DRIVE BY TRUCKERS- The Fine Print

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS

The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities & Rarities 2003-2008

New West

 

Drive-By Truckers frontman Patterson Hood has been exceptionally busy of late. After releasing five classic albums (from 1999’s Pizza Deliverance to 2006’s A Blessing and A Curse) of Southern-rock brilliance with his band, he somehow found time to produce albums by Bettye LaVette and former DBT guitarist Jason Isbell, provide backup for the legendary Booker T. Jones, record his second solo album and reunite with the Truckers for 2008’s Brighter Than Creation’s Dark.

 

With so much recorded output over the last few years, you might think you’d already heard the best music Hood and Co. had to offer. And, well, you’d be right. But as The Fine Print’s dozen tracks prove, even the Drive-By Truckers’ detritus is better than most bands’ best.

 

Comprised of four covers, alternate versions of two previously released tunes, and six songs that simply didn’t work on the albums for which they were originally intended, The Fine Print can’t match other DBT albums in consistency. But with the exception of the crazy Christmas ditty “Mrs. Claus’ Kimono,” most of the tracks have no issue with quality. The re-recording of “Uncle Frank” (which first appeared on their 1998 debut) improves on the original, while the foreboding air of “The Great Car Dealer War” proves that The Dirty South’s loss is The Fine Print’s gain. Speaking of loss, “TVA” and “When the Well Runs Dry” remind you how much Isbell brought to the band, while Mike Cooley’s “Little Pony & the Great Big Horse” insists the band still has its fair share of kick-ass songwriters.

 

So what if The Fine Print isn’t yet another instant DBT classic? It’s miles better than most bands’ oddities, and should keep fans happy until the Truckers’ eighth proper LP is released in March. –BRET LOVE

(originally appeared in Georgia Music Magazine)