Rank Your DBT Studio Albums!

[RoyHandcuff]

I'm sure this has been done to death here, but I'm kinda curious to see everybody's lists and also where you'd fit English Oceans in your ranking. So I'll go first. Here's mine;

1.The Big To-Do
2.Southern Rock Opera
3.The Dirty South
4.Brighter Than Creations Dark
5.Decoration Day
6.A Blessing And A Curse
7.The Fine Print
8.Gangstabilly
9.Pizza Deliverance
10.GoGo Boots
11.English Oceans

..But I like 'em all in one way or another. Man, they've got a great catalogue! The top five could be interchangeable I guess. All of them great, great albums. I included The Fine Print even though it's not a "real" studio album. To me it always held up suprisingly well. I swear I'm not trying to stir shit with EO being last, I just don't like it as much as I do many of the others. Anyways, an amazing set of albums!

//RH

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Just a suggestion but you might wanna try the poll section.

[brett27295]

1. The Dirty South
2. Decoration Day
3. Southern Rock Opera
4. English Oceans
5. Pizza Deliverance
6. The Fine Print
7. A Blessing & A Curse
8. Brighter Than Creations Dark
9. The Big To Do
10. Go Go Boots
11. Gangstabilly

[Bill in CT]

I like TFP a lot but don't include it when I rank the albums because it's not a "real" album to me but a collection of songs from across a number of years…similar reasoning as to why I don't include Decade in my ranking of Neil Young albums.

Southern Rock Opera
Decoration Day
The Dirty South
English Oceans
Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Pizza Deliverance
A Blessing And A Curse
Go-Go Boots
Gangstabilly
The Big To-Do

[Iowan]

Decoration Day
The Dirty South
Southern Rock Opera
A Blessing and a Curse
English Oceans
Pizza Deliverance
Brighter than Creations Dark
The Big To Do
Gangstabilly
Go Go Boots

[BiloxiParish]

I'm sure this has been done to death here...
//RH

Cortez I didn't post this nor create this topic my hands are dry

[cortez the killer]

I'm sure this has been done to death here...
//RH

Cortez I didn't post this nor create this topic my hands are dry

Am I that prickly, Biloxi? I was gonna post Joni's "Circle Game" lyrics, but I suppose I have a reputation to counteract. So I'll play along.

Decoration Day
Southern Rock Opera
The Dirty South
English Oceans
Brighter Than Creations Dark
Pizza Deliverance
A Blessing & a Curse
Gangstabilly
The Big To-Do
Go-Go Boots

[allisonsdc]

1. Decoration Day
2. Southern Rock Opera
3. The Dirty South
4. English Oceans
5. Pizza Deliverance
6. Brighter Than Creations Dark
7. The Fine Print
8. Go Go Boots
9. The Big To Do
10. Gangstabilly
11. A Blessing & A Curse

[dbtfan4life]

The Dirty South
Pizza Deliverance
Decoration Day
English Oceans
Southern Rock Opera
Brighter Than Creations Dark
A Blessing And A Curse
The Big To Do
Gangstabilly
Go-Go Boots

[Tequila Cowboy]

I don't care that we're doing this exercise again per se but I think those list changes fairly often for most of us. Despite all that here goes:

1. Decoration Day
2. Southern Rock Opera
3. English Oceans
4. Go-Go Boots
5. The Dirty South
6. Brighter Than Creations Dark
7. Pizza Deliverance
8. A Blessing and a Curse
9. Gangstabilly
10. The Big To Do

[maxjkugel]

1. Decoration Day
2. Southern Rock Opera
3. The Dirty South
4. Brighter Than Creation's Dark (If a few songs were cut from this one it would be closer to number 1)
5. English Oceans
6. A Blessing And A Curse
7. Gangstabilly
8. The Big To Do
9. Go Go Boots
10. Pizza Deliverance

[linkous]

I don't care that we're doing this exercise again per se but I think those list changes fairly often for most of us. Despite all that here goes:

