Artemis Records
2001
Sebastopol
About This Album
After the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, most fans would have guessed that Jay Farrar was a cinch for a brilliant solo career, but that hasn't quite been the case. While Trace, the first album from Farrar's post-Uncle Tupelo group, Son Volt, was a low-key masterpiece, the follow-up, Straightaways, sounded like he was treading water, offering up more of the same but without the same level of quality, and the songs simply weren't as interesting. Son Volt's third album, Wide Swing Tremolo, was a conscious effort to bring new colors to the band's sound, and while it was a decided improvement over Straightaways, it still paled in comparison to Trace or his better Uncle Tupelo work. In 2001, with Son Volt on hiatus (widespread rumor had it that the band had split up, though the group's representatives denied this), Jay Farrar cut his first proper solo album, Sebastopol, which seems to pick up where Wide Swing Tremolo left off. The arrangements move much of the focus away from Farrar's Neil Young-styled electric guitar, with keyboards and sampled horns and strings taking a prominent role in many of the tunes (though don't worry, Farrar's big fuzzy leads are still very much in evidence on "Clear Day Thunder," while "Outside The Door" shows he's still in touch with his acoustic, introspective side).
Track List (try tracks 4,9,10 and 16)

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