Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Jukebox Explosion (Rocking? Mid-90s Punkers!)
If you're going to call your band the Blues Explosion, you'd better be sure about at least two things. Firstly, that your music sounds like the detonation of a rockabilly cluster-bomb, and secondly that a sizeable chunk of the record buying public will be put-off by the word "blues" in your band name. Here in the UK "the blues" has more than a whiff of embarrassing uncle about it - a hark back to the old days rather than looking forward to the new ones.
But then, running a blues band, or any band which declares retro intentions, must be tough - it's hard to be cool without being cod. Well, JSBX managed to sidestep that by taking the punk (or post-punk) ethos and applying it to the music of 50's rebel rockers. It's a natural fit, and one that you hope ends up being closer in spirit to the original music as a result. Maybe this is what Gene Vincent would have really sounded like if you'd been there at the time - but I doubt it. It's the kind of sideways look at a beloved music that very few artists get away with (Beefheart, Defunkt) and you can see right away why Beck and the Beastie Boys rate this band so highly.
This is a shit-kicking compilation with a good selection from the raw Shirt Jac to the pop sense of Do You Wanna Get It - taking in the angular funk of Push Some Air and the creeping theramin bass of Jailhouse Blues along the way. If you're unfamiliar with the Blues Explosion, be prepared for a mixture of production values, sonic textures and mangled vocals. If you want a starting place, check out Ghetto Mom and proceed with reckless abandon.
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24th Sep 2007 - Tumblr
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