1. Decoration Day
2. Southern Rock Opera
3. English Oceans
4. Go-Go Boots
5. The Dirty South
6. Brighter Than Creations Dark
7. Pizza Deliverance
8. A Blessing and a Curse
9. Gangstabilly
10. The Big To Do

My top 6 is exactly the same as yours TC, but I would move TBTD up to No7 and have PD,ABAAC and Gangstabilly as 8,9,10.
GGB has seen a big turn around for me, I never used to rate it as high as I do now but for some unfathomable reason hearing EO made me re-evaluate it and enjoy it a lot more.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I don't care that we're doing this exercise again per se but I think those list changes fairly often for most of us. Despite all that here goes:

1. Decoration Day
2. Southern Rock Opera
3. English Oceans
4. Go-Go Boots
5. The Dirty South
6. Brighter Than Creations Dark
7. Pizza Deliverance
8. A Blessing and a Curse
9. Gangstabilly
10. The Big To Do

My top 6 is exactly the same as yours TC, but I would move TBTD up to No7 and have PD,ABAAC and Gangstabilly as 8,9,10.
GGB has seen a big turn around for me, I never used to rate it as high as I do now but for some unfathomable reason hearing EO made me re-evaluate it and enjoy it a lot more.

At one point I had GGB at #2 but some reflection made me drop it just a bit. What my 2,3 & 4 picks have in common, at least to me, is that they are really strong records that achieved what they set out to do. SRO is a monster who's success was unlikely at best but it holds up really, really well especially considering the budget. English Oceans feels a little like BTCD (albeit as a stronger album) because of the dual feeling of rebirth and the joy of making records. GGB set out to be some sort of elusive country soul record (despite the murder ballads tag it had early on) and succeeded on those terms wildly. Ironically I might actually like the songs on TBTD, my #10 on list, just a little better than those on GGB but as an album I find myself rarely going back to it.

The bottom line is that it's a remarkably consistent catalog without a stinker in the bunch. By all rights ABAAC should be awful given the tough time they had making it and yet isn't and Decoration Day probably shouldn't have been better than SRO given the three headed monster songwriting nature, and yet it was. As a failed musician myself I have nothing but mad respect and more than a little professional jealousy as to what they've created. People can call that homerism if they want. I'm good with it.

[linkous]

I don't care that we're doing this exercise again per se but I think those list changes fairly often for most of us. Despite all that here goes:

1. Decoration Day
2. Southern Rock Opera
3. English Oceans
4. Go-Go Boots
5. The Dirty South
6. Brighter Than Creations Dark
7. Pizza Deliverance
8. A Blessing and a Curse
9. Gangstabilly
10. The Big To Do

My top 6 is exactly the same as yours TC, but I would move TBTD up to No7 and have PD,ABAAC and Gangstabilly as 8,9,10.
GGB has seen a big turn around for me, I never used to rate it as high as I do now but for some unfathomable reason hearing EO made me re-evaluate it and enjoy it a lot more.

At one point I had GGB at #2 but some reflection made me drop it just a bit. What my 2,3 & 4 picks have in common, at least to me, is that they are really strong records that achieved what they set out to do. SRO is a monster who's success was unlikely at best but it holds up really, really well especially considering the budget. English Oceans feels a little like BTCD (albeit as a stronger album) because of the dual feeling of rebirth and the joy of making records. GGB set out to be some sort of elusive country soul record (despite the murder ballads tag it had early on) and succeeded on those terms wildly. Ironically I might actually like the songs on TBTD, my #10 on list, just a little better than those on GGB but as an album I find myself rarely going back to it.

The bottom line is that it's a remarkably consistent catalog without a stinker in the bunch. By all rights ABAAC should be awful given the tough time they had making it and yet isn't and Decoration Day probably shouldn't have been better than SRO given the three headed monster songwriting nature, and yet it was. As a failed musician myself I have nothing but mad respect and more than a little professional jealousy as to what they've created. People can call that homerism if they want. I'm good with it.

