Personally, it starts with the first two songs. Album comes out, i hear Jay going on about a slow hearse, and then a full horns section on the next tune and start thinking.....OK these guys are going for something completely different and i am not cool with that. Backburner for the next few months. Then I put it on a playlist with other songs from Uncle Tupelo, Nancy Griffith, Neko Case, Calexico, etc. And here it comes, songs like Cicadian Rhythm, Methamphetamine, Adrenaline and Heresy, and Beacon Soul are as good as any that Jay has put out in his career. Its a much cleaner album than other efforts, very well produced and because of that i think Jay's voice sounds a little different than other albums. the bottom line is these guys are putting out music that the mainstream will always ignore, but nonetheless is some of the best stuff i have heard in years.

This album is amazing. From its first play-through, it grows on you from there. Songs that make you reach for the lyrical notes. Love this band, absolutely love this album.

19 reviews for this album? Wilco's Sky Blue has been out a few weeks and already 155 reviews. That says it all.

After listening to the first 5 songs I was hailing this as his masterwork.When I listened to the whole album I was convinced it was the best complete album I have heard in 20 years.It stayed in my cd player 3 days.The only reason I took it out was to loan it to a friend.It seems to me Jay let some of his influences peek out.The 1st song sounds like a Beatles song.The second song sounds like a Van Morrison tune.The third song sounds like a Led Zeppelin song.The fourth and my favorite has lush backgrounds that remind me of those great Moody Blues songs with mellotron layering.Every song is a treat on this one.Buy it.

Dull, trite (especially the hard-hitting commentary on the depredations of Chimpy McBushhitlerburton and his Cheneyboy puppetmasters) and did I say dull, and distinguished by an utter absence of melody, inventiveness, or anything that makes music fun to listen to?

It's been ntoed that there's a Farrar camp and a Tweedy camp. I never cared much for Tweedy - but you gotta admit, the guy does try to push the envelope and consistently sets what we capitalists call "stretch targets." Not so Jay, who since the brilliance of Trace seems resolved to produce the same lame album over and over again. That his fans find some deep aesthetic purpose therein speaks less of their delusion than how great a record Trace was: certainly someone who threw this thinderbolt can make lightening strike at least once more time. But it's not to be, and will never. Proof? Quick, hum something from Straightaways or Wide String Tremolo. Or Sebastopol. That's right, you can't, can you? Nor would you want to, if you could. Or nor could you, if you wanted: there's nothing hummable.

Alas, it ain't to be. Jay had one good record in him, that was Trace, and we shall never see its like again. I am starting to believe that his "brilliance" in Tupelo was the result of good old capitalism competitoin with Tweedy, who modest though his talent may be, does make excellent use of it. Jay, unmoored from his old Belleville pal, reveals himself as a lazy, pompus slacker, the sort of boring nut you see journaling in independent coffee houses with a copy of some Said or Chomsky trash under his elbow. The brilliance of Trace, in retrospect, is starting to strike me as dervived less from a spark of the divine within Farrar than the principle that if a monkey sits at a typewriter long enough, he'll produce Shakespeare. By some weird change of evolution and chance, it happened early for Farrar.

Two stars because no mmatter how wretched Jay is, at least he's not Ryan Adams.

The I Tunes version has bonus tracks bundled into the album price. Two of those bonus tracks - Bicycle Hotel and Carnival Blues - are as good as anything Jay has ever written.

Jay's Gob Iron album, released a few months earlier, is slightly better than The Search.

