Southern Rock Opera

Started decent but just went on and on and on and on and on

This was a weird one

"...Southern Rock Opera either imagines, or filters, every topic through the context of legendary Southern band Lynyrd Skynyrd." -Wikipedia Now if that doesn't justify this album being on the list, then nothing will. I can think of about 20 more justifications for this record being here but I'll condense it so I don't stay up all night ranting about rednecks writing about other rednecks. To start, holy hell is this album fun. It's 5 (at least, I think it's 5) guys singing about sociopolitical issues through a story about Lynyrd Skynyrd, of course it's going to be fun. The idea somehow turns out being way more fun than that sentence, though. From all of the violently southern guitar solos to Three Great Alabama Icons as a song, it's so much fun. This album's also very forward-thinking. The singer's trying to redefine the idea of the racist southern guy by being an anti-racist southern guy instead. Lots of songs about racial tensions and one where he straight up says "To the fucking rich man all poor people look the same." I also learned something by listening to this, which is always a positive. I never knew how much George Wallace was to blame for southern stereotypes. Granted, I also had no idea who George Wallace was until about an hour ago. I also didn't know that I needed a southern rock opera in my life, but I'm definitely glad to have listened to this before my death.

Long and boring. I’m definitely not the target audience

Honestly, I know this is an important alt-country album, but I really found it kinda mid… 2.5, rounded up

great band. for my money Go-Go Boots is their best record though

Fantastic album. I love how it is lyrically a psychgoeographic exploration of where main songwriter grew up.

Encore du rock qui s'écoute bien mais sans surprise. J'adore la pochette par contre !

J’ai pas écouté jusqu’au bout, j’ai trouvé ça looong…. Ça doit être sympa en concert par contre La voix est sympa Ça fait très pearl Jam en moins bien

Bof bof. En plus j'ai oublié de mettre pause avant de retirer mon casque dans l'Open space donc moment gênant 2/5

i'm an australian i'm legit the further away in the world from these problems LMAOOOOO. it wasn't terrible music it just was bland, but had some cool moments. wish it wasn't 90mins either

Out of all of the days to get this album, this was probably the best day. I was actually in the American South (from Australia) on a day trip. So this album definitely was made for the environment that I was in. His love and appreciation for Neil Young and especially Lynyrd Skynyrd that were how old is the only thing that made sense in Alabama. That George Wallace guy can totally get screwed and headed to hell. For the actual album it was nothing particularly special but certainly southern influenced. Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I like this band, and it was interesting to hear their way earlier stuff. That didn't make it a great album, but I did learn a little bit about the south.

Interesting mix of alternative and country, but way to obsessed with Lynyrd Skynyrd

I like guitar based music in general but I couldn’t relate to this. Not terrible; just not for me.

I loved this album. Nothing beats good southern rock with obvious anti-racism sentiments thrown in! The Devil is from the South! Lol!

So first I was like what in the Good Ol' Boys 'Murica f**k yeah is this, this is the first album that's come up for me so far that I hadn't heard of or known the artist before. I actually liked the first track best as it had more of a post-rock vibe than most of the others here, but I reached a point half way through the album where I couldn't cope with any more of it and just skipped to hear short bits of each subsequent track to get the vibe. Having said that, the album has more depth than I would have expected, the Alabama icons bit being particularly interesting. I'm sure people who like southern rock are into it but it's not my thing - maybe I'm too European for this lol. I recommend turning this into a drinking game to take the edge off, 2 fingers at every mention of Skynyrd

A long concept album, that definitely was a project of love and passion by the band and their fans. Southern Rock Opera showcases what you can do with a great support and fan base behind you. Whilst you may not achieve full commercial success, your hardcore fans will always be there for you. Best: Let There Be Rock Worst: Life in the Factory 2.5 Stars

Good one.. Gonna explore more of their discography. My kinda music.

This was a pleasant surprise for me. Southern Rock isn't my favorite genre but it was interesting to see Drive-By Truckers' (apologist) perspective. Yes, using race dynamics to get votes is racist. But with that out of the way, the whole album is like a cousin-marrying Gen X love letter to the South. The instrumentation is loose, the vocals barely rise above the standard of acceptability, but there are some true gems of lyrics in here, and their brand of musicality provides an interesting backdrop. For these reasons, I wasn't put off by the length of the album.

2/5, like, this would be a 1, i wanted to stop early and did stop early but i have to give a point for the ambition. just wish they'd picked any other subject matter and sound tbh

Love the DBT, although this one isn't my favorite.

While listening to this I felt like I should be fixing machinery or building something out of wood.

Yeeehaaaaah Alabama

I...don't think this is for me. The southern rock that I've been introduced to in the past has been the 'greatest hits' - and this doesn't really come close to that. It has the same sound - but not the pep - nothing to make me remember any of it. And with it being a double album, there's a lot of songs that I don't remember as soon as they are done. The one that stood out was Three Great Alabama Icons - that was the only one that actually made me stop and pay attention.

Nah.

Not sure if I gave this one a fair listen, but 2 stahs.

Too few great moments, but when it was good it was good

Sounds like a perfect album for a western themed restaurant here in UK. Not sure that’s a compliment.

How many times can you mention Lynryd Skynyrd or George Wallace in a song? Not enough apparently. The music itself wasn’t terrible but the lyrics, delivery and overall result approaches it. 2/5 simply because I’ve heard worse. 2/5

Hearing this right after Tommy, it's amazing what the Rock Opera/concept album grew into. Also that so many of them are tragedies about the rise to fame and its costs - Tommy, The Wall, Ziggy Stardust, Jesus Christ Superstar. I think this one may be my favorite of the genre. I love the triple guitar choir on this, or however many are playing at once. I had genius.com open for the lyrics which also has excerpts from the album notes letting you know everything they were up to - a huge help. Wish I'd had this album when I was 17, it's a 4 on first listen, but going out on a limb that I think I'll be listening to it for a long time.

Too long and not my favorite genre. I like the album art and the title though!

Holy cow this is a long album for what it is. I was happy to hear some country music in the mix because the last many albums have been either rock or jazz and I was ready for some variety. I can't tell how satirical this album is supposed to be, but a rock opera about Lynyrd Skynyrd can't be fully serious. This is actually quite an enjoyable album overall. I like the grungy take on country. This reminded me of Neil Young and of some other Canadian rock/country bands that I like. The wide variety of subject matter really seems to encapsulate the culture and politics in the southern US in a fairly nuanced way (I assume, as I've never been there and don't know too much about it). Listening through the entire album was a bit of a slog and it definitely felt repetitive and slightly boring at times, but there were also great musical moments throughout. I'm not sure I would listen again, but this was really something! 7.5/10

Southern Rock Opera was quite the journey. I was expecting to not care for it personally. But it grew on me as it continued to play through. The Drive-By Truckers did a great job of creating a rock opera with story telling that took you along for a ride.

This was a very weird album. Some of the songs I liked and some I really didn't. The instrumentation was often good. But the signing was often really weird and off

I liked some of the songs, too long over all I think. Gave me the vibe of seeing a country rock band at a local festival in a good way. DIY Country rock vibes, was digging the vibe at times, other times I wished they leaned more into the twanggggg. The more country sounding segments I appreciated more than the standard rock sound, which sounded extremely standard. I actually really liked the album art for this, loved the style, simplicity and appreciated the human touch it had. 7/10 if I was driving along the highway, 6.5/10 in the right mood. 6/10 on a regular day...

Weird inclusion, weird subject matter, even more weirdly I kinda liked it! But this really is an extraordinarily arbitrary list, 70% of it anyway.

So odd. Perhaps if I was a man in southern USA and into inexplicably long filler tracks about drinking beer which blend indistinguishably into one another I might get it. But I'm a woman in the UK who prefers music with any kind of notable features. And so I didn't get it.

I wasn't really sure where we were going when this album started with a skull cracked half open. Not sure I would have started it that way since the rest of the album seemed to have a much different tune (if it weren't for this project I wouldn't have kept going). Musically not sure anything really sticks with me (good or bad). Some of the lyrics are interesting. It is their ode to the place they were from and raised, but honestly it makes Alabama sound super boring, slummy and sad, which then almost feels like a parody. I appreciate that they are try to put in some redemption for the small part of the population that might not be racist, but it just leaves me wondering why I would even want to connect with the state, their music, their people or their world.

okay then. Here's a guy from the south talking about the south and singing songs about the songs from the south. It's very southernly south.

The only thing keeping this album from being nothing more than an album you’d buy from the local band of beer-gutted hometown guys in their mid 40’s playing on a Friday night at the sports bar where you’re drunk as hell and going nowhere in life is the historical take on George Wallace. That was interesting to a point. Musically, there’s not much excitement going on. I totally respect what they’re going for…a double album about Alabama. With that much space to work with, you’d think a few more of the songs would stand out. “Moved” was moody and ok, and as mentioned, “The Three Great Alabama Icons” was unique. This album mostly ends up feeling like a colossal waste of time and gives me no more or less respect for the State (or Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet, whom are mentioned definitely more than once) than I already felt.

This is a creative concept for an album, and the storytelling here is pretty epic. I appreciate the history it dives into, especially the darkness and reality of Southern pride and racism. Weaving in the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd throughout was such a love letter to them too. I think if I listened to this several more times, my appreciation for individual songs would deepen. It's a little hard to get past HOW southern country this sounds sometimes, even though the intent of that sound is different than most. It's not really a sound that resonates with me, but the album as a whole is so well done and captivating that I'm still giving it a 4.

This was cool

I don't like country sounds.

I'm aware of Drive-By Truckers, but have never listened to them. I don't know. This just isn't quite doing it for me. It's not bad, but I feel like it could certainly be better. In particular, they should have spent more time getting better vocal takes. I'm fine with the gruff tone of the vocals, but they should have tried harder to really nail the pitches.

