PATTERSON HOOD
''HEAT LIGHTNING RUMBLES IN THE DISTANCE''
SEPTEMBER 10 2012
44:37
1. 12:01 /3:14
2. Leaving Time /3:31
3. Disappear /3:19
4. Better Off Without /2:39
5. (Untold Pretties) /3:44
6. After The Damage /4:34
7. Better Than The Truth /3:04
8. Betty Ford /3:00
9. Depression Era /3:52
10. Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance /4:17
11. Come Back Little Star/Kelly Hogan, Patterson Hood /5:01
12. Fifteen Days (Leaving Time Again) /4:22
Tracks By Hood, Except 11
David Barbe /Bass, Bass (Electric), Shaker
Mike Cooley /Banjo
Scott Danbom /Cello, Fiddle, Piano, Violin
Jay Gonzalez /Accordion, Mellotron, Piano, Piano (Grand), Piano (Upright), Wurlitzer Piano
Kelly Hogan /Vocal Harmony, Vocals
David Hood /Bass
Patterson Hood /Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitars, Mandocello, Monologue, Vocal Harmony, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Will Johnson /Atmosphere, Guitar (Electric), Vocal Harmony
Brad Morgan /Drums, Percussion, Pipe Snare Drum, Tambourine
Jacob Morris /Cello, Violin
John Neff /Pedal Steel
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
The first rule of making a solo album is there's no point in bothering unless you're trying to do something you couldn't do within the context of your band, and Patterson Hood clearly understands this. The tenor of Hood's lyrical voice is strong enough that there's a clear link between his music with the Drive-By Truckers and his solo material, but his first two albums, 2004's Killers and Stars and 2009's Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs), found him exploring themes that were too quirky, intimate, or idiosyncratic to fit comfortably within the big, muscular sound of the DBTs. The paradox of his third solo effort, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, is that it sounds and feels the least like an album by the Truckers, but comes closest to capturing the deep emotional resonance of their finest work. The songs on Heat Lightning were inspired by an uncompleted novel Hood wrote about a period of personal, musical, and familial chaos in the '90s, and while this music isn't as stark as the four-track demos that became Killers and Stars, the songs are as personal and emotionally naked as anything the man has ever released, and the music is a fine match in its spare but evocative arrangements. These 12 songs are dominated by failing relationships, friendships lost to bad luck and destructive impulses, family discord, and the downsides of a life lived in transit, and though Hood has never been known to shy away from tragedy in his lyrics, there's an unpretentious literacy in Heat Lightning's unflinching yet compassionate storytelling that's deeply affecting. And while several members of the Drive-By Truckers accompany Hood on these sessions, the overall impact isn't just quieter, but finely attuned to the dour realities of these characters in an appreciatively individual way. Hood has never written a set of songs that cohere as powerfully as these do, the individual snapshots gaining strength and depth as a whole. And while it may be a bit out of place thematically, Hood's collaboration with Kelly Hogan, "Come Back Little Star," is a beautiful and heartbreaking farewell to their friend and colleague Vic Chesnutt, and a brilliant reminder of the unpredictable mysteries of fate, as good a summation of this album's themes as anything. While Patterson Hood's first two solo albums were full of fine music, they often seemed to have been created as a venue for songs that just didn't suit the DBTs. Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, on the other hand, stands on its own as a catalog of troubled hearts and souls, and it's a brave, compelling collection from an artist who continues to evolve in remarkable and unexpected ways.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming
Best known as leader of the Drive-By Truckers, songwriter Patterson Hood was born into a musical family, with his father (David Hood) serving as the longtime bassist for studio legends the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Patterson began writing songs at the tender age of eight, and by the time he was 14 he was playing guitar in a local rock band. While attending college in 1985, he formed the band Adam's House Cat with his friend Mike Cooley, and the group won Musician Magazine's Best Unsigned Band competition three years later. However, the band's regional acclaim didn't translate into significant commercial success, and its sole full-length album was never released.
After Adam's House Cat split up, Hood and Cooley continued to work together. They eventually formed the Drive-By Truckers in 1996, following a mutual relocation to Athens, GA. Drawing equal influence from country and rock & roll, the Drive-By Truckers released their first album, Gangstabilly, in 1998. However, it was with their ambitious double-disc set, 2001's Southern Rock Opera, that garnered the Truckers their first dose of nationwide critical acclaim. Southern Rock Opera's success as an independent release helped earn the a band a contract with Lost Highway Records, which soon reissued the album on a wider scale. After the label had a falling out with the DBTs over their somber follow-up, Decoration Day, the group bought the album back from Lost Highway and, instead, partnered with the independent label New West Records. Decoration Day was then released to rave reviews in 2003.
Throughout the bulk of the Drive-By Truckers' career, Hood also wrote music that didn't suit the band's muscular stomp. In 2001, as the Truckers were completing Southern Rock Opera, Hood -- who by his own admission was going through a difficult period, having weathered a divorce and some personal difficulties with his bandmates -- recorded a set of acoustic demos that were considerably darker than most of his compositions for the group. Hood pressed up a CD of the acoustic sessions, titled the collection Killers and Stars, and sold copies at his periodic solo shows, with the album described as "a work in progress." In 2004, Hood enlisted the help of producer David Barbe, who mastered the records before New West gave Killers and Stars a proper release. Hood returned to the solo game several years later with Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs), which found him partnering with his father for the first time on record. 2012 saw the release of Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance, a third solo album that enlisted the talents of all of his DBT bandmates. The album began as a novel about a particularly dark time in Hood's life, but when inspiration to write dried up, he shifted the themes of the book over to these songs.
