It took several listens but Honky Tonk is a masterpiece

[camaroheadus]

Admittedly I'm not a huge country fan. But I loved the way Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt dabbled into country without losing the harder rock edge. I feel like this album just kind of relegates them to being just another country band. In my opinion that takes away from their strength of being able to transcend rock, country and whatever else they've thrown in there over the years.

well said.

[Megaballs6]

"Hopefully Jay will decide to strap the electric on again in the future. I think that is where he shines. Of course, my opinion really doesn't matter in Jay's creative process or any life outside of my own, but that's my hope. I think Jay could have Neil Young-esque rock resurgence ahead."

We've been getting some well thought out dialogue lately around here...

With that said, we need Larry about now...

[sam6025]

I guess what's weird is that even after being called weird, and I think grumpy as well, for expressing my opinion I'll still continue to purchase the products SV/Jay produces in the future and adding them to my collection, just like I have in the past.

I don't think you're weird. I grew up with my grandmother blasting country music through her house, but, in my youth, I hated it. Son Volt bridged the gap. It had country influences, but the rock was still there. It was a gateway kinda deal back into appreciating my grandma's music.

I went back through the door, you just like hanging by it, where you get the mix without choosing just the country. I'm glad you're doing it, no one should like something because people will think they're weird if they don't.

Finally, there are some great songs on this album for me, but, a lot lose me. I really miss the energy of the early Son Volt records, which is funny, because Son Volt v.1.0 was the most docile live band I've ever seen. Son Volt 2.0-2.5 has been far more energetic and enjoyable in a live format, but the recordings are more sterile sounding to me.

I liked this album quite a bit, but it's not a favorite yet, and I doubt it ever will be. I was happy to see the band move in a new sound, I was getting burnt out on "The Search Sound" as I call it. The Search, ACD, Jay's songs on New Multitudes, etc. all sound like they were done in the same session.

Hopefully Jay will decide to strap the electric on again in the future. I think that is where he shines. Of course, my opinion really doesn't matter in Jay's creative process or any life outside of my own, but that's my hope. I think Jay could have Neil Young-esque rock resurgence ahead.

[Antelope850]

Wherever you stand on Jay & "country music", check out this link to his 10 essential country music records. Very good read.

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/ ... ums-573164

As for the poll that started this thread, I'm loving Honky Tonk, but I went with The Search. Really, I went with On Chant and Strum, as it's the bonus songs that put it over the top for me. Carnival Blues, Houdini Punches, Coltrane Free, Bicycle Hotel, Waking World, Exurbia. The Search has the entire arsenal of what he can do: some pedal steel dominated songs with Eric Heywood, electric guitar heavy rock, piano based ballads, a few songs with unusual instrumentation, a mix of everything Jay & Son Volt do very well. As much as I love Straightaways and Wide Swing Tremelo, The Search is probably my 2nd favorite Son Volt album.

Honky Tonk is definitely more "country" than anything Jay's done. But it's nothing like what most people think of when they think of "today's country." A week after the album came out, and me playing the hell out of it, I was in Florida for a weekend with my wife, hanging out with her cousins. We'd get into one of their cars, and it was blasting current Country radio all the time - Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton kind of thing. In my opinion, it's the worst music on the planet. I've always loved Jay's music, and Steve Earle's, The Byrds, and many others with lots of twang, and obvious country influences. And I've spent the last month playing Honky Tonk over & over. Yet even after Jay's most "country" record yet, it's just not the same as contemporary Nashville country. Not even in the same ballpark in my opinion.

[whiteshadow]

I feel pretty comfortable saying "I don't like folk music" even though I like listening to Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan every once in a while. I even enjoy some of Jay's Americana-folk songs. But if a scientist with a calculator looked at my music collection, they could say with some confidence, "this prick doesn't like folk."
Something close to that could be said about country, too, based on what I listen to most of the time. I do very much like Jay's 90s version of alt country, and that has indeed pushed me to listen to some good country a little closer. One of my fave local bands plays old time country. But it would seem to me quite reasonable to say "I don't like country that much."
As I read this exchange, it's all about how much one appreciates a genre. It's not hard to imagine someone liking Die Hard, but not really liking action movies, or getting into watching March Madness, even though they don't really like basketball.

