Son Volt - Okemah and the Melody of Riot

As a living, breathing, red-blooded, cotton-wearing Made-in-The and Proud-to-be-an American citizen, can you really hate anything Jay Farrar does? Next you’ll tell me that “Pink Houses” by John Mellencamp is not officially the unofficial anthem of the American heartland. Or that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band aren’t amazing. Now, none of this means you have to really like Son Volt. It just means that you can’t hate it any more than you want to burn the flag in front of your Grandmother. It’s the country/bluegrass tinged Rock and Roll that is in your blood and around your head (as described by Jay himself in “Six String Belief”). If I had to pick my favorite post-Uncle Tupelo project, unfortunately Son Volt would not be it. Jeff Tweedy was always my favorite songwriter (and voice) in that group, and thus Wilco wins by default. But that’s not say that on a hot Sunday afternoon, I don’t want to pop in Son Volt and drive to a wheat field to be with my friends. Each record is consistently American Rock, and Okemah won’t let you down there. Okemah is a reference to the birthplace of Woody Guthrie, whom Farrar references in the opening track “Bandages & Scars.” And in the tradition of Guthrie, The Melody of Riot is Farrar’s own tribute to the greats of American music – to make a record that can protest the direction of the country without losing any pride in the country itself. The question is whether invoking the spirit of songwriters so highly entrenched in their own time can be as effective when applied to the modern day. I can agree with the ideas, and I can’t hate the music, but it just doesn’t inspire me like I'm sure it is intended. [www.jayfarrar.net]