W.S. Walcott Medicine Show

 Son Volt – Day Of The Doug  First of all, let me be clear from the get go, I’m a Jay guy vs. a Jeff guy.  I’m also a big fan of Doug Sahm, ever since I picked up a copy of his Doug Sahm And HIs Band album back in ‘73.  (NOTE:  The reason I picked it up to begin with was the presence of a certain Bob Dylan doing guest vocals on an unreleased Dylan tune “Wallflower”).  In any event, when I’d heard that Son Volt was going to be doing a tribute album for Sahm, I was beyond stoked.  Jay’s sleepy vocal style I thought would be perfect to interpret Sahm’s tone.  And musically I figured that Son Volt as a band would be able to capture that mix of country, cajun, tejano and swing that made Sahm’s work with the Sir Douglas Quintet,  The Texas Tornadoes, and his solo efforts so special.  Well the bottom line is that my lofty expectations for this project were not only met but arguably blown away.  Day Of The Doug is not only a fantastic tribute album but I might say one of the best Son Volt albums in quite some time. Unlike other recent releases from the group, which I enjoyed upon early listens but rarely (if ever) go back to, Day of The Doug has maintained a steady presence in my revolving 2023 listening pleasures.