Archive Review: Dave & Phil Alvin’s Common Ground (2014)

It would be pretty safe to say that without legendary bluesman Big Bill Broonzy, the sound of Chicago blues – and all of blues music, really – would be vastly different than it is today. A country bluesman with roots in Mississippi and Arkansas, Broonzy served his country during World War I. When he returned home he found that farming no longer held any interest and, relocating to Chicago, he started a life in music. Broonzy would become a popular bluesman, talented songwriter and guitarist, and a prolific recording artist as well as an important catalyst in the evolution of the country blues sound into big city urban blues during the 1940s and ‘50s.

Through the years, Broonzy performed in country blues, ragtime, hokum, R&B, and folk blues styles and wrote for, performed and recorded with talents like Memphis Minnie, John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson, and Tampa Red. His kindness was legendary, and he helped Southern immigrants to the Windy City like Muddy Waters get a toehold in the city, arranging gigs and recording sessions for the newcomers. It is Broonzy’s influence on blues and rock music that is most keenly felt, however, not just on Chicago bluesmen like Waters and Buddy Guy, but also on young rock guitarists like Eric Clapton, Rory Gallagher, and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, among many others.    

Dave & Phil Alvin’s Common Ground

Two young musicians that Broonzy influenced were brothers Dave and Phil Alvin. Growing up in Downey, California in the 1960s, the brothers shared a love of music. As Dave Alvin remembers in the liner notes to Common Ground, Broonzy’s music was a revelatory discovery for the two teenagers, an artist that remains their musical touchstone to this day. The brothers would go on to form the Blasters in 1980, the band recording a handful of critically-acclaimed albums featuring a high-octane blend of roots-rock, rockabilly, blues, and R&B that found an appreciative audience on the Southern California punk rock scene. The band called it quits by the end of the decade, though, with Dave Alvin launching an acclaimed solo career in much the same musical vein as that of his former band that is still winning the artist accolades today.   

Part of the reason for the break-up of the Blasters was the notoriously combative relationship between the two brothers. As Dave has been quoted as saying, “we argue sometimes, but we never argue about Big Bill Broonzy.” It is the brothers’ shared love of the revered blues legend that brought them back together in the studio for the first time in nearly 24 years to record Common Ground. Credited to Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin, and subtitled “Play and Sing The Songs of Big Bill Broonzy,” Common Ground is exactly that – a heartfelt tribute to Broonzy by a couple of musicians that felt his influence at an early age.   

The Songs of Big Bill Broonzy

Broonzy was a gifted songwriter, so there was no dearth of material for the brothers to choose from, and it’s a credit to Broonzy’s talents that the Alvin’s duplicate only two songs from Muddy Waters’ tribute to his mentor, the 1960s album Sings Big Bill Broonzy. The album opens with the jaunty “All By Myself,” an upbeat ragtime-styled romp that features the brothers’ shared vocals and Dave’s elegant National steel guitar. If not for the modern recording technique, the performance might be mistaken for an old slab o’ 78rpm shellac, the brothers playing it straight and having a ball with their careful interpretation of the song. “I Feel So Good” differs from the aforementioned Waters’ rendition, skewing closer to Broonzy’s courtesy of Gene Taylor’s light-fingered piano-play and drummer Lisa Pankratz’s lively percussion. It’s a swinging tune, and tailor-made for Phil’s yelping vocals.

In contrast to the pair of openers, “Southern Flood Blues” rocks like a juke-joint Saturday night, with Dave’s wiry electric guitar licks and ominous vocals punctuated by Phil’s mournful blasts of harp. It’s a fine performance, the song’s disturbing lyrical tale emphasized by the strength of the instrumentation. It’s probably the furthest the brothers get from Broonzy’s original intent, sounding more like a long-lost Blasters’ outtake, but it’s also entirely appropriate. “Big Bill’s Blues,” one of Broonzy’s first recorded sides, returns to a country blues sound, the performance fueled by Phil’s wonderful heartbreak vocals and Taylor’s lonesome piano runs.

Key To The Highway

Since first recording the song in 1941, Broonzy’s “Key To the Highway” has become a blues standard, recorded not only by blues legends like Waters, Little Walter, and John Lee Hooker but also by rockers like Clapton’s Derek and the Dominos and the Rolling Stones. The Alvins’ reading of “Key To the Highway” is a country-styled blues tune capturing the spirit of the original with Dave’s engaging National steel play and Phil’s friendly harp and acoustic guitar. The jazz-flecked “Tomorrow” is another one of those songs perfectly suited to Phil’s soulful twang, and his vocals here swing on one of Broonzy’s better R&B tunes. Taylor’s hands dance across the keyboard and bassist Brad Fordham holds a steady rhythm while Dave lays down a hearty solo that fits in perfectly with the other instrumentation.

“Just A Dream” is the other Broonzy tune recorded in tribute by Muddy Waters, and the brothers Alvin hew closely to Waters’ electric Chicago blues styled romp here. Phil’s vocals are lower and slower, perfectly capturing the moment as Taylor does his best Otis Spann imitation, Dave layers in some fine, fuzzy fretwork, and Phil adds dashes of energetic James Cotton-styled harmonica. The brothers share vocals again on the underrated Broonzy gem “Stuff They Call Money,” Taylor’s piano tinkling low in the mix beneath the hearty rhythmic play of Fordham’s bass and Pankratz’s drums, with blasts of icy harp underlining the song’s insightful social commentary. The instrumental “Saturday Night Rub” is a perfect showcase for the brothers’ intertwined guitarplay – Dave on the steel, Phil on acoustic – while the Fordham/Pankratz rhythm section rides along. It’s a joyous performance and an appropriate choice to close out the album.  
 

