Son Volt Straightaways CD

Son Volt: Jay Farrar (vocals, guitar, harmonica, organ); Dave Boquist (guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo, fiddle); Jim Boquist (bass, background vocals); Mike Heidorn (drums).
Additional personnel: Eric Heywood (pedal steel guitar, mandolin); Pauli Ryan (tambourine).
Recorded at Echo Park, Bloomington, Indiana and Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, Minnesota.
Personnel: Jay Farrar (vocals, guitar, harmonica, organ); Dave Boquist (guitar, steel guitar, banjo, fiddle); Eric Heywood (mandolin); Michael Heidorn (drums); Paulie (tambourine); Jim Boquist (background vocals).
Although none of the songs on Straightaways immediately jump off the grooves, as was the case with the band's brilliant debut, Trace, repeated spins reveal a strong effort nonetheless. Whereas former Uncle Tupelo partner Jeff Tweedy and his band, Wilco, used its sophomore release to explore new territory, Son Volt leader and songwriter Jay Farrar keeps his band mining the same country-folk vein that Uncle Tupelo quarried. There are plenty of threads to connect Straightaways to Trace, such as the expressive playing of multi-instrumentalist Dave Boquist on guitars, fiddle, banjo, and lap steel, and Farrar's forlorn vocal delivery, which could give even the weakest song emotional power. On Straightaways, his songs live on the same late-night backwoods rural highways that Trace inhabited, with song titles like "Creosote" and "Cemetery Savior" conjuring up dark imagery. The album contains plenty of high points: the aforementioned songs, as well as the lonesome "Back Into Your World" and "Last Minute Shakedown." And the only place it comes up short is the lyrics -- unlike Trace, whose songs "Windfall" and "Tear Stained Eye" stood by themselves and provided a universal feel and emotion that was easily grasped, much of the lyrical content of Straightaways seems open-ended and fragmented, with the intensity building on the haunting instrumental arrangements and Farrar's affecting vocal phrasing. ~ Jack Leaver
In the wake of Uncle Tupelo's demise, Jay Farrar's Son Volt and Jeff Tweedy's Wilco became the Fine Young Cannibals and General Public of the twang generation, each band's faction rabidly defending the preeminence of its favorite. Initially, Wilco seemed to favor the raw, let-it-all-hang-out approach while Son Volt went for pop craft. On STRAIGHTAWAYS, though, Farrar and company pull a switch-up. While maintaining the same foundation of rootsy, acoustic-tinged arrangements and high-lonesome vocals, the band has opted for a looser, more spontaneous feel than the ornate constructions of its debut, TRACE.
"Caryatid Easy" and "Cemetery Savior" showcase the barnstorming, rocking side of the band, while "Way Down Watson" and the eerie murder ballad "Been Set Free" are quiet, fragile compositions that could be the outtakes of Son Volt tourmate Richard Buckner. The winner of the MVP award on STRAIGHTAWAYS is multi-instrumentalist Dave Boquist, whose guitar, banjo, fiddle and lap steel add just the right touch of down-home authenticity to Farrar's tunes.

Award Winner

Rolling Stone (4/17/97, p.78) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...Son Volt rocking at their most forlorn....Farrar emits a deep, emotive country drawl like a slurring heartland Mick Jagger....has few brutally loud moments. The album strives for a more intimate back-porch vibe instead..."
Q (9/00, p.135) - Included in Q's "Best Alt.Country Albums Of All Time" - "...A truly evocative set of lost ballads..."
Musician (6/97, p.83) - "...With one scuffed boot planted firmly in folk and country traditions and the other plunked down on the smarter side of rock & roll, Farrar tends to his muses with more honesty and respect than your average electro-angst wranglers and punk-poppers..."
NME (Magazine) (8/9/97, p.43) - "...Son Volt's second offering nestles somewhere between country blues and the kind of authentic American bar-band rock Jason And The Scorchers were celebrated for in the mid-'80s....it's conservative Southern Gothic all round..."