Search - Son Volt :: Trace

A "Trace" of genius

Stephen C Tady | San Lorenzo, CA | 12/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the five records I would take with me to the proverbial remote island. I never get tired of this classic piece of work. I would not want to be rescued. Not a mediocre tune on this thing. Superb. There is a bar in San Francisco (Club 101 on Van Ness) that has this on the jukebox and I go there simply to hear these songs.Sounds like 1963, but for now, it sounds like heaven...."

Not all break-ups are bad.....

Rob | Palm Bch, FL by way of Leucadia, CA | 01/23/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Son Volt, a band as cool and enigmatic as their name suggests, have given us with their debut album just what one would have expected them to. Assuming, that is, one were aware of the musical lineage from which the band was born. Their previous incarnation, the well-liked Uncle Tupelo, spent its formative years cultivating the now not-so-indie Country/Rock sound, which began gaining popularity in the early 90s. One wouldn't get much argument though in suggesting that Trace is the genre's most impressive work to date. Jay Farrar, the group's core member, could have easily gotten away with simply putting his name on the album cover - he is as much the group himself as a Neil Young or a Lyle Lovett, other artist's who depend heavily on the contributions of their bandmates. He can in effect do it all. Singing, playing guitar and harmonica, songwriting - all seem to come quite easily to the somewhat withdrawn frontman. In fact, having seen them perform live, I can tell you that being the center of attention seems to be the one part of the job that Farrar isn't too comfortable with. So he's no Sting, big deal. Take nothing away from the rest of the band, however. From Uncle Tupelo, Farrar took one lone member, drummer Mike Heidorn. Very solid on the skins, Heidorn does well to keep his playing simple, just as these subtly powerful songs require. He shows us very occasionaly that he could do a lot more (on "Drown" and "Loose String", most notably), but dutifully plays his part as needed. The rest of the quartet is comprised of a pair of brothers, Jim and Dave Boquist ( musical origins unknown to this reviewer), who are superb musicians themselves. Jim, the bassist, performs quite adequately as Farrar's backing vocal while brother Jim shows his versatility on any number of stringed instruments, including lap steel, fiddle and banjo to name a few. There is a fifth man, pedal steel player Eric Heywood, who contributes greatly to the the record's sound, although credited modestly on the jacket under the "With" heading. The album opens with the infectious "Windfall", a song which, while a bit sunnier than the rest of the album, gives the listener a perfect indication of the overall musical tone of the record. While Country/Rock may be the closest thing to a name for this sound, it seems to be a tad more rock than country. Folk rock seasoned with a little front porch rootsiness, maybe. The heavier tunes on the album do plenty to get the andrenaline flowing. In short, if you put this record on thinking it will help you get to sleep at night, you've clearly gotten the wrong idea. Jay Farrar, who boasts a very distinctive voice, impresses us equally with how he uses it. Singing his own well-written lyrics, he seems highly conscious of how he wants to let the vocal itself act as an instrument, gracefully weaving through a carefully selected series of notes. This effort pays off, transforming what might have otherwise been very skippable tracks like "Out of the Picture" into some very effective songs, indeed. In fact, one of the best attributes of the new band is that Farrar handles lead vocal duties by himself, whereas in Uncle Tupelo they were shared equally between Farrar and co-frontman Jeff Tweedy. Here we have Jay all to ourselves, and we're better off for it (Tweedy is a fine singer himself, but..). Why that band broke up exactly, who's to say. All I know is that Jay Farrar has as much genuine musical talent as anyone of his generation. Listening to Trace, we begin to see just what he intends to do with it."