I can't remember which album I said this about but sometimes you have to admire bands taking big swings. This has lots to say, and has some cool conceptual stuff, and the songs are at worst good, and in places great. I have marked it down for perhaps a meta reason - I liked Three Great Alabama Icons so much that I really wanted more in that flavour but I didn't really get anything. But overall I both admired and enjoyed this, to the point that I can forgive it being 90mins

I enjoyed this. Kind of long, but moved at a good pace. 3.5/5

Interesting. But not two disk, 90 minute interesting

Rock mes heavy, no es lo meu, pero ni tan mal.

Some decent songs, but the album is too long and contains too much defensiveness of veneration of the confederacy in the Southern USA to be enjoyable. 1hr 30 to say “I’m not racist, but I like Lynyrd Skynyrd”

I liked some of it, but also it was so long to get through that I didn't listen to it in one sitting. Which kind of defeats the point of an album.

Nope. No thank you. Not today.

It’s an interesting concept, but I just didn’t like the music

2.5 round down, not sure why the critics were all over this one, it feels super derivative of better bands that came before.

why do we need a double disc of that?

ахуеенно

I like this because there are 4 guitar players and a drummer like all southern rock ought to have.

Jeez, the intro got graphic. And Three Great Alabama Icons got real political. I don't know, I'll say a 3/5, I'm not exactly sure I enjoyed this.

So this is a tribute album? I didn't make it too far into this one. Nothing here I really enjoyed.

It has that southern rock sound, like CCR, and the singer even has that kind of growly voice. But none of the songs are as catchy. The song "Three Great Alabama Icons" sparked some interesting discussion in our signal chat. It indicates that George Wallace was at times relatively liberal (for his place and time) and perhaps he was more ambitious than racist, though it doesn't excuse everything he did.

I appreciate that they are trying to present a version of poor, white Southerns that manage to be proud of their region, while also not turning a blind eye to its history a racism and other problematic aspects of its history; but the album is overlong to the point of repetition and I feel like I'm maybe just not the target audience.

You know how some people can't get past an album being in a different language? I don't think I can get past the accents on this one. Even knowing the contents of the lyrics, southern rock just may not be for me.

2,6 - Die erste Hälfte läuft so durch, die zweite hat dann sogar ein paar Highlights. Insgesamt ein gut hörbares Durchschnittsalbum. Highlights: Let There Be Rock, Women Without Whiskey

It seems like most of the other reviewers are unable to determine criticism versus praise. It's incredibly rough but it has an earnestness that is endearing.

3.5 stars. Long ballad-filled album that lives up to it's name. Can tell at times that they were low-budget, self-produced but it's still a pretty good listen. Filled with stories about the South, both semi-autobiographical and highlighting important figures in it's history including a lot of Lynyrd Skynyrd. "Birmingham" sounds a bit musically like bottom shelf Tom Petty. Nice simple bassline "Women Without Whiskey". Favorite is fast-paced "Guitar Man Upstairs".

pleasant album, not into the story though, but good old Southern Rock is always welcome. Now, is this one of the best albums of all time? not sure. Is this the best Southern Rock album? Not sure. There you go; have a listen, enjoy a 3 star album.

This album delivers exactly what its title promises. Not spectacular, but not bad at all either. I listened to it during a road trip, which made it a good fit. 3 stars.

Ok ish, not their best in my opinion

Maybe I'll finish this one day and bump the rating but [shake shake] "Outlook Not so Good"

These guys are good. Their sound is good. But it’s such a standard “southern rock” sound, it’s hard to see much new in that sound or arrangement. And then there are the omnipresent references to Lynard Skynard, Ronnie van Zandt, 38 Special etc. There’s even an all-talk track, that provides a history lesson as an introduction to another track. This album made me think about “southern rock” and its connection to White Male grievance that dominates US society today. Southern Rock dwells in historical grievance and entitlement, whenever it’s not rationalizing and celebrating “boys will be boys” antics. It all seems pretty juvenile and tiresome. This album is at least politically progressive. Maybe that novelty is why it made the list? But it left me flat because it’s too obsessed with the past. I’ll give it a 2 — I didn’t need to hear this sound, again.

I think I see the vision, but I don't really love it

Dette MÅ du høre på for å forstå hvor gubbete musikk faktisk kan være? Tregt, uinspirert og jæææææævla langt!

Y'know ... the funny thing is that, at one point in time, I was looking forward to this album. Yeah, this is one I've known about for a while, actually. I can't remember exactly where or when I first heard about it, but ... I'unno. A rock opera in two acts about Lynyrd Skynyrd, culminating in the plane crash that nearly ended the band? A **Southern** rock opera, at that? Despite the fact that the whole package is 93 minutes, it doesn't sound too bad at all. And I'm quite the sucker for rock operas; I loved 'The Wall' and 'Tommy' and 'Joe's Garage' ... all of those albums How could I go wrong with this? Of course, I didn't get to find out back then (whenever it was). 'Southern Rock Opera' ended up being another one of those albums I'd randomly stumble across, read about, think would be cool, and then just never got around to listening to. It's not an unusual story for me; this must be one of hundreds of examples. But what makes this one in particular a strange case is, well ... most times, when I finally get around to an album, I don't recoil in dread re-reading their Wikipedia pages. And certainly I haven't recoiled as hard as I did reading **this one's**. "'Southern Rock Opera' is [...] a double album covering an ambitious range of subject matter [including] the politics of race[, filtered] through the context of [...] Lynyrd Skynyrd." Oh ... oh, boy. That sounds... I mean, the last time I heard someone try to discuss race by way of Lynyrd Skynyrd— it just didn't go over too well for Brad Paisley, let's just say. So the idea of sitting through 93 minutes of ... **that**? 93 minutes of "Accidental Racist"? Oh, lordie me — I'd wanted the randomizer to pick a scary record for my group's 666th pull, and it sure as hell delivered. So ... let's just get into this, huh? And I'll try to keep this as brief as possible — goodness knows **considering** all of this was exhausting enough as it is; I can't imagine how it would feel to **read about it**. I wanna begin with this: I get what these guys were tryna say on this album. Honestly, I do. And I really did take the time to listen to these lyrics. I mean, with a concept like this, I think it would've and **has** been really easy for people to just kind of balk at this concept and slap the whole thing with a low rating. You don't hafta look at it too hard to feel like they're repeating "Well, **I'm** not racist!" for 11 tracks. And I'll be honest, there **was** a part of me that really wanted to take that easy way out and save myself from the exhaustion of considering all of this. But I have never been the kind of person who goes "UH-OH, PROBLEMATIC!" at things like this. I mean, if it's openly conservative and reactionary — sure, yeah, it doesn't deserve the thought. But, for some reason going in, these guys didn't strike me that way. They deserved some fair consideration, at least. See, Act 1 is about "the Southern thing," as they call it. It's about how Alabama has this legacy as being an incredibly racist place, and how, in the eyes of DBT, it doesn't deserve to be judged so quickly as being **just** that. "Yes, this shit **happened** — and it's awful. But it's not like we're not **trying** to reckon with it. It's a hard thing to try and love where you live while constantly being told you and everyone else there is a redneck, racist piece of shit. There's more sides to Alabama than most people would think." And, y'know, it's not a position I'd be able to understand in the way that they would. I grew up pretty dang north of Alabama — in Canada, even. That makes it pretty hard to live in a red state and get to know some of the people who **don't** follow the kind of stereotypes the people who exist outside would imagine. But it's a position I **can** feel sort of sympathetic towards — and it helps that this is coming from a band in 2000, rather than some modern day Jason Aldean "Try That In A Small Town" nonsense. This album is coming from a world of politics I can't even imagine in 2025. So, y'know, they're not trying to pull some "Am I The Only One?" or "Rich Men North Of Richmond" shit on here at least. But then, that's also the problem, isn't it? It's not 2000; it's 2025. And the shit I've seen in the time in-between, let me tell you what ... I mean, I can't help but judge older art by modern standards; that's just the perspective and bias I'm coming in with, whether I'm conscious of it or not. And what **is** a review like this if not just judging older art by modern standards? So, as much as I'm sympathetic to these guys's position ... it can kind of be **really** taxing for me to hear them try and make their points? Like, I couldn't even believe their claim that Neil Young **liked** "Sweet Home Alabama" until I looked it up and confirmed it was true. That just **sounds** like some kind of defensive shit someone would say, right? Especially given what "Sweet Home Alabama" was written in **response** to. And lines like "I've seen white and black folks alike getting treated just like sin" and "[My grandfather] didn't believe in slavery, thought that all men should be free / But who are these soldiers marching through this land?" Like, y'man still fought for the Confederacy... This issue can all be summarized all within how they talk about George Wallace. They do not, whatsoever, deny that Wallace was a racist, and they make a point (and an entire song) to say that he's burning in Hell. But **not**, as they clarify, for his racism. To them, he's down there for being an opportunist. See, they explain that Wallace was **actually** a very progressive lawyer and judge back at the start of his career, with a nice humanitarian track record. It was only when they failed to win him an election that he became a segregationist and started spewing racist bullshit. And it **did** help him way — for a while. Until it didn't. And at that point, he made an attempt to redeem himself from his old, racist ways. From what the band says, he was successful enough to win with 90% of the black vote: thus, the "duality of the Southern thing." So, there was clearly more to George Wallace than just being a racist, and to the band it's a shame that more people don't remember his progressiveness at the beginning of his career and his redemption at the end. And, look. I'm not religious, but I believe in redemption. If someone truly wants to redeem themselves, then let them. And if what DBT says about George Wallace's redemption is true — fine. But, and I do not mean to speak about all of Alabama when I say this, there's a reason people only remember the racist middle part of Wallace's career. You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding — even **if** the Devil is a Southerner. And I think it's a shame the discussion of racial politics took up so much of my thoughts about this album (so much for keeping things short, eh?). I gotta tell you, on a purely musical level, I actually kind of **liked** this disc. Put some of the more privileged lyrics and redder flags aside, it's still some cool Southern rock. It's nothing too incredible, but, hey, I like Skynyrd, and I like the Allman Brothers Band and that one really hard song from 'Rock Band'. I dig this sound! But I think it says something to me that my favorite song from this disc was "72 (This Highway's Mean)" — the first track on here that doesn't explicitly talk about racism. Or Skynyrd, for that matter. Speaking of Skynyrd, I think it's about time we get to Disc/Act 2 of this album. This is where the fact that I spent so long yapping about Act 1 even funnier. 'Coz, see, while Act 1 provided me with a position to chew on and sort of look within myself to judge how I react to art such as this ... Act 2 gives me basically nothing in comparison. In fact, if Act 1 was the album all by itself, I don't think I would've missed this act. And **this** is the one that actually fulfills not only what I'd originally read on Wikipedia, but the actual **original idea** for this whole mess. Goodness, right? Act 2 of this album is made up of semi-autobiographical songs about living in the South and ends with the plane crash that nearly destroyed Lynyrd Skynyrd. Now, it's a sort of a bummer to me that it's not **all** about Skynyrd, but ... y'know, it's something. I can see how this concept could be interesting. It's just a shame the songs hafta go and fuck it up by mostly failing to grab me in any meaningful way and largely just being fiiiiiiine. Like, seriously, besides "Plastic Flowers On The Highway" (a tribute to a friend who died in a car crash), I can't think of a single thing I really wanna say about any of these songs. I mean, what the hell is "Road Cases" doing here? What does it have to do with anything? Where does this fall in the story? **Is there** a story? I don't deny these guys' ambitions, but is this even a rock opera? I mean, if Skynyrd is such an important part of things, you'd think you'd wanna introduce them **first** with "Life In A Factory" instead of waiting 'till the **last four tracks**. I can see how they could have bookended this act with Skynyrd, but I guess they didn't wanna! And even when they **do** get to talking Skynyrd, besides a cool solo in "Greenville To Baton Rouge", there is just ... nothing I really wanna talk about! If there's **anything** I wanna bring up, it's simply the fact that nothing on this album sounds like Kid Rock. Not whatsoever. And anyone who makes that claim is probably just ... mad, honestly. And maybe they're not entirely unjustified in mad given some of the shit said on this album, but ... y'know, still. So, that's 'Southern Rock Opera'. It is far from what I expected it would've been, and I am far from loving it like I thought I would've. I do honestly I could hear past some of the more questionable shit on the first album, 'coz, musically speaking, it's when the album's at its best. It's **certainly** no Skynyrd, but for dumb Southern rock, it can hit the spot. And yet, like I said, there are just some things about my perspective I can't look past. And it's not like I can't if I really want to; I love 'The Incredibles' despite how Randian it ultimately is. But I guess, ultimately, I just don't want to. And it's not like the second disc makes up for the first anyway, so... I sort of wish I had a more positive note to leave things on, but frankly, I'm just kind of bummed. And a little tired. I really tried to be fair to you guys, DBT, given how much I was into the pitch originally. Really now. Maybe if I'd heard it all the way back then ... but we'll never know, I guess. And that's just how things go sometimes. "Train rolls on," as they say. Bye-bye, Tuesday...

