Drivin N Cryin & Cracker – on the NÜTRL Beach Stage

Now, 35 years later, and after releasing four full length albums on Island Records and one on Geffen Records, founding members Kevn Kinney and Tim Nielsen find themselves enjoying a milestone anniversary for the band, having survived the pressures of fame, a shifting musical landscape, multiple lineup changes, and miles of back roads and highways to arrive here.

After a gold record, 9 full-length albums, and a handful of EPs to their credit, the band still refuses to rest. In 2012, a documentary about the band, entitled Scarred but Smarter: Life n Times of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, was produced.

In 2015, a collection of 10 choice cuts from the band’s 4-EP “Songs” series, entitled Best of Songs, was released on Nashville’s Plowboy Records. Additionally, the band was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame the same year. The following year, Drivin N Cryin released a vinyl-only album, entitled Archives Vol One, with a collection of basement recordings from the years 1988 to 1990.

With Dave V. Johnson on drums, and the band’s newest member, Laur Joamets, (originally Sturgill Simpson) added to the lineup, Drivin N Cryin continues to tour the U.S. to great acclaim. Island Records re-released their highly recognized Mystery Road album through Universal Music Group (2017) & Darius Rucker cut Straight to Hell on his new album, When Was the Last Time, released October 2017 with guest vocal appearances by Luke Bryan, Charles Kelley, and Jason Aldean.

Mystery Road was named one of “The 50 Best Southern Rock Albums of All Time” by Paste Magazine that year as well. In 2018, New West Records re-released their self-titled 1997 album with a new name, Too Late To Turn Back Now!. In addition, the band recently celebrated the release of their 9th studio album, ‘Live the Love Beautiful’. Produced by Nashville’s, and former band member, Aaron Lee Tasjan, the album was released on Drivin N Cryin Records to much praise.

A quote from the band’s lead singer, Kevn Kinney, gives a little insight into what Drivin N Cryin is all about: “We are a band that’s like your record collection.” Drawing influence from a wide array of musical elements, Drivin N Cryin has developed a unique sound over the years. Their name derives from the eclectic nature of this sound: a little drivin’ rock n roll and a little country twang. Comfortable with their past and confident in their future, the band has an arsenal of songs, a full tank of gas, and no plans of stopping any time soon.

CRACKER

To the uninitiated Cracker might seem to be just another ’90s alternative rock band. However, fans recognize that the band is much more than that, having skillfully explored a wide array of styles over nearly 35 years. Regrettably, when newcomers hear a Cracker song and wish to learn more about the band, they often start with algorithmic streaming playlists. These playlists are typically limited to the dozen or so tracks with the most streams. As a result, these playlists are dominated by a few albums from the early 1990s, the heyday of alternative rock radio. There are also a few “greatest hits” compilations for Cracker available, but these, at best, cover only the first third of the band’s 35-year career. Both of these sources overlook some of the band’s most critically acclaimed and fan-favorite work.

In response to this, the band started a discussion with Cooking Vinyl to see if they could rectify the situation by producing a retrospective that would encompass the band’s entire career. Unfortunately, it became apparent that the cost of licensing tracks from the Virgin and Concord catalogs would be prohibitive. Undeterred, the band began to catalog the recordings they controlled, and a more promising idea emerged. They realized they had a collection of re-recordings, demos, outtakes, collaborations, and live tracks that told an alternate history of the band. And this collection would not only serve as an introduction to the band for new fans, but also provide long-time, hardcore fans with access to some rare and unreleased recordings. Thus, “Alternative History” was born.

What’s in this collection? Well, it starts with a mellow country-rock reinterpretation of “Sick of Goodbyes.” The recording features members of Drive-By Truckers, Brad Morgan and Jay Gonzales.

Next is the 2005 re-record of “Teen Angst” from the Redux album. This stays pretty true to the original because, like all the tracks on the Redux album, they were re-recorded so that when the band receives licensing requests, they can use their own masters.

“Mr. Wrong” is from a collaboration with Leftover Salmon in 2003, a reinterpretation of the song with a sort of bluegrass feel.

“I See The Light” is also from the Redux album and thus stays quite true to the original, except the end has more of a rave-up because, after years of performing this song live, that’s how the band plays it.

“Almond Grove” is a re-record with John Keane engineering, mixing, and playing a number of instruments. The story is that David was never totally happy with his vocals and banjo playing on the original version of the song. After the album was released, he initiated a new recording with John, who lives just down the street. This recording has some cool little arrangement quirks not in the original.

“Low” is a re-record from the Redux album. If you’ve heard the song in a film or TV show lately, it’s likely this is the version. The tonality of the song owes a lot to the Middle Eastern music David, Johnny, and Davey were listening to on the first Cracker tour. On this recording, Kenny Margolis further amplifies this with a short Middle Eastern accordion solo.

“Merry Christmas Emily” is a new recording, a reimagining of the song featuring Megan Slankard and Jeremy Lawton (Big Head Todd and the Monsters). Megan adds an ‘Emily’ counterpoint to the song, making the already unreliable narrator even more unreliable.

“The World is Mine” is another re-record from the Redux album, worth it just for the moment drummer Frank Funaro kicks into double time.

This “Sweet Potato” recording is from the 2003 collaboration with Leftover Salmon. Many fans prefer this to the original.

“Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me” is a live version from the legendary German concert TV show Rockpalast. This performance predates the album version and has a fairly different feel.

“Seven Days” recorded live at Teatro Lara in Madrid is a barn burner.

“Big Dipper” is also a re-record from the Redux album. It sticks very close to the original because it’s a damn near perfect recording.

“Eurotrash Girl” is redone as a bluegrass waltz featuring Leftover Salmon.

Then, a recent mostly acoustic performance of “King of Bakersfield” with some nice Southwestern accordion work by Jeremy Lawton follows.

There’s nothing new about “I Need Better Friends.” It’s a hidden gem from an often overlooked album, and people need to hear it.

“Father Winter” is a demo that David Lowery recorded for Johnny Hickman before they formed Cracker. In some ways, it’s the Cracker ur-song.

Next are a couple of fantastic live performances from Cracker’s appearance on the Rockpalast TV show: “One Fine Day” and “Gimme One More Chance.”

Then there’s a live performance of “Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey,” slowed down and stripped down.

“River Euphrates” is a track from the out-of-print Tucson EP. This recording is a live performance from a show in Germany.

“I Want Everything” is from the live show in Madrid 2021.

And to showcase the bands punkier material “Movie Star” and “Don’t F*ck Me Up With Peace and Love” from that same Madrid show.

“Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself” is also from the Redux album, but it’s an original track, not a re-record. It was meant to be the ultimate record company ‘kiss-off’ song. Essentially, the meta-meaning is, “Hey, we re-recorded our greatest hits, so screw you, Virgin Records.”
– Boo Haggerty, Tybee Island, GA