CD Review: White Animals' Star Time (2024)

The White Animals were one of the first original rock bands to hit the fledgling late ‘70s Nashville rock scene, and they remained one of the most popular regional acts throughout much of the 1980s. The White Animals’ dub-styled college radio-friendly cover of “These Boots Are Made For Walking” brought the Nancy Sinatra oldie to an entirely different generation but all too often overshadows the truth that the White Animals were one of the first bands to take lessons from Prince Tubby and Lee “Scratch” Perry by incorporating Jamaican dub influence into what were inherently rock ‘n’ roll songs before the Clash, the Police, or even Killing Joke did so…  

Beneath the novelty and the cover songs, however, was the beating heart of a skilled and creative rock ‘n’ roll band in thrall to a myriad of influences. As the band’s primary songwriters Kevin Gray and Steve Boyd grew in confidence, so too did their original material display heightened boldness and sophistication, albums like 1982’s Lost Weekend, 1984’s Ecstasy, their self-titled 1986 LP, and 1987 swansong, In the Last Days, worthy of reissuing and rediscovery by a new generation. After a seven-year run that included video airplay on MTV and opening slots for bands like the Ramones and Talking Head, the band split up. A modestly-successful, 17-song compilation CD titled 3,000 Nites In Babylon was released in 2000, followed shortly thereafter by a 2001 studio album, The White Animals.

White Animals’ Star Time

Flash-forward 23 years and White Animals (no “The” this time) have released their first studio album in decades in Star Time, a fab 12-song collection that – no surprise, really – shows that the band hasn’t lost a step during its lengthy hiatus. Featuring four/fifths of the original band (keyboardist Tim Coats is AWOL), Star Time provides 37 jam-packed minutes of high-octane rock ‘n’ roll cheap thrills. Album-opener “My Baby Put Me On the Shelf” is the best 1960s-inspired garage-rock rave-up that was never recorded by the Seeds, with Rich Parks and Kevin Gray’s screeching guitarplay propelled by the dynamite rhythm section of bassist Steve Boyd and drummer Ray Crabtree, the band delivering hints of the vocal harmonies they’re capable of embellishing their material with.

Star Time only gets better from this point forward … “In A Post-Apocalyptic World (Would You Be My Girl?)” is a delightfully wry power-pop tune with great vocals and an infectious melody while “Ready To Go” is a bluesy romper-stomper with the best use of echo that I’ve heard since my bong-influenced wayward youth. The Delta-dirty “Chanty” is even bluesier, with serpentine guitar and eerie, prison-gang styled call-and-response vocals. It’s a cool performance with an undeniable presence that unexpectedly switches gears mid-song. “I Tried Like Heck” is vintage White Animals, an unabashed pop song with a rock ‘n’ roll edge, inventive fretwork underlining the vocals, and a driving rhythm that’s heavy on Crabtree’s powerful big beats. The heartbreak of “Back Around” is pure 1980s-era college radio rock with a popish vibe, wistful vocals, and rich instrumentation which weaves a gorgeous melody from the chaos.

Something the White Animals did sparingly back in the day was any song with a hint of country influence (they were young soul rebels living in Nashville), but the twangy country-rock of “When It All Came Down” is provided a counterpoint in Parks’ biting, caustic guitar licks. The song’s honky-tonk rhythms and rootsy Americana sound feel like a road untraveled. The jaunty, up-tempo “Unlucky In Love” evinces a similar alt-country pathos and seems more tongue-in-cheek than its predecessor, if no less entertaining. It wouldn’t be a White Animals album without a fanciful cover tune, and for Star Time that’s a mesmerizing, electrifying dub-styled version of “Man of Constant Sorrow” (titled “Man of Constant Dread”). Suffice it to say that previous covers of the antique folk gem by the Stanly Brothers, Bob Dylan, or even Ginger Baker’s Air Force sounded nothing like this.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

There’s really not a duff song to be found on Star Time, which finds the White Animals to be every bit as daring, creative, and carefree as the best of their 1980s-era albums. I don’t know why they never got a major label deal back in the day – maybe they didn’t really want one, preferring their independent Dread Beat label and the freedom it provided – but the White Animals in their prime were every bit as good as better-known contemporaries like Violent Femmes, They Might Be Giants, or Camper Von Beethoven while sounding absolutely like none of them. Star Time rocks from start to finish and, hopefully, the guys won’t wait another 23 years before rewarding their fans with another banger of an album! (Dread Beat Records, 2024)

Buy Star Time directly from the band!