Definitely wears its inspiration on its sleeve. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 4. Well, OK, more of a 3.75 bumped up to a 4, but you’ll understand in a moment. Well, it’s a long fucking album, that’s for sure. This could’ve definitely been trimmed down a bit, especially to help with some of the pacing issues this thing has. I did like it, though. I do not have the time nor the energy to go into any kind of long Lynyrd Skynyrd-adjacent soliloquy – lord only knows this album mentions them enough. Their impact on the Drive-By Truckers is very apparent throughout, especially with the second half acting as an album version of a made-for-TV biographical movie, retelling various life events of the band, culminating in the plane crash that took the lives of some of the original lineup. I’m not huge on the second half of the album, mainly because I think the track order / pacing / length all feel kind of off… but let’s not put the cart before the horse here. I really liked the first half of this album; that is to say, most of the first 11 tracks. I think it’s got really strong instrumentals & pretty good storytelling, with just the vocals occasionally sticking for me as a “not twangy enough” thorn of sorts. Despite my initial fears with the concept, I was pleasantly surprised. To draw a comparison, it reminded me much more of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois, acting as a retrospective on Alabama & most of the U.S. southwest. It’s less of a hopeful album & more of a reminiscence on the reckoning of the “Southern Thing”, as this album tends to call it. I do think it toes a line rather well; there’s only a few tracks in the first half that I think could be easily misconstrued, and an occasionally privileged lyric here and there, but as someone who’s grown up in a deeply red state, but with people who never seem to actually portray all the stereotypes of the typical Republican voter… gosh, something about the first half of the album was speaking to me. I’m careful to praise it, since there are certain flags thrown up (namely the George Wallace stuff, even if he’s 100% called a racist in hell), but given that it’s from 2001, they’re mildly understandable flags from a political era that somehow feels bygone at this point. I do think there’s something here, made for only the people who have really lived in something adjacent to it to truly understand. If it were me, I’d give that first half a flat 4, and honestly, it would stand up by itself as a really strong album. The second half… well, it’s not bad, but they go full “did you know about this band called Lynyrd Skynyrd?” mode, in a way that feels endearing at some points & irritating at others, but ultimately, it all comes together in a way that just doesn’t feel as compelling as they want it to be. “Let There Be Rock” is fun, but “Road Cases” is genuinely useless here; probably the least necessary track on the album. “Women Without Whiskey” is totally fine; very bro-country for my tastes, but I didn’t mind it. “Plastic Flowers on the Highway” is easily the highlight of the second half; genuinely, a fantastic track. “Cassie’s Brother” is fine; I think the tempo is a little slow, & the funk aspects don’t really work for me, but the storytelling is fine enough. I think putting “Life in the Factory” as an oral history of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s formation as the *6th track* of a 9-track narrative is a mistake. Start with that one!. “Shut Up and Get on the Plane” is a fun listen, but it just never hooked me (and that may be a defining issue of the whole second half, really). ”Greenville to Baton Rouge” rips an absolute fireball of a guitar solo 3 minutes in that won me over. “Angels & Fuselage” has a glacially slow pace through the first half of the track, with his raspier vocals acting as a genuine detriment, but something about the back half, where it all sits in a guitar-driven ambient silence worked well for the atmosphere & intent of the track. I think my biggest issue with the back half is that there’s just no suspense / emotional hook whatsoever, due to basically the entire history / impact of the band still being told in piecemeal throughout the first half of the album. For the final 3 tracks acting as a retelling of the plane crash that effectively killed Lynyrd Skynyrd, there’s no tension in the air (pun unintended), and I just don’t think they did a great job of capturing something deeper from the moment. Instead, they just try to recapture the emotions Lynyrd Skynyrd might have felt. Contrast that to a track like “Plastic Flowers on the Highway”, which is a tribute track to their real friend who died in a car accident, and the difference is night & day. I feel compelled to learn more about their friend, and how it directly impacted them, especially with the lead singer having to see more accidents on that same highway afterward. I feel less compelled to look up stuff about the aftermath & eventual revival of Lynyrd Skynyrd following the plane crash. It’s not necessarily a failure as storytellers, since they do a good job of capturing the mythos & impact & overall legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd throughout the entirety of the album, but the concept getting narrower & narrower as the album moves along makes the tracks suffer. Combine that with some long outros, a little too much emphasis on guitar work as opposed to vocal structures, and lyricism that doesn’t feel as strong / sincere as the first half, it just piles up, despite being wholly competent. The back half of this album is a 3.5, and one that I’ll let stick there, though I’d probably bump it down to a 3 by itself. So, a strong first half that’s a 4, and a shaky second half that’s a 3.5 – balance that out, and you get a 3.75, and it’s one that I feel compelled to bump up to a 4. This album is at its best when Lynyrd Skynyrd are used as a framing device to talk about how the band has impacted culture & personal lives, and not when they’re the main characters. I think there’s enough tracks that do that, as well as a strong enough overall package (or at least, a fun enough listen if you’re already predisposed to country / rock soundscapes like I am), that I’m comfortable in giving this a 4. It’s a very American-centric album, and even more so to the American southeast (& parts of the midwest), so in a current time where it’s very, very understandable to hate that part of the country, I can’t blame anyone for giving this a low rating out of pure disdain. I also can’t blame anyone for giving this a low rating because it’s way too fucking long. I’ll stick with a 4.

