David Jaffe

@djaff

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Alt-Country all day long. 1. Drive-By Truckers 2. Sons Of Bill 3. Gillian Welch 4. James McMurtry 5. Dawes

Charlottesville, VA@davidwaring__music

31 reviews6 followers8 following

Top 5

My favorite albums of all time

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David Jaffereviewed1 day, 8 hours ago

8.0
We're All Gonna DieDawes

at its best the songwriting here is as top tier goldsmith, but it doesn’t flow nearly as well as the first four records did the new sound was a worthy experiment , but nothing more

Standout tracks
  1. 2We're All Gonna Die5:05
  2. 5Less Than Five Miles Away4:56
  3. 6Roll Tide5:28

David Jaffereviewed2 weeks, 5 days ago

10.0
Bon Iver, Bon IverBon Iver

Good God the sequencing on this album is masterful. You can’t listen to one song without hearing the whole thing. Nobody should die without hearing the transition from Lisbon, OH to Beth/Rest at the exact moment the sun rises.

Standout tracks
  1. 3Holocene5:36
  2. 8Calgary4:10
  3. 2Minnesota, WI3:52

David Jaffereviewed2 weeks, 6 days ago

8.3
Being ThereWilco

lots of killer, lots of filler max johnston made this band great, forever an unsung hero

Standout tracks
  1. 5Forget the Flowers2:47
  2. 11Sunken Treasure6:51
  3. 2Far, Far Away3:20

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 2 days ago

9.5
Dog DaysBlue Mountain

This is the fucking summer album, another beautiful gem of the mid-90s alt-country boom. Often forgotten even within the alt-country scene, Blue Mountain embraced their southern culture half a decade before Southern Rock Opera, in a way that went against a lot of the ethos of alt-country at the time. This album slaps so damn hard and it makes me so damn mad it never got the respect it deserved. Just put on Blue Canoe and drive to lake, and tell me that doesn’t make you feel like you’ve achieved aesthetic perfection.

Standout tracks
  1. 3Blue Canoe4:39
  2. 5Wink3:16
  3. 1Mountain Girl4:04

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 2 days ago

9.7
Love and LogicSons of Bill

This record should’ve been the best Americana album of the 2010s, I’ll never understand how nobody heard it. The Wilson brothers’ high water mark in terms of songwriting, instrumentalism, stylistic sensibility, and maturity, this is an album of faith-seeking, starting in the unknown and ending not far from it, but with a newfound purpose. “We will look for love and logic, in the dying of the light” We have not found it, we probably never will, but damn we will seek.

Standout tracks
  1. 10Hymnsong4:52
  2. 6Fishing Song3:57
  3. 3Road to Canaan4:03

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

9.1
BloomedRichard Buckner

i once heard rainsquall on a tuesday morning driving from st. louis to denver, in the midst of, well, a rainsquall that made seeing the road rather difficult, and then the storm moved on, and dear i might be gone

Standout tracks
  1. 1Blue and Wonder3:47
  2. 11Surprise, AZ3:40
  3. 2Rainsquall3:49

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

8.2
Oh God Ma'amSons of Bill

I definitely never expected an album like this from the Virginia band of brothers, but for the most part, it works really well. Sweeter, Sadder, Farther Away is too damn perfect. We’ll miss this hand a whole lot.

Standout tracks
  1. 1Sweeter, Sadder, Farther Away4:17
  2. 5Where We Stand3:41
  3. 2Firebird '854:02

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

8.4
Sirens of the DitchJason Isbell

I don’t know why this album gets ignored so often, i honestly like it more than most of the 400 unit records. it’s one of life’s greatest tragedies that he never got to sing Grown with the truckers.

Standout tracks
  1. 8In a Razor Town3:19
  2. 5Dress Blues4:11
  3. 2Down in a Hole4:22

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

8.8
Brighter Than Creation's DarkDrive-By Truckers

The most mature album this band ever made, and probably the most beautiful. Johnny Neff is the unsung hero of this record, his steel accentuating each song in the perfect manner. The Opening Act might be better than the Living Bubba, that final chorus gives me chills every time.

Standout tracks
  1. 10The Opening Act6:48
  2. 18A Ghost to Most4:41
  3. 1Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife3:05

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

9.2
Trace (Remastered)Son Volt

This is THE road trip album, glorious listen front to back. The arrangements are fantastic too, everything sounds better with pedal steel and banjo. “May the wind take your troubles away”

Standout tracks
  1. 1Windfall (2015 Remastered)2:59
  2. 7Loose String (2015 Remastered)3:46
  3. 3Tear Stained Eye (2015 Remastered)4:20

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

8.0
One Town AwaySons of Bill

SOBs best country record, overdone at times, but the highs are so damn high. Best listened to live though.

Standout tracks
  1. 1Joey's Arm4:08
  2. 12The Song Is All That Remains5:15
  3. 7Western Skies4:43

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

8.1
Manning FireworksMJ Lenderman

If it’ll get people to listen to the Truckers, then I suppose it will have been worth it. Only a little overrated, nothing wrong with that.

Standout tracks
  1. 1Manning Fireworks2:59
  2. 5She's Leaving You4:38
  3. 6Rip Torn3:32

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

10.0
Lost In the DreamThe War on Drugs

This record accentuates. Anything feels better with this record on, an early morning, a hazy night, a long drive across the west, or a big city.

Standout tracks
  1. 5Disappearing6:51
  2. 10In Reverse7:41
  3. 1Under the Pressure8:52

David Jaffereviewed3 weeks, 4 days ago

10.0
Time (The Revelator)Gillian Welch

The ultimate folk portrait of Appalachia, America, music, and the world at large. I Dream I Highway might be my favorite song ever. This record is the truth. and damn that man can play the guitar

Standout tracks
  1. 10I Dream a Highway14:39
  2. 1Revelator6:22
  3. 6I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll2:51