Vintage Review: Dave Mallett's This Town (1993)

I’ve long contended that the best talent floating around the “Music City” wasn’t necessarily in the country arena. Aside from the many talented rockers plying their trade in pursuit of the brass ring, there are a slew of performers who can’t be labeled with any sort of adjective albatross. Steve Earle, Nancy Griffith, John Hiatt, and Mary Chapin-Carpenter, to name a few, have all found varying degrees of success in Nashville, country or no. Now the city needs to make room for Dave Mallett.

Mallett is an old-fashioned tunesmith, with equal parts folk, country and rock entering into his songwriting equation. He is an extremely gifted lyricist, spinning beautiful story-songs out of the threads of memory, romance and tradition. His deep, fluid vocals are perfectly suited to the material he creates. Songs like “Main Street,” which commemorates that vanishing American phenomena; “Take Time,” in which a father passes a generation of wisdom onto his son; and “Change of the Seasons,” a tale of the inevitable passing of the years (and, with them, friends dear) showcase the storytelling skills which Mallett brings to his craft.

This Town is a thoroughly enjoyable album, made all the more so by Mallett’s ability, in song, to evoke memories and emotions. We could use a few more writers of Mallett’s abilities here in the “Music City;” in the meantime, we’ll enjoy those we do have...here in This Town. (Vanguard Records)

Review originally published by The Metro, 1993

Vintage Review: Jason & the Scorchers' Wildfires + Misfires (2002)

Cowpunk pioneers Jason & the Scorchers enjoy a lofty standing within the indie rock ranks. They’ve received a minor degree of fame, with a series of critically-acclaimed albums and hundreds of dynamic live shows beneath their belts. They made the jump from their own indie label to a major label back when a band’s credibility wasn’t instantly in question, later going bankrupt due to excessive label expenses.

After a brief early ‘90s hiatus, the Scorchers returned to the indie world with a handful of brilliant, if underrated albums for Mammoth Records. Now they’ve come full-circle, releasing music on their own Courageous Chicken imprint through North Carolina indie Yep Roc Records. For these Nashville rock icons, it’s been a long strange trip, indeed.

This trip is partially documented by the recently released Wildfires + Misfires. The disc is a collection of Scorchers’ obscurities, demos and alternative versions that provides listeners with greater insight into the band’s creative process. It documents the Scorchers’ evolution from brash young punks into one of rock’s most talented, if overlooked bands. The set kicks off with the demo version of “Absolutely Sweet Marie” that won the band a major label contract and also includes red-hot unreleased live tracks like “Tear It Up” with legendary guitarist Link Wray and crowd favorite “Lost Highway.”

Rarities like “Too Much Too Young” and “Break Open the Sky” present the band in a different light while alternative takes of familiar songs like “If Money Talks” showcase the Scorchers’ range and abilities. Rather than a prurient look at a band’s past, Wildfires + Misfires is a vital collection of material that rewards loyal fans for their incredible dedication while presenting a living document of a work still in progress. (Courageous Chicken/Yep Roc Records)

Review originally published by the View From The Hill Community newspaper, Signal Hill CA

Vintage Review: IGMO's Ten Day Potato (1998)

After a long dry spell during which just about any group that knew three chords and could put up an “alternative” image was awarded a major label deal, we’ve finally spun things around where there are some bands out there who don’t sound like Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins. Nashville’s IGMO is one of these welcome departures from the mainstream fare, a talented conglomeration of some of the Southeast’s finest musicians brought together under one roof to make some honest rock ‘n’ roll music.

Vocalist Mark Pfaff, a member of the legendary Will & the Bushmen, is the ringleader on Ten Day Potato, fronting a superb collection of pop, rock, country and psychedelic music that borrows shamelessly from every decade from the dawn of time until today. IGMO present a new twist on the musical lessons they’ve learned so well, however, Ten Day Potato proving to be as refreshingly familiar as it is oddly original. In an era where many of today’s “superbands” have to be taught how to play their instruments, IGMO is creating music that is as intelligent as it is invigorating. (self-released)

Review originally published by R Squared music zine, 1998

Nashville Rock Memorabilia: Chagall Guevara Photo Gallery

Chagall Guevara: the band

Chagall Guevara's self-titled 1991 debut album

Chagall Guevara show posters

Chagall Guevara Christmas Card

 

Metro Magazine cover story

Vintage Review: Every Mother's Nightmare (1990)

A hard-rocking disc teetering shamelessly on the sonic barrier, Every Mother’s Nightmare’s vinyl debut puts the teeth back into metal-edged musical mayhem. A cross between nostalgic ‘70s glam-metal and ‘90s thrash sensibilities, Every Mother’s Nightmare, the album, kicks out the proverbial jams with its inspired hybrid of musical influences which includes, though is not limited by, Kiss, the Babys, AC/DC, Slade, and any one of a number of true rockers who have dotted the FM radio landscape during the past two decades.

