28. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

"We are headed north."

 

It's all right there in the first verse of the first song of the first major label album by the Avett Brothers. This band of foot-stomping, string-breaking renegades from Concord, NC, were moving on up -- creatively, artistically and, yes, commercially. But "I and Love and You" is not a sell-out album. It's a growth album. All the emotionalism is still there; but the boys -- Seth & Scott Avett, Bob Crawford and Joe Kwon -- are maturing, and asking their fans to mature with them with "I&L&Y." This beautifully-crafted and produced album -- Rick Rubin is to thank for that -- is a statement album. As they sing on "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise": "Decide what to be and go be it."  With "I and Love and You," the Avett Brothers did just that.

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