Notes of Blue [LP]

by Son Volt

Overview

In the grand tradition of AC/DC, the Ramones, and Robert Pollard, Jay Farrar is a guy who has essentially been making the same record over and over again throughout his career. That's not a bad thing; all of those artists have made plenty of great, powerful records that reflected a distinctive style that was theirs and theirs alone. Ever since Uncle Tupelo's March 16-20, 1992, where the divide between Farrar and Jeff Tweedy's writing styles became especially clear, Farrar's music has been dominated by his deep, thoughtful vocals, his strong, elemental melodies, and his bursts of Neil Young-style roughhouse guitar. Twenty-five years on, Farrar hasn't abandoned that formula, and while he puts a somewhat different spin on his songwriting on 2017's Notes of Blue, recorded with the latest edition of his band Son Volt, it's entirely obvious that this is Farrar's work less than 30 seconds into the first track, "Promise the World." Son Volt's lineup has been fluid since Farrar resurrected the band in 2005, but with Farrar at the helm their musical personality has remained stable. The title Notes of Blue refers to his recent fascination with vintage rural blues that informed this batch of songs, but the lyrical fragments scavenged from ancient blues numbers and the bursts of slide guitar don't distract much from Son Volt's trademark roots rock attack. Farrar is still a commanding vocalist, his guitar work remains powerful and muscular, and this new edition of Son Volt (Mark Spencer on bass, slide guitar, and piano, Gary Hunt on fiddle, Jason Kardong on pedal steel, and Jacob Edwards on drums) sounds taut and convincing. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	02/17/2017
Label:	Transmit Sound
UPC:	0653341885494
Rank:	65997

Tracks

1. Promise the World
2. Back Against the World
3. Static
4. Cherokee St
5. The Storm
6. Lost Souls
7. Midnight
8. Sinking Down
9. Cairo and Southern
10. Threads and Steel

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Son Volt   Primary Artist
Jay Farrar   Organ,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Mark Spencer   Bass,Piano,Weissenborn,Vocals (Background)
Gary Hunt   Fiddle,Vocals (Background)
Jacob Edwards   Drums,Percussion
Jason Kardong   Pedal Steel

Technical Credits

Jay Farrar   Composer,Producer,Photography
John Agnello   Mixing,Production Assistant
David McClister   Band Photo
Brad Sarno   Mastering
Kevin Belford   Design,Illustrations
Jacob Detering   Assistant,Production Assistant
Monica Farrar   Cover Photo
Sam Olhausen   Assistant Engineer