''HEAT LIGHTNING RUMBLES IN THE DISTANCE''
SEPTEMBER 10 2012
44:37
1. 12:01 /3:14
2. Leaving Time /3:31
3. Disappear /3:19
4. Better Off Without /2:39
5. (Untold Pretties) /3:44
6. After The Damage /4:34
7. Better Than The Truth /3:04
8. Betty Ford /3:00
9. Depression Era /3:52
10. Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance /4:17
11. Come Back Little Star/Kelly Hogan, Patterson Hood /5:01
12. Fifteen Days (Leaving Time Again) /4:22
Tracks By Hood, Except 11
David Barbe /Bass, Bass (Electric), Shaker
Mike Cooley /Banjo
Scott Danbom /Cello, Fiddle, Piano, Violin
Jay Gonzalez /Accordion, Mellotron, Piano, Piano (Grand), Piano (Upright), Wurlitzer Piano
Kelly Hogan /Vocal Harmony, Vocals
David Hood /Bass
Patterson Hood /Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitars, Mandocello, Monologue, Vocal Harmony, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Will Johnson /Atmosphere, Guitar (Electric), Vocal Harmony
Brad Morgan /Drums, Percussion, Pipe Snare Drum, Tambourine
Jacob Morris /Cello, Violin
John Neff /Pedal Steel
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
The first rule of making a solo album is there's no point in bothering unless you're trying to do something you couldn't do within the context of your band, and Patterson Hood clearly understands this. The tenor of Hood's lyrical voice is strong enough that there's a clear link between his music with the Drive-By Truckers and his solo material, but his first two albums, 2004's Killers and Stars and 2009's Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs), found him exploring themes that were too quirky, intimate, or idiosyncratic to fit comfortably within the big, muscular sound of the DBTs. The paradox of his third solo effort, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, is that it sounds and feels the least like an album by the Truckers, but comes closest to capturing the deep emotional resonance of their finest work. The songs on Heat Lightning were inspired by an uncompleted novel Hood wrote about a period of personal, musical, and familial chaos in the '90s, and while this music isn't as stark as the four-track demos that became Killers and Stars, the songs are as personal and emotionally naked as anything the man has ever released, and the music is a fine match in its spare but evocative arrangements. These 12 songs are dominated by failing relationships, friendships lost to bad luck and destructive impulses, family discord, and the downsides of a life lived in transit, and though Hood has never been known to shy away from tragedy in his lyrics, there's an unpretentious literacy in Heat Lightning's unflinching yet compassionate storytelling that's deeply affecting. And while several members of the Drive-By Truckers accompany Hood on these sessions, the overall impact isn't just quieter, but finely attuned to the dour realities of these characters in an appreciatively individual way. Hood has never written a set of songs that cohere as powerfully as these do, the individual snapshots gaining strength and depth as a whole. And while it may be a bit out of place thematically, Hood's collaboration with Kelly Hogan, "Come Back Little Star," is a beautiful and heartbreaking farewell to their friend and colleague Vic Chesnutt, and a brilliant reminder of the unpredictable mysteries of fate, as good a summation of this album's themes as anything. While Patterson Hood's first two solo albums were full of fine music, they often seemed to have been created as a venue for songs that just didn't suit the DBTs. Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, on the other hand, stands on its own as a catalog of troubled hearts and souls, and it's a brave, compelling collection from an artist who continues to evolve in remarkable and unexpected ways.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming
Best known as leader of the Drive-By Truckers, songwriter Patterson Hood was born into a musical family, with his father (David Hood) serving as the longtime bassist for studio legends the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Patterson began writing songs at the tender age of eight, and by the time he was 14 he was playing guitar in a local rock band. While attending college in 1985, he formed the band Adam's House Cat with his friend Mike Cooley, and the group won Musician Magazine's Best Unsigned Band competition three years later. However, the band's regional acclaim didn't translate into significant commercial success, and its sole full-length album was never released.
After Adam's House Cat split up, Hood and Cooley continued to work together. They eventually formed the Drive-By Truckers in 1996, following a mutual relocation to Athens, GA. Drawing equal influence from country and rock & roll, the Drive-By Truckers released their first album, Gangstabilly, in 1998. However, it was with their ambitious double-disc set, 2001's Southern Rock Opera, that garnered the Truckers their first dose of nationwide critical acclaim. Southern Rock Opera's success as an independent release helped earn the a band a contract with Lost Highway Records, which soon reissued the album on a wider scale. After the label had a falling out with the DBTs over their somber follow-up, Decoration Day, the group bought the album back from Lost Highway and, instead, partnered with the independent label New West Records. Decoration Day was then released to rave reviews in 2003.
Throughout the bulk of the Drive-By Truckers' career, Hood also wrote music that didn't suit the band's muscular stomp. In 2001, as the Truckers were completing Southern Rock Opera, Hood -- who by his own admission was going through a difficult period, having weathered a divorce and some personal difficulties with his bandmates -- recorded a set of acoustic demos that were considerably darker than most of his compositions for the group. Hood pressed up a CD of the acoustic sessions, titled the collection Killers and Stars, and sold copies at his periodic solo shows, with the album described as "a work in progress." In 2004, Hood enlisted the help of producer David Barbe, who mastered the records before New West gave Killers and Stars a proper release. Hood returned to the solo game several years later with Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs), which found him partnering with his father for the first time on record. 2012 saw the release of Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance, a third solo album that enlisted the talents of all of his DBT bandmates. The album began as a novel about a particularly dark time in Hood's life, but when inspiration to write dried up, he shifted the themes of the book over to these songs.
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