Wide Swing Tremolo is the third studio album by alternative country band Son Volt.[10][11] It was released in 1998 on Warner Bros. Records.[2][12]
Wide Swing Tremolo | ||||
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Studio album by Son Volt | ||||
Released | October 6, 1998 | |||
Recorded | Jajouka Studio | |||
Genre | Alternative country | |||
Length | 45:34 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Son Volt | |||
Son Volt chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[3] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork Media | 7.3/10[6] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Wall of Sound | 82/100[9] |
The album peaked at No. 93 on the Billboard 200.[13]
Production
editThe album was recorded in Millstadt, Illinois, at the band's rehearsal space.[14] It was produced by the band and engineered by David Barbe.[15]
Critical reception
editEntertainment Weekly wrote that "many of the songs ... return to the power and purity of the band’s brilliant 1995 debut, Trace.[3] Trouser Press called the album "genuinely mediocre," writing that "the flourishes that had initially made Son Volt uncanny had transgressed into stale formula."[16] The Tucson Weekly wrote that "the songs retain Farrar's downcast approach, but they're extremely well-written this time around; and the band seems to have been reinvigorated, putting a little more into their performances than the cultivated ennui we've become accustomed to."[17]
Track listing
editAll songs written by Jay Farrar.
- "Straightface" - 3:02
- "Driving the View" - 2:57
- "Jodel" - 0:41
- "Medicine Hat" - 4:12
- "Strands" - 5:06
- "Flow" - 2:18
- "Dead Man's Clothes" - 2:46
- "Right on Through" - 3:08
- "Chanty" - 1:27
- "Carry You Down" - 3:28
- "Question" - 4:00
- "Streets That Time Walks" - 5:24
- "Hanging Blue Side" - 3:41
- "Blind Hope" - 3:17
Personnel
edit- Jay Farrar - guitars, lead vocals, Chamberlin organ, acoustic and electric pianos, dulcimer, harmonica
- Dave Boquist - guitars, lap steel guitar, fiddle, viola
- Jim Boquist - bass, backing vocals, slide guitar (4), piano (7)
- Mike Heidorn - drums, percussion
- Eric Heywood - pedal steel guitar (13, 14)
- Dave Barbe - Kenyan rattle (13)
References
edit- ^ "Wide Swing Tremolo - Son Volt | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 600.
- ^ a b "Wide Swing Tremolo". EW.com.
- ^ "Album Review / Pop". Los Angeles Times. October 10, 1998.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1049.
- ^ "Son Volt: Wide Swing Tremolo: Pitchfork Record Review". April 27, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-27.
- ^ "Wide Swing Tremolo : Son Volt : Review : Rolling Stone". February 24, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-02-24.
- ^ The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 759.
- ^ Durchholz, Daniel. "Wall of Sound Review: Wide Swing Tremolo". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 2001-04-15. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- ^ "Son Volt | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ "Son Volt Turn It Up With Tremolo". MTV News.[dead link]
- ^ "Distant Rumblings". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network, Inc. November 11, 1998 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Son Volt". Billboard.
- ^ Himes, Geoffrey (September 25, 1998). "SON VOLT'S RURAL ROCK" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ Harris, Michael C. (October 1, 1998). "Americana, No Depression, Whatever". Miami New Times.
- ^ "Son Volt". Trouser Press. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Tucson Weekly: Soundbites (October 22 - October 28, 1998)". www.tucsonweekly.com.