From the album “Now I Got Worry”
YEEEEE-AY-EH!!! C’MON!!! BLUES EXPLOSION, BABY!!! I SAID I GOT THE BLUES!!! I NEED HELP!!! THE BLUES IS NUMBER ONE!!! I SAID: THE BLUES IS NUMBER ONE!!!
(cough, splutter)
Good lord, it’s difficult to operate at that level of intensity for more than a few seconds at a time! Kudos, then, to the almighty Blues Explosion, who were able to manage it for 90 to 120 minutes every night of repeated world tours, playing to bigger houses than their cult-ish record sales would suggest due largely to one simple factor: they are fantastic live.
When former Pussy Galore rabble-rouser Spencer recruited
similarly chaos-oriented allies in apparent bluegrass guitarist Judah Bauer and
drummer Russell Simins, who
uses a kit so small it is insulting to measure it in pieces, some kind of
voodoo magic was invoked, and the resultant ultra-power trio set out to
immolate stages the world over, with their reputation spreading through word of
mouth, when that was a thing: “you HAVE to see this band”.
The first time I saw them properly live at their own show,
rather than a festival slot, was… Well
I’m fairly sure it was November 27, 1998, at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Fairly sure, anyway – it fits the
timeframe. The opening of that show was
them playing this song, followed by “Flavor” and “Attack”, without
stopping. It never occurred to me that
live music could be presented like that, and whilst it could well have been
meticulously planned, it seemed incredibly loose and free-flowing – indeed,
nigh-on dangerous, to the meticulous setlist-writer and sweaty
between-song-drinker that I was as a nascent performer.
The song itself is nestled away halfway through side one of
“Now I Got Worry”, a less accessible but arguably deeper picture of the band
than presented on their previous album “Orange”. Both this song and “Orange”’s highlight
“Bellbottoms” have a feeling of the brakes cutting out as you careen down a
hill, so there’s certainly some consistency there. In a very Blues Exploison choice, it actually
gets quieter during the chorus – though that is in comparison to the verse,
which is so loud it sounds like the guitars are screaming in agony. There’s a really odd but cool overdrive
effect on this tune as well; very crunchy, very nice.
Again this was a gateway band for me, and with a little help
from my friend Laurie, I was soon all over garage rock past and present – they
sent me backwards to The Stooges and The MC5, introduced me directly to Andre
Williams, The Countdowns and Brassy, and branched me off into Guitar Wolf,
Rocket From The Crypt, The mAKE-UP – God DAMN it, how good were The mAKE-UP? -
and The Gories, and their descendants The Dirtbombs and Demolition
Dollrods… To name but a few, or I’d be
here all day. Given all that they have
ushered me towards, I will always be more than happy to step up to the stand
and wail in their honour.
In our next, probably less shouty instalment, it’s time to “Bring
On The Dancing Horses”, as “The Cutter” beckons – but beware, for “Nothing
Lasts Forever”! (Also: some
Electrafixion songs.)
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