CD REVIEW: Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard "One Fast Move Or I'm Gone: Music From Kerouac's Big Sur"

Movie soundtracks are usually full of music that is "from or inspired by" that movie. Rarely is music created that is inspired by the original piece of literature that is the subject of the movie. And further than that, it's even rarer that such great music is created solely for a documentary. That is the case for the new works by Jay Farrar (lead singer of Son Volt) and Benjamin Gibbard (lead singer of Death Cab For Cutie). "One Fast Move Or I'm Gone" is a documentary film about the book titled "Big Sur" written by Jack Kerouac. Jay and Ben created an entire album of original songs that depict the essence of the novel and are an incredible companion to the film. "These Roads Don't Move" is an excellent alt-country song that is currently spinning on AAA radio. "California Zephyr" and "Sea Engines" as well as the title track are musical and incredibly poetic. Farar is usually used to creating this style of music, but it's a big departure from the stuff that Gibbard creates with Death Cab. Jay and Ben both sing throughout the album, as well as share with the writing duties. It's always nice to hear musicians doing something different than they are used to, but the star of this album is the songwriting of Farrar and Gibbard, which is something that both artists doing quite well on a regular basis.