Wow, I think that's the most thoughtful and intelligent response to an argument I've ever seen on the Internet. Well done, Trellis.

[Trellis]

I feel pretty comfortable saying "I don't like folk music" even though I like listening to Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan every once in a while. I even enjoy some of Jay's Americana-folk songs. But if a scientist with a calculator looked at my music collection, they could say with some confidence, "this prick doesn't like folk."
Something close to that could be said about country, too, based on what I listen to most of the time. I do very much like Jay's 90s version of alt country, and that has indeed pushed me to listen to some good country a little closer. One of my fave local bands plays old time country. But it would seem to me quite reasonable to say "I don't like country that much."
As I read this exchange, it's all about how much one appreciates a genre. It's not hard to imagine someone liking Die Hard, but not really liking action movies, or getting into watching March Madness, even though they don't really like basketball.
My fave Jay albums are Straightaways and the loved but sometimes forgotten Thirdshiftgrottoslack. They're country and folk influenced, but they're basically rock albums, to which you could add "indie" or "alternative," for those of us who fondly remember the whole "alternative" genre from the 90s.

[Hank Snow]

In reference to like or dislike of country(ish) music, Has there ever been a Jay Farrar related album that didn't have some country influence on it?

[thatbeat]

this feels like a nice diversion for now, i'm eager for the return of electric guitars & knobs turned up to 11, but Honky Tonk and the 2 side projects have filled the void nicely since ACD left me feeling a bit let down.

lyrically HT is hitting me harder and harder with each listen.

[gdavis5446]

Tom, we are all weird and I get grumpier with age, probably Spencer too. I think Windfall is one of the best songs ever recorded and I would definitely call it a country song.

[farrarfan1]

I guess what's weird is that even after being called weird, and I think grumpy as well, for expressing my opinion I'll still continue to purchase the products SV/Jay produces in the future and adding them to my collection, just like I have in the past.

[Mark Spencer]

"I don't like country". Frankly, from almost any angle, that is pretty weird. That's like, cognitive dissonance weird. I find it unfathomable that a fan of Jay, UT, SV, hell, even Wilco and JT would not have or have developed some kind of affinity for, or deep enjoyment of, at least some aspect of classic country or roots music. Kids be playin' with a funky deck! Takes all kinds I guess. The only kinda people I usually hear busting out a statement like that are certain jazz types who have been schooled at the feet of other grumps who hand down a tradition of grudge-based derision towards pop or rootsier forms of music. Or dance music people. For maximum enjoyment, ask a jazz or metal drummer to play a 2-beat West Coast country shuffle. Hilarity shall ensue.

[unchartedthickets]

read Falling Cars Junkyard Dogs and found
a wonderful correlation to song writing.
could hear choruses of Trace, Anodyne, OATMOR,
and a huge ACD/HT concept flowing through.
Anyone gone floating in the Ozarks or read
Winter's Bone? Anyway, I feel I know Jay more
listening to all the music and reading small
vignettes of circumstance. the book follows
up on the concept of the country musical leaning
as well. In it, we are witness to a small but
no less crucial portion of his DNA. a flicker of light
has been shed but the genius is still solid and no
less spoiled in his outpouring of truth and steady flowing, immaculate
song

[Left A Slide]

Me too Sturg, me too.

[sturgeongeneral]

Call me nostalgic; I miss the jay with the penchant for lyrical opacity and lynchian imagery; perhaps he's asking himself why he is soft in the middle now while the rest of his life is so hard and nothing more

[calexico]

And I would say the fact that you and I are both posting in a Jay Farrar message forum means that our musical tastes unequivocally DO align.

Tim in the ATL