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

What’s not to like about Common Ground? It’s the first album from Dave and Phil Alvin together in two decades, and for an old Blasters fan such as myself, that’s like manna from heaven. Plus, these are Big Bill Broonzy songs, so it’s hard to go wrong. The brothers are obviously familiar with the material, and not only bring a reverence to their performances, but also a playfulness that is completely in the spirit of the late blues legend.

There are tribute albums where it’s obvious the performers are going through the motions for a payday, the publicity, or the cache of being associated with a project considered “hip.” Then there are great tribute albums where the contributors truly love the artist and songs they’re honoring and they juice up their performances with passion and energy…Common Ground is one of those kind of albums, a tribute that truly lets the music do the talking. Get it! (Yep Roc Records, released June 3, 2014)

Buy the CD from Amazon: Dave & Phil Alvin’s Common Ground

Archive Review: Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers’ Swampblood (2007)

It’s been said by some that if drive down Highway 100, south outta Nashville and through the sleepy little burg of Fairview, you’ll find an old dirt road at the Hickman County line. You follow this road back through the woods ‘til you find the gnarled tree where the strange chickens roost all day and night. From there, you take the gravel trail on the right, go down the hollow past Lady Sniff’s shack (pay no attention to the sirens’ wail that you’ll hear coming from behind those walls) to arrive at the crossroads. Pick the right fork, and it’ll take you down through the knotty kudzu gateway to the edge of the ole swamp…

Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers’ Swampblood

Now, you have to be careful when going down there, ‘cause much like Rudderville or Kingfield, folks ‘round these parts get a might touchy if they don’t know you. If you’re drivin’ too nice or too new of a car, the ‘shiners might toss a few rounds your way thinkin’ that you’re a Revenue agent or some other sort of Federale. Tales say that the swamp is haunted by the ghosts of several Delta bluesmen that gave up thriving careers and settled down right here, working as farmhands in the nearby tobacco fields. On Saturday nights, they’d get together with cigar-box guitars and harmonicas and they’d sing. Somebody would drag some sort of scaly critter out of the swamp and cook it up for dinner, washing down the dubious feast with some clear, vicious, foul-tasting liquor.  

If you have a mind to venture out into that neck o’ the woods, I’d suggest that you first make sure that you’re driving the right kind of car…nothing too flash or too Hollywood, and certainly nothing made by the flan-factories of Detroit after 1980. Maybe some sort of early-70s Mopar, like a Charger or Satellite, preferably one with a few well-earned rust holes, missing chrome and a dirty old sock stuffed in the gas nozzle. Nobody down around the swamp will look at you twice, especially if you’re rattlin’ Swampblood, the latest-and-greatest from th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers, out of your vintage quad sound-system. With the Col. J.D. Wilkes as your co-pilot across these perilous killing fields, you’re assured of getting back home alive and kickin’.

Feedback-whipped howls and nancy banjo-pickin’ comprise the brief instrumental “Dawn,” sounding right at home surrounded by hanging vines and cypress trees. It’s the perfect-fit intro to “Old Spur Line,” Swampblood’s kick-off tune and as nasty a slice o’ greasy redneck funk as you’re likely to hear these days. The Colonel’s vocals are slightly echoed in the mix as he spits out this cautionary tale of traveling into places that you shouldn’t oughta. The band shuffles along, a minor thunderstorm behind Wilkes’ haunting vocals. “Hellwater” begins with an authentic Tony Joe White guitar lick, David Lee channeling the spirit of John Campbell as he picks out a familiar poke-salad riff and Wilkes belts out a song about the wages of sin.

Appalachian Hillbilly Hoedown

Properly warmed up by this time, the Colonel and his instrumental army take Swampblood up a notch; “Easter Flesh” sounds vaguely Middle Eastern in flavor, with circular riffs and martial rhythms, Wilkes’ up-tempo vocals bringing some sort of nasty Biblical judgment to the poor unfortunate souls who resist salvation. The title cut takes us further into the murky water than we’ve ever been before, the song a raucous, compelling number with manic harp work and fire-and-brimstone lyrics sung in a possessed voice. Lee’s trebly fretwork fuels the song’s instrumentation, a rhythmic assault that is as dense as the morning fog on the bayou.

From this point, Swampblood descends further into alcohol-fueled madness, each performance proudly wearing the sweat and fervor of a backwoods preacher as the Colonel puts his boys through their paces. “Cheat the Hangman” is like a runaway freighter jumping the tracks and diving headfirst into a muddy river while “Born Again Again” is an old-timey spiritual with a jug-band soul and a church-pew heart. “The Deadenin’” proves that it’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature, the song an environmental anthem that has Wilkes’ howlin’ at the moon while the band kicks out a wily, smoke-tinted and disturbing soundtrack behind the Colonel’s gnashin’-and-wailin’ vocals.