I have never heard of this band or this album. no idea what to expect but it's 20 songs and an hour and a half long so rock opera sounds about right *Days of Graduation: extremely interested. the lyrics are evocative and compelling, they give you a character and a sense of place instantly. ominous sound. Ronnie and Neil: hate these vocals. AC/DC with strep throat. please God don't do this for the rest of the album, you will crush my hopes and dreams. I also don't know anything about Lynyrd Skynyrd so the references are all going over my head. 72 (This Highway's Mean): different vocal style. phew. the song is a nothingburger for me though Dead, Drunk and Naked: still really enjoying the songwriting and the lyricism but I just...hate how it sounds. chorus nibbles a bit though *Guitar Man Upstairs: this track is so much fun. tons of energy and the tale about a guy who is seemingly only bigoted against guitar players is hilarious. Birmingham: snoozer. zzzzzz The Southern Thing: turns out "the southern thing" is class consciousness. if that ain't what southern pride is to you you missed the fucking boat brother *Three Great Alabama Icons: based based based based based based. one thing about this album is that regardless of if I dig the music itself, I am always excited to hear what he's going to say next. "George Wallace died back in '98 and he's in hell now." "Fortunately for him, the devil is also a southerner..." *Wallace: stop! stop! he's already dead! writing a country song about a racist politician burning in hell is everything. they dragged the fuck outta him Zip City: it's whatever Moved: this one has an unique sound, all reverb-y and moody and lo-fi. the vocals are just a tough sell on almost all of these tracks. Let There Be Rock: switch out the singer and this could be a Wednesday song, specifically reminds me of Chosen to Deserve with the verses about using drugs and doing stupid shit as a teenager. good song, just not my thing Road Cases: it's fine *Women Without Whiskey: songwriting is stellar on this one, so many hard-hitting lines. "I know the bottle ain't to blame and I ain't trying to, cause it don't make you do a thing, it just lets you. And when I'm six feet underground I'll need a drink or two...and I'll miss you" OKAY Plastic Flowers on the Highway: r/fuckcars. it's fine Cassie's Brother: this is decent, I like the sound of it better than a lot of stuff on here. ooooooo that boy is funky Life in the Factory: Lynyrd Skynyrd lore dump Shut Up And Get On The Plane: "Dead is dead and it ain't no different than walking around if you ain't living. Living in fear's just another way of dying before your time." OKAY Greenville to Baton Rouge: I actually like his vocals here. jamming out like crazy towards the end. *Angels and Fuselage: amazing closer. perfect counterpart to Shut Up And Get On The Plane. your perspective can switch up real quick when you're actually face to face with your mortality. once again blown away by the lyricism, it's so...efficient? dense? it packs in so much to chew on in so few words. "Friends in the swamp, friends on the ground, friends in the trees. Angels and fuselage." I love how authentically southern this album feels, like it's clearly someone who knows the references and the nuances and the history and the culture inside and out to experiment with it in this way and to draw all of these connections. it's a far cry from the formulaic culture-war pop-country type stuff that I grew up hearing. and this dude had some shit to SAY. seriously compelling lyrics and storytelling throughout, and so many interesting ideas at play. the songwriter has a way of laying out these beautiful vignettes so effortlessly, so evocative but it rarely feels like it's trying too hard. this is a tough one to rate because I don't actually LIKE it sonically, but I'm also kind of blown away by it and I will remember this album for a very long time. they probably could've chopped a few of the more mid tracks though __ SCORE: 7/10 ADDED TO PLAYLIST: Days of Graduation, Guitar Man Upstairs, Three Great Alabama Icons, Wallace, Women Without Whiskey, Angels and Fuselage

Ok - a bit different, but not something I’d go back to

I've seen them live and enjoyed them. Yet this album didn't hit me like I thought it would have. Maybe it's because they went for a 70's southern rock sound and I'm not a fan of a lot of that style. It's well done though. Some tunes I like the music other the lyrics got me. A couple I enjoyed the whole song. Not enough to make me want to relisten to it. Over all its OK.

Listen, is it good music? Yes, for the most part. But do I want to listen to an hour of that shit? Absolutely fucking not. I was surprised however by how much it didn’t repel me instantly like I thought it would which says a lot.

Ég heyri svo rosalega hvað þá langar að vera að búa til eitthvað meistaraverk en þeir ná því bara því miður ekki. Þetta verður frekar óminnisstætt án þess að verða leiðinlegt. Ég trúi því að þeir eigi dygga aðdáendur.

Good god double album of mid music is just torture

Meh

While the concept sounds fascinating as a story, the reality is a tedious double length album. Favorites: "Ronnie and Neil" Definitely not worthy enough to be on this list. An entire double album about a band (Lynyrd Skynyrd) that itself could be argued that it doesn't deserve a spot of this list as well.

This album is a bit of a conundrum. It's absolutely southern rock, which makes sense with the name. But it more seems to both embrace deep south American culture while also offering critiques of some of its unsavory facets. Theoretically that makes for an intriguing album. To me, though, their effort was pretty disappointing. It comes off as a bit snobbish. Listening, it gave a vibe of "only I can say this because it's about my heritage which I deeply understand while you simply cannot". Or maybe like someone being overly defensive in a way that make it suspicious. The sheer length of the album solidified my stance on this, because why would you need to do it for 90+ minutes? I guess that makes sense for a rock "opera", if that's really what they consider it. To me, it felt more like a kind of inside joke that for some reason got turned into a double album even though they expected only a few people would get it. Each individual song was probably fine. If I heard them on their own, I think I'd appreciate them more than I did on this listen. I actually liked the music and guitars quite a bit. Listening to them all together was a slog, though. Jason Isbell wasn't in the band at the time of this record, but I feel similarly to it the way I do to his music. I can see there's talent and passion, it's just that what he does with it just really isn't that impressive. Same with Dave Grohl, which, fittingly, reminds me of a quip at him I once read saying that no one puts more effort and passion into making completely mediocre music. I had hoped to like this one due to the genre and knowing people who are big fans of the band. I guess I can't say this was bad, but I really didn't find it that good. The instrumentation was the best part for me, and the vocals had some good tone that fit the vibe well. Unfortunately none of those parts were really better than fine, plus the messaging fell flat. That's hard to overcome when the album is an hour and half long. If they'd condensed this by about half I think I could rate it higher. As it is, I can't give it anything better than a 2. Overall: 2/5

So, this was basically a double album trying to tell us that not all Southerners are bad, that Young and LS were actually friends, and Wallace was a bad governor. Not things I care for, and nothing that I had to have heard.

beer drankin tunes. love the vibes fav tracks: "Guitar Man Upstairs" and "Zip City"

Had only previously heard Decoration Day and Dirty South. Was put off by this being a double album but overall was a really good, coherent listen. Particularly enjoyed the monologue and songs around George Wallace at the end of disc 1. Great music on this, only let down slightly by the lack of contributions by Jason Isbell.

It’s just passable at 2 stars!

What if Motorhead was very good.

1. dayz - 1 2. ronnie - 1 3. mean - 1 4. Dead - 1 5. Guitar -0 6. Birmingham - 1 7. Thing- 1 8. Alabama - 0 9. Wallace - 0 10. Zip -1 11. Moved-1 12. Rock - 0 13. Road - 0 14. Whiskey - 0 15. Flowers -1 16. Brother -0 17. Factory -0 18. Plane -0 19. Rouge - 1 20. Angels - 1.5

I do like the DBT's as everybody should call them, but think on this list they would have been better served by Dirty South, Alabama Ass Whuppin or English Oceans. Crying out for an edit down to a single album this one, their songwriting and arrangements mean too many songs sound like the one three songs ago. Three stars but do go and listen to the others.

I REALLY want to give this 5 stars. Drive-By Truckers perhaps the most underrated band of this century. "The Dirty South" and "Decoration Day" are (especially "The Dirty South") two of the greatest albums of the 2000s. Unfortunately, this is not "The Dirty South". This is "Southern Rock Opera", a too-long but tightly performed concept album about Southern culture weaved through the career of Lynyrd Skynyrd. It's ambitious, and mostly pulls it off well. Though most of the songs make more sense in its album format, there are some great individual tracks on here: "Angels and Fuselage", "Dead, Drunk and Naked", "Women Without Whiskey". I really do love the production, instrumentation, and style of the Drive-By Truckers. BUT. A) This drags on for a while. No album should be an hour and 30 minutes long. I don't care who you are, or what your ambitions are. B) The whole Lynyrd Skynyrd metanarrative kinda gets a bit ridiculous at times, with spoken word passages that makes you roll your eyes. As such, it has non-insignificant flaws. It's just too damn long. P.S. The Dirty South not being on this list is grounds for a criminal conviction.

I know the name, but that is about it. Hmm, a lot of tags on this one. I have no relationship to Southern rock, and enduring a double album was tough. I couldn't buy into the concept, these songs are just so boring. 2 Heard before? No Owned: No: 21/1001, 21/86 (24%) Will I get? No

I don't like The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, Tom Petty and above all, Lynyrd Skynyrd. In general, I don't like Southern rock, with the exemption of The Black Crowes, who always had more of the swagger of The Faces, than any of the forementioned bands. So how the hell I'm going like, or even appreciate this album or the efforts of this very mediocre local pub band? Well, I don't. 1/5

This feels like something they loved to make. I don't regret hearing it but I don't think this is mandatory by any stretch. More "you should hear about what my buddies band was able to pull off". It's like a rock dive bar band instead of a rock opera.

A somewhat interesting at times melding of rebel country, indie rock, Neil Young. Shout out Lynyrd Skynyrd and the name of a place in the south. If this is partially responsible for the current state of pop country, we'll that's unfortunate. 40 minutes could have rendered the same results.

Not so bad but 1h30 of southern rock is a lot to take in one sitting

This album is completely useless here.

1h30 of southern rock with nothing exceptional to be found is a wild choice for this challenge, and not in a good way. I will give it 2 stars because of the very few good tracks and because it wasn't aggressively bad, but I'm deeply insulted to have to listen to this in the 1001 challenge.

Good rock and roll

Some interesting songs and musically pretty decent. But didn’t really get the blood flowing.

This album definetely has a lot of energy expressed by those guitars... buy it's a very long listening.

If you're from the South, I'm not going to assume you're racist. If you play Southern Rock, I'm not going to assume you're racist. If you spend 90 minutes trying to convince me that NOT ALL Southern people are racist, my eyebrow might become raised. That aside, the music isn't terrible and the singer kinda sounds like Mick Jagger.

LOL, I read the title of the album and knew immediately this was going to be a pass. Two tracks in and I noped the fuck out. Lead singer sucks, it’s pretty standard country rock, and the album is 1 ½ hours long. I don’t have time to waste on this trash.

4.5 - This was fantastic, going to be included in my playlists going forward and cant wait to revisit

First 4 track here were a hoot. Most of the first disc is a hoot. This is a 4.7 star disc. Fave Tracks: Days of Graduation, Ronnie and Neil, Dead, Drunk and Naked, Birmingham, The Three Great Alabama Icons Into the second disc. This keeps blowing me away, without really doing anything special or novel, each track just hits the southern rock sweet spot. Total ronseal. The second half of the second disc gets slightly weaker, or at least it starts to get a bit stale. Fave Tracks: Let There Be Rock, Road Cases, Women Without Whiskey, Plastic Flowers on the Highway, Angels and Fuselage 4.7/5

This was a slog of a double album to get through. It just wasn't particularly exciting or attention grabbing. Musically it's fine. Just fine. I Don't love the vocalists. Their voices are harsh and accents on the annoying side. I absolutely don't care about the southern way of life and clichéd country-rock lyrics so most of the subject matter fell on my deaf ears. In spite of the pretty ok music, this album just did absolutely nothing for me. I almost quit at the start of the second disk. Almost. Shoutout to "Three Great Alabama Icons" for being one of the most annoying things I've listened to in a while. But props for the history lesson, I suppose. As a song, it's not one I want to listen to on a rock album, though. Standouts were "72 (This Highway's Mean)" - really liked the guitar on this - and "Cassie's Brother" The verdict: Southern Rock Opera is much too long without any real payoff. I dont think it's bad enough for 1 star, the guitar is quite redeemable, but it didn't really do anything for me to keep it at an average 3 rating, so 2 stars it is.

