Son Volt – Day of the Doug (Vinyl)

Revered band Son Volt pay homage to the legendary Doug Sahm on the new album Day Of The Doug. Son Volt founder Jay Farrar’s goal with this 12-song collection was not only to pay tribute to Sahm’s music and influence, but to also highlight some of the deeper tracks in his heralded canon, specifically from a prolific period during the late 1960s through the 1970s. It’s 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.

Over the course of a 50-year career, Doug Sahm blazed trails across genres, churning together key elements of rock, R&B, country, folk, Tex-Mex and psychedelia into something that existed in its own unique space. He shared a stage playing steel with Hank Williams, Sr. as a kid before making three Top 40 hits with the Sir Douglas Quintet and recording a heralded body of solo work. He never stopped evolving and consistently obliterating musical boundaries.

Farrar had a personal connection with Sahm, both as a friend and mentor. Sahm sang with Farrar on the final Uncle Tupelo album Anodyne (1993) as they recorded an exceptional rendition of his classic song ‘Give Back the Key to My Heart’. Day Of The Doug opens and closes with personal messages left by Sahm on the Son Volt leader’s answering machine.

In 1995, Son Volt released their seminal debut album, Trace, one of the most influential albums of the alt-country movement and what would later become Americana. For the 25th anniversary of the album in 2020, the group planned a tour to perform Trace from top to bottom in celebration of the milestone. However, the pandemic did not cooperate.

Tracklist:

Side One
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

Side Two
1. Dynamite Woman
2. Huggin Thin Air
3. Juan Mendoza
4. Poison Love
5. Seguin
6. It’s Gonna Be Easy
7. Doug Outro