Son Volt’s latest record, Day of the Doug, revisits the music of legendary Texas troubadour Doug Sahm. But it’s much more than fond remembrance and colorful tribute. It is a summoning and a celebration of a songwriter and performer whose work forged country, Tex-Mex, rock, rhythm and blues, folk, and psychedelia into an utterly unique American sound. Sahm’s 50-year career was a restless and relentless quest for the Holy Grail of “the groove.” He played pedal steel with Hank Williams, Sr. as a kid before making three Top 40 hits with the Sir Douglas Quintet and recording a dizzying array of solo works with a passel of shifting personas on a carousel of record labels. Son Volt’s eleventh release since 1995’s Trace steps confidently on the trails Sahm blazed. Like any journey to find a grail, Day of the Doug also seeks out all the things that make young artists fall in love with making music in the first place: adventure, youth novelty, and a chance to snatch a bit of immortality.
TRACK LISTING
1. Doug Intro
2. Sometimes You’ve Got To Stop Chasing Rainbows
3. What About Tomorrow
4. Beautiful Texas Sunshine
5. Float Away
6. Yesterday Got In The Way
7. Keep Your Soul
8. Dynamite Woman
9. Huggin Thin Air
10. Juan Mendoza
11. Poison Love
12. Seguin
13. It’s Gonna Be Easy
14. Doug Outro