Believe it or not, but not that long ago SRO would have been languishing in the lower reaches of my DBT top 10. I thought it was a bit too "rawk" for my tastes, and I took a bit of flak on here for saying so, but over time I have come to appreciate it for just what it is - a fantastic rock n roll album, simple as that.

[coornelius]

Dirty South
Decoration Day
SRO
English Oceans
Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Pizza Deliverance
Blessing and a Curse
The Big To-Do
Gangstabilly
Go-Go Boots

[Iowan]

Go Go Boots was a middish pack album when it came out, but it fell pretty quick. The musicianship is very good, but a lot of it lacks energy to me, and the songwriting just isn't at the top of their standards. There were 2 covers and at least 4 really old songs that had never made it on to a DBT record before, and only 1-2 of them were high end DBT tracks (Buckets, Pulaski).

It has it's moments, and is a pretty good album, but I don't listen to it often, and only 2 or 3 of it's songs are top notch DBT for me. They were clearly getting a little bloated. I think TBTD/GGB would have been better if pared down to one album that featured a "rock" side and a "country/soul" side.

[Duke Silver]

Decoration Day
The Dirty South
Brighter Than Creation's Dark

Pizza Deliverance
Southern Rock Opera
A Blessing and a Curse

English Oceans
The Big To-Do
Gangstabilly

Go-Go Boots

[Barely_Oakely]

The Dirty South
Southern Rock Opera
Decoration Day
English Oceans
A Blessing And A Curse
Brighter Than Creations Dark
A Blessing And A Curse
The Big To-Do
The Fine Print
Gangstabilly
Pizza Deliverance
GoGo Boots

[RevMatt]

1) The Dirty South -- My personal fave. Song for song this one has a whole lot going for it, from the mini redneck mafia song cycle to "Danko/Manuel" to "Carl Perkins' Cadillac", each songwriter seemed to reach new heights of creativity. It also has studio polish without being slick. I've always been prone to making Stones comparisons when discussing DBT's body of work and TDS is their Sticky Fingers which was Jagger, Richards and Taylor at the height of their creative prowess.

2) Brighter Than Creation's Dark -- This record gets the most spins on my turntable or in the cd changer in the car. It is the one DBT album I reach for when I want some nice music in the background. It has this smokey, boozey vibe all the way through but not cigarettes and beer. It is a woodsmoke from a fireplace and 20 year old scotch kind of vibe. IMO, it is Neff, Shonna and Morgan each at their creative peak. As I said in my review, more Stray Gators than Crazy Horse, more Harvest Moon than Ragged Glory.

3) Southern Rock Opera Without this album DBT may have not gone any farther in terms of audience than Slobberbone, Bloodkin or The Bottle Rockets. It took them from the van to the tour bus, from opening act to headliner status, from small rooms to small theaters. At 36 years old Patterson Hood put everything he had on this album, an artistic gamble of major proportions. It was either going to be his Tommy or a totally pretentious, unintentionally funny piece of crap. That was the thin line he was walking when he made this one. If it wasn't for this album we wouldn't be having this discussion.

4) Decoration Day Most fans consider this one their best. I love it but in my Stones comparison I consider this to be their Beggars Banquet; great record but was surpassed by Sticky Fingers and Exile.

5) English Oceans -- In the three years leading up to this album I participated in numerous threads here where the elephant in the room was whether or not The Truckers were capable of releasing another first tier album. ABAAC, TBTD and GGB were not in the same class as DD, SRO or TDS. BTCD is a considered top tier by many fans but this is not the universal consensus in the same way DD, SRO and TDS are. In my Stones comparison, EO is Drive By Truckers' Some Girls. It is full of DBT attitude without sounding like they are attempting to record another Decoration Day. The songs are a courageous confrontation with middle age and mortality where Hood and Cooley don't flinch. It is full of shitty marriage songs but unlike "Why Henry Drinks" it is from a 50 year old's perspective. Icy silences instead of glasses being thrown across the kitchen.

