Just before the pandemic, accomplished singer-songwriter Jerry Joseph traveled from his home in Portland, Ore. to Water Valley, Miss. to fulfill a longtime dream of recording a record with his longtime friend, Drive-By Truckers‘ founding member Patterson Hood. It was there, at Truckers’ bassist Matt Patton’s studio Dial Back Sound, that they crafted The Beautiful Madness, the celebrated 2020 record from Joseph and the Drive-By Truckers under the moniker The Stiff Boys.
Those recording sessions were fruitful, and when all the dust settled, they were left with a treasure trove of tracks that deserved to be heard. On Nov. 11, Jerry Joseph and The Stiffs will release the companion album Tick, a collection of recordings that includes unreleased material from those days in the studio. It also includes live recordings from the ensemble’s only performance to date at the annual Drive-By Truckers homecoming shows in Athens, Ga.
Today, The Boot is sharing an exclusive first listen to the fifth track from Tick. “Quiet” is a track about silence. It’s a somber, melancholy ode to the value of listening versus speaking. It’s hard to recognize the Drive-By Truckers’ musical imprint on the tune until Patterson Hood slides in on background vocals. Hood’s impressive and often overlooked gift for crafting harmonies — which were especially apparent on the 2020 Live from the Shoals Theatre record that he did with Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell, is made evidently clear.
Tick features 10 tracks, including ”Quiet,” their previously released single “South of South,” as well as five live recordings from Joseph and the Stiff Boys’ only performance together in 2020.
Joseph has multiple shows scheduled through the end of 2022, including stops in California, Colorado, Idaho and Utah before wrapping up with three hometown shows in Portland on Dec. 29, 30 and 31. You can find a full list of tour dates at Jerry Joseph’s official website.
Jerry Joseph and the Stiff Boys, ‘Tick’ Track List:
1. “Tick (Demo)”
2. “Sometimes A Great Notion (Demo)”
3. “The Mountain”
4. “South of South”
5. “Quiet”
6. “Days of Heaven (Live)”
7. “Bone Towers (Live)”
8. “San Acacia (Live)”
9. “Sugar Smacks (Live)”
10. “Dead Confederate (Live)”
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