Box Sets #20 Drive-By Truckers - It's Great To Be Alive

I don't believe that the Drive-By Truckers have ever made a bad album - and in their almost 20 year history, they have made a few (10 studio records plus three previous live albums). I would even go a step further and offer the thought that they have never even produced a bad song. Indeed Patterson Hood confesses in the excellent liner notes that accompany this set, that "we have always considered ourselves first and foremost, a songwriter's band and always said that 'song is king' should be the basis of all artistic decisions".

If proof was needed, these 35 songs recorded over three nights at the Fillmore, San Francisco last November, span the entire career of the band and demonstrate what an awesome outfit they are. I was lucky enough to witness them live in a very small venue a good few years ago and they blew us all away. Sadly I doubt I will ever witness them again in that kind of environment but I would jump at the chance to see them again regardless of the venue. Meanwhile I will have to content myself with this excellent set.

The songs truly do span the whole career of the Truckers, indeed some predate the formation of the band, when college roommates Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley began playing music together and formed a band called Adam's House Cat. Album opener 'Lookout Mountain' may have appeared on the 2004 album 'The Dirty South' but the song was originally created in 1990 and 'Runaway Train' dates from 1987.

This album has also given the band members the opportunity of revisiting some of their songs and changing aspects with which they may have been unhappy. For example, Hood claims that he couldn't stand the way his voice sounded on 'Ronnie and Neil' (from 'Southern Rock Opera'). He is now happy to have a version out in the public domain that doesn't make him cringe. Other songs have simply evolved over time having been performed live on so many occasions. The album also gave them the opportunity to hear what some of the songs would sound like with the addition of some soulful horns (sax, trumpet and trombone). Well, I can tell you, they sound great.

I opted for the 3 CD set and can report that it is a very nice package. I suppose it is not technically a box set as it comes in a four part folded digisleeve with each section housing a CD or the informative 22 page booklet. I should add that there is also an alternative 2 disc version for those more casual fans who don't wish to splash out on or sit through the full 35 tracks.


Whatever your choice, you surely won't be disappointed.