6) Pizza Deliverance Brad Morgan was not yet a member. This is a very strong collection of songs from a band still finding its voice. Cooley emerges as a creative force here with "Uncle Frank", besting Rob Malone in the quest to become the number 2 songwriter in the band. In keeping with my Stones comparison, this is their "Aftermath".

7) Go Go Boots -- If BTCD is woodsmoke and 20 year old Scotch, Go Go Boots is a cheap motel room that has been occupied for an entire weekend by alcoholic chain smokers having a clandestine affair. It is a totally badass guitar soaked funk that reeks of mildew, cigarettes, cheap liquor, cheaper perfume and a Margo and Harold sort of sex stink made possible by the right combination of Cialis, Oxys and soft lighting. It is the musical equivilent of every bad decision a grownup can make and then some while, at the same time, holding out some hope of redemption. IMO, this is Patterson's best effort at sequencing an album. And no matter what anybody says, Shonna could lay down a totally badass bass line. The album's accidental theme of redemption is hinted at throughout but finally announces itself on side 4. Musically, this is DBT's Black and Blue.

8) The Big To Do -- An ambitious record that never quite becomes the big rock album Patterson Hood hoped it would be. Problems with the mastering and Cooley's writer's block might be the tip of the iceberg. Patterson has some great songs on this but "Working This Job" and "The Flying Wallendas" are not as good as he thought they were. However, "Drag The Lake Charlie", "Fourth Night of My Drinking", "Santa Fe" and "After The Scene Dies" are all growers and I consider them to be some of his most underrated songs. Perhaps it was a year or two too early for Patterson to sit back and take in what being a successful recording artist means. Heat Lightning Rumbles in The Distance explores this with far more poignancy than The Big To Do. DBT's It's Only Rock and Roll.

9) A Blessing and A Curse -- Considered by many to be their weakest effort though a band has to have a pretty damn strong body of work for an album that contains "Space City", "Gravity's Gone' "Little Bonnie" and "World of Hurt" to be ranked near the bottom. It is Jason Isbell's swansong and definitely his weakest collection of songs. Why was "When The Well Runs Dry" left off this record? Not only is it a great song but a perfect commentary as to what was going on in the band at that time. This record is DBT's Goat's Head Soup.

10) Gangstabilly -- Patterson Hood avoided the sophmore jinx by recording DBT's second album first. "The Living Bubba" and "Panties in Your Purse" are the two keepers here. "Sandwiches For The Road" is the sleeper and maybe Patterson's most underrated song. "Why Henry Drinks" -- attitude and all -- is a perfect encapsulation of why their small fan base was so intensely loyal in the early days. It was an era similar to The Replacements' Twin Tone era except DBT were southern boys who could hold their liquor.

[John A Arkansawyer]

7) Go Go Boots -- If BTCD is woodsmoke and 20 year old Scotch, Go Go Boots is a cheap motel room that has been occupied for an entire weekend by alcoholic chain smokers having a clandestine affair. The record reeks of mildew, cigarettes, cheap liquor, cheaper perfume and sex funk only made possible with Cialis and soft lighting. It is every bad decision a grownup can make while and then some while, at the same time, holding out some hope of redemption.

I knew I loved this album for some reason I'd never quite articulated.

[beantownbubba]

So I guess we're really doing this again, eh? W/ all the usual caveats & blah blah blah.

1. Decoration Day
2. The Dirty South
3. Southern Rock Opera
4. English Oceans
5. Go Go Boots
6. Brighter Than Creation's Dark
7. Pizza Deliverance
8. A Blessing and a Curse
9. Gangstabilly
10. The Big To Do

[dime in the gutter]

sro/gb
dd
pd
btcd
tds
ggb
eo
abaac
tbtd

[RevMatt]

So I guess we're really doing this again, eh? W/ all the usual caveats & blah blah blah.