There are several more gems hidden in Swampblood’s grooves that will tickle your imagination, like “Jimblyleg Man,” an Appalachian hillbilly hoedown with spry fiddle playin’ and plenty o’ words about some sort of wicked sprite, an imaginary evil like the chupacabra down in south Texas or West Virginia’s mothman. “He Ain’t Right” is a rockabilly rave-up that reminds one of Hasil Adkins. “Angel Lust” has a jazzbo sound that kicks your ears like Professor Longhair jammin’ with Cab Calloway while Brett Whitacre’s tribal drumbeats and tasteful fills play along nicely with Mark Robertson’s muscular upright bass as Wilkes’ swinging vocals take up any remaining slack. Whitacre adds the accompanying patterns behind the Colonel’s mighty potent stream-of-consciousness rant “Preachin’ At Traffic.” Swampblood finishes much like it started, with the somber crosspatch “When I Die” leading into the fading hill country banjo-maul that is “Bright Sunny South.”

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Swampblood is th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers’ fifth studio album, and if the band never evolves into world-beaters, they’ll always deliver exactly what you’d expect them to: a combustible blend of roots-rock, honky-tonk country, electric blues and retro-rockabilly. Yeah, they may be a throwback to a simpler, highly-rocking time, and hopelessly out-of-step with today’s musical trends. But as the Colonel says, “I dream in sepia, mono and Beta” – as defiant a statement of Luddite fist-shaking as has been committed to tape. I wouldn’t expect th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers to headline the Pitchfork Festival, but if I ran into them at a cockfight, I’d buy ‘em a mason jar of whatever they wanted to drink… (Yep Roc Records, released July 16th, 2007)

Review originally published by the Cashville411 website, 2007

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers’ Swampblood

Archive Review: The Fleshtones’ Beachhead (2005)

It’s hard to believe that the Fleshtones have been banging away at it for damn near thirty years. With more than a dozen albums and several thousand raucous live performances under their collective belts, one would think that these garage-rock greybeards would be running out of steam by now...and you’d be dead wrong, chuckles! While the band’s 2003 album Can You Swing? effectively resurrected the Fleshtones and placed them back at the forefront of the rock ‘n’ roll pecking order where they belong, Beachhead stands as the band’s magnum opus. A culmination of three decades of blood, sweat and beers, this is the one Fleshtones disc where it all comes together.

Working with two quite different producers in two distinctly varied environments, the band has managed to perfectly capture its eclectic musical mix of Sky Saxon, Chuck Berry, Dick Dale, and Stax soul. While Jim Diamond brings a certain contemporary street cred to the Fleshtones sound – the in-demand producer working with the band in his Ghetto Recorders studio in Detroit – Rick Miller of Southern Culture On The Skids adds a classic rock vibe to the tracks recorded at his Kudzu Ranch. Mix the results up in the final track listing and these two sides of the same coin meld together to present the indomitable rock ‘n’ roll spirit of the Fleshtones in the best light possible.

The larger-than-life “Pretty Pretty Pretty,” driven by Keith Streng’s guitar and Pete Zaremba’s keyboard riffing, has received weekly airplay on Little Steven’s Underground Garage syndicated radio program, and for good reasons. The sound is all deliciously greasy meat and fried potatoes. Zaremba’s yelping vocals provide a sucker punch to your eardrums while the band rifles through your belongings for loose change. “You Never Know” nicks the guitar intro from “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” fattening it up with flange and reverb and reclaiming it for the ages, Zaremba’s snottier-than-thou vox channeled directly from the ghost of some long-dead teen vocalist from 1965. “I Want The Answers” is a case study in rock ‘n’ roll primitivism, the song’s swelling six-string crescendos and nonsensical lyrics adding to, rather than subtracting from the tune's party-time vibe.

The Fleshtones have long eschewed the “garage rock” label, preferring their own term “super rock.” It’s an apt description, given the Fleshtones’ sound and unflagging dedication to the truth and beauty of rock ‘n’ roll. Regardless of what you want to call it, the Fleshtones have consistently cranked out entertaining music for the better part of thirty years, and Beachhead is no exception. (Yep Roc Records, released August 9th, 2005)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The Fleshtones’ Beachhead

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 2005

Return of Chris D and the Flesh Eaters!

The Flesh Eaters were one of the fiercest and most sophisticated of the 1980s-era punk-rock outfits. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1977 and featuring the poetic songwriting of band frontman Chris Desjardins (i.e. ‘Chris D’), the Flesh Eaters line-up was a revolving door of talented musicians from better-known L.A. bands like X, the Blasters, and Los Lobos. During the four decades since their founding, the Flesh Eaters have released roughly a dozen studio and live albums, from 1980’s bona fide classic No Questions Asked to their most recent effort, 2004’s Miss Muerte, recording for a slate of indie labels including SST Records, Enigma Records, and Desjardin’s own Upsetter Records imprint.

Fifteen years after the release of the band’s last album, the Flesh Eaters are back, baby! On January 18th, 2019 Yep Roc Records will release an all-new collection of songs titled I Used To Be Pretty. Chris D. is backed on the new album by what many consider to be the “classic” Flesh Eaters line-up that recorded 1981’s A Minute To Pray, A Second to Die – guitarist Dave Alvin and drummer Bill Bateman of the Blasters, bassist John Doe and percussionist D.J. Bonebrake of X, and saxophonist Steve Berlin of Los Lobos (and punk legends the Plugz).

