Thus Always to Tyrants (album)
Encyclopedia
Thus Always to Tyrants is a 2001 album released by alternative country
musician Scott Miller
. It was Miller's first full length album release, after the breakup of his previous band, The V-Roys
.
's E-Squared Records
, and described as "a critically acclaimed, commercially under appreciated" band with a "tasty brand of roots rock". When explaining his decision to begin a solo career, Miller said that the band reached their creative peak, some band members did not like touring, and also that Earle lost interest.
. In May of 2000, he recorded four songs with Nashville producer R.S. Field and veteran Nashville session musicians. These songs reflected a classic rock 'n' roll sound. Field said, "We were going for a full-bodied sound, without trying to just ape yesterday. Obviously Neil Young
, obviously [Tom] Petty
, and then some of the British stuff too."
Miller was able to secure a deal with Sugar Hill
, despite the label's preference of acoustic acts. Miller and Field brought in experienced musicians for the subsequent recordings, including members of Knoxville's Superdrag
, The Judybats
, David Grissom
, and bluegrass musician Tim O'Brien
.
(Sic semper tyrannis in Latin
). The album cover is also Virginia's state seal
. This is reflective of the themes on the album; Miller lyrics are both autobiographical about his life in Virginia, and also of his family's history in the Shenandoah Valley
.
Miller stated that he "tried to make a whole record all about Virginia, about my past, about moving to Tennessee
" and "going from a boy to a man". A review summarized that Miller "dug into his family history in places like Augusta
, Highland
and Bath
counties and unearthed letters and tales from the Civil War
". Another review described the album as "mingling themes from Virginia-related historical fables and current-day experiences of self-discovery and maturity with musical styles that veer from dynamic pop with gigantic rock hooks to a soulful Appalachian-style hymn". No Depression writes, "The overall sense is of a newfound and stubbornly won acceptance of responsibility and purpose". Relocation and starting over is another theme noted.
Two songs on the album are based on letters that Miller's great-great-grandfather sent home from his time serving in the Confederacy
in the Civil War. Noted Appalachian
musicians Tim O'Brien and Dirk Powell played on these songs.
Miller explained how the Civil War relates to his upbringing of growing up in the south with a father from the north
, and the themes on the album:
The album features a cover of "Miracle Man", a song by the 1960s psychedelic rock
band The Brogues
, which Miller said fit in well with the album's themes.
of the New York Times writes that Miller is "this year's Ryan Adams
, a talented singer-songwriter emerging from a cult band (the V-Roys) with an astonishingly good solo album". The Austin Chronicle wrote that the album is "packed with one well-crafted song after another" and that "Miller covers a lot of musical territory. That he does so with a refined touch, in a way that makes you think, certifies him as one of a rare breed of songwriters and makes Thus Always to Tyrants an unqualified success". Miller's ability to combine rock 'n' roll with folk
was also commended.
An Associated Press
article praised the album by declaring, "This has the feel of a breakout album, one that music fans will look back on and think, 'That's when I knew he was going to be great.'" The Tennessean
's review describes the album as "Personal, powerful and jacked up with red-blooded Southern pop intensity". No Depression complimented Miller's singing, and described the album as, "pop hooks, rock rave-ups and campfire melodies galore, showcasing the range of Miller’s influences and his effortless absorption and reconfiguration of them". PopMatters
wrote that the "relationship" songs on the album are the strongest, and praised the "catchy roots-pop" and Miller's versatility.
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
musician Scott Miller
Scott Miller (musician)
Scott Miller is a rock and roll singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born in 1968, Miller grew up on a farm in Swoope, Virginia. After graduating from William and Mary, he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1990. In 1994, he helped form a band called the Viceroys, which ultimately morphed into The...
. It was Miller's first full length album release, after the breakup of his previous band, The V-Roys
The V-Roys
The V-Roys are a Knoxville, Tennessee-based alternative country band signed to E-Squared Records. The band was described as "walking the fine line between rootsy country and cutting-edge alternative rock"...
.
Background
Miller was one of the leaders of The V-Roys, an alternative country band that was on Steve EarleSteve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
's E-Squared Records
E-Squared Records
E-Squared Records was an record label founded in 1996 by singer-songwriter and producer Steve Earle and seasoned music executive Jack Emerson. The label produced a series of albums by Earle, starting with 1996's I Feel Alright. Warner Bros. supported the label on many early releases...
