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KNOXVILLE GIRLS !

06/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This record is much more than a curiosity from some underground rock'n'roll supergroup, although this quintet's prominent pedigree casts a long shadow: Jerry Teel (Honeymoon Killers, Boss Hog, Chrome Cranks) on guitar and vocals; his long-time partner-in-musical crime Bob Bert (also Cranks, Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore) on the drums; Congo Norvelle guitarist Jack Martin on slide duty; a relative unknown named Barry London on the farfisa organ; and rounding out the band, the most notorious gun of them all: Kid Congo Powers (Gun Club, Cramps, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Congo Norvelle) adding his trademark fuzz and other guitar atmospherics. About half covers and half originally penned numbers, The Knoxville Girls ride out of the West in revved-up epic wonder, and eventually collapse in a storm of white-lit feedback 14 songs further East. The opener "65 Days Ago" is a bold, dusty, romantic cowboy instro, with a galloping rythm section and flashes of mournful slide guitar whizzin' by. The spirit of Jeffery Lee Pierce channeled from the Great Beyond to collaborate on a Spaghetti Western filmscore with Ennio Morricone. From there, a trot through the lonesome praries of solid country honk (a whooping cover of the Kenny Rogers-penned "I Feel Better All Over") and weepy country sorrow (a take of Charlie Feather's lement, "Have You Ever?") On these tracks, Jerry Teel's 'Bama drawl lends authencitiy to the work, while the triple guitar threat of Congo, Martin, and Teel is restrained by the "less is more" wisdom of veteran musicians. Our steed then picks up speed, racing through the Stonesy gutter rock of "Two Time Girl", with Barry Landon adding junky farfisa fills to give the entire piece a faint Sam the Sham/ Mysterians flavour. Although the least famous and seasoned of the group, Landon is a gem throughout the LP, alternately doing ? and the Mysterians-derived organ fills and coming off like Billy Preston the very next. "Kung Pow Chicken Scratch" is Barry's showcase- a nightmarish Booker T and the MG's inspired piece that floats over a cloud of static No Wave guitar noise. The LP's shining moment is the Girls' sizzling remake of Bobby Henderson's "Warm and Tender Love," with the most stylishly nasty Lou Reed-inspired guitar dueling in recent memory. The Girls also manage the best faux Dylan song since Mouse and the Traps' "Public Execution" - "NYC Briefcase Blues" is a tune with an unmistakable Blonde On Blonde heritage and a witty anti-yuppification temperament: "New York City, things got rough- briefcases everywhere, I think I had enough..." Side two opens with a gothic blues version of Ray Charles' "I Had A Dream" that sways heavily into the direction of Congo's former work in the Bad Seeds (complete with Kid's barrotone backing vocals). Next, a haunting run through George Jones' bittersweet "He Stopped Loving Her Today", which has to be one of THE saddest songs ever penned. The original "Armadillo Roadkill Blues" has a field-recording vibe, as if it was captured in some decrepid East Texas shotgun shack and not in NYC's famed Funhouse Studios. Things wrap up with the hungry Mr.Teel trying to satisfy several appetites at once on "Low Cut Apron". A chugging "talking-blues" piece with slowly accelerating rythm and harmonica squalk that dissolves when the other Girls suddenly lunge full force into a droning, fuzzed out nod to the Velvets known as "Sugar Fix"- finally managing to drive the crazed horse right off the edge into the abyss. The Knoxville Girls have created a masterpiece by distorting their common outside influences and by copping from the best of their own past artistic triumphs. This record journeys through the American musical folk psyche - a No Wave concoction of country western, r&b, soul, and garage rock'n'roll. On some songs, The Girls twist together the thin lines that divide these styles, on others, they keep things musically kosher. Most importantly, unlike a lot of contemporaries toying with C&W, the Girls never betray Hank W. and George J. by giving the material an ironic treatment. Lyrically, it's an album of tried and true folk contradictions: Joy and heartbreak. Lower East-Side Hipsters and rural Southern Bluesmen. Honky tonk and dirty soul. Tight-wound sex and love left unrequitted. Juke joints and neon dive bars. The Country Boy headin' to the Big City looking for the American Dream, tryin' to make it rich. He never does - but decides to stay there anyhow. Possibly the best record put out last year."