CD Review

If you haven’t seen Jay Farrar play live in the last three years, then it’s probably your fault. He has been all over the world, usually performing as a duo with former Blood Oranges’ guitarist Mark Spencer. If you were able to catch a Farrar/Spencer show, then you know the drill: see Jay sing, see Jay strum, see Jay leave. While their shows did feature some inspiring moments, some of the songs, usually the selections from Farrar’s first solo album Sebastopol, seemed lifeless. Enter five-piece band Canyon, who opened for Farrar and served as his backing band during the fall of 2003, and you have a whole new set of rules.

Stone, Steel, &Bright Lights, Farrar’s first live album, features this lineup, and it delivers everything that a Farrar/Spencer show lacked—mostly bringing the welcome element of uncertainty to Farrar’s live performance. Highlights are many on this disc, including two new originals, “Doesn’t Have to Be This Way” and “6 String Belief.” The first was recorded at a soundcheck in Columbia, Missouri and couldn’t sound any fresher, making it a solid opener on the live-CD adventure. The second original offering shows that Farrar can still write a simple tune that is able to confuse you at the same time (“killed by consolidation/killed by saturation/the underground will correct/with reaction rebellion”)—as if we expected anything else from the former frontman of Son Volt. The best material from Sebastopol, ThirdShiftGrottoSlack, and Terroir Blues find Farrar and Canyon excitingly speeding up the tempo on tunes like “Make it Alright” and “Voodoo Candle,” while still being able to perform a gentle tune like “No Rolling Back” in all its glory.

Closing out the disc is a rousing cover of Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane,” which serves as a rocking reminder that Farrar can indeed have loads of fun onstage. And while he probably didn’t perform Young’s gem with a smile or any noticeable emotion, I am sure many fans who get a chance to hear it will be thrilled, as the last bits of feedback will take their troubles away.