Album review: Drive-By Truckers, 'Go-Go Boots'
3 stars (out of 4)
On their ninth studio album, "Go-Go Boots" (ATO), the Drive-By Truckers once again mine the blue-collar side of small-town Southern life for songs as rich as well-written short stories. Whether detailing the double-life of a preacher on the title song, the struggles of a war veteran on “Ray’s Automatic Weapon” or the dead-end drifter who “Used to be a Cop,” their narratives never mock or belittle their subjects. Instead, even the Truckers’ vilest creations retain a certain humanity; the Truckers’ noir-like tales aren’t populated with heroes and villains, but everyday sinners struggling with fallibility, temptation and bad luck. Patterson Hood’s plaintive growl couldn’t suit his songs better, and Mike Cooley adds a plainspoken twang. Though the Truckers can rock like a Southern version of Crazy Horse, “Go-Go Boots” finds them focusing on acoustic-flavored country and soul colors. The tracks rest in a midtempo pocket, and a little more variation would’ve been welcome. But in tales this dark, anything upbeat would’ve been out of place. Instead, the occasional lead vocals by Shonna Tucker provide a respite, and Hood’s passionate reading of Eddie Hinton’s “Everybody Needs Love” is a revelation – a straight-up redemption plea for all the misbegotten characters populating one of the Truckers’ darker albums.
greg@gregkot.com