Jay Farrar – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Sun Volt – Windfall

I’ve always liked this kind of music. It’s hard to put it into one category. You can call it alternative country, Americana, or roots rock. I just call it good music. This song is one of those songs that sounds like it could have been recorded twenty years earlier or yesterday. It has a country feel to it, but there is plenty of rock underneath. Jay Farrar has a voice that fits this kind of music perfectly.

Son Volt formed in 1994 after Uncle Tupelo broke up. That band had been led by Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, and when they went their separate ways, Tweedy formed Wilco while Farrar formed Son Volt. Farrar brought in former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, along with brothers Jim and Dave Boquist. Their debut album, Trace, was released in 1995, with this song opening the album. It’s one of those records that helped define the alternative country sound of the nineties.

This is a song about getting away for a while, driving down the road, and trying to leave your troubles behind. The acoustic guitars, pedal steel, and Farrar’s voice give it a relaxed feeling, but there is a little sadness underneath it all. That’s what I like about the song. It’s just a great melody with a little country and rock mixed together. Sometimes the best thing you can do is get in your car, turn up the radio, and drive. This is a perfect song for that.

The album peaked at #166 on the Billboard Album Charts and #7 on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts.

Windfall

Now and then it keeps you running
It never seems to die
The trail’s spent with fear
Not enough living on the outside
Never seem to get far enough
Staying in between the lines
Hold on to what you can
Waiting for the end
Not knowing when

May the wind take your troubles away
May the wind take your troubles away
Both feet on the floor, two hands on the wheel
May the wind take your troubles away

Trying to make it far enough, to the next time zone
Few and far between past the midnight hour
You never feel alone, you’re really not alone

Switching it over to AM
Searching for a truer sound
Can’t recall the call letters
Steel guitar and settle down

Catching an all-night station somewhere in Louisiana
It sounds like 1963, but for now it sounds like heaven
May the wind take your troubles away
May the wind take your troubles away
Both feet on the floor, two hands on the wheel
May the wind take your troubles away

May the wind take your troubles away
May the wind take your troubles away

Uncle Tupelo – Graveyard Shift

The first thing that got me was that guitar riff. It has a raw sound that I love, but Graveyard Shift has much more going for it than a good riff. Farrar sings it like someone who has already lived through everything he is singing about. That is what surprised me when I watched the 1989 performance. These guys were young, but they didn’t sound young.

There is country in there. There is punk in there. There is some garage rock as well. Most of all, though, it sounds honest. Uncle Tupelo wasn’t trying to make old country music or follow what rock music was doing at the time. They took all of it and made something that sounded like them. And that riff doesn’t hurt either.

They were formed in Belleville, Illinois, with Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn at the heart of the original band. They took country and folk influences and mixed them with the harder sounds of punk and alternative rock. Farrar has said they were listening to bands such as Hüsker Dü while also drawing lyrical inspiration from Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. That combination helped create the sound that would eventually be called alternative country or Americana.

Graveyard Shift was written by Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn and became the opening track on their 1990 debut album No Depression. Farrar takes the lead vocal, and the song sounds like the area the band came from. Belleville had been hit hard during the late 70s to the 80s. That frustration found its way into his writing. The song is about wanting to escape a place where times were tough. The music matches the lyrics perfectly. That riff keeps pushing forward while the rhythm stops, starts, and changes direction underneath it.

The live video I found was recorded in 1989, before No Depression was released. It was aired on St. Louis television in November. Watching them play it then is strange because it’s so raw. They look like three kids playing, yet the sound is already there.

Uncle Tupelo would only last until 1994, but what came afterward tells you something about the talent in that little band. Farrar formed Son Volt, while Tweedy went on to form Wilco. Their influence also lasted much longer than the band itself. The title No Depression was eventually adopted by the magazine devoted to the kind of roots and alt-country music Uncle Tupelo helped bring.

Graveyard Shift

Hometown, same town blues
Same old walls closing in
Oh what a life a mess can be
I’m sitting here thinking of you once again
Won’t you talk to me

Well, time won’t wait, better open the gate
Get up and start what needs to be done
It’s winding down, there’s much you missed
Working on that graveyard shift

Well, I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong as the day comes along
If what I see is true I could learn to believe
Can’t look away
The powers that be might take it all away
Together we burn, together we burn away

Some say a land of paradise
Some say a land of pain
Well, which side are you looking from
Some people have it all
Some all to gain

Well a man in a tie gonna break his twenty dollar bill
There’s plenty of reasons in this world
We’re no longer standing still

But I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong as the day comes along
If what I see is true I could learn to believe
Can’t look away
The powers that be might take it all away
Together we burn, together we burn away

There’s too much time spent looking for a reason
It’s the simple ones that beat the most truth
Oh, what a life a mess can be
I’m sitting here thinking of you once again
Give a thought to me

Well, time won’t wait, better open the gate
Get up and start what needs to be done
It’s running down, there’s much you missed
Working on that graveyard shift

Uncle Tupelo w/Doug Sahm – Give Back The Key To My Heart

Yes, I posted Sahm recently, but here he is leading the way with Uncle Tupelo. What a great and natural combination. Running across this was just fantastic! I can’t put into words how much I love the down-home sound of this. One more legend is on this album that I will reveal at the bottom of the post…no skipping or peaking!

When Uncle Tupelo teamed up with Doug Sahm on this song, it felt less like a guest spot and more like a handoff between two generations. Sahm had already lived a lifetime in Texas blues, country, and rock and roll. Uncle Tupelo were still mapping out what roots rock could sound like in the early ’90s. The song sits right in the middle of that meeting point.