, and described as "a critically acclaimed, commercially under appreciated" band with a "tasty brand of roots rock". When explaining his decision to begin a solo career, Miller said that the band reached their creative peak, some band members did not like touring, and also that Earle lost interest.
Recording
Shortly after The V-Roys broke up, Miller secured a publishing deal with Welk Music GroupWelk Music Group
Welk Music Group is a record company comprising three labels, Ranwood Records, Vanguard Records and Sugar Hill Records. It was founded by Lawrence Welk and is still owned by the Welk Family. EMI distributes the Welk labels.-External links:*...
. In May of 2000, he recorded four songs with Nashville producer R.S. Field and veteran Nashville session musicians. These songs reflected a classic rock 'n' roll sound. Field said, "We were going for a full-bodied sound, without trying to just ape yesterday. Obviously Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, obviously [Tom] Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, and then some of the British stuff too."
Miller was able to secure a deal with Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill commonly refers to Sugar Hill, Manhattan, a section of Harlem, New York City, New York, US. The term may also refer to:Places:* Sugar Hill in Modoc National Forest, California* Sugar Hill, Georgia* Sugar Hill, New Hampshire...
, despite the label's preference of acoustic acts. Miller and Field brought in experienced musicians for the subsequent recordings, including members of Knoxville's Superdrag
Superdrag
Superdrag is an alternative rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee. The band had a hit with its 1996 single "Sucked Out" off their album Regretfully Yours, for which a video clip was broadcast regularly on MTV...
, The Judybats
Judybats
Judybats were an alternative rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee, active primarily in the late 1980s and early 1990s. First formed in 1988 by vocalist Jeff Heiskell and guitarists Johnny Sughrue and Ed Winters when the three were students at the University of Tennessee, the band subsequently added...
, David Grissom
David Grissom
David Grissom is a US session guitarist who has played and toured with several of America's leading bands and recording artists.- Professional Biography :...
, and bluegrass musician Tim O'Brien
Tim O'Brien
Tim O'Brien may refer to:* Tim O'Brien , American author* Timothy O'Brien , Irish professor* Timothy L...
.
Themes
The album's title, Thus Always to Tyrants is a translation of the official motto of the state of VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(Sic semper tyrannis in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
). The album cover is also Virginia's state seal
Seal of Virginia
The seals of the Commonwealth of Virginia are the official symbols of the United States Commonwealth of Virginia.-History:In May 1776 the Virginia colony declared its independence from Great Britain. On July 1, 1776, a committee of four was appointed to make a proper seal for the Commonwealth of...
. This is reflective of the themes on the album; Miller lyrics are both autobiographical about his life in Virginia, and also of his family's history in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
.
Miller stated that he "tried to make a whole record all about Virginia, about my past, about moving to Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
" and "going from a boy to a man". A review summarized that Miller "dug into his family history in places like Augusta
Augusta County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 65,615 people, 24,818 households, and 18,911 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 26,738 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
, Highland
Highland County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,536 people, 1,131 households, and 764 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile . There were 1,822 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...
and Bath
Bath County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,048 people, 2,053 households, and 1,451 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 2,896 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile...
counties and unearthed letters and tales from the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
". Another review described the album as "mingling themes from Virginia-related historical fables and current-day experiences of self-discovery and maturity with musical styles that veer from dynamic pop with gigantic rock hooks to a soulful Appalachian-style hymn". No Depression writes, "The overall sense is of a newfound and stubbornly won acceptance of responsibility and purpose". Relocation and starting over is another theme noted.
Two songs on the album are based on letters that Miller's great-great-grandfather sent home from his time serving in the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
in the Civil War. Noted Appalachian
Appalachian music
Appalachian music is the traditional music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. It is derived from various European and African influences, including English ballads, Irish and Scottish traditional music , religious hymns, and African-American blues...
musicians Tim O'Brien and Dirk Powell played on these songs.
Miller explained how the Civil War relates to his upbringing of growing up in the south with a father from the north
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
, and the themes on the album:
My father is Pennsylvania DutchPennsylvania DutchPennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...
