Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse (more or less full review)

I’ve been listening to a stream of the new Drive-By Truckers album A Blessing and a Curse, and it’s finally happened – DBT have delivered “just” a record. That’s stupid, of course, because DBT don’t “just” deliver anything, whether it’s an album or a live show. At 11 tracks, Blessing is the most scaled-down thing they’ve delivered since Gangstabilly. It had to happen at some point; DBT just couldn’t keep topping themselves. Each of their last three records has been an epic tour de force, starting with the double album Southern Rock Opera (their first release to garner major attention), followed by the revelatory Decoration Day, and winding up with 2004’s The Dirty South. During that stretch, the band has been strengthened by personnel changes – notably the addition of singer/songwriter/guitarist Jason Isbell and the subsequent addition of bassist Shonna Tucker (Isbell’s wife). For the first time in their career, DBT entered the studio with the same lineup as the previous record. Also for the first time, the band relied almost entirely on all new material (“Tornadoes” from The Dirty South, for instance, was nearly 20 years old). The results, on the one hand, reflect this pressure, but much of it is released by the casual tightness of the band. While A Blessing and a Curse may not quite breathe the rarefied air of its two predecessors, it’s nonetheless a solid effort from America’s premier rock and roll band.

Whereas The Dirty South verged on all-out democracy – with Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell all making significant songwriting contributions – Blessing returns much of the focus to Hood’s songwriting (Cooley and Isbell each contribute two tracks). Which is not to say that more of Hood is a bad thing (though less of Cooley and Isbell could never be a good thing necessarily). This dynamic simply reflects the continued maturation of the band, a group very comfortable in its own skin and obviously not subject to much in the way of petty jealousy or infighting. One might have half-expected Tucker – a respectable vocalist in her own right – to start taking turns at the mic, but there seems to be a refreshing tendency on Blessing to just have fun and make great music. After all, every member of DBT makes a significant musical contribution to the band’s sound, regardless of where the songs come from.

The result is DBT’s usual high standard for songs and performances. Ballsy rockers bump up against introspective ballads, and Hood’s searing vocals are relieved by Cooley’s incisive deadpan, which gives way to Isbell’s smooth and appealing delivery. And so forth. To the average (i.e. rabidly hardcore) DBT fan, it might seem like just another day at the office. But it’s easy to take for granted how fucking awesome this band has become, the near-perfect incarnation of all things uniquely American in rock, country and folk music. Though noted for their burn-the-house-down approach to live shows, the Truckers are too often overlooked for their razor-sharp insights and uncanny musicianship. A Blessing and a Curse is yet another worthy entry in the Drive-By Truckers’ canon, extending a winning streak that, to my ears, rivals the late 60’s output of the Stones or Steve Earle’s mid-to-late-90’s output.

A Blessing and a Curse will be released on New West Records on April 18.

(We can talk later about my pet theory that four great records are enough to grant entry into all-time-greatness territory, and that most artists crank out all four in a row. See 'Beggars Banquet' to 'Sticky Fingers' for reference.)

By the way, if you followed my previous link to the Amazon pre-order (which includes the full stream of the album), you may need to cancel and re-order to save yourself $5 - it has since been put on sale.