Sahm sounds relaxed, like he’s telling a story on a porch. Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy hang back just enough to let the song lead. I always liked Uncle Tupelo anyway, but add Doug Sahm? Oh hell yes! I could listen to this type of music all day and twice on Sunday, as the saying goes. It gives me a great feeling, and it just fits all together so well. The backup vocals are on target, but also riding around the edges; it’s such a lived-in sound that I love. There is no overdubbing or big production…just back porch sounding goodness.

This track shows what Uncle Tupelo were always good at, connecting past and present without making it sound like a museum piece. Doug Sahm doesn’t feel like a legend that was just dropped in for credibility. He feels like part of the band, which in this he is. Doug Sahm wrote this song, and it was on the Uncle Tupelo album called Anodyne, released in 1993. He first released it as Sir Doug and the Texas Tornados in 1976.

There is one more legend on this album doing some vocals…the one and only Joe Ely. He did the lead vocals on Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?

Give Back The Key To My Heart

Take my picture off the wallIt don’t matter to me at allSaid I was headed for a fallBut you wanted me to crawl

Give back my TVIt don’t mean that much to meWhile you’re giving back my thingsGive me back the key to my heart

Give back the key to my heartGive back the key to my heartAnd let my love flow like a riverStraight into your heart, dear

Well, you say I was the oneTo blame for the wrong that’s been doneWell, you got a friend named cocaineAnd to me, he is to blame

He has drained life from your faceHe has taken my placeWhile you’re alone in San AntoneGive me back the key to my heart

Give back the key to my heartGive back the key to my heartAnd let my love flow like a riverStraight into your heart, dear

Son Volt – Drown

I’ve been staying on this Americana kick with some new bands to me….or alt-country…whichever label you wanna use. So many of these great bands started or really hit their stride in the 1990s. The Jayhawks, Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, The Blue Shadows, Wilco, The Old 97s, and many more. Bands to listen to…to forget your problems. No, you will not see a ton of hits with these bands and that is ok with me because they sound so damn good.

When Uncle Tupelo dissolved in 1994, singer Jay Farrar set out to create a new band that would continue blending rock with country influences. This led to the formation of Son Volt, a band that would quickly become a major force in the alt-country movement.

This song was released as a single on their debut album, Trace, in 1995. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Alternative Chart and #10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts. The album received critical praise for its songs, authenticity, and raw sound. It peaked at #166 on the Billboard Album Charts and #7 on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts.

Son Volt has continued to perform and record. They have released 11 albums, and their last one was in 2023, named Day of the Doug. Another thing I like about these albums is that they are organic sounding with no big production or tricks.

Drown

Sky cracks open, walls falling to the floorJust as well to keep it, a guessing game in storeYou’re with me now, will be againAll other points in between

And the cruel, cruel morningsHave turned to days of swim or sinkIf living right is easy, what goes wrongYou’re causing it to drown

Didn’t want to turn that wayYou’re causing it to drownDoesn’t make a difference nowYou’re causing it to drown

Silence knows, can’t drown a heartHappenstance is falling through the cracks each dayToo close now to change itFool’s gold is lighter anyway

When in doubt, move on, no need to sort it outYou’re with me now, will be againAll other points in betweenAnd I want to find the right side of you

If living right is easy, what goes wrongYou’re causing it to drownDidn’t want to turn that wayYou’re causing it to drown

Doesn’t make a difference nowYou’re causing it to drownSilence knows, can’t drown a heartWhen in doubt, move on, no need to sort it out

You’re with me now, will be againAll other points in betweenAnd I want to find the right side of youIf living right is easy, what goes wrong

You’re causing it to drownDidn’t want to turn that wayYou’re causing it to drownDoesn’t make a difference now

You’re causing it to drownSilence knows, can’t drown a heart

…

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression

What a soulful song that just cries out Americana… this alt-country band hits the spot.

Many 1990s alternative rock bands credit No Depression, and Uncle Tupelo as one of the biggest sources of inspiration behind what each of them tried to be. This song is a cover of a song by the Carter Family back in 1936. Uncle Tupelo based their version off the New Lost City Ramblers version that was called No Depression in Heaven. It was written by Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter.

No Depression was also the name of their debut album released in 1990. It was recorded for an independent record label named Rockville. It’s been considered one of the most important alt-country records ever recorded. They did it on a tiny $3500 budget.

Jay Farrar formed Uncle Tupelo with Jeff Tweedy and Mike Heidorn in 1987. They continued until 1994 when Farrar and Tweedy couldn’t work with each other anymore. Personally…I can hear the Jayhawks and other alt-country bands in this. They were only recording from 1989 through 1993 but made a huge mark.

Spin Magazine listed the album at #63 in their rankings of the Top 90 Albums of the 90s.

Jay Farrar: “I first heard it on an old folk compilation that I dug out of my mom’s record collection, I think that version was by the New Lost City Ramblers. It just seemed like the sentiment of the song seemed to fit our surroundings.”

Jay Farrar: “That’s something I learned later on from Woody Guthrie, he talks about how people pay more attention if you sing about topical issues. I guess that was what we were trying to do, in our own way. We were trying to encapsulate what we were seeing around us and put it into music.”

No Depression

Fear the hearts of men are failing
These our latter days we know
The great depression now is spreading
God’s word declared it would be so

I’m going where there’s no depression
To a better land that’s free from care
I’ll leave this world of toil and trouble
My home’s in heaven
I’m going there

In this dark hour, midnight nearing
The tribulation time will come
The storms will hurl the midnight fear
And sweep lost millions to their doom

I’m going where there’s no depression
To a better land that’s free from care
I’ll leave this world of toil and trouble
My home’s in heaven
I’m going there

…