In 1985 Son Volt released their debut album “Trace”, to almost universal acclaim. This was possibly not unexpected given group leader and songwriter Jay Farrar’s history as one of the two songwriters from the genre-defining Uncle Tupelo, but the other writer, Jeff Tweedy, was meanwhile receiving mixed reviews for his new band Wilco’s debut album, although as it turned out they were the more productive and commercially successful band. One’s preference is a purely personal one, but there is no doubting the ongoing influence of these two writers on modern-day americana performers.
Uncle Tupelo are generally credited as the inspiration behind americana music (at the time tagged ‘alternative country’), their albums showing some sparkling lyricism and a different kind of production and instrumentation to what was then mainstream country or mainstream rock music, combining the two to produce this new style of music, folksy sensibilities with a hard rock edge.
At the time of the release of “Trace”, which followed in similar vein to Uncle Tupelo, your writer was in the middle of a road trip across the States, attempting to downplay the significance of a failed marriage and deal with the fall-out. The album came on the radio and life has never been the same (well, musically anyway). To these ears “Trace” is the album that sets the standard against which all other americana albums are measured, and is the pinnacle of achievement for any of the three bands mentioned (discuss!) Two tracks are certifiable masterpieces, or maybe they just fit the mood of the trip I was on. ‘Tear-stained eye’ dealt with heartbreak but with an eye to a better future “Like the man said, rode hard and put away wet / Throw away the bad news, and put it to rest / If learning is living, and the truth is a state of mind / You’ll find it’s better at the end of the line”.
The other track is ‘Windfall’, with Farrar’s yearning vocals, its downbeat and strange verses, yet its upbeat, beautiful, almost optimistic chorus which was like a lightbulb moment as I crossed Colorado, through Arizona into Southern California “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”. The track also contains the magnificent couplet “Catching an all-night station somewhere in Louisiana/It sounds like 1963, but for now it sounds like heaven”
Take a listen to this gorgeous live version from an Austin City Limits recording in 1996. And apologies to those of you who can remember back to 2017 when this video last appeared on these pages, but that was for a different Feature and I enter it now for the sake of a song that had a longstanding effect on me. And it is the best live version.