The Flesh Eaters’ I Used To Be Pretty was produced collectively by the band members and also features singer Julie Christensen, from Desjardin’s other legendary band, Divine Horseman, on five of the album’s eleven songs. Six tracks on I Used To Be Pretty are reinterpretations of previously-released Flesh Eaters songs, including “Pony Dress” from the 1970 compilation Tooth and Nail; “My Life to Live” and “The Wedding Dice” from 1982’s Forever Came Today; “Youngest Profession” from 1991’s Dragstrip Riot; “House Amid the Thickets” from 1999’s Ashes of Time, and the title track from Miss Muerte. 

The album also features three inspired covers including a psych-drenched reading of the Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac’s “The Green Manalishi,” a raucous take on “Cinderella,” originally by garage-rock legends the Sonics, and a cover of the Gun Club’s “She’s Like Heroin to Me,” taken from that band’s Desjardins-produced album Fire of Love. In a press release for the new album, Chris D. says “some of Jeffrey’s songs could have been Flesh Eaters songs so easily. Some of his phrasing and his lyric images I really feel a kinship with.”
  
I Used To Be Pretty will be released on CD and as a double-LP vinyl version, and the band will launch a short tour to bring their music to fans outside of the West Coast (tour dates listed below). Quoted in the aforementioned press release for the new album, band member Dave Alvin states “it’s six old friends who rarely get to see each other or play music together and decided to make an album while we’re all still alive.”   

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The Flesh Eaters’ I Used To Be Pretty

The Flesh Eaters 2019 Tour
January 16 @ Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix AZ
January 17 @ 191 Toole, Tucson AZ
January 18 @ Pappy & Harriet's Place, Pioneetown CA *
January 19 @ Echoplex, Los Angeles CA *
January 20 @ Independent, San Francisco CA
January 22 @ The Star Theater, Portland OR
January 23 @ The Crocodile, Seattle WA
February 21 @ The Continental Club, Houston TX
February 22 @ The Continental Club, Austin TX
February 23 @ The Continental Club, Austin TX
February 24 @ Club Dada, Dallas TX
March 9 @ Turf Club, Saint Paul MN
March 10 @ Lincoln Hall, Chicago IL
March 11 @ The Pyramid Scheem, Grand Rapids MI
March 12 @ El Club, Detroit MI0
March 14 @ City Winery, Boston MA
March 15 @ Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia PA
March 16 @ Union Stage, Washington DC
March 17 @ Bowery Ballroom, New York NY

* with special guests Mudhoney

CD Preview: Los Straitjackets’ Complete Christmas Songbook

Nashville’s Los Straitjackets are everybody’s favorite Mexican wrestler mask-clad instrumental surf-rock band, hands down! The band has been on tour recently with British rock legend Nick Lowe as part of his “Quality Rock & Roll Revue,” but they’ve somehow found the time to compile a new album for the upcoming holidays.

On October 19th, 2018 Yep Roc Records will release Los Straitjackets’ Complete Christmas Songbook on CD and digitally; a vinyl version will follow on December 7th, which isn’t too late to add to your favorite fan’s Christmas list. Through the years, Los Straitjackets have released various Christmas albums and singles to near universal acclaim.

Los Straitjackets’ Complete Christmas Songbook includes the entirety of two previous LPs (2002’s ‘Tis the Season for Los Straitjackets and 2009’s limited-edition Yuletide Beat) as well as limited-edition singles, a song from Yep Roc’s Oh Santa! compilation disc, and a live performance of “Linus & Lucy” from the Straitjackets’ 2015 tour with Lowe. The album is now available for pre-order from Yep Roc and includes a six-ornament bundle that features each of the five band members’ masks on an ornament, and a sixth tree-hanger in the shape of a guitar. Check out the complete tracklisting below and either order the set directly from Yep Roc Records or head over to Amazon.com.

Los Straitjackets’ Complete Christmas Songbook tracklist:

1. Here Comes Santa Claus
2. It’s a Marshmallow World
3. Feliz Navidad
4. Jingle Bell Rock
5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
7. Frosty the Snowman
8. Christmas in Las Vegas
9. Let It Snow
10. Sleigh Ride
11. Christmas Weekend
12. Little Drummer Boy
13. The Christmas Song
14. Deck the Halls
15. We Three Kings
16. Que Verdes Son
17. O Come All Ye Faithful
18. Groovy Old Saint Nick
19. Silent Night Rock
20. Joy to the World
21. Close to Christmas (The First Noel)
22. Jingle Bells
23. Soul’d Lang Syne
24. Holiday Twist
25. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
26. Silver Bells
27. Linus & Lucy

Archive Review: Ian Hunter's Shrunken Heads (2007)

Belying the idea that rock music is a young man’s game, Ian Hunter puts his lifer status on the line with Shrunken Heads. A superb collection that features Hunter’s typical fusion of witty, whip-smart lyrics and guitar-driven hard rock, Shrunken Heads also provides insightful and topical lyrical commentary from one of the sharpest writers in rock music history.

