It took several listens but Honky Tonk is a masterpiece

[vox_martin]

I voted for HT. The way he sings on this album is the best I've heard him in many long years. My favorite moment is in the beginning of "Angel of the blues" when his voice cracks just a little as he sings "...to find their way". There are similar goose bump moments as the song goes on. The feel he puts in to that performance is nothing short of awesome IMO

[lazerbeamhawkins]

I had to vote for The Search, basically because the bonus track version has like over 20 songs (with SV, more is always better), but after casting the vote I realized I love HT more. It's hard to pick out a favorite album from Jay and Co. Each one is like its' own living being. I found that I never skip a track on HT. It's funny, somebody earlier cited "Slow Hearse" as being a song to be skipped, which until today I had agreed with that notion but it came on while I was driving and the song hit me square in the heart. Jay's songs are awesome like that, where most of the time you'll hear something in one of his tunes that you didn't hear before (even after hearing it a dozen times). When ACD came out, that was my favorite up until HT. Something else I noticed, Jay sounds ten years younger and even a bit happy on HT. Well, I get to see SV tonight in Dallas, I am one happy man

[Megaballs6]

Phosphate Skin

I think it was Feb 2008 or 09, I put in a full days work in LA and made the trek solo to Solana Beach. ca. Tough times but needed some extra Jay music.

Got there way early....saw the Econoline. Offered my help with gear to Jay.
"No thanks"

Bored between cigs and baked goods, I hung alone by front area listening to Mark and Jay sound checking and fucking around

Within You and Without You
Hickory Wind
Phosphate Skin

As good a time as any

[head tone harmony]

I just made a playlist of my SV 2.0 favorites. Aint me special:

Roll On
Pushed Too Far
Phosphate Skin
Livin' On
Hearts And Minds
Exurbia
Dust of Daylight
Circadian Rhythm
Chaos Streams
Bicycle Hotel
Bandages And Scars
Bakersfield
Atmosphere
Angel Of The Blues

In reverse alphabetical order for the thrill of it.
As a side note, Phosphate Skin is the one I take with me to the island.

[unchartedthickets]

my only complaint is that most haters aren't listening to the songs. listen please. listen to one of the greatest song writers to have ever made music.

I went back through the thread & missed the haters you cite. That is, unless you are referring to those that don't subscribe to the belief that Honky Tonk is a masterpiece as haters.

Also, it's comforting to know Richard prefers his cabbage raw.

yes, yes. perhaps i let my passion get the better of me.
in serious discourse, no one is a hater of SV. what i'm
tuning into is the lack of appreciation for a stripped down
acoustic set of classic country tunes done with lyrical and
musical precision. But, they're not just country tunes.
i understand the reluctance to rest ones
favor on country music. i'm an ex-punk, noize, sound
art musician. but, i'm also keenly aware of context so i
find beauty in that connection between an artist's personal history and the
art they make.

[el caballo loco]

my only complaint is that most haters aren't listening to the songs. listen please. listen to one of the greatest song writers to have ever made music.

I went back through the thread & missed the haters you cite. That is, unless you are referring to those that don't subscribe to the belief that Honky Tonk is a masterpiece as haters.

Also, it's comforting to know Richard prefers his cabbage raw.

[Hoops]

I don't like cooked cabbage, but I love a good Cole Slaw. Same vegetable, just served in a different manner.

[Love Jackson]

After several listens, I'm still on the fence with this record. I really enjoy it, but I dont' think most of the songs will stand the test of time for me. Down the Highway, Angel of the Blues and Shine On are all excellent songs in my book, but I'd say it's far more likely that I'll be hearing those songs as part of a playlist five years from now rather than listening to the entire record. It's good music, I really look forward to hearing the songs live, but I would not put Honky Tonk in the same category as the Son Volt 1.0 recordings.

[unchartedthickets]

i find the chatter fun. thanks for all your comments.
my only complaint is that most haters aren't listening
to the songs. listen please. listen to one of the greatest
song writers to have ever made music.

[el caballo loco]

2013 shows Son Volt practicing a radical idea: turning down the Vox amps and heading back to the land that made 'Creosote' such a fervent, slow burn.

That's not to say that Jay Farrar doesn't still sell the grandest of grandiose one-liner lyrics that grapple with themes of redemption and fear. It just means that this time, he's not blasting them from behind a wall of noise with airhorns wailing.