I always suspected that Jay Farrar had a masterpiece in him, but the ever-diminishing payoff I experienced with most Son Volt releases left me feeling less and less certain of my conviction. After listening to "The Search" for two solid weeks, I'm fairly convinced that this is the miracle I've been hoping for. As is usual for a Son Volt record, I required multiple listens before the songs began to sink in, but like a cautious friend, the underlying logic of "The Search" slowly started to reveal itself. This album is deeper than most, so it justifies a lot of playtime, and the more I listened, the more I realized that this is a disk you can keep in your player for a few weeks without growing tired of it, or restless.
As a lyricist, Farrar was never one to reveal himself recklessly, but I notice a few shifts in his methods here that aid in conveying his expressive side. First, the lyrics are more poetic than usual, which does not necessarily mean that they are opaque. Depending on the song, Farrar's words veer from the oblique to the direct and literal. For example, on "Action," he sings, "Break up the old drug pound story, Tortured soul wears an ego sleeve. Heavy hearts and heavy hitters, Bards disease finds the killing floor." These words might not ever mean anything literal to me, but they conjure up rich imagery, while the melody deepens their impact. Elsewhere, on "Adrenaline and Heresy," Farrar sings "She said I still love you, I don't know if I want to spend the rest of my time with you," which is as direct a statement as can be made about a failing relationship. Farrar sings these words with a striking sense of resignation that resounds long after the song ends. "Highways and Cigarettes" is also full of literal imagery ("Best to clear the mind with a Mexicali radio station. Keep an eye out for the border patrol, checking for drugs and so called aliens." He's still very self-serious, but the wordy phraseology and energized interplay of the new band adds an element of fun that had been lacking on previous Son Volt projects.
These words might not resound on the page, but "The Search" benefits immensely from Farrar's melodic sense, which appears to have grown suddenly, and significantly. He is no longer limited by the ideas on his palette, and all sorts of textures help the listener to retain interest. A horn section spices up the high-energy romp of `The Picture," while tasteful keyboards add flavor throughout. Interestingly, there also seems to be an abundance of backward-looped guitars to add a spooky, otherworldly feel to songs such as "Slow Hearse" and "Phosphate Skin." It may take some patience to realize it for yourself, but "The Search" is a beautifully constructed work and I'm finally able to say with some certainty that Jay Farrar and Son Volt have created a minor masterpiece. A Tom Ryan

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect with this album, with the pre-release reports that Son Volt was moving in a new direction, adding new instrumentation. Would it be some weird new experimental, unlistenable thing?

After listening for myself, I'd have to to call the new direction more of an enhancement than a departure. The traditional elements of a Son Volt record are still here -- great songs and melodies, sorrowful pedal-steel guitar, some inscrutable social commentary lyrics, and a solid dose of Americana.

But this record is somehow more than other SV albums. It has diverse sounds that we haven't heard on SV songs before, like horns and piano, that blend very nicely with their sound. There are rocking tracks, slow burn tracks, and moody introspective tracks. Every song on this record is strong, which is a lot more than I can say for "Okemah". This is an excellent record from start to finish.

Great album from Jay and gang.... Yes, Trace is still the best SV album and probably in my top 100 albums of all time, but PLEASE PLEASE buy this album and sit down with it a few times.... If your smart, buy the itunes version with 22 songs.... The band is at its almost best here folks....

Son Volt goes away; Son Volt comes back. OK, fine, but there's nothing new under this Son. The NY Times gave The Search a strong review primarily, as best I can tell after a few listens, because the reviewer thought the couplet "...war is profit and profit is war" was a new and profound insight, giving Son Volt a political muscle its earlier work had not had. If you agree that this lyric is a dazzling political revelation, more power to you and rush right out and get this CD because there are plenty more similarly alliterative and rhyming simplistic observations. If, on the other hand, you'd like to see a little growth, a little development, a little change in sound or tempo for Son's time away, this is a CD for which the cut by cut download option is a blessing. I'd keep Highways and Cigarettes and, since I'm just back from a short trip to meth-ravaged Middle America, Methamphetamine, but not a whole lot more. Because for everything else that's here, Farrar's done it before and better.

This album is just amazing. I bought the i-tunes version that has 22 songs and not 1 filler track. Let's see you try to top this one Tweedy. No freakin way.

Farrar scores another masterpiece with this album. Does it sound like the Uncle Tupelo or original Son Volt records? No, and why should it? If you want something to sound like those records listen to those old records. If you want to hear an artist explore different avenues and reach new creative heights then buy The Search and you will find.

