Decoration Day
by Drive-By Truckers
  • Record Label: New West
  • Release Date: Jun 17, 2003
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Spin
    100
    A raging, ragged Behind The Music--15 coal-black odes to the casualties that art leaves behind and that life can't avoid. [Aug 2003, p.111]
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  2. Mojo
    100
    Some of the songwriting is exceptional. [Dec 2003, p.114]
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  3. Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
    91
    Throughout they succeed in rendering Southern gothic as social realism.
  5. AllMusic
    90
    Somber and smart, Decoration Day also manages to kick like a mule, and if isn't quite a masterpiece along the lines of Southern Rock Opera, it's strong enough to suggest the Drive By Truckers have another masterpiece in them.
  6. PopMatters
    90
    Few bands today are as good at telling a simple, straightforward, from-the-gut story like the Drive-By Truckers are.
  7. ShakingThrough.net
    90
    An even stronger collection of songs that builds on it's predecessor's sonic foundations while refusing to get stuck in them.
  8. Austin Chronicle
    89
    A deeply personal album that will resonate with anyone who's ever found their life's path leading them down a dead end.
  9. Billboard
    80
    At over an hour, "Decoration Day" does feel a little unwieldy. But for better or worse, there's simply not a single song here that wouldn't be missed.
  10. Village Voice
    80
    Darker, more personal than political, Decoration Day rocks easier and rolls harder than Southern Rock Opera, but nevertheless proves beyond a doubt that the DBT engine's got enough horsepower to keep on.
  11. Pitchfork
    80
    While its peaks fall just a whit short of those on its predecessor, Decoration Day's inward journeys nicely balance out Southern Rock Opera's bombastic expansiveness, and further confirm the Drive-By Truckers' status as the most poetic and insightful Southern rockers in existence today.
  12. Amazon.com
    80
    The album boasts a handful of crowd-pleasing, party-starting cuts.... Yet more common are moments of startling beauty... and heavy doses of recrimination and regret.
  13. Rolling Stone
    70
    The best new-school Southern rock you can buy.
  14. Q Magazine
    70
    There's a new sense of darkness and despair at their core. [Dec 2003, p.124]
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  15. CultureDose.net
    70
    Sure it's a stereotype of all the things the South is. At the same time, it is a clearer-eyed view than has been offered before.
  16. Uncut
    70
    Subtlety with Skynyrd chops. [Dec 2003, p.117]
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  17. The A.V. Club
    70
    Not since Bruce Springsteen's Darkness On The Edge Of Town has a group of rock 'n' roll musicians been so in tune with the trappings and traps of small-town life.

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best Album of 2003

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
  1. Ricko
    Jun 12, 2020
    8
    Drive By Truckers are the only out and out country outfit that I have multiple releases by. They have big tunes but this isn't always whatDrive By Truckers are the only out and out country outfit that I have multiple releases by. They have big tunes but this isn't always what impresses. The big thing with them is the lyrics which paint incredible stories. "Decoration Day" is my favourite album by them. I do think, like all their releases, that some serious editing would be of huge benefit to this. At 15 songs and over an hour long, it's a big ask for it to engage the whole way through unless it is a classic album. Stripped of 20 minutes or so this would have the potential to be a 10 out of 10. Patterson Hood is the main draw for me, his songs and delivery are a cut above the rest.… Full Review »
  2. EricR
    Jul 26, 2007
    10
    Best rock act going today
  3. DamienS
    Sep 1, 2006
    9
    It's not a masterpiece like "Southern Rock Opera," but if ever a band has followed a masterpiece honorably, this is it. Here there is It's not a masterpiece like "Southern Rock Opera," but if ever a band has followed a masterpiece honorably, this is it. Here there is less of the obvious Skynyrd influence and more of the country and punk influences that began DBT on its path toward southern rock, giving it a more unique sound. Meanwhile, the insightful, powerful songwriting that characterized "Southern Rock Opera" remains in full force. This may be the best band working in the world right now.… Full Review »
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