Jay Farrar - Sebastopol

After the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, most fans would have guessed that Jay Farrar was a cinch for a brilliant solo career, but that hasn't quite been the case. While Trace, the first album from Farrar's post-Uncle Tupelo group, Son Volt, was a low-key masterpiece, the follow-up, Straightaways, sounded like he was treading water, offering up more of the same but without the same level of quality, and the songs simply weren't as interesting. Son Volt's third album, Wide Swing Tremolo, was a conscious effort to bring new colors to the band's sound, and while it was a decided improvement over Straightaways, it still paled in comparison to Trace or his better Uncle Tupelo work. Read More