Beats the hell out of Bubble Safari.

[hanklow]

The Dirty South
Decoration Day
Southern Rock Opera
English Oceans
pizza deliverance
Brighter Than Creations Dark
Gangstabilly
A Blessing and a Curse
Go Go Boots
The Big To Do

[beantownbubba]

The results so far based on a 20-15-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system. 17 voters. I didn't include the fine print. I divided 35 points between dime's 2 top choices w/ SRO getting 18. First place votes in parentheses.

Decoration Day (8)
The Dirty South (6)
Southern Rock Opera (2)
English Oceans
Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Pizza Deliverance
A Blessing and a Curse
Go Go Boots
The Big To Do (1)
Gangstabilly

Despite having many more first place votes, TDS is only 7 points ahead of SRO. The only other race that has a less than 10 point difference is between EO and BTCD (9 points).

[LastLawson]

SRO - Their masterpiece.
ABAAC - The definition of a sleeper album.
EO - A return to form with their best musicianship to date.

TDS - Badass.
PD - A country album that rocks.
BTCD - Majestic.
DD - Good album - just don't listen to it much.
TBTD - Would be higher with better ending sequence.

GGB - Bloated, musically boring for 1/2 the songs.
GB - Not enough Cooley.

[RolanK]

7) Go Go Boots -- If BTCD is woodsmoke and 20 year old Scotch, Go Go Boots is a cheap motel room that has been occupied for an entire weekend by alcoholic chain smokers having a clandestine affair. The record reeks of mildew, cigarettes, cheap liquor, cheaper perfume and sex funk only made possible with Cialis and soft lighting. It is every bad decision a grownup can make while and then some while, at the same time, holding out some hope of redemption.

I knew I loved this album for some reason I'd never quite articulated.

I like that album very much too. I think I would put higher up if I were to paricipate in the ranking game.

[RevMatt]

7) Go Go Boots -- If BTCD is woodsmoke and 20 year old Scotch, Go Go Boots is a cheap motel room that has been occupied for an entire weekend by alcoholic chain smokers having a clandestine affair. The record reeks of mildew, cigarettes, cheap liquor, cheaper perfume and sex funk only made possible with Cialis and soft lighting. It is every bad decision a grownup can make while and then some while, at the same time, holding out some hope of redemption.

I knew I loved this album for some reason I'd never quite articulated.

I like that album very much too. I think I would put higher up if I were to paricipate in the ranking game.

Go Go Boots must have been a whole lot of fun to record. I think that the sessions they did with Booker T helped them develop more of a movie soundtrack approach to their arrangements. Certain songs on that album like the title track just ooze sleaze, so much that you feel like you need to take a shower afterwards. "I Hear You Humming" is full of sexual double entendre and the music reminds me of one of those lazy, hungover mornings where you have nothing to do, no place to go except the liquor store. "Used To Be a Cop" is the musical expression of where that guy's head is. The tension and anger seeps well beyond the lyrics, all the way down to the rhythm section. If the song were just the music, no lyrics, the listener would think it was about some unhinged guy contemplating a killing spree.

Go Go Boots may not be the strongest selection of songs, at least from a lyrical standpoint. But musically it is a very good representation of what the Neff, Tucker, Gonzalez edition of Drive By Truckers was capable of. Despite how it ended with Shonna and Neff, that version of the band was capable of laying down fantastic tracks and, on their best nights, killer shows.

I would love it if Jason, Amanda, Shonna, Neff, one of their drummers and keyboard players put together a band for a one off tour. It would be formidable.

[dbtfan4life]

no.. lets just get jason to rejoin the DBTs for a 20 show tour of the south!!!

[RevMatt]

no.. lets just get jason to rejoin the DBTs for a 20 show tour of the south!!!

In another year they might not be able to afford Jason. Three sellout shows at The Ryman. Things are happening for him in a big way.