A classic American band
The Walkabouts are the best straight-ahead rock group I've heard in the 90's -- no, they're one of the best I've ever heard. They're very popular in Europe, and it's a shame they aren't better known in the US. Incredible guitar anthems and ballads. This album and "Setting the Woods on Fire" are equally excellent. Carla, the female singer, beats anybody out of Nashville for grit and pathos. The lyrics are like a good anthology of American short fiction. "Classic" rock in the best sense of the word.
A must have...
...if you have to stay up all night to either: 1) finish that project on time or 2) make it to your hometown awake. The Walkabouts' driving, folk-infused rock has all the good qualities of a shot of caffeine without the negative side effects. From the opening chords of Jack Candy to the last reverb-drenched seconds of the Townes Van Zandt cover Snake Mountain Blues the disc never lets up, and the last two songs, Findlays' Motel and Unholy Dreams are the perfect accompaniment to wind down when you find yourself on the home stretch.I should take one star off because the CD doesn't include the three cover songs that were available on the LP (Tom Waits's Yesterday Is Here, Neil Young's Like a Hurricane and the traditional Prisoner of Texas/No More, My Lawd--they're available on the Death Valley Days compilation), but the music itself deserves six stars, so here we go.
Subpop is Stupid
The Walkabouts owe nothing to Mudhoney. They were peers, coming up through indie music together, sharing ideas and the occasional stage. The boys at Subpop were incredibly, classicly stupid for never giving the Walkabouts the support they needed to bring the money home. It's fitting that the Walkabouts have outlasted that surly little label's popularity.
This CD is one of the best. Their cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Snake Mountain Blues" and "Grand Theft Auto" will restore your faith in the power of the electric guitar.
The double-album New West Motel bears more than a passing similarity to the work of Neil Young (whose 'Like a Hurricane' gets covered here), thanks to its edgy juxtaposition of blistering guitar workouts and plaintive acoustic cuts. Glitterhouse Records. 1993.