Every Mother’s Nightmare represents the combined creative efforts of a foursome of well-known Music City rockers: ex-Hard Knox vocalist Rick Ruhl, guitarist Steve Malone, bassist Mark McMurtry from Suicide Alley, and drummer Jim Phipps, formerly of Justin Heat. Ruhl and Phipps formed Every Mother’s Nightmare a couple of years back, after the break-up of their respective bands. Moving to Memphis and hooking up with producer Eli Ball (the same guy who discovered Jason & the Scorchers), EMN were signed to Arista by the big cheese himself, Clive the D. The rest, as they say, is history.

Every Mother’s Nightmare is receiving a lot of industry hype, and rightfully so. From the ringing chords of their lead-off single “Walls Come Down,” to their bigger-than-life cover of Charlie Daniels’ “Long Haired Country Boy,” to the call-and-response power funk of “Listen Up,” it is evident that this is a disc of considerable energy and emotion. Toss in their photogenic rock ‘n’ roll image (just ask Joan Rivers), a couple of MTV videos and the band’s own considerable talents and hard work (they’ve been on tour forever) and you have an equation which equals success: a valuable commodity in a hard rock field over-peopled with shallow images lacking in ability. (Arista Records)

Review published by The Metro, 1990  

Every Mother's Nightmare

Vintage Review: The Evinrudes (1998)

Nashville’s Evinrudes got signed on the strength of the radio-friendly “Drive Me Home,” a regional hit a couple of summers ago from the band’s self-produced EP. Sparking major label interest after constant airplay throughout the Southeast, “Drive Me Home” is a witty, hook-laden song that’s full of clever wordplay, propelled by Sherry Cothran’s sexy, breathless vocals and guitarist Brian Reed’s great guitar line.

“Drive Me Home” got the Evinrudes signed, but, as shown by their big-league debut disc, the band is no one trick pony. Sure, “Drive Me Home” opens the band’s self-titled intro, but there’s lots of other material here to recommend that the band be given a spot in your personal music rotation. “Jimmy’s On Crack (And I Don’t Care)” is a rocking little slice of life, with more than a few precious observations on society’s ills; “Otis” name-checks the great Otis Redding but is really a brief glimpse at the mortality that haunts us all.

Opening with a nifty bit of rhythmic voiceplay by Cothran, “Dick and Jane” is a nonsensical and whimsical sixties-styled pop song that says little but is a lot of fun to listen to. “High Street and the Universe” is another observation of our culture while “Swagger” is a delicious piece of braggadocio, the song’s protagonist the baddest mofo on the block since Jim Croce’s “Leroy Brown.”

Guitarist Reed writes a fair tune, a little light on the instrumental side but penning lyrics chockful of humor, irony and wit and enough pop-culture references to jump-start a Trivial Pursuit tournament. Cothran’s aforementioned vocals have one setting – sultry – which is entirely appropriate for the material. Overall, The Evinrudes is a solid effort, with more character and personality than most you’ll hear these days. Give ‘em a little seasoning, a veteran producer to bring out the dynamics promised by Cothran’s voice and another batch of Reed’s clever songs and you’d have a real Top Forty contender. (Mercury Records)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 1998

 

Vintage Review: BR5-49's Live From Roberts (1996)

Nashville’s favorite honky tonk heroes shine with a solid debut bow. This six song EP – recorded live at the soon-to-be world famous Robert’s Western World – reveals only part of the reason why the “band from lower Broadway” have captured the hearts and minds of their loyal fans. BR5-40 play good ol’ fashioned, shit-kickin’ Country and Western, deftly mixing elements of traditional country, western swing and just enough rock ‘n’ roll spirit to keep it interesting. Rough-edged, sincere and well-versed in their art, BR5-49 deliver electrically-charged songs with a contemporary feel, numbers like “Bettie Bettie,” a heartfelt ode to pin-up queen Betty Page, or the hilarious, scandalous “Me ‘N’ Opie (Down By the Duck Pond).” A welcome alternative to the cookie-cutter, assembly-line process that “modern” country music has become, I thoroughly expect BR5-49 to become the next big thing to break out of the Music City... (Arista Records)

Review originally published by R Squared music zine, 1996

BR5-49