Listening to a Son Volt album or a Jay Farrar album will drive you nuts. Sometimes you see brilliance, and sometimes you wonder...what the heck are they thinking? As a long time fan, I listen to Son Volt/Jay Farrar with a longing for him to go in one direction. Either stick to your roots or go in another direction. Combining the two is not working in my opinion. The Search brings back everything I love/hate about them.

My opinion is that this album could have been so much better. I listened to the first couple of songs in my car on the way home from buying it, and I was feeling extremely disappointed. Slow Hearse is by far the worst song on the album, with The Picture following right behind. (I got a bonus CD and it had The Picture on it sans horns, and it was a LOT better.)

Having said all of that, the rest of the album tightens itself up, and brings me some of what I love about the alt-country scene. This is not the best album I have ever heard from them, but at least it is worth a listen.

But much like some of their other stuff it frustrates me to no end. You get in a groove, and you are having a good time listening, and then something terrible comes along. Oh well, I guess you have to take the good with the bad. Now I just skip the first 2 songs, and I am much happier.

Remember the Farrar that belted out "On liquor I spend my last dime!!".. Well, that person is long gone and replaced by a whiney, nasal-sounding drone with little range and very little creativity. Okemah was a pretty darn good album and certainly better than most of his 'solo' material but this latest is dull and pointless with weak melodies and even worse lyrical content.

Good Tracks:

"The Search" : The anthem of the album. "The door is open/to change your mind"

"Methamphetamine" : Instant Son Volt classic. Excellent. "Still waitin' to meet the next ex-wife"

"Coltrane Free" : Great love song. I love this one. "Fashionista but she doesnt want to talk about it"

I got the itunes extended edition. There isnt much extra there in substance, the actual tracks from the CD are FAR better. I dont like the horns AT ALL. Not a big fan. I heard the NPR version of these songs and I liked the rockin' editions better. This is a good Son Volt CD, not a great one. It's no Straighaways, but it's worth a listen.

I know I'll take heat for this, but this albumn is not the Son Volt that many of us fans fell in love with. I don't want to get into a whole thing about how music has to evolve and constantly change and how Farrar can't just stick to his old sound. My point is that I loved those first three albumns, and that this one doesn't belong in the same class with them. If you loved Okemah or Stone, Steel and Bright Lights, than by all means, buy this albumn. It's good. There's nothing wrong with it. It's simply not classic Son Volt, and people should know this before buying it. Many of the reviews that I read made it sound like this was returning to the purity of the older sound, and I don't see that at all. To me, the haunting, somber tone of the early albumns has been replaced by an odd, upbeat, celebratory sound that I don't care for. I think I'll stick to the old ones and leave the rest of Farrar's releases on the shelf.

Now calm down! I know that Jay would not appreciate any mention of that other guy when talking about one of his albums. However, this CD is quite different from any of Jay's other recordings. The opening two tracks set the tone for a different listening experience than one is expected to find when buying a Jay Farrar CD. With this album you hear horns and a bigger band sound in general,with keyboards and strings, much more production. Moreover, it's a lot more pop friendly sound than say his solo recordings. That pop jangle sound continues throughout the CD with "Action" and "Beacon Soul." Jay has somehow produced another masterpiece, which is remarkable considering his workload (touring and side projects). This man is one of the hardest working guys in the biz, yet he can still find the time to produce beautiful and moving songs like "Underground Dream." I was more than impressed with his four previous Son Volt releases and his recent Gob Iron release with Anders Parker, and I remain impressed after listening to The Search as Jay gravitates towards a new and equally impressive sound. Maybe I don't love it as much as Okemah, but I still love it. P.S., the song "Adrenaline And Heresy" is beautiful!

better and more comfortable with his songwriting and we're all benefiting from it. This is more listenable to me than Okemah. Accessible is a cliche but this one simply is. It seems the less self conscious Mr. Farrar becomes as a songwriter the better he gets. The ragged Let it Be piano renderings only add to the lyrical landscapes addressed in this album (listen to Underground Dream).

