Drive-By Truckers

The Fine Print [A Collection Of Oddities and Rarities 2003-2008] (Nettwerk)

By Sarah Collins
Published: September 27th, 2009 | 2:00pm

B-Side collections are notoriously patchy, made for true fans and pretty much unlistenable to anyone else. But a band as solid as Drive-By Truckers knows better than to release half-assed oddities. All of the songs on The Fine Print sound finished, like they’d fit seamlessly in between the tracks of Decoration Day (New West, 2003) or tacked onto the end of 2001's Southern Rock Opera (SDR). Which is fitting, since the majority of the songs were written on the tour for Southern Rock Opera, the same time as the songs on Decoration Day.

Two of the songs are alternate takes, “Goode’s Field Road” and “Uncle Frank,” but half the record is wholly original and unreleased, with songs like “TVA” and “Mrs. Claus’ Kimono” lacking nothing in originality or interest. A few cover songs round it out, notably Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” which gave bassist Shonna Tucker her first lead vocal appearance for DBT. “Play It All Night Long,” a Warren Zevon cover, couldn’t fit better into the DBT cannon, circa Southern Rock Opera. It’s only a Zevon song because he got there first, and the Truckers aren’t content to let it stay his, infusing the song with their own hate and love of Southern life.

Aside from a few songs, it’s a loose record, lacking some of the drive and focus of their greater opuses. But the fact that their cast-offs are better than most bands’ records only adds to their reputation. It’s the perfect DBT record to spin in the morning, while you’re flipping flapjacks (or just pouring milk over cereal). During the years these songs were written, the Truckers were at their height, writing record after record with no pressure to come up with new material. The results sounds effortless, like a pair of boots kicked up on a table.

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