Brighter Than Creations Dark : Drive-By Truckers : Review : Rolling Stone

Prospects were poor for what turns out to be an overflowing song bag of an album by Lynyrd Skynyrd's arty nephews. Their last winner was 2004's The Dirty South, preceded by two others in close succession but followed by the disoriented A Blessing and a Curse and then the loss of tenor-songwriter Jason Isbell. Welcome though her gender bend is, bassist and Isbell ex Shonna Tucker doesn't compensate by writing and singing. But Mike Cooley is on his game — the pro-bad-girl "Lisa's Birthday" and pro-weird-guy "Bob" shoot exceptionally straight. And knowing he has to carry the team, Patterson Hood executes — scene-setters about domestic life as celestial respite, endless struggle and occasion to drink; dark-siders about crystal meth (named) and suicide (implied); memoir of an opening act on the road; and two agonizing Iraq songs, one of which sinks pained voice into guitar attack, strength against strength. You could argue that the Truckers should have revved up this Skynyrd side more often. But instead they let the songwriting speak for itself, and it sings loud and clear.

ROBERT CHRISTGAU

(Posted: Jan 24, 2008)

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Give us your review of Brighter Than Creations Dark

Review 1 of 4

4of 5 Stars

Dude, Lamar, if you're going to chastise the reviewer, at least don't make your review suck dick.

May 12, 2008 07:37:37

Review 2 of 4

5of 5 Stars

I had the privilege to see DBT on their Dirt Underneath tour in 2007. This was sort of a dress rehearsal for a lot of the songs on BTCD. The songs were road tested and have proved to stand up with the best of the past work. The new songs by Cooley are superb and Shonna's songs and voice give the album an old country vibe. In true DBT style, they hold true to the "If you wrote it, you sing it" way of doing business. With 3 strong song writers, you get 3 lead singers. See ya at the next rock show.

Jan 18, 2008 13:37:02

Review 3 of 4

Not Rated

A paragraph on their past is not necessary to enjoy and understand the movement of this new release. Jason Isbell has his own new CD of material that is excellent in it's own right.
BTCD is an extended movement on genres from rockers to Patsy Cline workouts (Shonna) and traveling country blues, and here and there a talking country romp like "Perfect Timing" or the soul searching John Neff driven "Daddy Needs A Drink." Yes, John Neff's work on steel guitar, occasional lead and slide is a stand out on this album.
Cooley and Patterson do a great job of trading off songs with their intertwining heritages sometimes getting lost in the mix.
"You And Your Crystal Meth" starts out with 70s style haunting echo that builds up into a lament and fades into lonely damnation and at just over two minutes it carries meaning.
The opener, "Two Daughters And A Beautiful Wife" is lovely and filled out with Neff's steel guitar in such a way that it is the musical equivalent of standing on the roadside looking down at a creek, thinking Southern song.
"3 Dime Down" rocks just the way it should, which is where the Rolling Stones left off after Exile On Main Street, and this is sometimes a bad thing, but the DBTs have mined this territory before on "Blessing And A Curse". Not a bad thing to carry on with various aspects of a group of songs and sounds that builds with each offering from this people's band of the South.
This new CD from the DBTs is rich with sing-a-longs like
"The Righteous Path", "Lisa's Birthday" and "Purgatory Line".
In short, this is a 75 minute CD that is four star worthy, and it is also a set of songs that cast a net across the South like few groups of songwriters are doing these days. And remember, Spooner Oldham is on the keys and EZB keeps the beat alive throughout this masterpiece of a bright life out of darkness.

Jan 15, 2008 14:39:35

Review 4 of 4

5of 5 Stars

Fantastic album from a fantastic band. There are no filler tracks here, although some of them can take time to grow on you. But change in the songwriting was inevitable with the loss of Isbell, and the new contributions of Tucker, Neff, and Oldham. But as they say, change is good, and it's still positively a DBT album, and one of their best at that.

Jan 15, 2008 10:05:15

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