The range of emotion herein is so wide, so profound, that I can't recall a Son Volt album since you-know-when digging this deep. That's no knee-jerk 5-star there - it's well-earned. This is far more than just the melancholy/tribulation of a previous release appropriated for a new landscape, but an assured, dead-on and much needed spring rain."

Not bad. However, was this guy busy taking out the trash a few years ago when ACD came out?

[el caballo loco]

lifelong Jay / Tupe / Son Volt van here

the record sounds good, but in my opinion the songs aren't there

Jay's music used to be special to me. there's nothing special about this. it's just OK and not compelling, and my expectations for Jay are a lot higher than just OK

I can't imagine I'll ever listen to it again

I can understand where you're coming from. Although, "Down the Highway" and "Seawall" are welcome additions to the Essential Jay Farrar Songbook. I wanted to love HT, but I just like it. However, unlike you, I will listen to it again.

[turpentim]

lifelong Jay / Tupe / Son Volt van here

the record sounds good, but in my opinion the songs aren't there

Jay's music used to be special to me. there's nothing special about this. it's just OK and not compelling, and my expectations for Jay are a lot higher than just OK

I can't imagine I'll ever listen to it again

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. But if I may... Here's a review of the record, written by some Joe Schmo on Amazon.com (goes by the handle Garbageman), that I think does a WONDERFUL job of capturing just how special this record is -- and how important it is as a piece in Farrar's larger repertoire -- despite its diversion from what we've grown accustomed to. Might be the best review of the record that I've read anywhere, big publications included:

"And 2013 shows Son Volt practicing a radical idea: turning down the Vox amps and heading back to the land that made 'Creosote' such a fervent, slow burn. But make no mistake: 'Honky Tonk', a real blindside, is no 'Straightaways'. It's less unnerving, less bloodthirsty. It's almost fun. But it's never novelty, even though it has the confidence and earth to kick off with a stop-start waltz. One song deep, and you're grabbing for the keys.

That's not to say that Jay Farrar doesn't still sell the grandest of grandiose one-liner lyrics that grapple with themes of redemption and fear. It just means that this time, he's not blasting them from behind a wall of noise with airhorns wailing. It's amazing, listening to songs like 'Living On' (heir to 'Gather' or 'Ten Second News' in terms of glory), or 'Barricades' (their most gorgeous, unique offering here), or 'Bakersfield' (accompanied by an AM-ready vibrato that shakes underneath its foundation), to realize that they've finally broken free from frivolous comparison. This is, finally, a new Son Volt album worthy of standing alone, free from every clenched fist and tear-stained eye, one whose songs dig deep and don't necessarily need to prove themselves. Free from these constrictions, imagination abounds. 'Brick Walls' counts off with a single plucked Telecaster note. 'Tears of Change' shuffles late-night car-radio style on an unusually gentle lyric, even for Farrar. Closer 'Shine On' is a Farrar classic; its unspoken truths linger long after you've walked away. Moments like that echo from everywhere.

The range of emotion herein is so wide, so profound, that I can't recall a Son Volt album since you-know-when digging this deep. That's no knee-jerk 5-star there - it's well-earned. This is far more than just the melancholy/tribulation of a previous release appropriated for a new landscape, but an assured, dead-on and much needed spring rain."

Hot damn that's good. Thanks, Garbageman, whoever and wherever you are.

Tim in the ATL

[Roob]

lifelong Jay / Tupe / Son Volt van here

the record sounds good, but in my opinion the songs aren't there

Jay's music used to be special to me. there's nothing special about this. it's just OK and not compelling, and my expectations for Jay are a lot higher than just OK

I can't imagine I'll ever listen to it again

[TragicFig]

Best thread on this board in forever. Count me in with those who, while digging the occasional straight up country tune that Jay turns out, prefers the albums that also mix in more up tempo/electric tunes. Search...OATMOR...ACD...HT in that order for SV 2.0. Trace reigns supreme overall, and likely always will. Still, anything Jay puts out is heaps better than anything else out there. I'm just pumped to have a new record.

[farrarfan1]

Cole Slaw.

All right, no more fucking around. I have sat idly by and let you all argue like a buncha bitches but NO MORE!


Coleslaw is ONE FUCKING WORD!!!

You're right of course. My autocorrect capitalized it and I just went with it.