2000s country rock. Decent but very long and samey. Good storytelling.

Some nice guitar tones but how long? And, seriously, trying to tell me that Wallace was actually a nice guy? Fuck off!

Interesting! I learned something about the South listening to this

There are parts of this album that are brilliant, and parts that are cringe. It really should have been a single disc but i'm very glad I got to listen to the whole thing. Love the singers, they have a great voice.

This album is the reason I hang my American flag upside-down. Free Bird? These guys must know who Lynyrd Skynyrd is. Oh, yep. They know. Oh, they definitely know. They make absolutely certain that we know they're fans. Sweet riff on Ronnie And Neil. It's a tried-and-true sound that works (obviously) despite being a little unimpressive for the 21st century. A better example of a great track is Dead Drunk And Naked. It's pretty strong: it does a lot with the few chords it uses, and the vibe is unabashedly positive. The vocal harmonising is good too. A fun track. Zip City is another standout, this time for its distinctive low drawl and warm guitar tone. Combined, this sounds like something right off the Stones' Sticky Fingers. And that's a (very) good thing. Women Without Whiskey is very strong too, mainly due to coming after a trio of very weak tracks. And it's exactly what the doctor ordered. Musically, pretty similar to Dead Drunk And Naked. Plastic Flowers On The Highway is even better (great interacting guitar tones) and rounds out the "key track trio". George Wallace being touted as one of the "three great Alabama icons" is pretty gross. The infamous pro-segregationist that stood firmly against the rights of non-white people for decades? The band kind of covers this in the lyrics, but doesn't justify his inclusion beyond "he makes it easier to do racism if you have a Southern accent". Coincidentally, the song itself a disaster (musically) for its entire seven-minute runtime. It's also around this point that you realise the band is only subtly condemning Southern racism and that most listeners will interpret the music on its face (i.e, pro-segregation). Darn. Note that the line "Now the Devil's got a Wallace sticker" doesn't work on racists who take pride in being bad people, which is surprisingly many of them. I have to steal another reviewer's writing here because it's so spot-on: "I don't dislike it at the normal 2 star level, but the problem is, if you're going to do 90 minutes, you at least have to have a few songs that GRAB you, which this doesn't have. It just goes on and on and on remaining passable but never great [apart from the keys tracks below]." 2/5 Key tracks: Dead Drunk And Naked, Zip City, Plastic Flowers On The Highway

I understand the huge concept and epic scope behind this, but the album is far too long. It really drags. I feel as though I'm being hit on the head over and over with the same message. That is to say, it is heavy-handed, and the constant cliched soapboxing makes me feel like I'm being lectured rather listening to a piece of art. I would contend that the best artists take big ideas and condense them into digestible packages or intimate portraits. It's not easy to be Neil Young. The underlying sound is okay-- the guitars sound dirty and massive, but it is just too similar song to song. I'm not a fan of the inflection of the singer. Sometimes it almost feels like parody, or like he's trying too hard. I couldn't get into it. It's kind of a one-trick pony extended an hour too long. I can see people enjoying this, but it didn't grip me, and I ended up skipping through a lot of the second half just hoping for something different.

An announcement to the world that southern rock was back on the menu.

For langt, for kjederlig. Hørte bare første halvdel, så med mindre noe virkelig sykt skjer i andre halvdel gir jeg det en sterk 1/5 - i grenseland til 2/5. Høres kompetent satt sammen ut om ikke annet.

I get what they're doing here, with the whole Skynyrd concept. It does get kind of old by the end of the record with the repeated "Sweet Home Alabama" riff and musical theme, but I do get it. This isn't a terrible record and I'm glad I listened to it, so I guess including it on the 1001 albums you must hear before you die has been successful in that regard.

Yeah, this sucks. Re-imagined southern rock still sucks.

This wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected and actually has some cool moments. “Three Great Alabama Icons” is worth hearing just for the history lesson and in general the record works well as a monument to the history of Southern Rock in all its variety. Unfortunately most of those varieties don’t really appeal to me much.

I really love this Southern rock infused Country and America aesthetic. It's a big blend of everything Southern musically and it works really well together. Suffers a bit from being a 2000s album, with the loudness being turned up to 11 and the album being a bit overly long, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. The lyrics here are great and it's refreshing to hear a Southern band that acknowledges the somewhat troubled Southern pride while still loving the USA. The guitar playing is great here and I really like how the overly American vocals sound. AMERICA FUCK YEAHHHHH

Turgid modern country rock

I think this is worthy of the rare and seldom seen double album 5. Dark, brooding, celebratory, honest. Great southern rock. 5

Outside of Widespread Panic, this is the sound of Athens, Georgia

An okay album, I liked Angels and Fuselage, Shut Up And Get On The Plane, Let There Be Rock and Guitar Man Upstairs the most.

3.5 having never listened to this group before, I was pleasantly surprised. it's a *very* long album, but makes good use of the 90+min through a balanced portfolio of songs and storytelling. album art is rad, too. now I'm gonna go buy a big 'ol pickup truck and a pack of menthols.

Quite an interesting take on southern rock. I don't hate the way they did it, and its honestly admirable. I also don't totally agree, but hey, do what you want! Overall, more enjoyable than I anticipated, so a 3/5.

6/10. El nombre lo dice todo: una ópera rock sureña. Es el disco perfecto si te gusta el tiro al pichón desde la hamaca del porche de tu cabaña mientras bebes de una garrafa con tres "X" y le tocas el culo a tu prima Mary Lou.

It had small moments but mostly forgettable. Way too long. Reminded me of The Refreshments at times, but without the charm of not taking themselves too seriously (this may be an insane opinion caused by being unfamiliar with the genre).

If you’re going to stretch things out to feature-length, you’d better have something sharp to hang on to. This doesn’t. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions: - Plastic Flowers On The Highway - Cassie's Brother

Southern Rock styled after Lynyrd Skynyrd, nice enough, but overstays its welcome, especially since there is nothing special about it at all. 2.5/5

This is a decent record. The band is good, and the songs are fine. I don’t know what it is, but it just doesn’t connect with me at all. I love Skynyrd and southern rock in general. This kind of sounds like paint by numbers southern rock. Insert Ronnie Van Sant and Bear Bryant reference there, Alabama song here, three guitars simultaneously soloing…everywhere. It’s all fine but it’s so long and so much of the same thing. Nothing bad but also nothing I would have regretted dying without hearing.

I had never heard of Drive-By Truckers or their album Southern Rock Opera before today. Judging by the cover, I suspected this one might not be for me—and the fact it’s a double album (90 minutes, 20 tracks) made it feel like an uphill battle from the start. It takes something truly special to hold attention for that long. Unfortunately, this wasn’t it. Musically, the album is very one-paced and doesn’t really shift gears. Across so many songs, I struggled to find any real standouts or moments that grabbed me. The lyrics are clearly politically charged, but without much background on the US context of the time, they didn’t resonate with me. Favourite track: Birmingham (a small connection, as much of my family comes from there). The Southern Thing wasn’t bad either. Least favourite track: Hard to choose when so many felt flat, but The Three Great Alabama Icons stood out for all the wrong reasons—I now feel like I know far more about Alabama than I ever wanted. Album artwork: The cover immediately gave me the ick, and honestly, it set the tone for the listen.

These guys have an unhealthy obsession with whatever chord progression Sweet Home Alabama starts with (and with Alabama in general considering they're from Georgia). This album is way too long and, apart from some spoken word segments, repetitive. I don’t mind long albums, but when most songs are generic, it’s not that fun to listen to. The only song on this album I can say is great is Ronnie and Neil. I guess The Three Great Alabama Icons offered some interesting pieces of trivia I didn’t know about. But all the other songs are… there. I can’t say they’re bad—they’re fine—but don’t stand out whatsoever. As someone who doesn’t enjoy the vibe of the American South, they weren’t that interesting. But I appreciate this album for not over-romanticizing it and pointing out its flaws while also stating that there’re still a lot of great people in the South despite its reputation.

Average country rock

not for me...

Faktisk noe kult her også, og interessant med sørstatskultur

Misliker det ikke, men litt usikker på hva jeg tenker om den egentlig. Noen kule riff her og der, men blir ikke helt fanget av historien. Så sterke lynyrd skynyrd referanser får meg litt til å tenke at jeg bare kunne gått rett til kilden og hørt på dem i stedet. Føles ut som et album man må høre mer enn en gang for å få skikkelig oversikt over. Foreløpig vanskelig å lande på 2 eller 3 stjerner for min del. Gir det en sterk 2er for nå

Tribute band som lager egen musikk. Hvorfor det? Kjedelig, men ørene blør liksom ikke. 1-2 et sted

Second side is MUCH better than the first. Really fucking rocks.

What these guys lack in singing chops, they make up for with raw effort. Such a great band to see live. You can all but smell the Jack Daniels while listening to this opus.

Why on God's green earth are these guys on this list?! There's so much better music in this genre and even that music is hardly worth mentioning here. These guys are awful and I want my 90 minutes back!

