On the first two songs, they go from old-schooldobro twang and props to George Jones to Tom Petty's oft-overlooked Southernanthem “Rebels.” While clarifying along the way that Patterson Hood is no Mr.Petty when it comes to pipes, the tracks traverse the wide lineage coursingthrough the band's entire body of work. There's also the knowing, front-porchsmirk of the likes of “Mrs. Claus' Kimono,” an off-color dirge of the sort youmight hear at a Tom Waits Christmas party. And the requisite acoustictracks“TVA” and the beautifully picked “Little Pony and the Great BigHorse”each render up every Southern boy's reminiscences of blue skies andsimple, yes, clichéd, life lessons.
They play at any-city bar-band status on “Like aRolling Stone,” but by the end it's clear the Truckers are at their authenticbest when slumming in wife-beater, cowboy-boots heaven. “Play It All NightLong” is the height of what three guitars, four chords and a whole lot ofSouthern-fried grease can accomplish. It's also indicative of how tight andelectric the results can be from such a loose, drawling approach.
