by Peter

There are artist who deserve more then then they get. Jay Farrar is such an artist. With Uncle Tupelo he (with Jeff Tweedy) laid down the base of the what would become "No Depression" movement. Interestingly, Jeff Tweedy would record 2 albums with Billy Bragg with unfinished work of Woody Guthrie, talk about no depression! Both thopse Mermaid albums are worth a listen too but that's for another time.

After Farrar and Tweedy separated ways, Farrar started Son Volt. I saw them for a hand full of people playing in the upper room in the Amsterdam Paradiso doing an amazing set. Son Volt had just released the first cd: Trace and it was magic. Some would call everything after "more of the same" but I loved it. When I was cycling in China (see my http://www.bicycle-adventures.com/ website) I had Trace and Straightaways with me and I played it from a to z backwards, forwards and from any direction imaginable. Caryatid Easy alone is worth all the money you spend on the cd. Tear Stained Eye is probably my favorite Son Volt song and one I can play 10-20 times in a row...

Farrar disbanded Son Volt for awhile, did a good solo album and an amazingly good project called Gob Iron: Death Songs for the Living. I admit the title doesn't sound much uplifting but the music is very much Jay Farrar, beautiful, listen only to Death Is Only A Dream or the tearjerker Little Girl And Dreadful Snake.


Gob Iron - Death Songs for the Living (2006)





















In 2007 Son Volt released The Search. Through (I think) Itunes a selection of bonus tracks were released. These bonus tracks are here available as The Seach Bonus Disc.

Son Volt - Acoustic Radio Sessions '95-'96: A Truer Sound blog
Son Volt - EP Collection: A Truer Sound blog
Son Volt - B-Sides & Rarites: A Truer Sound blog


Peter