There's also a brilliant rendition of a Neil Youngish guitar sound in Circadium Rhthym that Jay pulls off as all his own and is one of the better tracks for me.

Methamphetamine, with it's St. Louis references to the gates of Monsanto and the casinos is one of the best songs he's ever written.

If there's any question that he has finally transcending the myth of Uncle Tupelo and decided to write just what he damn well pleases (great songs) this album should put that to rest.

Don't pass up this album.

I've had a particularly difficult time submitting this review, primarily because I count myself among the fiercely loyal fans of Jay Farrar. I tend to think he can do no wrong; if he decided to take up with the Throat Singers of Tuva, I would most likely buy all their records. But, of course, he's had his missteps in the past, lest we forget the misguided knob-twirling that resulted in the "Space Junk" noise snippets on Terroir Blues and his ability to wear some listeners out with his uniquely monotone drone. The Search is also not without its faults: the album starts out with, yes folks, a funeral dirge. After being lulled into that coma, we're slapped in the face with "The Picture" in all its ill-advised Memphis Horns-style brass section glory. Farrar and company quickly redeem themselves, however, for the rest of the show. At his best, Farrar's music is deeply moving, laced with emotion, rich with Steinbeckian landscapes of desperate journeys, and he interprets all the struggles and hardship with grace and compassion. "Methamphetamine" is the signature statement here, a powerful song that leaves us drained but sympathetic to its subject, a shopworn addict who gets clean but who also knows he might never "be free". One more caveat, this one for all you audiophiles: The Search also suffers from poor sonics, the recording offering very little detail and resolution. It amazes me that modern recording artists could engineer their work without high fidelity in mind. It's as if they assume we're all on iPods anyway, why bother? None of Son Volt's efforts, for that matter, are paragons of production, but again the scale of the subject matter does not lend itself to two-channel perfection. The songs are what really count, and Mr. Farrar serves them up once again honest and true on The Search.

I am a big fan of Okemah...my only critique of Son Volt's last record would be it missing the multi-instrumentation, countryesque vibe of the first lineup. The Boquist Brothers brought alot to the table musically, so Farrar was forced to concentrate more on Son Volt's rock element and of course added his most political lyrics to date...the end result saw the release of the best "protest" record to come out in years.

That brings us to The Search. As far as experimental instrumentation goes..this new record is Jay Farrar's most daring release to date.

Methamphetamine and Highways and Cigarettes grabbed me immediately. Both have Farrar going back to his storytelling ways...Eric Heywood plays some phenomenal pedal steel on them. Shannon McNally adds some angelic vocals to the H & C duet..simply...its a beautiful song. What is it about Farar singing with the ladies that brings out his best? His cover of Rex's Blues with Kelly Willis was also phenomenal. Beacon Soul is one of the best songs on the album. Kind of has a Cemetery Savior feel to it...and incredible lyrics to boot. These songs really remind me of the days of the first lineup...glad to see Jay hasn't completely lost his Alt-Country roots.

A good portion of the bonus tracks are fantastic. Carnival Blues, Exurbia and Bicycle Hotel are outstanding. I think Exurbia was supposed to follow Slow Hearse due to its lyrical content...but for whatever reason Jay left it off of the regular release.

All in All...I think The Search is a fantastic record. It continues to showcase Jay's lyrical brilliance yet completely pushes the envelope as far as musical experimentation goes. Heavy use of the piano and the introduction of the Sitar...gives a couple of the songs a Beatlesque feel. Deborja's keyboard playing mixes quite well in most of the songs. Imho, The rockers like Action and Automatic Society blend in well with the more experimental tunes.

Flat out...This was a downright ballsy record for him to make.

It just might be Son Volt's best work since Trace and Farrar's best since The Slaughter Rule/ThirdShiftGrottoSlack.


GET THE BONUS TRACKS FROM ITUNES!!!!!

Jay friggin' Farrar, man. That's all I've been able to say or think about since buying this record a few days ago. How he does it, I haven't a clue. But Farrar has proven once again that he is the most important songwriter in the world today. `The Search' is Farrar's most mature release ever, and it brings together all the elements of his career that we love, often times in the span of just one song. This is a beautiful return to the mysterious poetic of Farrar's earliest writings with Son Volt. The songs exude concern, pain, honesty, heartache, and hope. They may well be Farrar's best batch ever.

