Jay Farrar - Stone, Steel & Bright Lights

Recorded throughout September and October of 2003, as Farrar criss-crossed the country with the DC-based 5-piece, Canyon, as his backing band, Stone Steel & Bright Lights offers a diverse collection of Farrar’s solo career. The album features 2 new originals ("Doesn’t Have to Be This Way" and "6 String Belief"), 15 songs from Farrar’s 3 solo releases, as well as 2 well-chosen covers (Syd Barrett’s "Lucifer Sam" and Neil Young’s "Like A Hurricane). As a bonus, the album package also features an 11-song DVD with performance footage from Slim’s in San Francisco. The new originals, "Doesn't Have to Be This Way" and "6 String Belief", prove to be especially timely eventhough they were written and recorded in 2003. According to Farrar, "'Doesn't Have to Be This Way' reflects the headlines in the newspapers during that period," and frames its surging protest against a "new world of shame" with a chiming piano and mournful lap steel. "6 String Belief" touches on an issue that seems equally close to the songwriter's heart - the strength of rock and roll to renew and redeem itself in moments when it becomes jaded, corrupted and bankrupt. The song, says Farrar, "deals with the idea of rebellion against the status quo in a music industry context. When corporate blitzes and payola reach a saturation point at the mainstream level, it spawns a reaction of good music - a grassroots, do-it-yourself level." He calls the song "two-thirds idealism and one third reality."

Stone, Steel & Bright Lights documents the acrobatic swings from quiet intimacy to guitar roar that typify Farrar's approach to live performance. Resisting the urge merely to regurgitate his studio recordings, Farrar, with Canyon's help, reinterprets, reinvents and offers up new material. As Stone, Steel & Bright Lights unfolds, some of the best songs of Farrar's solo career roll out of the speakers in astonishing new guises or with clever new twists in arrangement or instrumentation. This collection proves that the heart of Farrar's last three records lay not in manipulating tape but in his superb songwriting. Album Description

Solid

I feel that negative reviews are almost always an exaggeration, and it is surely the case here. Jay Farrar is the alt-country love child people seem to love to hate. But they love to hate him because they just loved Son Volt (and Uncle Tupelo) so much. That's history folks. And face it, he's talented and has the voice that hundreds of men try to emulate. This album is certainly not a clone of Son Volt's, but he's not doing Son Volt stuff here. It's a solid album, and worth having in your collection. Listen for yourself. July 18, 2006

From a reviewer that grew up near Farrar

There are some brilliant reviews here, and some that completely miss the point. I grew up about ten minutes away from Farrar's hometown, and I really fear some reviewers cannot understand the context from which he writes. Imagine the "rust belt", where factories have closed, people have moved away, and sprawl has crept in. You have our hometown area. The song Cahokian, which another reviewer took to task, is especially poignant to anyone familiar with the area. He speaks of the mounds, one being a HUGE ceromonial mound built by native americans which still stands today. The other, a landfill, visible from the first mound, stands across from a motor sports racetrack. The fact that Farrar recognizes this and chooses to speak on it, I believe, shows the consciousness that makes me love his music. If you like this slant, you should really check out March "16-20, 1992". This album completely forshadowed Tupelo's split, with noticable "tweedy songs" and "farrar songs", with Farrar's being of the social consciousness ilk. Please, continue to check out Farrar's solo work, Trace and Wide Swing Tremolo (not a big fan of much else son volt), and any Tupelo you can get your hands on. I should also add, quickly, some favorite songs from S,S,& BL. Please pay attention to Medicine Hat, Six String Belief, and Greenwich Time. Thanks for your time! October 6, 2005

Please someone tell me where else I can find this song

I have heard this whole CD and it's nothing special. One song is very good and I do wish to have it. It is the first song, "Things don't have to be this way". I do want that song but don't want to have to pay for this very ordinary CD to get it. I have not been able to find where else it is so if someone knows I would sure appreciate you pointing me towards it. Thanks. August 12, 2005

A very pleasing discovery

This man's work is new to me but it's a great discovery! A previous and somewhat negative review suggested that if I liked this I'd need a lobotomy! Well, book me in for some cranial work as I think that most of this album is fantastic and the rest is very good indeed. His voice - reminiscent of early Michael Stipe - is forceful and memorable and songs like 'Feel Free', 'Make it Alright' and 'All of your might' stay long in the memory. Best of all, it's rounded off with a blistering performance of Neil Young's 'Like a hurricane'. I'm certainly going to investigate his previous work but to those who don't like this album I say, 'Damn shame'! Recommended. July 30, 2005

Newsflash - Farrar Loses Plot

Guess what folks - another solo disappointment from the most boring man in alt.country. Jay Farrar has completely lost it - every damn song on this record is boring, save for Cahokian, which is merely trite and re-hashed. Do not waste your money on this garbage unless you love the rest of his solo work, in which case you should have a lobotomy. Listen, dear consumer, buy the Uncle Tupelo best of and then Buy Son Volt's TRACE and Wilco's YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT. Then forget about Jay Farrar.

P.S. He is even more boring as a solo live act than on record. May 8, 2005

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