A total mixed bag for me. I love the concept and scope, and some songs are excellent. However, it really needs trimming and better curation in the track selection. Some have also noted the questionable nature of some lyrics and how they relate to the South's legacy, but I like to think it's a crucial part of the history, and to ignore it would be glossing over a deeply troublesome era. Anyway, yeah I like it, probably won't listen to it again besides a few tracks. Cool experience though, why I joined this project. 23/09/25

A solid album thay really should not have been a double album. The first half is really strong and has a lot of groovy moments with some very insightful lyrics. The second half feels very repetitive and lost my interest, especially in conjunction with the first. Decent listen, much better stopped at the half way point. Top tracks: Days of Graduation, Three Great Alabama Icons, Zip City

It’s a two star album, less one star for being a double album. Sheeeeeeeet

appreciated the TED talk, the music not so much

They mention a lot of great bands on this album. Unfortuneately, they are not at the level of those bands. 3 stars or C+.

Did not expect to like them, really liked them!

Makes you glad to be British.

makes me want skynyrd, which i think is a bad thing? like listening to this makes me want to listen to something else? subject matter and lyrics are important.

Kicks here and there but too long to hold attention

Some cool riffs but about 45 minutes too long. 3.5/10

Not my thing, couldn't listen to the whole thing.

Was more interested in the concept as it started than I expected to be, but it fell flat fast. Not bad, just not 90 minutes worth.

I really didn’t connect with this album.

Bad. 2/5

This was excellent. I was apprehensive when I saw the band name and the name of the album, but oh boy this album delivered. Banger after banger.

Duality of the southern thing!

Great album - love this one

Enjoyable - glad I got to listen to this!

Too long, same thing. One disk would have been enough.

Not memorable

Mellow rock. I liked it.

couldnt handle it past the first track…

Southern Rock epic mixing loud, (twin and triple) guitar-heavy rock with reflective, story-driven songs about Southern life and myth. Nice enough to listen to once or twice.

? OK, Rock,könnte gut bei Vicky laufen..werde danach mal beim Original Lynyrd Skynyrd (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ER6P8RgZK4&list=PLuNSRX8zAjVngkU3B96CD_wjFkrO9a-0P) vorbeischauen. c PS: Erstes Album das ich nicht zu Ende gehört habe.

A Trump rally doing cover songs of Queen?

Not completely terrible, just really boring

Dad rock in a year dad rock should no longer be created

Southern Rock, 2001 -> 3

Brilliant concept album. Maintains a narrative thread. Excellent collection of songs.

Was some good ole story-tellin' southern rock, I tell you what

On of my favorite bands. This album is not for everyone, but is a poignant take on the southern experience including racism, and poverty. I love it for its storytelling and raw truth.

Temu Lynyrd Skynyrd/Tom Petty

Favorite Track: Zip City

Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Days of Graduation, Three Great Alabama Icons I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would; that is to say, I didn't absolutely hate it. Not particularly a fan of Southern Rock/County music or... Opera (fortunately there was no such Opera in the strictest sense of the Genre). I particularly liked the subject matter as it relates to the politics and cultural commentary of "the South" in the form of the few skits/ spoken word songs littered throughout the album. Three Great Alabama Icons was particularly interesting and I really liked how it ended, with the bit about the Devil. This will not be entering my daily rotation in any capacity, but I am glad to have heard it. I also really enjoy the album cover art. Great style.

As someone who went to high school in rural America, this album pretty well encapsulates the feeling. The album rotates between tracks with a lot of talking, more traditional-sounding country songs, and gruffer, more "Drive-By Truckers sounding" songs (for lack of a better descriptor). The story of the album is correlates to the scenes I experienced: the hero worship of Lynyrd Skynyrd (in my case, it was Duck Dynasty that people fawned over, but really anyone with a redneck persona would suffice), the car full of kids wrapped around a telephone pole (in my class's case, shortly after graduation). Musically, I find the raw vocals of Drive-By Truckers much more fitting for country music than the overly-polished music you typically hear on the radio. Overall, this album accomplishes exactly what it set out to do. Favorite track: "Plastic Flowers on the Highway"

Tillbaks till grabbarna på 70-talet

Might've earned a 4 if it wasn't so damn long

Neil young tribute was nice 50/100

Den her kommer jeg ikke igennem. Et dobbeltalbum, hvor ingen af de første ni sange ud af 20 har gjort noget som helst indtryk.

I quite liked this, treating it as if listening to an all day rock station on the radio and hearing pretty much what I'd expect. But it doesn't particularly stick out as a piece of art.

Not bad but overstays its welcome a bit

Day600 - everything i know about george wallace i learned from the drive-by truckers

Pretty good.

Pa onako, birtija bend, ok za u pozadini, ništa prezanimljivo. 2/5, 4/10

This is 90 mins of the same same same song over and over again and then Greenville to Baton Rouge which is sick sick sick.

If this hadn't been recorded in 2000 I would have assumed this was AI generated with the prompt "create an hour and a half of copywrite compliant Lynyrd Skynryd style music"

Started relatively well, then ran out of steam (or gas?) quickly, and continued down the road for far too long. Analogy over.

outright painful, this album must have been a captain’s pick, certainly does not deserve to be on this list on merit alone

I'm going to demonstrate my sublime music analysis skills right now. I think the members of Drive-By Truckers... might like Lynyrd Skynyrd. I know, right? Anyways, this is definitely an album that I listened to. Let's start with the obvious things people might complain about. This thing's looooong. Over 90 minutes in fact. Yeah, it kind of dragged a bit. I was definitely tired by the end. This definitely could've been shortened and the point still would've come across well. Speaking of the point, let's talk about the themes of this album! It's called Southern Rock Opera for a reason. It is definitely southern rock and it could be classified as a rock opera in a loose sense. The themes are explored decently well. I appreciate the fact that they're making it clear that they're not racist. They're just Southern. You've got to remember that those two things are not mutually inclusive. The themes do get a bit repetitive. Like, there's only so many times you can sing about Lynyrd Skynyrd before it gets a bit redundant. But still, there's some good songs on here in the thematic sense. The instrumentation is very clearly southern rock. It's good, but a little repetitive as well. The vocals are a bit hit-or-miss. I can tell that there are two main vocalists. I like the deeper guy's voice well enough, but the other guy kind of annoys me a little. Southern Rock Opera is definitely an interesting album. It's got some good elements like the characteristic sound and interesting concept that are executed fairly well. It's also got some things that I don't feel as positively about, but that I still don't feel too negatively about. This is an interesting look into Southern culture in music form, but I'm not a fan of the south so I don't see myself going back to it because of that and the album's sheer length. It's not bad, but not my thing. Still, I can't give this too low of a score. I think I'll settle for a light 3/5.

the concept is interesting at some points, but by the time the album was over, i found the singers voice to be grating and the whole southern rock schtick to be tiresome 2.5

Overall: 6/10 I think I would have liked this a bit more if it wasn't soooooo long. I don't ever want to listen to this much Skynyrd worship at once. That's my other problem, it's not very original. The concept of it is, but the music isn't. It pretty much feels like a tribute album in a way. They're obviously talented musicians and I enjoyed it for the most part but I had enough by the end of the first half. Made me want to listen to Tom Petty. Fav Song: Zip City

interesting album, found it cool that it was a story of lynyrd skynyrd, just a bit long in my opinion

Not bad. Some songs a bit too country for my liking, others more like Crazy Horse which i definitely prefer.

This album wasn't bad. Lynyrd Skynyrd worship is kind of an odd concept for an album, but I did like the recurring themes of trying to separate Alabama from a stereotype of the American south while also acknowledging much about its ugly past that falls into said stereotype. The music for me ranged from meh to decent; lots of good guitar playing and tones, but nothing that's got me super excited for a second listen. 3/5

Really liked the concept, but I wasn't too into the execution. It's too long and a lot of the time I wasn't engaged. I did like the history lessons though. 2.75/5

I'm just a sucker for Americana and Rock Opera's. Help's when you've got all this great lyricism and perfect dirty guitar tones. I won't claim to love it on first listen, but this is definitely one that I want to revisit. I just think its brilliant that this exists. Strong 4 Stars.

This band aspired to achieve boring mediocrity and they managed to succeed... on some of the songs. The rest weren't worth listening to. 1.5/5

A modern classic.

Wow. This one had me nervous. On paper, I cannot hate more the idea of a 90 minute country rock concept album about Lynyrd Skynyrd. Somehow, though, it worked for me. I learned too much about George Wallace, but that's okay. the album slipped by in what felt like much less time than many of the hour-long albums on this list, and I was entertained the whole time. I'm not from The South (Texas is not part of the capital S South), but I got into it. It painted a picture that I could instantly picture, and I enjoyed the experience of taking a peek.

HECK YEAH!!!!!

Fun "southern rock" album from a prolific country rock group. I dig it.

Did you know they're from the South. I may have given a single album a 2 but after an hour and a half, sorry guys.

we've had to listen to like 4 completely unnecessary neil young albums from this list, so i was primed to not take it seriously when these guys started very badly singing about him AND ronnie van zant. Honestly, the vocals on the live jam band unnecessary neil young album were better than this. this is TERRIBLE.

me: boppin' along to the guitar, not really processing the lyrics mr. trucker: the south will rise again me: hmm anyway there's clearly some lyrical content happening here i did not grok on first pass, but musically this is pretty inoffensive. I don't miss the early 00s even a little. 2.5

I've always been frustrated with this image in my head of Drive-By Truckers being the kings of "alternative country" particularly among young men that I know, because to me all the songs I've heard of theirs sound like extremely standard Southern rock / country rock type music and I also simply resist the implication that "standard" country is country-pop. All that said, "Three Great Alabama Icons" gained them a few points in my book for being interesting, but I still don't like most of the lead singer's delivery and find a lot of the rest to be samey.

Nothing interesting

Pretty good southern rock. A cross between Lynard Skynard and Jason and the Scorchers.

Man, this album makes me feel as free as a bird. And this bird you cannot change.

It sounds like a bunch of bros got together to make a bro band and perform in front of even more bros. Which is fine, just don't go in the studio and try to record it and then make me listen to it for an internet project.

