A Blessing and a Curse

A Blessing and a Curse is the sixth studio album by Drive-By Truckers, released in 2006. It peaked at #50 on the Billboard 200, which was the highest charting for the band until 2008's follow up, Brighter Than Creation's Dark, which hit #37.

For other uses, see Blessing and Curse (disambiguation).
A Blessing and a Curse
Studio album by
Drive-By Truckers
ReleasedApril 18, 2006 (2006-04-18)
GenreAlternative country, Southern rock, Alternative rock
Length46:54
LabelNew West
ProducerDavid Barbe
Drive-By Truckers chronology
The Dirty South
(2004)		 A Blessing and a Curse
(2006)		 Brighter Than Creation's Dark
(2008)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[4]
The Irish Times[5]
Mojo[6]
NME5/10[7]
Pitchfork7.0/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
SpinB[10]
Uncut[11]

Background

A Blessing and a Curse is regarded as the Drive-by Truckers' most controversial and polarizing album by both the band and fans.[12] This is the last album to feature Jason Isbell on guitar as he left the band in spring of 2007. A Blessing and a Curse is a departure from Drive-By Truckers' previous sound, exhibiting less of a 'southern-rock' chemistry and taking on a more classic rock edge than any of their previous records. Approximately half of the songs were recorded within hours of them being written.

Guitarist Patterson Hood has explained that A Blessing and A Curse was made at a rather difficult point in the band's history. He explains that the band was "trying to find common ground at a time when it was a little hard to come by."[12] Hood also says in his online commentary of the album that he prefers the second side of the album over the first. "A World of Hurt" is Hood's second favorite song he has written (his favorite being Gangstabilly's "The Living Bubba").[12] The title of Barr Weissman's documentary of the Drive-By Truckers, "The Secret To A Happy Ending," is taken from a line from "A World of Hurt."

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Feb 14"Hood3:40
2."Gravity's Gone"Cooley3:33
3."Easy on Yourself"Isbell3:28
4."Aftermath USA"Hood3:16
5."Goodbye"Hood6:11
6."Daylight"Isbell3:35
7."Wednesday"Hood4:04
8."Little Bonnie"Hood3:56
9."Space City"Cooley4:48
10."A Blessing and a Curse"Hood5:31
11."A World of Hurt"Hood4:51

Personnel

Chart performance
Chart Provider(s) Peak
position		 Certification Sales/
shipments
Billboard 200 (U.S.)[13] Billboard 50 Not certified N/A
Billboard Top Independent Albums (U.S.)[13] 3
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References
  1. "Reviews for A Blessing And A Curse by Drive-By Truckers". Metacritic. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  2. Deming, Mark. "A Blessing and a Curse – Drive-By Truckers". AllMusic. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  3. Catucci, Nick (May 2006). "Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse". Blender (47): 108. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  4. Collis, Clark (April 14, 2006). "A Blessing and a Curse". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  5. Courtney, Kevin (March 17, 2006). "Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse (New West)". The Irish Times. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  6. "Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse". Mojo (149): 94. April 2006.
  7. "Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse". NME: 33. March 18, 2006.
  8. Deusner, Stephen M. (April 17, 2006). "Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  9. Hoard, Christian (June 26, 2006). "A Blessing And A Curse : Drive-By Truckers". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  10. Wood, Mikael (May 2006). "Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse / Shooter Jennings: Electric Rodeo". Spin. 22 (5): 93–95. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  11. "Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse". Uncut (107): 112. April 2006.
  12. "Record list at Official Site". Retrieved 21 Feb 2011.
  13. Drive-By Truckers Artist Chart History at Billboard
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