Looks like AllMusicGuide agrees. They're all at least good, but Trace and Okemah are the best.

Trace: 4.5 stars
Straightaways: 3 stars
Wide-swing Tremelo 3.5 stars
Okemah and the Melody of Riot 4.5 stars


I know I can.

Ha ha. That thought brought to you by the guy with a hard-on for the Chili Peppers.

And that brought to you by the guy with a hard-on for ripping on 20 year olds who love great guitar playing and funky music. Isn't it time to grow up Radcliffe?

Yeh. All those poor 20 year olds. So innocent and so naive. It's so... well, so goshdarn unfair for adults to rip on them. They should be allowed to enjoy their childish arrogance and outright cretinism without being chided by grown-ups. They're only 20, fer crying out loud. Plenty of time before they have to face the harshness of real life. Why accelerate the process?

Oh man. You've made me see the error of my ways. People over 20 shouldn't listen to music, shouldn't discuss music, and - ferchrissakes - they shouldn't point out how unrelentingly shitty the Chili Peppers are. They should just be adults and leave that retarded 20 year old child free to wallow in his douchebaggery.

It's all so clear to me now.

Just bought Sebastopol today and diggin' it more than I dug Trace. Is Okemah better?

i don't know.

ask radcliff.e

he's older so he knows more about chili peppers and jay farrar.

all the Son volt albums are good but I like Trace, Straightaways, and Okemah best.

If you like Sebastopol more than Trace

1. You won't think Okemah is better.
2. you need professional help.

i can't stand his voice or his sense of rhythm or melody.

Well, I only own Trace and Okemah and like them just fine. Plenty of other tracks I've heard over the years and liked those just fine, too. Can't rank what I haven't heard in entirety, but probably wouldn't dislike much of them.

However my wife says Farrar is Jackson Browne and Neil Young's roadie croaking along to Reckoning.














(I told her she forgot Cockburn and Mould)

Trace, for sure.

"Windfall" and
"Tear-Stained Eye"
sound like they've been a part of the American musical cannon for the last 100 years, even though they were written in the 1990's.

But the rockers aren't bad either.
I love Jay's guitar playing.
Of course, I can understand Jay's voice being an acquired taste, but I happen to love it myself.

trace is one of the best driving records ever, imho

Funny, people say the same thing about Bob Dylan. They couldn't be more wrong.

On day I was listening to Medicine Hat from WST and it ocurred to me, "oh, he's Dylan."

So they do like his voice but they're lying about it? If that's not the case, your comment makes no sense.

Mr Jones : "You know that kid from Hibbing that everyone is talking about...Bob something or other. I just can't get into his music. His voice grates and his sense of rhythm & melody. Well, what can i say. It's non-exsistent. What do you think ?"

MC : "I disagree. In fact, I think you're wrong. Why I find Mr Zimmerman to be as good a singer as say Caruso. I like him."

Trace is really good. Nice find, btw.

This adds nothing to your case. Re-read what Jewels wrote. If you still don't get what's wrong with your original statement, please have someone explain it to you.

I like Jay Farrar.

i was gonna come in here and apologize for being snarky while drunk.
but i do know what i like and don't like, and i stand by the fact that i can't stand his voice.

Jewels,
I know you're not firmly planted in the JF camp and I can respect that. I never even had an issue with it. Your comment just got me thinking how I'm always hearing the same sort of thing when Dylan's name comes up in a conversation.

well go on then...

sometimes i rationalize that his voice doesn't sound "genuine" to me . . . but i realize that is a silly can of worms that means nothings. so i stick with that it rubs me the wrong way.

Mr Jones : You know that kid from Chicago who is getting his panties in a bunch...Natural something or other.

MC : Yeah, what's his deal? I don't get his point.

BG: Yeah, I don't get it either. I'd hope he's got something better than that Jewels has a right not to like Jay Farrar. I mean everyone gets that Jewels has a right to his own opinion but it would seem that MC should have a right to his own opinion that that Jewel's opinion is bunk.

I'm not defending anyone or fighting anyone or trying to piss off anyone. All I'm doing is pointing out that MCaputo's comment MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE YET A FEW OF YOU DON'T REALIZE THIS. It's not a matter of me disagreeing with someone's opinion or defending one side - it's a matter of MCaputo's comment (let's say it again) NOT MAKING ANY SENSE AT ALL ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

Let's review:
Jewels: i can't stand his voice or his sense of rhythm or melody.

MCaputo: Funny, people say the same thing about Bob Dylan. They couldn't be more wrong.

Are you not reading the same words that I'm reading? Since when does "I can't stand" mean the same thing as "Farrar SUXX" or "Farrar has a bad voice" or "Farrar has no sense of rhythm?" Unless Jewels is lying about his stance (he has no reason to), there is NO WAY for him to be wrong because it's SIMPLY THE WAY HE FEELS. It's not an opinion or controversial viewpoint - it's simply a statement that he can't stand Farrar's voice. Again, he never said that "Farrar is awful and has no sense of rhythm or melody." He just said that he "can't stand" his voice. MCaputo's statement suggests that everyone in history who "can't stand" Farrar or Dylan is lying about it. That's just retarded.

"I can't stand the taste of bananas or the rate at which they turn brown."

"Funny, people say the same thing about plantains. They couldn't be more wrong."

EVERYONE LOVES BANANAS AND PLANTAINS! THOSE WHO CLAIM THAT THEY DON'T ARE WRONG AND SECRETLY HAVE BANANA BREAD HIDDEN UNDER THE MATTRESS ALONG WITH SEVERAL DYLAN BOOTLEGS FROM '68.