''Drive-In Movie'' is an album by the Canadian musician

Fred Eaglesmith Frederick John Elgersma (born July 9, 1957), known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. He is known for writing songs about vehicles, rural life, down-and-out characters, lost love and quirky rur ...

. It was released in 1996. ''Drive-In Movie'' was the first Eaglesmith album to be released in the United States. The album won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

, in the "Roots & Traditional Album, Solo" category.

Production

The album was produced by Scott Merritt and Eaglesmith. It was mostly recorded in

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

, with some production work taking place in Nashville. Eaglesmith took a casual attitude in the studio, stating that the album was merely a reflection of how he felt at the time of the recording. Three of the album's 11 songs are about trains.

Critical reception

The ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'' wrote that "Eaglesmith's music is hypnotic in its sparse acoustic tones and though he's prone to a bit too much imagery concerning crashin' 'n' burnin' 'n' trains he's also got a knack for turning a phrase." The ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'' determined that "there's the twisted irony in Eaglesmith's tunes, that they can have the most downhearted themes with a sly smile that creeps in around the edges to make you chuckle." ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...

'' called the album "spare, left-of-centre country in the same league as Chris Smither, Joe Ely or Rosie Flores." ''

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'' concluded that "Eaglesmith is at his best taking scenes of small-town North Americana and turning them into compelling vignettes of a disappearing way of life." ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' noted that "Eaglesmith integrates poetic sensitivity with his daredevil imagery, producing an original vision." ''

The Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published five days a week, from Tuesday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postmedia. It has ...

'' listed it as the sixth best album of 1996.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote: "In the tradition of Texas songwriters such as Guy Clark and Robert Earl Keen—who evoke images of their home state with masterful clarity—he sings with the honest and sometimes mournful tone of a man who recognizes that the lifestyle he grew up with and loved is now drifting into the past." In 1999, the ''

Riverfront Times The ''Riverfront Times'' (''RFT'') is a free progressive weekly newspaper in St. Louis, in the U.S. state of Missouri, that consists of local politics, music, arts, and dining news in the print edition, and daily updates to blogs and photo galler ...

'' stated: "''Drive-In Movie'' sounded like Eaglesmith had been holed up in a Memphis train yard listening to ''Swordfishtrombones'' and working ''Dog Day Afternoon'' into a countrified musical."

Covers

Catherine Britt covered "Drive-In Movie" on her debut album. "Wilder Than Her" was covered by

Dar Williams Dorothy Snowden "Dar" Williams (born April 19, 1967) is an American pop folk singer-songwriter from Mount Kisco, New York. Hendrik Hertzberg of ''The New Yorker'' has described Williams as "one of America's very best singer-songwriters." She i ...

Track listing

References

{{reflist Fred Eaglesmith albums 1996 albums