I love songs that make me want to roll the windows down and keep driving, and this one does exactly that. The guitar intro hooks me every time, and once it starts, I’m in. The Silos never became a household name, but songs like this remind me why digging is worth it. Sometimes the best roads are the ones that don’t show up on everyone’s map. This one reminds me a little of Mellencamp.
Critics loved them, musicians admired them, and years later people realized they were helping build what would become alt-country. Formed in New York in 1985 by Walter Salas-Humara and Bob Rupe, they mixed rock, country, folk, and punk into something that felt original. Their 1987 album Cuba earned them Rolling Stone’s Best New American Band in the critics’ poll and influenced countless roots-rock bands that followed.
For me, this grabs you before Walter Salas-Humara even opens his mouth. That guitar intro has a purpose. It sounds like the beginning of a long drive with no real destination. Then the rhythm section kicks in, and the song settles into that steady beat. It isn’t clever songwriting. It’s just simple and honest, and that makes it even stronger.
What I like most is how naturally everything fits together. The guitars have just enough edge without overpowering the melody. Their influences were Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, the Velvet Underground, and Gram Parsons. That combination you would hear more in alt-country.
Tennessee Fire
See you soon, but not like this
Afraid I am to think
I haven’t heard
I haven’t heard from you in weeks
All your letters, photographs
So far out of reach
Driving by the moonlight
Haven’t seen a service station in thirty miles or so
I’m running out of gasoline
All your letters, photographs
So far out of reach
High road, low road
Rolling on and on
Tennessee fire
Is it so far
Driving by the moonlight
Haven’t seen a service station in fifty miles or so
I sing along
I sing along to
I sing along to the radio
High road, low road
Rolling on and on
Tennessee fire
Is it so far
Ohio
Leaving you behind
Discover more from PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Nice music, Max as these guys jam well together.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very nice. Don’t remember hearing of them. The drums and guitar do bring Mellencamp to mind.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yea…I heard them and liked it right away. I love finding these older Americana bands like this…or roots…or whatever you want to call them.
LikeLike
They probably had you with the title!
LikeLiked by 2 people
That certainly helped! But that music hit me as well…very heartland sounding
LikeLike
New to me. I can certainly hear why you would like this song. Seems very much your style. It’s a great little tune.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well this is new to me Max. I will be exploring further. I helped my oldman paint a “silo” when I was a kid.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These guys are good CB…I think you will like what you find. I still see those huge silos here in there, In Kansas, passing through, they were everywhere.
LikeLike
Ill be listening. Those silos are a lot bigger now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you mentioned the intro has purpose. I am imagining him on the road, driving through the night, windows open, just like you describe. I feel the apprehension building. What will he find when he gets there? Cool song.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Lisa…I wish I would have written that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. I like how you have to read between the lines. Yeah, me too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh…I meant your description of it! It was great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, the drum sounds straight outta the Mellen camp, the guitars from the Tom Petty template No bad thing! Love the frantic getting loose feeling outro too.
The end line about Ohio shows the lengths the singer has gone to. Nice simple songwriting, I mean that in the best way.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes…that is what I like about it. Simple but not dumb…you can hear their influences and like you said…nothing wrong with that. At least they picked good ones.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool name for a band. Song does have a John Cougar vibe….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course, when you mentioned John Mellencamp, my ears doubled in size right away. As you know, I’ve been digging that dude for many years. And, yes, I can definitely hear your comparison. And having Tom Petty, Gram Parsons and the Velvet Underground as your additional influences only adds to it. I’ll be off to the horse races (my first time ever) in a couple of hours. This involves a 30-minute car ride to the racetrack, and I think Silos may be a perfect companion for the ride. And, I don’t know, maybe some “Radar Love” or “Highway Star” – and hoping for the best… 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought of you when I heard this! They were really good in roots music and were sort of pioneers in it for the later 90s bands of Wilco and Sun Volt…
LikeLiked by 1 person
New song and band to me, and I definitely agree from the very start of the lyrics you could hear the echoes of John Cougar.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yea…they are new to me as well…I go looking for new/old music that I missed…and I did miss these guys in the 80s…this is the type of music I wanted more of back then.
LikeLike