Wow, I'm a huge Fogerty fan, and think he is one of the all time great songwriters, and while I enjoy his new album, they really think it's worth 5 stars?
I guess this is why I don't bother with Rolling Stone anymore.
Sub wrote:So after my first listen I'm convinced Super 8 sounds exactly like another song (prob more then one) that I just can't place gonna drive me crazy every time I hear it now.
Sub wrote:So after my first listen I'm convinced Super 8 sounds exactly like another song (prob more then one) that I just can't place gonna drive me crazy every time I hear it now.
I like Southeastern, but Super 8 is terrible.
It sounds like a standard issue, stale rock n' roll song on the record (where it stands out like a sore thumb) but just as I suspected, it works much better live.
Sub wrote:So after my first listen I'm convinced Super 8 sounds exactly like another song (prob more then one) that I just can't place gonna drive me crazy every time I hear it now.
I like Southeastern, but Super 8 is terrible.
I don't think you're alone in thinking that. Personally, I love it and play it loud. Looking forward to seeing it live.
We call him Scooby Do, but Scooby doesn’t do. Scooby, is not involved
I just don't get all the "Super 8" hate here... Its just a rawk song, nothing wrong with that (or is there?)
Agree with Kudzu, maybe the real problem with the song is that it stands out on Southeastern...
Try this, listen to the song with earbuds / headphones. Only listen to the right channel, it'll remove the fuzzy-electric guitar from the mix, it'll sound more like the rest of the cd...
Count me in as another supporter of Super 8 being a great song live, especially paired up w/ jason's cover of "Can't you Hear me Knocking" Those two together made for a great closer in Chattanooga.
The Buttholeville-ish opening works well. The first time I heard Super 8 live I thought he was covering Buttholeville and got really excited, then I came to my senses.
I like Isbell, he's one of the best songwriters around right now. If I have a criticism, as some others have alluded to, it's that he's a little derivative and cliched; a lot of the songs on Southeastern sound like other songs: Different Days sounds like Tom Petty's cover of Friend of the Devil, Super 8's verses sound like Tulsa Time, Traveling Alone has elements of Hello in There and Stockholm has a line that's pretty much unforgivable "Stockholm, please take me home." I'm not saying he consciously aped the songs, just that he wears his influences on his sleeve. I tend to picture him writing these songs with a manual on how to write a song right beside him; he's clearly interested in the craft of songwriting, though so I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing and I think he'll become a little less self-conscious and more natural as a song writer as time goes on. It is a very good album, though...
You know I guess when it comes to complaints about rock/country/americana/folk or what have you music I have a hard time swallowing the derivative argument simply due to the fact that it's all derivative, it's just a matter of degrees. Thirty years ago Curt Kirkwood told me that every song had been written and his job as a musician was to dress those songs up in new clothes so no one would notice they had been done before. He was one hundred percent right and it's only more true today. I think one of the reasons people notice more is it is getting harder and harder to dress up those songs in new clothes because now even those clothes have been done before. We should judge a song based on three things; 1) does it make you pay attention 2) does it make you feel something 3) do you remember it when the music stops. If it distracts you so much that you think of another song when the music stops well I guess it failed for you, but it might not fail for someone else. I just think we ought to be careful when we cry about songwriters "copying" other songs. I've never heard one thing in a Jason song that makes me think of another song except for when others point something out to me. I think that says something. If I have to work at finding the derivation then I don't think it's strong enough an argument to even discuss. Just my two cents.
We call him Scooby Do, but Scooby doesn’t do. Scooby, is not involved
I'm a Jason fan, I buy his records and go see him when he comes around but I agree with the sentiment that a whole lot of what he does strikes me as bland, especially compared to a lot of what he did when he was in the Truckers. Of course, he has also has also done some work on is own that stands out and is unique to his character but those songs seem to be few and far between. All that said, I'm very glad to see him enjoying the success he has as of late.