I have been moved to chills - near tears - at so many points on this record already that no review can do these songs justice. The emotions that his voice and poetry stir in his listeners are deeper than words can capture. He is a master. That's all there is to it.

"Adrenaline and Heresy" is like a shot to the gut ("She said I still love you/I don't know if I wanna spend the rest of my time with you, the rest of my life with you"). "Beacon Soul" is a melody so unique, so brilliant that it leaves one wondering how in hell it wasn't discovered before. "Underground Dream" features some of Farrar's best lines in a long time ("Had a thought that consumer goods were bad/Like a rat can never beat the wheel/There's a wiretap stealing a nightmare/Shadows laughing and making deals"). "Automatic Society" and "Action" are rock songs that stand up next to anything Farrar's ever done with an electric guitar - just pure rock `n' roll. "L Train" and "Methamphetamine" are classic acoustic Farrar compositions in the melancholy vein that only his voice can fully capture. And his voice...

All this said, PLEASE buy the Deluxe Edition on iTunes. Some of the best tunes on the record are among the eight extra you get from iTunes. DO NOT just go out to a store and buy this record. My only criticism of this recording session for Son Volt (if you can call it criticism) is that Farrar had such an explosion of creativity and prolificacy that he has ended up short-changing the final cut. How in hell the tunes "Coltrane Free" (already one of my favorite Farrar songs of all-time), "Bleed the Line" (super-powerful), "Bicycle Hotel" (another immediate classic, just pure chills...), "Carnival Blues" (could easily have been written for `Trace'), and "Acetone Angels" didn't make the final cut is utterly beyond me. These five tunes are as good as anything Farrar has ever written. I honestly wish he would've kept these from us and saved them for the next full-length release if he felt they didn't work with the 14 he chose for 'The Search.'

So, yeah, do yourself a favor and buy this record. But buy the Deluxe Edition from iTunes. You'll be happy you did.

I have been a fan of Farrar's work since the days of Tupelo. And i think Farrar has quite a tradition to fulfill everytime he sets down to record. I dont think he asked for it, but somewhere along the line he was given this identity. Tweedy broke out of it big when he launched "Yankee" and "Ghost," and there was a jauggernaut of press that followed the Wilco "Yankee" debacle. Farrar did just the opposite. He released albums but did so in a silent way. It was as if the fans knew something that others did not.

There are Tweedy people and there are Farrar people. That is the way i see it.


For most fans Son Volt doesn't get any better than Trace. For some reason that album has defined Farrar and Co. work. All Son Volt albums have been amazing to me. Listen to Way Down Watson from Straightaways if you need evidence of this. Likewise, "Dead Man's Clothes" from Tremolo is simply brilliant. All three albums are terrific. That was the old Son Volt.

When the band regrouped with new members I was really curious. I was used to the line up of the original. I have seen them play all over the midwest, and i came to like the chemistry. Okemah was not what i expected, but i could not stop listening to it. Although the album didn't hold the weight of any of the previous SV efforts, it was solid and it rocked (i have never used that term before). The guitar work is what is so amazing on that album. I was surprised that the press embraced it so enthusiastically...For a long time Son Volt fan, it sounded like transition. Still, a SV transition is an amazing thing. I spent many Summer nights on my porch with that album.
The ending "world waits for you" was a sign of very great things to come.

Now, this brings me to The Search. What an album. All I can say is Son Volt and Farrar are back in a big way. At this point I think Okemah was a stop on the way to this album, a natural progression from the eclectic sounds of Tremolo, the melancholy of Straightaways, and the traditional songs of Trace. It is 3/6/07, 11am, and I just listened to all tracks and each one is amazing.
If you are like me and have followed Farrar from the beginning, were lost a little with Okemah, don't hesitate here. What an album!
If you pick it up through Itunes there are 7 extra tracks.