Search - Drive-By Truckers :: Big To-Do

Gone Shootin'

D. Galante | watchcity, Ma | 03/17/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Right out the gate, the boys nail em', bang bang bang bang bang, like hittin' cans off a fence with a .22...then, being all Democratic, the boys give Shonna a shot...and she misses the thing completely. The boys don't laugh, cuz she tries real hard. Patterson nails another one, hands the gun over to Cooley. He grazes it, can don't fall over. Cooley had one eye closed and is half drunk, so it's okay. Patterson takes another shot...swats it in no time-makes it look easy as a matter of fact. He goes out on the range on his own a lot, murdered a man named Oscar actually. Hell of a job he did on that guy. Mr. Hood may be a killer, but he is a gentleman, so he gives Shonna another turn, hands her a shotgun this time, thinking it'll help her hit one of those damn cans. The fence takes a beatin', but I'll be damned if that PBR can ain't still sittin' there. They've been there all day, drinkin' and shootin' and whatnot, so the boys are gettin' a little weary, feelin' the buzz. As the sun sets, the cans don't even matter anymore. The stars are out, the cooler is about empty. Cooley shoots the moon and hits it. Life is good even when it's bad, cuz no matter how bad you got it, somebody has got it worse. It's all gonna end someday anyway...



...so here's the soundtrack, as imperfect and beautiful as life itself.



Drink up, DBT is back.

"

3.5 stars-Truckers enter new decade with more gritty rock

B. Martin | 03/22/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"During the last decade, The Drive-By Truckers released a trio of brilliant rock records (Decoration Day, The Dirty South and A Blessing and A Curse) that helped to establish them as one of the top rock bands in America. With 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark, however, the group seemed to falter a bit. It was still a good Truckers album, but it wasn't a great one. There were too many songs and the second half of the album was mediocre. Part of this, at least in my opinion, was attributable to the departure of Jason Isbell who had contributed some excellent songs to the aforementioned set of albums. Without him, the band didn't quite seem to be the same.



On The Big To-Do however, Patterson Hood and company seem to have regruoped from the loss of Isbell and gotten back on track with a mostly satifsying set of sourthern rockers about working class men and women dealing with broken hearts, economic crises and unfulfilling lives. Hood handles the bulk of the work load, singing and writing the majority of the tracks. His voice is as weathered and plaintive as ever while his lyrics continue to paint vivid sketches of down on their luck southerners.



Still, without Isbell the band just isn't quite as dynamic. They seem to be a bit more one dimensional and predicatable than in the past. They're still an excellent group and there's no reason to think that they won't continue to release sturdy rock records like this one well into the new decade. But I'm going to keep hoping for the great band to return. Only time will tell if they do."

Drive On Truckers

Dean W. West | Hartford, Kentucky United States | 03/29/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Big To-Do" rocks on and the lyrics continue the DBT tradition of story telling and insightful, cleverly worded commentary on personal and social issues. There's not a pretentious or preachy bone in their lyrics, just brilliant poetry and truth for all of us workin' through our lives. And of course, the music itself is breathtaking.



Perhaps one example will capture the genius apparent in this recording: was on a long trip to visit friends and slipped in the CD for the first time as I motivated down the highway. The words of the first cut, "When Daddy Learned to Fly", grabbed me by the heartstrings right away, yet for some magical reason the music made me happy instead of sad. The song's about the passing of a friend and mentor. I've lost one of those myself lately, and was touched by the lyrics. But at the same time the powerful rock & roll had me pounding out an impressive air guitar/drum solo on the steering wheel as I sailed along- until I realized the car was racing down the highway at warp speed and had to slow it down before this daddy learned to fly. This phenomenon illustrates the duality of the Patterson/Cooley thing. All the boys, and Shonna too, are on their game. If you love great music and have a hard-working soul, don't miss "The Big To-Do.""