As frontman for British rockers Mott the Hoople during the early ‘70s, Hunter earned a reputation as somewhat of a grumpy old man with a poison pen, penning pithy commentary on culture and society with a satirist’s eye and a journalist’s tenacity, each packaged in three-minute bundles ready for radio airplay. His lengthy solo career has done nothing to disillusion the casual listener that they’re hearing nothing more than a crank, albeit one with no little skill as a rock ‘n’ roll tunesmith. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and you’ll discover a hopeless romantic that, much like Quixote, prefers to endlessly tilt at windmills rather than go gently into that good night.

Ian Hunter’s Shrunken Heads

Now, some forty years after first picking up the torch, Hunter has crafted one more minor masterpiece in a career littered with such. Hunter’s voice isn’t what it used to be, age and abuse lessening its power and leaving it ragged around the edges. The years have done nothing to dull the passion to be found in his vocals, however, and his undeniable British accent remains intact even after decades of living in America. Neither have the years diminished Hunter’s biting lyrical style, the inspired work of a formerly angry young man with enough experience under his belt to be deadly with his aim.

Shrunken Heads has a wealth of magical moments where the band and performance and song all come together to jump right out of the grooves. As a stranger living among philistines, Hunter has a perspective on the current social and cultural zeitgeist that we Americans may be too myopic to discern, and his views are scattered throughout the songs here. “Fuss About Nothin’” tackles the conservative snake oil salesmen that we continuously place in positions of power, whether they be corporate CEOs, preachers or politicians. Hunter sings “but if it’s left to the left…there won’t be nothing left,” his words a tongue-in-cheek swipe at the brainwashed legion of Fox News drones. Speaking of which, the hard-rocking “Brainwashed” challenges the media-bred, corporate-approved, celebrity-driven propaganda that we’re deluged with 24/7, concluding “if you walk like a duck, quack like a duck, baby you bin brainwashed.”

One of the finer moments on Shrunken Heads is the nostalgic “When the World Was Round.” Having just turned 50, I can attest to the reminiscent nature of running headfirst into the brick wall of the final 1/3 of your life; here Hunter humanizes the grumpy old man with a wistful arrangement and clever lyrical turns. Decrying the information overload of the modern age and remembering simpler times he asks “is it my imagination, when I look back thru the ages?” Wondering if the past isn’t seen through rose-colored glasses, Hunter pleads “give me a reason to believe in, give me a reason to believe in, I think I liked it better when the world was round.”

Soul of America

The title cut, “Shrunken Heads,” displays the sort of magnificent Dylanesque grandeur that has long been Hunter’s musical trademark. With brilliant lyrical imagery and offering the best vocal performance on the album, Hunter sings “nothin’ matters any more, the rich get richer, and the poor get sorer,” asking “who’s gonna save us from these shrunken heads?” The song is a tragic commentary on a once-mighty, now sadly-crumbling American empire that is run by uncultured, ignorant boors (the shrunken heads of the song) that are masters of the dimwitted soundbite but can’t see beyond their own greed to recognize the damage they’ve wrought.

The equally impressive “Soul of America” shows a keen understanding of native-born patriotism that many on the left just don’t understand. Praising the heroes who take up arms and lay down their lives for their country, Hunter sings “yeah them wild boys ‘n’ red, white and blue, them wild boys gotta see the mission through, come hell or high water, we’re rooting for you,” finishing with “let’s rock the soul, let’s rock the soul of America.” Hunter includes a broadside against those that Dylan called the “masters of war,” damning them as “them good old boys in their three piece suits, feathering their nests while they’re rallying the troops, they cut off the flowers, don’t worry ‘bout the roots, eroding the soul of America.”

The rest of Shrunken Heads is equally sharp and entertaining, Hunter leading a talented band through, perhaps, his best collection of songs in over two decades. Musically, it helps that he has the foresight to bring along some of the best and brightest, if underrated musicians in the rock world. Former Jason & the Scorchers/Hearts And Minds guitarist Andy York is Hunter’s secret weapon, the overlooked and unheralded talent co-producing the album with Hunter and providing subtle-yet-powerful accompaniment on guitar, keyboards and backing vocals. Hunter has recruited some other Grade ‘A’ talent for the album as well, from guitarists Jack Petruzzelli and James Mastro to drummer Steve Holley and longtime Joe Jackson bassist Graham Maby. Guest shots include Jeff Tweedy and violinist Soozie Tyrell.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Hunter has never been the most prolific of artists. Although he recorded six studio albums during the first eight years of his solo career, since the hiatus that began in the wake of 1983’s All of the Good Ones Are Taken, Hunter has preferred quality over quantity, releasing just five studio albums during the past two decades. Now nearing 70 years old, with his place in rock ‘n’ roll history insured, Hunter has delivered a stunning tour de force in Shrunken Heads. Regardless of whether he records another single note – and I personally hope that he does – this would be a good one to go out on… (Yep Roc Records, released May 15, 2007)

Review originally published by Trademark of Quality blog, 2007

Apples In Stereo vinyl reissues from Yep Roc

Hot on the heels of their successful six-album Nick Lowe reissue series, the good folks at Yep Roc Records have their sights set on a slightly more obscure, but no less talented indie pop outfit. On November 3rd, 2017 Yep Roc will reissue the first of four albums by The Apples In Stereo when 1997’s Tone Soul Evolution hits the shelves once again in glorious black vinyl. The Apples’ 1999 album Her Wallpaper Reverie follows on November 24th.

