nothing unique in this effort. just a regurgitation of american central dust, straightaways, and some effects from the slaughterhouse rule soundtrack. only track with some fascination is the wild side with reservations about that. hell, if i want honky tonk, i'll listen to the real thing; hank, merle, george, webb, conway, ray, etc., etc.

[Huddybud]

Post of the year!