Top Tracks 2008: 5!

THE DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS - THREE DIMES DOWN

Oh HELL yes. The Drive-By Truckers are the heirs to the ideal of country music. Not the country music that’s slowly morphing into a pop subgenre, but real country music, the music of Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson. They released two absolute classic albums earlier this decade (Decoration Day and The Dirty South) that should be a requirement for any record collection. One of the most important elements of the Drive-By Trucker’s music is the fact that they haven’t yet forgotten how to rock, and Three Dimes Down serves as Exhibit A.

This song has shown up on the blog before, most significantly as a Daily Rec back in June. The Truckers had been in a state of flux ever since Jason Isbell’s departure from the band. The group released the solid but unspectacular A Blessing and A Curse in 2006, raising questions about whether they could rediscover their previous highs without Isbell’s presence.* Two tracks into this year’s Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, Chris Cooley silenced the doubters with this track, an absolute sledghammer of a track that burns like a shot of whisky. The message was unmistakable: the best hard rock band in the world isn’t going anywhere.

*yeah, yeah…Isbell was there for the album, but it’s obvious that his involvement wasn’t what it had been on the previous few albums.