''Southern Rock Opera'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Drive-By Truckers, released in 2001. A

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

covering an ambitious range of subject matter from the politics of race to 1970s stadium rock, ''Southern Rock Opera'' either imagines, or filters, every topic through the context of legendary Southern band

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

. The record was originally self-released on Soul Dump Records. The album was re-released on July 16, 2002 by Lost Highway Records. The album was financed by issuing promissory notes in exchange for loans from fans, family and friends of the band. The album's artwork was done by

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

artist Wes Freed.

Origin and making of the album

The idea for ''Southern Rock Opera'' pre-dates the band's formation in 1996. ''Southern Rock Opera'' began in a long discussion between Drive-By Truckers'

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Patterson Hood and former Truckers

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Earl Hicks, during a road trip. The pair discussed writing a semi- autobiographical

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

about growing up in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and about the plane crash that almost ended the career of the rock band

, taking singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist

Steve Gaines Steven Earl Gaines (September 14, 1949 – October 20, 1977) was an American musician. He is best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist with rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1976 until his death in the October 1977 airplane crash that claime ...

, and Gaines' back-up-singer sister Cassie Gaines. Soon after this discussion, Hood formed Drive-By Truckers. The Truckers recorded two

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s and one

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

during the four years between their formation and the actual recording of ''Southern Rock Opera''. During these years, Drive-By's principal songwriters Hood, Mike Cooley, and Rob Malone continued to contribute songs to "The Rock Opera", as they had come to call it. After the release of their live album ''

Alabama Ass Whuppin' ''Alabama Ass Whuppin is the title of the first Drive-By Truckers live album. It was recorded live in Athens and Atlanta in 1999. During the band's 2012 New Year's Eve rock show at the 9:30 Club in DC, it was announced that an expanded vinyl and ...

'', Drive-By Truckers began recording what they hoped would be their magnum opus: ''Southern Rock Opera''. According to Patterson Hood, "(the album) was recorded in Birmingham, upstairs in a uniform shop during an early September heat wave, with no air-conditioning. We had to turn the fans off when we were recording, and we worked from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. So ''Southern Rock Opera'' was fun to write, but we had a miserable time making it." After the album was finished, however, the troubles continued for The Truckers when they ran out of funding for the immense project. To resolve the problem, and to avoid "any fine print crap", as Hood put it, the band took a non-traditional approach. The Truckers made a prospectus and solicited investors, with a promise of 15% interest, to pay for the manufacturing and distribution of ''Southern Rock Opera''. The approach worked. Through their fan-based online news group and by sheer word of mouth, The Truckers were able to raise $23,000. This allowed them to print about 5,000 copies of the album, and buy a "new" used van for touring. Notably included in the group, dubbed "The DBT Investors", was Widespread Panic bassist and fellow Athenian Dave Schools. ''Southern Rock Opera'' was finally released on September 12, 2001 on

Soul Dump Records In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

. One day after September 11 attacks.

Critical reception

The album was voted the 22nd best of the year in the Pazz & Jop music critic poll of 2002. The poll founder, Robert Christgau, named it his 23rd favorite album of 2001. ''

Rhapsody (online music service) Napster is a music streaming service based in Seattle, Washington. Napster started as an audio search engine named Aladdin that was purchased by Listen.com in May 2001 and became the basis for its new streaming service, called Rhapsody, that lau ...

'' ranked the album #6 on its "Rock's Best Albums of the Decade" list. The album was also included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''.

Re-release

The critical praise for ''Southern Rock Opera'' created no shortage of buzz around the album and the band. The Truckers did not have the means to press the necessary number of copies of the album on their own. In order to meet demand, Drive-By Truckers signed a large-scale distribution deal with Lost Highway Records. ''Southern Rock Opera'' was re-released, this time worldwide, on July 16, 2002.

Track listing

Disc one: Act one: Betamax Guillotine

Disc two: Act two

Personnel

Band

* Mike Cooley – lyrics, guitar, ambience, vocals *Earl Hicks – bass * Patterson Hood – lyrics, guitar, ambience, vocals, storytelling *Rob Malone – lyrics, guitar, ambience, vocals *Brad Morgan – drums

Guest performers

*Kelly Hogan – backing vocals on "Cassie's Brother" and "Angels And Fuselage" (as Cassie Gaines) *Anne Richmond Boston – 1st group vocal *Jyl Freed – 2nd group vocal *Amy Pike – 3rd group vocal

Crew

*David Barbe, Dick Cooper, Drive-By Truckers – production *Rodney Mills – mastering *Dick Cooper, Earl Hicks – engineering *Wes Freed, Patrick Hood – artwork, photography, cover art *Patterson, Lilla Hood – art direction, design, adaptation, liner notes

References

External links

Lyrics
* ttp://www.losthighwayrecords.com/home.html Lost Highway Records' official websitebr>Patterson Hood's MSN Music article on Lynyrd Skynyrd's 2006 Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame induction
{{Authority control 2001 albums Drive-By Truckers albums Rock operas