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Album Details

• Artist: Son Volt
• Album: Okemah and the Melody of Riot
• Label: Transmit Sounds
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-07-27

Ye old Son Volt makes it's triumphant return with Okemah and the Melody of Riot. It's been 7 long years since Wide Swing Tremolo came out, and the depressing news that Farrar was going his own way. I know, where does time go, but 7 years proves to be worth the wait for Okemah and the Melody of Riot, the best album since Trace, Son Volt's debut. It seems like something has got into Jay Farrar and co's skin to inspire them to write tracks like the explosive "Jet Pilot", which goes from a gentle road song to hard rocking in a matter of seconds. Try not to be hypnotized by the lilting, tongue-in-cheek ballad "Ipecac". I'm loving "Medication" with its Eastern flavor to it. He rocks it hard with many songs including "6 String Belief". I've heard complaints that there are many a melody used on Okemah that were used in Jay's solo albums. I happened to have only heard the Sebastopol album. But by all intents and purposes Okemah is a Farrar solo album. Sure, he has a band behind him but none of them have ever been involved with Son Volt before. So, if Son Volt is a frame of mind for Farrar, so be it. It seems to be inspiring for him. Honestly, Okemah and the Melody of Riot is the best roots album I've heard since the Post To Wire by Richmond Fontaine. Son Volt deserves to be here and also deserves to be heard.
So it's with good timing that a Rhino retrospective and a new album come out in the same year. Coincidence...I think not.

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