It took several listens but Honky Tonk is a masterpiece

Mark Spencer · Post by **Mark Spencer** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 11:43 pm

farrarfan1 wrote:I just don't like country music at all,

Based on your handle, this has to be one of the weirdest statements I've heard yet.

JWB56 · Post by **JWB56** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:48 am

On Chant and Strum does it for me, the bonus songs turn The Search into a classic album.

calexico · Post by **calexico** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:21 pm

Old man!

What's happening? Fucking Hawkwind fans getting all uppity here in the honky tonk!

Drop me an e-mail and let me know what's the haps.

farrarfan1 · Post by **farrarfan1** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:46 pm

I just don't like country music at all, and, I don't really care all that much for love songs. Up until now SV hasn't entered into that genre of music and now they have on both counts. After several listens I find myself mainly just listening to Down the Highway, Angel of the Blues and Shine On. Those three are about as good as anything he's ever written.

But, it's cool to get something new, and now the wait for the next one begins...

turpentim · Post by **turpentim** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:46 pm

farrarfan1 wrote:Honky Tonk is better than The Search and Okemah, but well behind ACD.

It's really interesting the range of opinions on this issue... I think 'Honky Tonk' is heads and shoulders better than anything else SV2 has done, and ACD is likely my least favorite of the bunch. 'Honky Tonk' is even perhaps as good as anything SV1 ever did (time will tell...). There's not a track on HT that isn't brilliant. Every other SV2 record has at least one song that I tend to skip ('Ipecac', 'Sultana,' 'Slow Hearse,' etc.). This one is PERFECT. Wouldn't change a thing.

Tim in the ATL

farrarfan1 · Post by **farrarfan1** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:25 pm

Honky Tonk is better than The Search and Okemah, but well behind ACD.

calexico · Post by **calexico** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 6:51 am

I went with ACD for the moment with The Search and Hony Tonk running neck and neck in second. I really do like Honky Tonk a whole lot though. Okemah, I don't think I've listened to in years.

unchartedthickets · Post by **unchartedthickets** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:01 am

in agreeance with, too early to tell, with any deliberate rating but.....
HT is a sweet album. sweetly played and sweetly sung with Guthrie
and Keroauc looming large. i think this is a masterpiece. i have no reservation in saying Honky Tonk beats ACD. agree with the assessment that one doesn't feel the need to skip songs. my testing ground has been three days of laying cobble stone on my knees, giving penance and letting the ipod repeat Honky Tonk indefinitely. i only do this with special albums. ACD has beautiful songs but the album isn't as consistent as HT.

The Search and OATMOR are different animals, apples and oranges to HT. these aforementioned albums still hold up with repeat listens, still take up space on the ipod, still offer a fresh reprise within the SV canon yet...HT is subtle, succulent, swaggering, and lyrically fierce. it is a new evolution in "Real Country Music". gone are the literal badonkadonks , whiskey and beers, dead dawggs and pick'em up trucks and in their place - the ghosts of Guthrie and Kerouac, alongside Jones, Jennings, Haggard, Williams, Frizzell, Nelson, Rodgers, Tubb, Owens, etc...
delivered through a fella who has stacked indie hit after indie hit . thank you Jay. fuck man, you nailed it aaaaaagainnnn!

so i didn't follow my opening logic. got too enthralled with hyperbole but i still think HT is beautiful. i love Jay's other work but he should be extremely proud of this latest effort, it's that good. ThatBeat mentioned early on that this album has a sawdust on the floor, dance with your partner, beer and a shot feel. that paraphrasically and simply sums it up!

Megaballs6 · Post by **Megaballs6** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 7:50 am

I always thought live "Joe Citizen Blues" should have been some coast to coast anthem...subtle, great words, not in your face. 2005

There's no justice in this world sometimes when great artist's work slips thru the cracks

Tokyo Fan · Post by **Tokyo Fan** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 7:32 am

I think it is too early to include Honky Tonk in an overall poll. Albums take time to seep in. Just my opinion.

I voted for Okemah, which kinda surprised me. I got all four albums out and immediately had to put Honky Tonk aside for the above referenced reason. That left the three and I started looking down to see if there were songs that I skipped. I found "skippers" on The Search and American Central Dust but none on Okemah. And then to have rediscovered the TWO DVD's that are a part of the package. Put it this way, this album was so good that Joe Citizen Blues was one of the three tracks that didn't get included. That kinda says it all.

Okeman · Post by **Okeman** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:06 am

I consider "On Chant And Strum" to be a true masterpiece. Still need to spend a lot of time with "Honky Tonk", however as many here have said, Jay doesn't make a bad record.

Left A Slide · Post by **Left A Slide** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:36 pm

Weird, I had to vote for the search. While the instrumentation isn't always my favorite, the song writing is some of his most consistent. I have to say I'm not a big fan of the new one. Down the highway is one of his best, but I'm not finding much else that is turning my crank. Honestly find myself listening to Artifacts more.

thatbeat · Post by **thatbeat** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:21 am

agreed with Monk-as far as the Son Volt evolutions go- i enjoyed Okemah more than the Search by a country mile, ACD was ok but never hit me like Trace, Straightaways, WST did... until Honky Tonk came along...

its not this long drawn out album, its short, sweet, beautifully played and sung, no eleborate horn section or droning guitar, no filler tunes here..the title is what it is...

Monkmusic · Post by **Monkmusic** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:10 am

After dozens of listens I've realized that this is the first Son Volt album since WST that I don't feel the need to skip a song or two here and there. I voted for the new one.

Trellis · Post by **Trellis** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:49 am

I voted ACD, with Search a close second. Adrenaline and Heresy, and Methamphetamine, are two really great SV tracks, but when I'm listening to a whole SV2 album, it's ACD first, these days at least.

Jay Farrar

It took several listens but Honky Tonk is a masterpiece

Best Album of Son Volt 2.0?