| Mystery Road | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Drivin' N' Cryin' |
| Cover: | Mystery Road (album).jpg |
| Released: | March 28, 1989 |
| Recorded: | 1988 in Soundscape Studios, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Genre: | Southern Rock, Hard Rock |
| Length: | 42:06 |
| Label: | Island |
| Producer: | Scott McPherson/Kevn Kinney/Tim Nielsen |
| Prev Title: | Whisper Tames the Lion |
| Prev Year: | 1987 |
| Next Title: | Fly Me Courageous |
| Next Year: | 1991 |
Mystery Road is the third studio album by hard/Southern rock band Drivin' N' Cryin', released on March 28, 1989, by Island Records.[1] The Washington Post said the album "remains a classic of the genre."[2]
Originally, R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, a friend of the band, was going to produce the album, and they recorded demos together. However, Island Records refused and chose Scott McPherson to produce.[3]
Mystery Road "is like a map of late-'80s college radio, wandering from folky protest songs to crunch-heavy hard rock to warm, pseudo-country rock, with a little punk thrown in for good measure.".[4]
"Straight to Hell" is the band's most well-known song.[5] Singer/guitarist Kevn Kinney said of the song:"Honeysuckle Blue" was a "gorgeous Southern rock ballad that sounded like it should have been a big hit."[3] Kinney recalled it was
On October 6, 2017, Mystery Road was reissued with the original Peter Buck demos as bonus tracks.[6]
Darius Rucker's fifth album When Was the Last Time was released October 20, 2017 and featured a cover of "Straight to Hell" with guests Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Charles Kelley. Darius said the song "was huge in my day—when it was played in the bar, every single person in the bar was singing and hugging their best friend."[7]
Denise Sullivan of AllMusic called Mystery Road the "least memorable record in the Drivin' n' Cryin' canon". Red Dirt Reports Andrew W. Griffin wrote of the reissue that "this new rerelease of a 28-year old album from Drivin' N' Cryin' is refreshing, primarily because we get to hear a band really starting to take off and become the band that refuses to throw in the towel all these years later".
The following people contributed to Mystery Road:[8]