Two of three Hank III’s releases are here, along with a re-issue of a Muddy Water’s classic
School is here. I know, I know. You want to do anything besides go to class. You want to go to the beach, play sports. If you’re like me, you spend all day drinking PBR and play old Sega Genesis games. Since hauling a video game console to class is a no-no for some ungodly reason, we’ll have to settle for sneaking a few listens on our iPods. Check these albums and see which one is to your liking.
Hank Williams III – ”Cattle Callin” [Hank 3 Records/Megaforce Records]
There comes a point in an artist’s career where he takes his audience’s perceptions and expectations, balls it up, chops it up, puts it through a meat grinder and feeds it to his dogs, who then shit it out on the pavement to dry up and wither away. This is that week. With three releases on Tuesday — “Attention Deficit Domination,” ”Cattle Callin” and “Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town” — you can be sure Hank has some offerings that will put dents in the sparkly cage of mainstream country music. First off, ”Cattle Callin.” The concept: Use recordings of a fast talking auctioneer against a background of thrashing drums, guitars and bass. And that’s it. It’s about as experimental as Hank III can get. Take a gander at “Branded” to see what I’m talking about.
Hank Williams III – ”Attention Deficit Domination” {Hank 3 Records/Megaforce Records]
After having your mind twisted and blown by ”Cattle Callin,” take a nice break with ”Attention Deficit Domination.” While the former is…whatever that was, ”ADD” is packed with the most drudgy doom metal to ever come out of Hank’s brain. A few of these songs go past the eight minute mark. Where “Cattle Callin” is the first hit, “ADD” will be the calm down afterwards. Sit back and light up with “Living Beyond Doom”.
Muddy Waters – ”After the Rain” [Get On Down Records]
In the late 1960s, blues legend Muddy Waters released the experimental “Electric Mud.” Experimental, due to its use of psychedelic elements, such as fuzzy guitars, reverbs and echoes that would make Waters fans scratch their heads in confusion. Mudd took this to heart when he made ”After the Rain.” This time all that psychedelic shit was toned down, making room for Mudd to shine on guitar and vocals. Also, he kept the same musicians from the “Electric Mud” sessions too. After being out of print, Get On Down Records dug up the old master recordings, cleaned it up and put it up for the public to enjoy.
Mr. Chop – ”Switched On” [Five Day Weekend]
We close out this week with something that will provide the last blow to your skull after listening to all this madness from the article. Mr. Chop does just that: chopping up beats, basslines, synths, samples and everything else and throws it at you with the precision of knife-wielding line cook. The closet thing I can compare this album to would be El-P’s ”Fantastic Damage,” but not as riled up and spastic.