The band’s second album, Tone Soul Evolution was originally released by the indie SpinART Records label and has been out of print for over a decade. This Yep Roc reissue represents the album’s first release on vinyl and also features the original master recording as it was first envisioned by band frontman Robert Schneider. The album will arrive with a deluxe gatefold sleeve featuring the artwork of longtime band collaborator Steve Keene. The band’s third album, Her Wallpaper Reverie, saw the Apples exploring their inner psychedelic id with their trademark Beatle-esque pop/rock sound complimented by trippy musical interludes. 

The fourth and fifth Apples In Stereo albums – 2000’s The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone and 2002’s critically-acclaimed Velocity of Sound – will also be reissued on vinyl by Yep Roc on January 12th and February 16th, 2018, respectively. The former album eschewed the band’s normal “wall of sound” production in favor of a raw, live sound and songs that were more inspired by R&B while the latter album was a collection of short, guitar-driven songs created in tribute to the Ramones.

Each album has been carefully remastered and includes a digital download; they can be purchased individually or as a discounted bundle directly from Yep Roc Records. Formed in 1991 in Denver, Colorado the Apples In Stereo were part of the Elephant 6 Recording Company collective of like-minded lo-fi indie groups that also included Neutral Milk Hotel and the Olivia Tremor Control.

Influenced by the Beatles and other British Invasion bands as well as late ‘60s psychedelic rock, the Apples were fronted by singer/songwriter Robert Schneider and included bassist Jim McIntyre, guitarist Chris Parfitt, and drummer Hilarie Sidney. Guitarist John Hill and bassist Eric Allen would replace their counterparts in 1995, and multi-instrumentalist Bill Doss of Olivia Tremor Control would later tour and record with the band. With these missing pieces of the Apples In Stereo catalog brought back in print by Yep Rec (who also released the band’s more recent recordings), a new generation has the opportunity to discover the band’s inspired music.

Order the LPs from Yep Roc Records

Yep Roc rescues Nick Lowe!

Back in March we talked about Yep Roc Records’ vinyl reissues of two long-out-of-print Nick Lowe albums in Nick the Knife and The Abominable Showman. The bad news is that the April release date has come and gone with no Nick in sight…but the great news is that Yep Roc has rescued of all six of Lowe’s ‘80s-era albums from the vagaries of obscurity and will be rolling out reissues on CD and vinyl over the months to come!

On July 4th, 2017 Yep Roc will reissue Lowe’s Nick the Knife (released 1982) and The Abominable Showman (released 1983). The following month, on August 25th, the label will reissue Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit (released 1984) and The Rose of England (released 1985) and, on October 20th, Yep Roc will complete the series with reissues of Lowe’s Pinker and Prouder Than Previous (released 1988) and Party of One (released 1990). Digital downloads of all six classic Lowe albums will be released digitally for the first time ever on July 14th.

Yep Roc’s Nick Lowe reissue series brings all fourteen of the British rock legend’s albums under one roof and spruces them up with bonus tracks comprised of demos, outtakes, and live recordings; alternative album art is also included with each set. These albums represent the heart of Lowe’s storied career, offering enduring original songs like “Raging Eyes,” “Half a Boy and Half a Man,” “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock & Roll),” and “Time Wounds All Heels” as well as Lowe’s inspired covers of tunes penned by Elvis Costello, Moon Martin, John Hiatt, Mickey Jupp, and Graham Parker.

These albums also feature musical contributions from Carlene Carter – Lowe’s wife at the time – and his former bandmates in Rockpile (Billy Bremner, Dave Edmunds, and Terry Williams) and Little Village (Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, and Jim Keltner) as well as notable friends from the pub-rock days like Martin Belmont (Ducks Deluxe) and Paul Carrack (Ace, Squeeze) and new friends like Kim Wilson and Jimmie Vaughan of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. All six albums are currently available for pre-order through the Yep Roc webstore both individually and as a special deluxe bundle of either the CDs or LPs that gets you a bonus exclusive, collectible Nick Lowe lunchbox.

All six titles have been out-of-print much longer than they should have been considering the depth of Lowe’s songwriting and performing talents, an egregious oversight thankfully corrected by the good folks at Yep Roc Records.

Buy the CDs from Amazon.com:
Nick the Knife
The Abominable Showman
Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit
The Rose of England
Pinker and Prouder Than Previous
Party of One 

 

Nick Lowe reissues coming from Yep Roc!

The gang at Yep Roc Records did the world of rock ‘n’ roll a major favor back in 2011 when they gave British rock legend Nick Lowe’s classic 1979 album Labour of Lust its first proper U.S. release in roughly two decades. The years have since slipped by, but Yep Rock is again raiding the Lowe archives to reissue a long-lost pair of gems. On April 7th, 2017 Yep Roc will reissue Lowe’s 1982 album Nick the Knife (his long-anticipated follow up to Labour of Lust) and the following year’s The Abominable Showman on both CD and vinyl formats.

