The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – 1001 Albums: You Must Hear Before You Die [2008] (PRESS, UK)

ISBN-10: 1844036243
ISBN-13: 978-1844036240
Product Dimensions: 21 x 16 x 5.8 cm

To follow his avant-garde punk project Pussy Galore, Jon Spencer celebrated the power and potency of the blues. With previous albums, critics childed Spencer for failed to make music consistent with the band’s name. This time, he ensured the blues was number one.

Few albums open in such a confrontational manner. “Skunk” commences with an incandescent scream and keeps kicking with Russell Simins’ resonant drums. Spencer’s performance takes Elvis’ sexuality and gives it a punk inflection. On “Wail”, he is part Southern Baptist preacher, part bar room blues brawler. “2Kindsa Love” seesaws between his screams and Judah Bauer’s discordant rhythm guitar assault.

The attempt to live up to the Blues Explosion tag was obvious. “Chicken Dog” pays tribute to Rufus Thomas’s R&B novelties “Walkin’ The Dog” and “Do The Funky Chicken” – and features Thomas himself on vocals. “We offered him a hundred bucks,” reported Simins, “and he came straight down…at 78 he’s like the worlds oldest teenager.” Later, “R.L. Got Soul” continues the band’s efforts to raise awareness of enigmatic bluesman R.L. Burnside, who they had back on his A Ass Pocket of Whiskey

Jim Waters and Spencer’s raw production captures the essence of the band’s manic live show. While the album title might suggest Spencer has something to fear, in truth it is the listener who is forced to cower”