Album: Drivin' n' Cryin', Scarred But Smarter, 1986
Acquired: I bought this album from the cutout bin of what used to be Tracks at the corner of Granby Street and Little Creek Boulevard shortly after I saw Drivin' n' Cryin' open for R.E.M. at William & Mary in 1987. I'll have more to say about the DnC stage show in a later post, but suffice to say for now that R.E.M. was blown off the stage.
Best Track: "Scarred But Smarter"
Lasting Memory: I twice have had to make the 11- or 12-hour round trip from Blacksburg to Virginia Beach with only Scarred But Smarter for musical entertainment and distraction. I was neither disappointed nor bored either time.
I was scared as hell one time, though.
The exact date of when I did this escapes me, but if you ever have to drive over Afton Mountain at night when the roads are icy, it is snowing, and there is a dense fog, don't.
I came through the experience unscathed and well-rocked, however, because DnC is a genre-hopping band. I could make a case that DnC's nearest stylistic competemporary was X because both bands split the discography between traditionalistic country and hard rock. A difference was that X went fast and sloppy towards punk, while DnC went melodic and bombastic toward heavy metal. Early Uncle Tupelo could be conceived of as being a bastard child of DnC and X.
An excellent précis of what DnC was up to musically just happens to be the title track to the band's first album.
On the country side, here's a love song that is not--I reapeat, NOT--a power balad.
Up Next: Drivin' n' Crying', Whisper Tames the Lion, 1988
P.S. I have a lot of DnC tapes. Consider today's brief post a promise of better things to come.
6 comments:
Hey! Is it possible you and I went to the same concert and I didn't know? I saw REM at William&Mary myself and prety sure it was in 1987. I remember their cover of the Every Brothers' "Dream, Dream, Dream" brought tears to my eyes - in a good way. Don't hate me for not remembering the opening act though. We were probably too late to catch it. My friends were never on time for anything.
Sue
Of course I meant "Everly" Brothers...
Hope you feel better soon.
Me again.
Last time.
I promise.
Sue, we must have been at the same show. And I didn't mean to imply that I disliked R.E.M.'s set. I remember being particularly moved by their "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants."
At the same time, R.E.M. isn't exactly the most showy of bands. Judged by pure spectacle, DnC put on a much better show than R.E.M. that night.
I saw REM at W&M Hall, but 10,000 maniacs opened up. I think it was the Document tour ?
I had a nagging feeling that I might have been misremembering exactly where I first saw DnC live. I will concede that I may be wrong about the William & Mary show in 1987, but how coincidental is it that me, Mark, and Sue (who had to have made the trip in from Virginia Tech) were all at the same concert without knowing it until 21 years later?
Same planet, different worlds.
Also, I can claim spotty memory. At least I haven't been faking my entire autobiography like so many people seem to be doing these days. Anybody else see this (http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/03/04/fake-memoir.html)?
Sheesh.
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