Lowe first came to prominence during the British pub-rock scene of the early ‘70s as a member of the legendary band Brinsley Schwarz. Between 1969 and ’75, Lowe sang, played bass, and wrote songs for the band’s six albums, which today are cherished collectibles for the faithful pub-rock fan. After the break-up of Brinsley Schwarz, Lowe tinkered around as a solo artist, releasing singles like “So It Goes” for Stiff Records, where he also worked as the label’s staff producer (working with Elvis Costello, the Damned, and Dr. Feelgood). Lowe also performed as part of the band Rockpile with Dave Edmunds. Lowe released his solo debut, Jesus of Cool (titled Pure Pop for Now People in the U.S.) in 1978, followed by the hit album Labour of Lust.

After marrying singer Carlene Carter (Johnny Cash’s stepdaughter) in 1979, Lowe recorded a single album with Rockpile, 1980’s Seconds of Pleasure, the band enjoying a modest hit when the album charted Top 30 in the U.S. After the break-up of Rockpile (whose members had also played played on various Lowe and Edmunds solo LPs), Lowe returned to his solo career with Nick the Knife. Recruiting former Rockpile bandmates Billy Bremner (guitar) and Terry Williams (drums), Lowe brought friends like guitarist Martin Belmont (from the Rumour) and keyboardists Steve Nieve (the Attractions) and Paul Carrack (Squeeze) into the studio. Nick the Knife features a solid set of Lowe’s pop-rock originals (including two songs co-written with Carter, who also sings on the album) as well as a version of the Rockpile song “Heart.”

The following year’s The Abominable Showman found Lowe returning to his pub-rock roots, recording with a stripped-down band that included Belmont, Carrack, and drummer Bobby Irwin, who formed the core of Lowe’s Cowboy Outfit backing band throughout the decade. The album offers up some fine rockin’ country-tinged moments and a few great songs like “Ragin’ Eyes,” “We Want Action,” and “Time Wounds All Heels,” the last two co-written with Carter. A cover of Moon Martin’s “Paid the Price” fits nicely on the track list.

Reissues of both of these long out-of-print albums is certainly welcome, and comes at a nice time as Lowe’s friends and Yep Roc labelmate’s Los Straitjackets will be releasing their tribute to the songwriter with their new album, What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and …Los Straitjackets. It’s the year of Nick Lowe, y’all!

Buy the vinyl from Amazon.com:
Nick Lowe's Nick the Knife
Nick Lowe's The Abominable Showman

Los Straitjackets meet the Jesus of Cool!

Those Mexican wrestler-masked instrumental madmen are back at it again! Following three tours that saw the band opening for British rock legend Nick Lowe, the members of Los Straitjackets wondered “what would Nick Lowe’s songs sound like as instrumentals?” On May 19th, 2017 we’ll all get to hear the answer to that profound question when Yep Roc Records releases Los Straitjackets’ What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets.

A thirteen-track collection that re-imagines some of Lowe’s most iconic songs, What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets was produced by Neil Brockbank, Lowe’s longtime producer and musical collaborator, and includes Lowe band member Geraint Watkins on keyboards as well as a cameo by Lowe himself, singing on an undisclosed track. The album also represents the recording debut of Royston Lowe on percussion.

“Recording these songs reminded me what a great melodist Nick is,” observes guitarist and co-found Eddie Angel in a press release for the new album. “Everybody knows that he writes great lyrics, but he doesn’t always get credit for his amazing melodies. The fact that the songs stand up as instrumentals is proof of that. And I think that we managed to bring something new to the songs, which is what you hope to do when you’re covering other people’s material.”

Comprised of guitarists Danny Amis, Eddie Angel, and Greg Townson as well as bassist Pete Curry and drummer Chris Sprague, the hard touring Los Straitjackets have been tearing up the highways and thruways for better than two decades now, and they’ll be hitting the road in June in support of What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets, performing with fellow traveler Marshall Crenshaw.

Each show will feature an instrumental set as well as vocal collaborations. The album’s first single, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding” has been released and you can check it out below before making plans to catch one of these electrifying Los Straitjacket shows when the band hits your town!

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Los Straitjackets’ What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets

What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets track list:
1. Shake and Pop
2. All Men Are Liars
3. Lately I’ve Let Things Slide
4. You Inspire Me
5. Rollers Show
6. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
7. I Read A Lot
8. Half A Boy and Half A Man
9. Checkout Time
10. I Live On A Battlefield
11. Raging Eyes
12. Cruel To Be Kind
13. Heart of the City

Los Straitjackets w/Marshall Crenshaw June 2017 tour dates:
June 15th @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro NC
June 16th @ The Hamilton, Washington DC
June 17th @ Ram’s Head, Annapolis MD
June 18th @ Club Café, Pittsburgh PA
June 20th @ Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, Harrisburg PA
June 21th @ Capital Ale House, Richmond VA
June 22th @ World Café Live, Philadelphia PA
June 23th @ Daryls’ House, Pawling NY
June 24th @ Boulton Center For The Performing Arts, Bay Shore NY
June 25th @ City Winery, New York NY
June 27th @ The Penthouse at One East Avenue, Rochester NY
June 28th @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH
June 29th @ Southgate House Revival, Newport KY
June 30th @ The Ark, Ann Arbor MI

The Fleshtones’ 40th Anniversary Celebration!

Our favorite gang of rock ‘n’ roll hooligans – the almighty Fleshtones – will be celebrating their 40th anniversary this year with the release of a new album, their 21st, and a supporting tour. Titled The Band Drinks For Free, the album was recorded at Florent Barbier’s CCP Sound Studio in Brooklyn and will be released on September 2nd, 2016 by Yep Roc Records.

