Now for something a little lighter… Scott Miller and the Commonwealth is one of the greatest rock and roll bands ever to emerge from Virginia. It’s a darn shame that Miller, the talented composer, lead vocalist and lead guitar, ever moved to Tennessee.
The Old Dominion would be justified to claim Miller just for his music, which ranges from hard-driving rock to soft, Civil War-style ballads. But his lyrics are deeply rooted in Virginia, West Virginia and the South. They celebrate a sense of time, place and values that Virginians will find familiar. In the YouTube video clip above, he performs “The Amtrak Crescent,” describing a railroad ride from New Orleans to Washington, D.C.
Listen to the words. Miller has is sensitive to dysfunctional human settlement patterns! Watch out, Joni Mitchell (“Pave Paradise”).
You know, it used to be pretty on the Eastern Shore.
Now it’s more New York down to Baltimore.
It takes so much effort just to move one train.
Why does everything around me have to look the same?
Virginia has many great bands and performers. The Dave Matthews Band is the best known, followed perhaps by Bruce Hornsby. Carbon Leaf, Susan Greenbaum and Robin Thompson — to name some Richmond-area musicians — are enormously talented as well. But Scott Miller beats them all. I don’t know why he hasn’t made it into the big time. Judging by the tenor of his lyrics, I’m guessing, he’s the kind of guy who sings about whatever the hell he wants to sing about, and if the big record labels don’t like it, that’s their problem, not his.
I would link to other YouTube videos, but the fan-made recordings are such poor quality that they don’t convey Miller’s talents very well. If you want to hear clips of his music, including a studio recording of Amtrak Crescent, visit the Scott Miller website. Then send him an e-mail and beg him to move back to Virginia where he belongs. Or, at the very least, urge him to swing through the Old Dominion on his next tour.
