Review: The Drive-By Truckers ‘American Band Deluxe (Reissue – 2 LPs)
By Jim Hynes
When the Drive-By Truckers issued American Band in September 2016, the impending election was clearly on their minds. It remains their most overtly political album and was the first in a trilogy of sorts with The Unraveling and The New OK following in 2020, another election year. As devoted fans know, the band’s current tour centers on 2001’s Southern Rock Opera (SRO). But in recent shows like one I witnessed in October, the band couldn’t help but filter in songs to the SRO repertoire from American Band. This was not the case when I saw them on Labor Day weekend. Nonetheless, the album holds up so well that the band decided to reissue it with seven live tracks and updated liner notes, making it a 2-LP set. Yes, it did go out of print for a minute. They explore, as only they can, in their articulate lyrics, issues such as race, income inequality, the NRA, deregulation, police brutality, terrorism, and the plagues of suicide and opioid abuse.
Standout tracks include Hood’s “What It Means,” written in the heat of Ferguson, Cooley’s single “Surrender Under Protest,” “Guns of Umpqua,” Hood’s response to the shootings at the community college of the same name in Oregon, using striking contrasts of Oregon’s natural beauty with the ugliness that transpired. Cooley’s opener, “Ramon Casiano” tells the little-known tale of former National Rifle Association leader Harlon Carter and the murder of 15-year-old Ramon Casiano. Carter transformed the organization from its original role as a sportsmen and conservationist group into what Cooley calls “a right wing, white supremacist gun cult.” Fortunately, the liners contain all the lyrics. Other interesting tracks include Hood’s “Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn,” Cooley’s “Once They Banned Imagine,” and Hood’s deeply felt “Baggage,” written on the night of Robin Williams’ death, as he chronicles his own battles with demons and depression.
So, what is new with this Deluxe version? The live tracks kick off with the somewhat controversial “Kinky Hypocrite.” controversial because it’s left off the remastered studio disc and only appears on the live second disc. Cooley is in the lead for this more rollicking take as Jay Gonzalez gleefully plays a barrelhouse-like piano. All these live tracks are culled from their 2018 Heathens Homecoming at the Fabulous 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA, and it plays out just like their shows with Hood and Cooley alternating leads. Hood follows with “Guns of Umpqua” and back to Cooley for “Filthy and Fried.” Hood goes into his impromptu bantering in a great rendition of “What It Means,” talking about how elated he and his wife were to hear Pati Smith’s 40th Anniversary of Horses in their adopted hometown of Portland, OR. Those are followed by “Surrender Under Protest” where you hear the audience singing along on the chorus. Hood delivers a searing “Baggage,” with Cooley following with a most fervent “Ramon Casiano,” taking us to the warm and relatively calm closer, Hood’s “Ever South,” one of his best songs and one that’s rarely heard live, especially with this intro of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Southern Accents.”
This version of the band with original members Hood, Cooley, and drummer Brad Morgan along with multi-instrumentalist Jay Gonzalez and bassist Matt Patton have been together for 12 years, delivering the blazing three-guitar attack that remains as potent as it ever was. They haven’t lost a bit of their relentless energy. The band continues to tour SRO through November and even into early 2025. Expect more songs from American Band to filter in. This reissue is clearly timed for the Presidential Election. The content may not appeal to everyone, but there’s no denying how talented the Drive-By Truckers are at delivering tough, meaningful, and sharp socio-political commentary.
“Ramon Casiano”
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