The Band Drinks For Free features the long-time Fleshtones line-up of singer Peter Zaremba, guitarist Keith Streng, bassist Ken Fox, and drummer Bill Milhizer, the garage-rock legends kicking out the jams on a dozen new original songs that don’t stray far from the band’s trademark “super rock” sound (just check out the groovin’ “Love Like A Man” below).

The Fleshtones debuted in May 1976 at the infamous CBGBs club in NYC at the height of American’s punk-rock uprising. They were the first band to play at Irving Plaza and Danceteria in Manhattan and the legendary Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey. The band has inspired books (including Joe Bonomo’s 2007 book Sweat); movies (2009’s Pardon Us For Living But The Graveyard’s Full), and tribute albums (2007’s Vindicated).

The Fleshtones have inspired a legion of fellow travelers in bands like the Forty-Fives, the Dirt Bombs, the White Stripes, and the Godfathers, among many others. Give ‘em a listen and they just might inspire you!

Order the CD or LP from Yep Roc Records!

The Band Drinks For Free track list:
1. Love Like A Man
2. Love My Lover
3. Rick Wakerman’s Cape
4. Suburban Roulette
5. Respect Our Love
6. Living Today
7. Too Many Memories
8. The Gasser
9. Stupid Ol’ Sun
10. The Sinner
11. How To Make A Day
12. Before I Go

Yep Roc remembers pub rock with Eggs Over Easy comp

It’s one of the most overlooked eras of British rock ‘n’ roll. Folded neatly in between the dying embers of the British Invasion and the churlish days of punk rock fury, England’s early-to-mid 1970s pub rock scene nevertheless yielded a wealth of talent in artists like Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, and Graham Parker. Still, the short-lived musical phenomena has remained overshadowed by the louder, safety-pinned younger siblings they helped influence.

For anglophiles looking to expand their knowledge of pub rock, I’d heartily recommend John Blaney’s book A Howlin’ Wind, an excellent oral history of the scene that outlines the evolution of pub rock into punk and new wave. In Blaney’s tome you’ll see bands mentioned like Brinsley Schwarz (featuring Lowe and Ian Gomm, as well as talented guitarist Schwarz), Ducks Deluxe (which gave Martin Belmont to the Rumour and Sean Tyla to the Tyla Gang), the 101ers (with future Clash frontman Joe Strummer), and Dr. Feelgood (with the eternal Wilko Johnson), among many others.

While it’s fairly easy to scare up copies of albums by most, if not all of the aforementioned bands, one notable pub rock outfit remains elusive for the avid collector – Eggs Over Easy. Oddly, they were an American band that relocated to the U.K. to pursue fame and fortune. Eggs Over Easy on vinyl or CD is harder to scratch up than hen’s teeth…and you’ll pay through the teeth to buy a copy once you do find something. Yep Roc Records has us pub rock fans covered, though – on June 24th, 2016 the label will release Good ‘n’ Cheap: The Eggs Over Easy Story, a two-disc compilation CD that will also be released as a three-album vinyl set.

Yep Roc’s Good ‘n’ Cheap collects the entire original Eggs Over Easy back catalog, including the Link Wray-produced 1972 debut album on A&M Records from which this set takes its name, as well as the rare 1980 album Fear of Frying, which was originally released on Lee Michaels’ indie Squish Records label. Good ‘n’ Cheap also includes both sides of a lone single released by Buffalo Records, and a previously-unreleased 1971 session recorded at Olympic Studios in London and produced by Animals’ bassist and Jimi Hendrix manager/producer Chas Chandler. The double-CD set includes a 24-page booklet (an eight-page insert in the 3xLP) with rare photos, show flyers, press clippings, and the definitive story of the band written by notable critic Gene Sculatti. 

Eggs Over Easy’s roots as a band date back to late 1960s Berkeley where singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jack O’Hara became friends with singer and keyboardist Austin de Lone. The two formed a duo and, moving to New York (where both were actually from), they became a trio with the addition of keyboardist and guitarist Brien Hopkins. They played clubs in Greenwich Village and around NYC, developing a loyal group of fans that eventually got them noticed by Chandler. The Animals’ bassist brought them to London in 1970 to record at the Olympic with promises of a record deal.

When the whole thing fell apart, rather than going home, Eggs Over Easy convinced the manager of the Kentish Town jazz club the Tally Ho to let them play on the pub’s slowest night. The band’s Monday night gigs soon began drawing big crowds, inspiring fans like Graham Parker and Nick Lowe and pioneering the pub rock scene. Of Eggs Over Easy’s legendary performances, Nick Lowe remembers in a press release for the album, “there were hippies there, skinheads, Rastafarians. I remember, most especially, a Sikh bus driver with a turban on and his bus driver uniform dancing away. It was an unbelievable scene with people hanging off the ceilings. There was this fantastic feeling that you were in on something extraordinary.”

Yep Roc’s Good ‘n’ Cheap collection will help introduce Eggs Over Easy to American rock ‘n’ roll fans, as well as cement the band’s status as pub rock trailblazers. Now if we could just get a Bees Make Honey compilation CD, life would be all peaches ‘n’ cream!

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Eggs Over Easy's Good 'n' Easy