We're Usually a Lot Better Than This (Full Light Records) is a live recording from Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott — two of Americana's most accomplished multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters captured in informal duo performance. O'Brien, a West Virginia–born polymath whose credits span Hot Rize, Celtic music, and classic country songwriting, and Scott, a Nashville musician whose songs have been recorded by Brad Paisley, the Dixie Chicks, and Garth Brooks, maintain a duo partnership rooted in genuine mutual esteem and complementary musical instincts. The humorous title signals the album's casual character — two skilled musicians playing for the pleasure of it. The set continues a collaboration that began with their Howdy Skies album Real Time (1999) and documents the informal duo context in which both artists are perhaps most themselves: O'Brien's melodic virtuosity and Scott's blues-informed guitar work in direct, unmediated conversation.
Tracklist
- 1 Climbing Up A Mountain 4:03
- 2 House of Gold alt version 2:06
- 3 White Freightliner Blues alt version Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott 5:16
- 4 Mick Ryan's Lament 3:38
- 5 With A Memory Like Mine 5:20
- 6 Early Morning Rain alt version Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott 4:22
- 7 Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning alt version 2:46
- 8 Long Time Gone 5:02
- 9 Great High Mountain alt version 3:13
- 10 The Hummingbird 4:23
- 11 Mom and Dad's Waltz 3:04
- 12 Hambone 2:27
- 13 When There's No One Around/Will The Circle Be Unbroken 8:17