The album where Drive-By Truckers transformed from cult heroes into the most important Southern rock band of their generation. Decoration Day marked the beginning of Jason Isbell's tenure in the band, adding his literary precision to Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley's already potent partnership. The title track—Isbell's contribution—tells a true story of family murder with the economy and power of a Flannery O'Connor short story set to blazing guitars.

Across two LPs, Decoration Day surveys the Southern landscape with clear eyes and heavy hearts. Hood's Outfit stands as one of the great songs about inherited identity and the weight of family expectations. Cooley's (Something's Got to) Give Pretty Soon captures working-class desperation without condescension. The band's three-guitar attack—propelled by Brad Morgan's thunderous drums and Earl Hicks' bass—creates walls of sound that honor their Muscle Shoals/Athens heritage while pushing toward something new.

Decoration Day announced that Drive-By Truckers weren't just another bar band trading on Southern rock clichés—they were serious artists grappling with the complexity of regional identity, class, and family in ways that felt both urgent and timeless. Twenty years later, the album remains essential.

2-LP Vinyl. New West Records. Jason Isbell's first album with DBT. Southern rock at its most literary and powerful.