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FUNKED UP

2117¬Montreal's foremost exponenents of Prince-inspired dirty funk are back with their new album. Critics so far are impressed, Rave Magazine seeing the album as an affirmation of the band's unique style.¬False¬

Middle of the Trail

2101¬Rootsy folkster Ray Lamontagne continues his career as a Radio 2 botherer with his new album. Critics see it as competent but hardly revolutionary, scores coming it at around 6 or 7.¬False¬

Towering achievement?

2098¬There's a very rare 10/10 from The Skinny for the rapper, pianist and producer's album, released to accompany a feature film also written and produced by the maverick Canadian. Such enthusiasm is not shared by the BBC or music OMH, who regard it as interesting but only partially successful.¬True¬
The Big To-Do

Drive-By Truckers

The Big To-Do

Eighth studio album of Southern rock from Anthens, Georgia six-piece

Critics average rating

7.4

Label
PIAS
Release date
15/03/2010
  1. 10.0 |  Uncut

    The Truckers do here what they do better than almost anyone else - which is blow the fucking roof off
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  2. 9.0 |  Blurt

    The album is filled with big riffs and sweet hooks, and frankly it's the band's best collection of songs since the mid 2000s heyday of Decoration Day and the Dirty South
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  3. 9.0 |  No Ripcord

    This could be the record to finally draw you in. For longtime followers, however, The Big To-Do is a smaller slice of the same cornbread, which would be a problem if it weren’t so good
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  4. 8.5 |  The Line Of Best Fit

    This album is the culmination of everything that the Truckers ever wanted to accomplish
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  5. 8.4 |  onethirtybpm

    Fans may still be waiting for the album that sums up Drive-By Truckers’ terrific career, but The Big To-Do is far better than a stopgap
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  6. 8.0 |  The Independent

    The Truckers have reverted to something close to the big rock sound of their 2002 classic Southern Rock Opera, with waspish slide-guitar and organ fattening up the monster guitar riffs
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  7. 8.0 |  Evening Standard

    If you yearn for the great days of Tom Petty and Neil Young, you will love this retro-monster
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  8. 8.0 |  Pop Matters

    Its stellar collection of memorable rockers make it a great addition to the band’s already impressive catalogue
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  9. 8.0 |  Scotland on Sunday

    Hood's straight to the point rockers ... form the record's back bone
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  10. 8.0 |  FasterLouder

    Fans will love the new record and newcomers will marvel at the many songwriting highlights
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  11. 8.0 |  Rave Magazine

    Country rock purists may be unhappy with the band almost abandoning some of their greatest deep South influences in lieu of a more straightforward bar band rock & roll, but when aren’t country rock purists complaining about something?
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  12. 7.4 |  Pitchfork

    The best moments of The Big To-Do nonetheless offer tantalizing proof that these guys still possess fascinatingly warped minds when they feel like showing 'em off
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  13. 7.0 |  Spin

    ...features another cast of walking-dead survivors struggling with their vices in a Faulknerian landscape of rocked-up desperation
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  14. 7.0 |  Drowned In Sound

    Those who haven’t heard the Truckers can continue to pass them by, those that have can continue to look forward to more of the same
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  15. 7.0 |  NME

    Never have Patterson Hood’s five-piece sounded quite so cranky and furiously righteous
    Read Review

  16. 7.0 |  Independent on Sunday

    If their fi is resolutely lo, then it's worth putting up with for the songs behind the riffs, which remain as literate, heart-felt and parochial as you could wish for
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  17. 7.0 |  Rolling Stone

    There's no flash whatsoever — just seasoned professionals delivering doggedly tuneful, meticulously detailed vignettes
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  18. 6.0 |  Mojo

    Print edition only

  19. 6.0 |  Q

    Print edition only

  20. 6.0 |  The Guardian

    Musically, the DBTs manage a decent range – from big, squalling rockers to teary, lap-steel balladry – albeit without throwing any great surprises
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  21. 6.0 |  The Fly

    Although uneven, standout tracks ‘Birthday Boy’ and ‘This Fucking Job’ sum it up best - that life just ain’t that easy
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  22. 6.0 |  The Skinny

    It’s an album which is assuredly bullied by Patterson Hood’s bravado, and delivers everything one would expect of a Truckers release
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  23. 6.0 |  Eye Weekly

    To appreciate the Truckers, you’ve got to be in the fan club, but membership has its benefits
    Read Review

Track preview & download

Drive-By Truckers: The Big To-Do

  • Download full album for just £5.99
  • 1. Daddy Learned To Fly £0.99
  • 2. The Fourth Night Of My Drinking £0.99
  • 3. Birthday Boy £0.99
  • 4. Drag The Lake Charlie £0.99
  • 5. The Wig He Made Her Wear £0.99
  • 6. You Got Another £0.99
  • 7. This Fucking Job £0.99
  • 8. Get Downtown £0.99
  • 9. After The Scene Dies £0.99
  • 10. (It’s Gonna Be) I Told You So £0.99
  • 11. Santa Fe £0.99
  • 12. The Flying Wallendas £0.99
  • 13. Eyes Like Glue £0.99
  • Service provided by 7Digital

Prolific

2120¬These Virginian sludge-rockers find themselves releasing their fifth album in two years, a huge feat by anyone's standards. Critics are unsure whether any degree of quality can be sustained at that rate however, with Tiny Mix Tapes stating that in fleshing out their sound, they have drawn "too much attention to musical aspects [they] never had going for them".¬True¬

Duppy Love

2109¬Critics are falling over themselves to heap praise on this album of dub remixes of classic Roots Manuva tracks. It has managed a very decent showing on our chart, especially given that it is essentially a remix album. It has impressed so much that Culture Deluxe has proclaimed it as "possibly the most perfect reggae album released in the last 30 years". ¬True¬

Back On Top?

2114¬The Manic Street Preachers have had something of a critical rebirth with their last two albums, and that trend looks set to continue with their latest offering. The Line of Best Fit call it a "wonderful album", while The Fly reckon they "are in the form of their life". With only a few reviews in so far, it seems we could have a contender for the higher echelons of our chart.¬True¬

Pain and pleasure

2105¬Can the third of the three Mancunian electro-ish bands which featured in the BBC's Sound of 2010 list emulate the success of their counterparts, Delphic and Everything Everything? The jury's still out so far. NME is a big fan of the duo's 80s-inspired synthpop anthems, but The Guardian is far from convinced, and others find the album stylish but unremarkable. ¬True¬

Compilations & Reissues

They're not in the main chart as they skew things

  1. 8.5

    The Teardrop Explode Kilimanjaro: Deluxe Edition

  2. 8.5

    R.E.M. Fables Of The Reconstruction

  3. See full list