Drive By Truckers Southern Rock Opera on 180g 2LP

"We began writing the Southern Rock Opera some years ago. We wanted to examine people's misconceptions of the South, and study some modern-day southern mythology. The band Lynyrd Skynyrd's story seemed like the ultimate vehicle for tying all of these loose ends together into what would hopefully flow like one big story. It also gave us a great excuse for going with a 3 guitar lineup and exploring that musically. It should also be noted that the record was intentionally paced like a movie and was originally planned as a screenplay before it became an album.

"Act I: Set in the late 1970s. Our hero is growing up in a small southern town and dreaming of being a big Rock Star. In the meantime he has to deal with the mundane shit that most teenagers deal with. As he grows up and leaves the south, he is shocked at how different people's perceptions of his home were from what he remembered. Act II: Our hero has now become the big Rock Star that he always fantasized about being, but it's somehow nothing like he thought it would be...Is anything ever?

"This one shouldn't have ever been released in any other format than vinyl. The album was set in the 70's, recorded like it was the 70's and...well you know...This album put us on the map and while it's far from my favorite of our albums, it changed my life forever (long before it was even finished) and since I lived to tell the tale, I'm proud of the tale I told." - Patterson Hood