Search - Tav Falco, Panther Burns :: Panther Phobia

Rough and Rockin' Panther Burns Revisited

musicburgler | DC | 12/17/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This most recent release gets back to more primitive Memphis rock n roll, After previous albums of mysterious loungey tango vibes. Recorded by Jeff Evans, the whole album sounds like a dirgey 8 track, with a lot of hiss and crackle. This approach works very well for some of the songs most notibly, Jessie Mae Hemphill's STREAMLINE TRAIN but toward the end of the album it can get gratingly annoying.

Much of the songs are covers, which is definately not a bad thing, and 2 of the originals sound just as good. The only real low point is PANTHER PHOBIA : MANIFESTO! which is basicly a spoken word dadaist thing that Tav sometimes quotes live, but to take up almost a third of the album is a little too much, I usually skip it.

For a guy like Tav Falco to have been playing since the late 70's and then release something like this twenty some years later is perhaps the greatest mark of artistic integrity one can have. It's not better than BEHIND THE MAGNOLIA CURTAIN or other early releases but it still swims in the same stream.

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Panther Burns FINALLY back on track!

TimothyFarrell22 | 11/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tav Falco's Panther Burns started out in the late 70's formed by Tav Falco and Alex Chilton. Their approach to rockabilly and blues was raw and ramshackle to say the least. Panther Burns, along with The Cramps and Gun Club, spearheaded a movement in roots rock deconstruction that would carry on well into the 90's by bands like the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The Gories. Unfortunately, all recordings that followed Panther Burns' classic debut album, "Behind The Magnolia Curtain", became more refined and slick with each outing. By the mid 90's Tav Falco had all but abandonded rock n' roll for a more loungey/tango approach. Well, Tav and company are back with a vengence on this new album. Produced by former Gibson Bros Jeff Evans, "Panther Phobia" is back to RAW rock n' blues done in a dirty Memphis style. Joined by original members Ross Johnson and Eric Hill as well as new-comers Jack Oblivian and Kitty Fires, this recording is cruder, wilder and better than any of their previous outings. If you're a fan of this type of music then this is a must!"

One of the loudest albums in my collection

TimothyFarrell22 | Massachusetts | 12/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many artists start out on a high note with the first one or two albums, than go downhill from that point on. Falco was in danger of being one of those. His first record, "Behind the Magnolia Curtain", was a wonderfully inept take on rockabilly and blues. Since than, he continued to deconstruct various forgotten forms of both American and European popular music, but was beset by camping things up too much and producing very uneven albums. Maybe it was being signed to In the Red Records, but "Panther Phobia" sounds like nothing since the first album. Its the single loudest album Tav Falco has turned out, and I'm talking Guitar Wolf or Stooges level of loud. Its shambling and sounds like a schizophrenic take on the Delta blues, with Falco sounding downright psychotic more often than not. Possibly due to being in the game for so long, Falco recognizes the key to producing great psychobilly isn't about referencing horror movies in your lyrics, but managing a surreal and frightening take on the familiar genre of roots rock. Despite the presence of only two originals, the covers manage to sound completely different from the originals. Its a shame few have heard this album, because it really sets the bar for all roots rockers and psychobilly acts. In fact, its the finest psychobilly album since the first two Cramps records."