Tequila Cowboy wrote:You know I guess when it comes to complaints about rock/country/americana/folk or what have you music I have a hard time swallowing the derivative argument simply due to the fact that it's all derivative, it's just a matter of degrees. Thirty years ago Curt Kirkwood told me that every song had been written and his job as a musician was to dress those songs up in new clothes so no one would notice they had been done before. He was one hundred percent right and it's only more true today. I think one of the reasons people notice more is it is getting harder and harder to dress up those songs in new clothes because now even those clothes have been done before. We should judge a song based on three things; 1) does it make you pay attention 2) does it make you feel something 3) do you remember it when the music stops. If it distracts you so much that you think of another song when the music stops well I guess it failed for you, but it might not fail for someone else. I just think we ought to be careful when we cry about songwriters "copying" other songs. I've never heard one thing in a Jason song that makes me think of another song except for when others point something out to me. I think that says something. If I have to work at finding the derivation then I don't think it's strong enough an argument to even discuss. Just my two cents.
Excellent post Dean. Just put the goddamn record on and enjoy it
Tequila Cowboy wrote:You know I guess when it comes to complaints about rock/country/americana/folk or what have you music I have a hard time swallowing the derivative argument simply due to the fact that it's all derivative, it's just a matter of degrees. Thirty years ago Curt Kirkwood told me that every song had been written and his job as a musician was to dress those songs up in new clothes so no one would notice they had been done before. He was one hundred percent right and it's only more true today. I think one of the reasons people notice more is it is getting harder and harder to dress up those songs in new clothes because now even those clothes have been done before. We should judge a song based on three things; 1) does it make you pay attention 2) does it make you feel something 3) do you remember it when the music stops. If it distracts you so much that you think of another song when the music stops well I guess it failed for you, but it might not fail for someone else. I just think we ought to be careful when we cry about songwriters "copying" other songs. I've never heard one thing in a Jason song that makes me think of another song except for when others point something out to me. I think that says something. If I have to work at finding the derivation then I don't think it's strong enough an argument to even discuss. Just my two cents.
I agree with most of this (except for the derivation not being obvious on some songs), but I was just making the point that all of us who jumped on the "Dierks is a thief!" bandwagon would be pretty hypocritical if we didn't atleast acknowledge Jason does the same shit. I guess thats just the biased fanboy in all of us though.
I understand the criticism DBT fans have of Jason's post-DBT songs. He started going in a different direction around the time of ABAAC and has continued along those lines ever since. On his last two albums there are only a couple of songs that might have fit in well on the last three DBT records. "Codeine" certainly would and "Super 8" played by The Truckers would segue nicely out of "Three Dimes Down". But the bulk of his songs wouldn't have been appropriate for what DBT has been doing. However, those same people who don't like his solo stuff for the reasons I've mentioned should stop pining for his return to DBT. Instead, acknowledge that as difficult as it might have been to fire a top songwriter like Isbell, Patterson Hood made the right decision back in 2007.
I have nowhere else to go. There is no demand in the priesthood for elderly drug addicts
I have finally realized why I like his songs from Blessing more than most here seem to. It was the first Truckers record I bought and the first of their music I ever heard. I had nothing to compare it to and to this day I guess that shapes the way I experience those songs.
Cole Younger wrote:I have finally realized why I like his songs from Blessing more than most here seem to. It was the first Truckers record I bought and the first of their music I ever heard. I had nothing to compare it to and to this day I guess that shapes the way I experience those songs.
I think there's a lot to be said for the "point of entry" theory. I'm sure it's a huge reason why Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance will always be tops for me.
Tequila Cowboy wrote:Really digging Relatively Easy this week. Starting to think that this is a much deeper record than Here We Rest.
I've been digging that song as well. I set Southeastern aside for a few weeks and came back to it prior to catching Jason this week. When the record first came out I was overwhelmed by "Cover Me Up", "Elephant", "Traveling Alone", "Live Oak" and "Super 8" which made me think Jason was channeling his inner Cooley. Since I've come back to the album I have a new found appreciation for "Stockholm", "Flying Over Water", "Songs That She Sang in the Shower" and "Relatively Easy."
I don't know which album I like more, Here We Rest or Southeastern. Both have great songs, IMO.
I have nowhere else to go. There is no demand in the priesthood for elderly drug addicts