. Sometimes I felt like we fought that war over and over and over when I was a teenager. A battle of wills. He was the breadwinner who told me what to do, and I was the skinny kid who was mule-stubborn. Much like that war. Two sides who felt they were morally right and bullied and backed themselves into a corner over 80 years until it came to blows. It was stupid. Not glamorous at all. Fought by poor men for rich men. No defense for it. Most of that war was fought in my backyard. There are still trenches all over Virginia, what builders haven’t bulldozed over. How could it not be in my conscious? People died there.
The album features a cover of "Miracle Man", a song by the 1960s psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
band The Brogues
The Brogues
The Brogues was a Merced, California band formed in 1964 by Eddie Rodrigues , Rick Campbell , Greg Elmore and Bill Whittington...
, which Miller said fit in well with the album's themes.
Reception
Thus Always to Tyrants received significant praise from a variety of publications. Neil StraussNeil Strauss
Neil Darrow Strauss , also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American and Kittitian author, journalist and ghostwriter...
of the New York Times writes that Miller is "this year's Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
, a talented singer-songwriter emerging from a cult band (the V-Roys) with an astonishingly good solo album". The Austin Chronicle wrote that the album is "packed with one well-crafted song after another" and that "Miller covers a lot of musical territory. That he does so with a refined touch, in a way that makes you think, certifies him as one of a rare breed of songwriters and makes Thus Always to Tyrants an unqualified success". Miller's ability to combine rock 'n' roll with folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
was also commended.
An Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
article praised the album by declaring, "This has the feel of a breakout album, one that music fans will look back on and think, 'That's when I knew he was going to be great.'" The Tennessean
The Tennessean
The Tennessean is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky....
's review describes the album as "Personal, powerful and jacked up with red-blooded Southern pop intensity". No Depression complimented Miller's singing, and described the album as, "pop hooks, rock rave-ups and campfire melodies galore, showcasing the range of Miller’s influences and his effortless absorption and reconfiguration of them". PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
wrote that the "relationship" songs on the album are the strongest, and praised the "catchy roots-pop" and Miller's versatility.
Track listing
| Song | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|
| "Across The Line" | Scott Miller | 4:09 |
| "I Made a Mess of This Town" | Scott Miller | 3:19 |
| "Loving That Girl" | Scott Miller | 4:27 |
| "I Won't Go With You" | Scott Miller | 3:15 |
| "Yes, I Won't" | Scott Miller | 4:24 |
| "Dear Sarah" | Scott Miller | 2:59 |
| "Highland Country Boy" | Scott Miller | 2:42 |
| "Absolution" | Scott Miller | 3:20 |
| "Miracle Man" | Annette Tucker Annette Tucker Annette Tucker is a composer, lyricist, teacher, writer, arranger, and producer. Her songs have been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, Tom Jones, Maureen McGovern, Nana Mouskouri, Ricky Nelson, The Knickerbockers, The Electric Prunes, The Ventures, The American Breed, The... & Nancie Mantz |
4:02 |
| "Daddy Raised a Boy" | Scott Miller | 3:00 |
| "Goddamn the Sun" | Scott Miller | 1:53 |
| "Is There Room on the Cross for Me" | Scott Miller | 3:24 |
Personnel
- Scott Miller – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Mike Brignadello – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Chris Carmichael – stringsStrings (music)A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
- Don Coffey Jr. - drums
- John DavisJohn Davis (singer-songwriter)John Davis , is a founding member of the rock band Superdrag.-Superdrag:Davis' primary roles in the band were that of songwriter, singer and lead guitarist. By the time Superdrag was beginning work on their fourth full-length record, Davis was an alcoholic. One night as Davis was driving, he...
- bass, guitar, vocals - Jim DeMain – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mastering, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - R.S. Field – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Eric Fritsch – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- David GrissomDavid GrissomDavid Grissom is a US session guitarist who has played and toured with several of America's leading bands and recording artists.- Professional Biography :...
– electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Peg Hambright – piano
- Greg Morrow – drums
- Tim O'BrienTim O'Brien (musician)Tim O'Brien is an American country and bluegrass musician. In addition to singing, he plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki and mandocello...
– fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, vocals - Dirk Powell – banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...