Search - Bodeans :: The Best of BoDeans: Slash & Burn

The BoDeans may have to play second-fiddles to guitar great Les Paul as Waukesha, Wisconsin's favorite musical sons, but their rootsy, unpretentious rock & roll carved them a comfortable niche and loyal following from the late 1980s on. This 17-track anthology spans a decade of the band's history, eschewing strict historical chronology for a running order that's both more artistically interesting and listener friendly. Indeed, fully a third of the tracks issue from the band's 1995 live album Joe Dirt Car, a gambit that helps underscore their spare, straightforward musical charms. The twin talents of singer-songwriters Sammy Llanas and Kurt Neumann form the band's core, and the close harmonies of early hits "She's a Runaway" and "Fadeaway" set the band's tone, recalling rough-hewn takes on a vocal tradition that stretches back to the Everlys and Lennon-McCartney. But it's a collection that also reveals the band's range, from the U2-like drama of "You Don't Get Much" to the pop-savvy Party of Five theme "Closer to Free" and a passionate live take of "Feed the Fire" that recalls John Mellencamp at his best. --Jerry McCulley