Their third album. So, yeah, Lynyrd Skynyrd, we get it, you're Southern USA Good Ole Boys and can play an instrument or two but why did you have to bore us for just over ninety minutes ! Dead, Drunk And Naked is a parody right !? Birmingham - Ugh ! What a fucking awful song. The vocals, shit ! This album, hmm, are they serious or is it satire. Ha ! Either way it's fucking bad AND it's 1 hour and 33 minutes long ! I'm 122 albums in and only a Mariah Carey one (Butterfly) was worse so far.

3/5

This could have been a solid single album with those country-rock sounds and '70s nostalgia vibe. However, they stretched the duration of the record so much that it became a mediocre double album instead.

Kind of boring for me

If any human a guitar , a cord book, a lynyrd skynyrd greatest hits cassette and ONE week , I’m convinced can make a better album than this.

There’s no denying the ambition behind 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢 — a double album tackling Southern identity, Lynyrd Skynyrd mythology, and the contradictions of pride and history. The concept is fascinating, the message thoughtful, and the playing solid throughout. But despite the strong intentions, the album feels overlong and uneven. Too many songs blur together, and much of the storytelling relies on spoken exposition that drags the pace. At its best, it rocks with grit and perspective; too often, though, it loses steam. An admirable effort, but not one I’ll likely revisit. Great idea — just not gripping in execution.

Même si c’est un Lynyrd Skynyrd à rabais, c’est pas si mal que ça

Don’t like the vocals

Muy sureño, estilo lynyrd y otros. 7/10

couldn’t get through

The cover art and title were very promising, but the music was rather dull

2.9

This is a band I've tried to get into since living in Richmond, VA but just can't. This album is way too long and most of the songs sound exactly the same. Beyond that, I just don't enjoy the vocals.

Not my style of music but I could listen quite easily

I generally really like Southern rock; this one not so much

First DBT and one of the best

Almost docked a star for being too long, but when it ended I wanted to hear it again

**An ok album, many tracks sound the same

I actually was quite entertained by this through a lot of the first album (even though it was country rock), but found it had gone on too long by the second. Cool idea though and I love the band name. Rating: 3

Liked this a lot more than I expected I would. Pleasant to listen to, clear and crisp sound, with some good stories and some excellent guitar action

The back story is more interesting than the album itself.

Dull, dull, dull

One of my least favorite genres, and this has all the hallmarks of it. I can't hardly believe I'm giving this a 4.

This was actually really good! Fun music and really meaningful lyrics

The name and cover intrigued me. The length scared me, but the Drive-By Truckers actually manage to hold a 94 minute album. Sounds like an ode to the south, with subtle criticisms throughout, that can make even a non-American feel patriotic at times.

82% Best: 72 (This Highway's Mean); The Southern Thing; Plastic Flowers On The Highway; Cassie's Brother; Shut Up And Get On The Plane; Greenville To Baton Rouge Must-Hear? Sure

IM BORED GRANDPA Would have been a three, because even if it's not my thing, there's nothing about it that's like... bad or offensive to my ears. But it's a touch too long for me, so 2.75.

eh? it was fine, it felt very whatever to me even if almost all the songs were good. the weird confederate flag stuff sucked

I shan’t listen to a band that can’t decide how many cds their album should have let alone when they are called drive by truckers. 0 rating if applicable

At first you think this is just going to be shit truck driver music….and then a mere 1.5hrs later you have this confirmed.

на любителя. (американский говно-кантри-рок)

Southern Rock Opera is a SWEEEEET tribute to substance abuse and Lynard Skinyard! A few of them boys can strum a guitar. Not familiar with DBT, but they did a great job selling The Southern Thing, which has always been the dog shit pile and whippin’ boy of the country. Plastic Flowers On The Highway takes top honors, but all good which says a lot for an hour and a half of Southern rock. Never a huge fan of LS, but I have a better appreciation for them after this listen. Definitely 1001 Must Hear List worthy. (3.9*s)

I have heard of this band but their work eludes me. They do have that Southern country rock sound and Southern Rock Opera was ok. For a double album it wasn't super long or unbearable. Not that great either through. Didn't intrigue me enough to look into any other works. Lead singer really needed to catch that Lynyrd Skynyrd show. Ask me if I'm a truck driver...1.7 stars

Woof. This album is certainly for someone but it ain't me. Reading the description I didn't think I would mind it too much. How bad could an attempt at a rock opera with some southern rock Lynyrd Skynyrd influence be? Pretty OK for about 15 minutes and then verging on insufferable after 90 minutes evidently. I tried to enjoy this for what it was, but I was constantly feeling like this was something an AI program would churn out if you asked it to generate a down-the-middle inspirational Lifetime movie with Lynyrd Skynyrd references sprinkled in. Noting that it was originally based on a semi-autobiographical screenplay gave me the feeling that an unsavvy record labelman would take a multi-million dollar hit in an attempt to create a shitty jukebox musical Broadway show only to have it fold after 4 weeks due to poor attendance and terrible reviews (like a shittier Rock of Ages). This lands firmly in the wimp-rock genre as I found the musical accompaniment had little-to-no punch. In all seriousness the part of this that I enjoyed the most was the brief history lesson about George Wallace that was more of a spoken word section. Big swing and miss for me on this one. 0.85 stars

Southern rock. Toes the line between modern country and a skynyrd knock off.

Listened to this while walking the dog, while tidying up the shit my kids left everywhere, while I was staring into space after a day of it. It still sounds as good as the first time I heard it, for about ten or so years the new DBT album was the best one. This was the first of their albums that I heard and when I listen I like it better than the others until I listen to them. The amount of people leaving reviews who didn't understand what the album was about it truly worrying. To counter the 1 star reviews that just said I'm European: I'm European.

Il y a une ligne fine entre l'ambition et la prétention, entre l'œuvre conceptuelle immersive et le pensum auto-référentiel. Avec son double album "Southern Rock Opera", le groupe Drive-By Truckers marche sur cette ligne avec l'assurance d'un funambule, mais finit par basculer du mauvais côté pour une grande partie du voyage. Annoncé comme une fresque monumentale sur "la dualité du Sud", l'écoute s'avère frustrante et inégale car elle demande une connaissance préalable si spécifiques qu'elle érige elle-même les murs de sa propre forteresse, laissant l'auditeur non initié à l'extérieur. "Southern Rock Opera" est un projet colossal de 20 titres qui raconte à la fois le passage à l'âge adulte dans l'Alabama des années 70 et, en parallèle, l'histoire du groupe Lynyrd Skynyrd, utilisé ici comme une métaphore du Sud moderne. Sur le papier, l'idée est brillante. Dans les faits, elle ne fonctionne qu'à moitié. Car si la première partie, "Act One: Betamax Guillotine", est de loin la plus réussie. On y trouve l'ADN de ce qui fait des Drive-By Truckers un bon groupe de rock avec un son puissant, gras et trois guitares qui crachent un feu nourri. Durant ce premier acte, le groupe est à son meilleur, livrant un rock sudiste intelligent, viscéral et honnête et on est emporté avec des titres comme "Let There Be Rock" un hymne fédérateur sur le pouvoir salvateur de la musique, "Days of Graduation" qui capture la mélancolie d'une jeunesse qui s'enfuit, ou des morceaux comme"Zip City" qui dépeignent avec une justesse crue la vie dans les petites villes oubliées. Si l'album s'était arrêté là, on aurait eu un disque excellent. Malheureusement, il y a un second acte. Et c'est là que le bât blesse, car celui-ci abandonne la chronique sociale universelle pour se transformer en une biographie musicale obsessionnelle de Lynyrd Skynyrd. Et c'est un problème majeur car pour apprécier cette seconde moitié, il ne suffit pas d'aimer le rock sudiste ; il faut être un fan inconditionnel de Skynyrd. Il faut connaître leur histoire, leurs membres, leurs roadies, leur mythologie. Sans cette connexion émotionnelle préexistante, une grande partie des chansons sonne comme des anecdotes de tournée racontées à une fête où l'on ne connaît personne. L'écoute devient laborieuse. La "dualité du Sud", concept si prometteur, se dissout dans un récit si particulier qu'il en devient excluant. On admire la recherche et le détail, mais on ne ressent rien. Ce qui était une force dans la première partie – la production brute, presque live – devient une faiblesse sur la durée. Un double album exige une production impeccable pour maintenir l'intérêt de l'auditeur. Ici, le son souvent brouillon et manquant de dynamique rend l'écoute des presque 90 minutes fatigante. On a l'impression tenace qu'un excellent album simple de 45 minutes se noie dans les ambitions démesurées d'un double album qui n'avait pas assez de matière universelle pour se justifier. Le groupe semble tellement amoureux de son concept qu'il a oublié de le rendre accessible. Des morceaux comme "Angels and Fuselage", qui dépeint le tragique crash d'avion, sont certes poignants dans leur intention, mais leur longueur et leur minimalisme exigent une patience et une empathie que l'album n'a pas réussi à construire chez l'auditeur lambda. Au lieu d'être le sommet émotionnel de l'œuvre, il apparaît comme une conclusion lente et pesante à une histoire à laquelle on n'a jamais vraiment réussi à prendre part. En conclusion, "Southern Rock Opera" est l'exemple parfait d'un album que l'on respecte plus qu'on ne l'aime. Il est impossible de nier l'intelligence de l'écriture, le courage de la démarche et le talent brut des musiciens. Les moments de grâce sont réels, mais ils sont concentrés sur la première moitié et sont finalement sabotés par une seconde partie trop spécifique, trop longue et trop dépendante d'un amour pour Lynyrd Skynyrd que tout le monde ne partage pas. Au final, ce sera un 2 sur 5 pour un album bancal et réservé en grande partie à un club de membres très select.

me no like

There are some decent rockin' tunes here as well as some unnecessary history lessons on Alabama, lots of mentions of Ronnie Van Zandt and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and they definitely want you to know they are not racist like the other Southerners. It sounded like they had at least two different guys doing lead vocals. One of them sounded like he was doing an exaggerated raspy Bruce Springsteen or Bryan Adams impression. Really rough at times. With not nearly enough content to fill the 90 minutes, I can't give it more than 3/5.

