Son Volt’s latest record, Day of the Doug, revisits the music of legendary Texas troubadour Doug Sahm. But it’s much more than fond remembrance and colorful tribute. It is a summoning and a celebration of a songwriter
and performer whose work forged country, Tex-Mex, rock, rhythm and blues, folk, and psychedelia into an utterly unique American sound. Sahm’s 50-year career was a restless and relentless quest for the Holy Grail of “the groove.” He played pedal steel with Hank Williams, Sr. as a kid before making three Top 40 hits with the Sir Douglas Quintet and recording a dizzying array of solo works with a passel of shifting personas on a carousel of record labels. Son Volt’s eleventh release since 1995’s Trace steps confidently on the trails Sahm blazed. Like any journey to find a grail, Day of the Doug also seeks out all the things that make young artists fall in love with making music in the first place: adventure, youth novelty, and a chance to snatch a bit of immortality.