Drive-By Truckers

A Blessing And A Curse - (New West)

Surely, the Drive-By Truckers run from Southern Rock Opera through to 2004's The Dirty South has to be one of the most powerful trio of CDs over the past decade or so. But they choose to veer a little off of the path thematically with A Blessing And A Curse.

Here, the Truckers favour a collection of "tunes" rather than a cohesive set of songs. This allows for even more of Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, and Jason Isabel’s styles to come through as three distinct songwriters (who still benefit from each other’s playing as well as the powerful rhythm section in Shonna Tucker and Brad Morgan, by the way).

The end result are some really exceptional songs, but a couple of mediocre moments as well. Mike Cooley has the "perfect record" here with his breezy "Gravity’s Gone" and heart-wrenching "Space City" - two of the finest tracks here (a Mike Cooley solo record in the future would be something to be excited about, methinks). Patterson Hood remains the band’s most distinct "voice" however, thanks to his trademark rough vocal and passionate delivery whether pleading to "be my Valentine" on "Feb. 14" (a great pop song) or going over-the-top on the rocking "Aftermath U.S.A.".

Frankly, and this was a surprise considering past songs like "Danko/Manual" and "Outfit", it’s Jason Isabel’s "Daylight" and "Easy On Yourself". "Daylight" is a slice of overtly familiar radio-friendly pop-rock while "Easy On Yourself" rocks a little harder but suffers from the same indistinguishable sound. Still, it’s high points like the charging "Wednesday" and the moving closer "A World Of Hurt" that keep you hanging in there from beginning to end.

While A Blessing And A Curse won’t make anyone put aside Southern Rock Opera, Decoration Day, or The Dirty South it doesn’t diminish the fact that Drive-By Truckers remain one of the finest bands rock bands around. Rest assured that there’s still plenty to like here.

7.0