My initial gut when doing a little reading before was that this was going to be a 1/5 just garbage glazing of Skynyrd and revisionist glamorization of the South. Then I hit play... familiar sounds but with something to say in the lyrics. It kept going and I started to buy into the concept and appreciate the candidness of their influence. At one point I really enjoyed it and was ready to give this a 3 but acknowledge there weren't many things to revisit outside of a top to bottom play. It was then that I realized I still had another 30 minutes and accepted defeat. This needed sever edits and condensing of ideas if its going to be this on the nose with its sounds.

Everything this band touches is gold. Masterpiece. No notes.

Did not need to be an hour and a half, especially when 40% was dedicated to George Wallace and Lost Cause glazing.

Let There Be Rock // Plastic Flowers On The Highway //

все мимо

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a carpet-bagging Yankee (and proud of it), but I’ve never liked southern rock. Besides the first Skynyrd album and a smarter of CCR hits, the sub-genre has never been my cup of tea. What we have here is a generic southern-fried rock sound, devoid of its own character and relying too much on nostalgia for Neil Young and Skynyrd. The instrumentals aren’t anything to write home about, and the vocals and lyrics are kinda just par for the course. The whole album just kind of happens, and I forgot it the second I stopped listening; which is a new experience for me with a double album. Even Trout Mask Replica was notable for being so… Trout Mask Replica, but this just has nothing. It’s not incompetent, just boring.

first listen fascinating listen but a bit long for me and i think too varied for a single work

I would have enjoyed this more if it were shorter. It seems double albums are the purview of the ultra fan. Some of the songs were interesting and fun to listen it but it seemed like a lot of filler.

As soon as I thought… this sounds inbred they started talking about lynyrd skynyrd

The Good: We know these boys aren’t going to stop… The Bad: Maybe they could have considered stopping after song #7? The Ugly: Trying to imagine what a real southern rock opera would sound like… I know I’ve heard of the band, but I can’t recall having listened to a single song of theirs, and when you start reading the bio it becomes apparent that these truckers haven’t had a lot of luck when it comes to gaining attention… Though not the best album ever, compared to some of the crap I’ve had to listen to, this is actually not a bad album… just wish that they weren’t being so preachy about Alabama, or only fully embracing the “southern rock” ethos… look at the Black Crowes… those bastards have managed to publish several excellent albums which are “southern rock” yet what they really are is good music. I am conflicted between giving this a 3* or a 4*… however, if I would have to listen to this album again right now I would opt to skip… 3*

There's only so much I can listen to a band tell me they've listened to Lynrd Skynrd or Tom Petty before I call it quits. We get it. That said, the songs aren't bad, and worked fine as background music while I worked. 2/5

Meh

Store brand Lynard Skynard

Was not expecting to dig this as much as I did. It’s very… strange but entrancing.

Dudes rock. This was better than I expected, especially the spoken word stuff and wallace

I usually roll my eyes a bit at the mention of a rock opera but I found this album super enjoyable. The lines between irony and honesty are pretty blurry the DIY feel and tongue and cheekyness of the lyrics kept it light enough to get through the whole double album. At times the music got a little close to being cheesy but I was usually drawn back in by the next song. Happy these guys are on my radar.

Does a 90 minute, 2LP, southern rock concept album about Lynryd Skynyrd appeal to you? Then this is the album for you! It doesn’t really appeal to me. I’d probably rate this higher if it wasn’t a double album, but I got pretty tired listening to this by the end.

The right amount of weird. Great storytelling. Fun and entertaining. Did not expect to like this as much as I did.

I'm a sucker for southern rock - or so I learned listening to these guys.

too long

Got bored to be honest, not really my thing.

its fine

A little uneven, but gritty and honest. It’s nice to hear a full record from a band I know has been a huge influence on some of my favorite Americana bands.

Grungy southern rock. Very cool album.

By the song Dead, Drunk and Naked, if you'd told me that this band weren't really American, let alone Southern, I would have believed you - even the name Drive-By Truckers sounds like a parody. And there was still so, so much of this absurdly long album left to go.

Absolute dogshit. Bland, regurtitated, tedious dog shit.

very good!

It was ok, not something I would have on regular rotation.

2 stars These guys like Lynyrd Skynyrd. Over long and not interesting enough for the length. But not terrible. Just a slog. But it kept my attention when I listened. I had to split it up. I don’t think I’d return to it.

I enjoyed the concept of the album. A bit 'extra' but I guess by definition an Opera is.

Pretty solid and definitely worth diving back in on

I thought that this album was pretty cool. Not something that I'm necessarily revisiting a ton but I had a good time.

The more I listened to this, the less I liked it, but the more I appreciated it. Individually, each song is forgettable but as a package it forms a picture of southern life and rock and roll. Like a required reading.

Never heard of these guys. Album is impressively authentic to a fault. They are dead serious in getting that classic southern rock sound down to the themes explored in their songs and I can't tell if its satire or not. Deserves another listen through or maybe just the hits as some songs were a slog. Another listen through and I'm on board with them. Its not something I'd seek out, but seems like a great fit to sneak into the family bbq playlist where other bands in this genre cover the same themes in the opposite connotation. -mitona The opening track caught me, have only been able to listen through the first 3 tracks… so far the majority feeling I’m having…. Huh? Never been much of a country boy but I’ll give this a fair shot, too early to rate tho. -spacecrabs

Why would they do this to me?

Imagine how good this list could be without the ridiculous angloamerican bias.

I’ve always known the name Drive-By Truckers, but never listened to them until now. I have to admit, I really enjoyed this album. It’s got that Southern and heartland rock vibe with strong country influences. The raw, gritty production quality really brings out the garage pub and bar sound of the band. It’s a bit of a long album, but overall, I found it really enjoyable. I’m definitely open to exploring more of their music moving forward.

Wow. I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I was going to. It’s weird… lots of Alabama mentions. And of course Lynyrd Skynyrd. Truthfully, I liked it all, the worst part of this album is that it just goes on for too long. Also, having the last song be from the perspective of the plane crash is absolutely insane.

Favorites: Three Great Alabama Icons, Wallace, Road Cases, Cassie's Brother, Angels and Fuselage

Don't really care for it

i liked it but i probably won’t reach for it, the AL icons was a cool one - 3.5

Nothing wrong with it per se, just utterly boring.

In a nutshell: charmless alt country The Drive-By Truckers sound like an in house country band made up of Steve Earle, Don Henley and Kid Rock wannabes who idolise Lynyrd Skynyrd. The singers have a distinctive twang, trying hard to act like cool and worldly. This is the kind of country I fiercely dislike (I prefer the humble and heartfelt approach). What is worth noting is that this could be the earliest example of a Crowdfunded album (from Wikipedia): "The album was financed by issuing promissory notes in exchange for loans from fans, family and friends of the band (Citation needed)." Props for going the non traditional route there fellas. Overall: 1/10

Really groovy, enjoyable and just breezy Southern rock album. Even at 90 minutes, it’s a very easy listen and the scratchy vocals compliment the slide guitars and heavy riffs beautifully. A surprising entry into the 1000 albums list but not an unwelcome one.

I am, generally, the target audience for long rock concept albums. I am not sure that I am the target audience for this. The vocals are produced kind of strangely. They’re a little too quiet and fighting for space between the multiple guitars. I can hear effort towards gutsy, earthy performances, but they come off as strained and a bit hokey. The Skynyrd worship doesn’t work for me because it keeps reminding me how much more compelling a Skynyrd album would be. The songs are usually fine, occasionally almost good, never great. Damning for an album this long. Turned into background music, which in turn irritated me because this thing seems to want to make some sort of statement about the career arc of Skynyrd and the Alabama mythos in general.

I’m not usually one for southern rock, and a whole album about Lynyrd Skynyrd felt let it would be a real grind. Thankfully, it was actually alright. It never quite won me over as far as to say I enjoyed it, but it was ok as background music. The whole twanginess of it all is my biggest turn off, but that’s the case with the vast majority of this genre for me. I’m certainly not going to be rushing for a second listen, but I don’t exactly feel like I’ve wasted time having it on.

< The Beatles Keep driving, away from me. Why are the least interesting albums also the longest?

I haven't used a private session in Spotify in over a year, but seeing the name "Southern Rock Opera" and that it was over an hour and a half long, I wasn't taking any chances that Spotify might think this is my new favorite thing. The only thing these guys are good at are stretching out short basic ideas out as long as possible. Once you've heard the first 10 seconds of any song on this album you know exactly how the rest of it is going to sound. The same riff on repeat forever, basic country vocals, guitar solo, and then back to the riff. If this album was 30 minutes I would have given it a Low 3 said "It's not for me but it is fine", but no this atrocity had to be AN HOUR AND A HALF!!!! This band barely has enough unique ideas to fill out an EP. Birmingham is a 5 second loop for 5 minutes and it sounds exactly like one of the 5 other songs I have already heard. This isn't the worst album of all time (It is one of the hardest albums to sit through), and there is a decent album in here. If you trimmed like 3/4ths of this album I think you could have a solid 3/5 album, maybe a really low 4 if you are lucky, but as it stands this is pain to listen to. High 1.

Me aburrí mucho. Suena viejo para su época, y no le encontré nada original. Encima de todo, una hora y media! Por que? Nota: 2.3

# Playlist Track - Ronnie And Neil # Notes - This album is bad. No way around it. It's one of those things that you can only really enjoy if you have this particularly keen interest on the American south. And I'm not saying this just because is comically stereotypical, but also because it's a double album. - So, unless you're borderline 'murica fanatic, it's unlikely that you can enjoy the full 90 minutes of this weird thing. - I would give 3 stars for a 30 to 40 minutes "best of", but I don't recommend anyone but the proudest rednecks to sit through the whole thing.

Dead Drunk and Naked. Something about George Wallace. Good album

3.5