The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Jukebox Explosion: Rockin’ Mid-90s Punkers!

In The Red Records

If Jon Spencer is guilty of anything, it’s poor timing. The eponymous figurehead of The Blues Explosion helped steer mid 90s US rock away from pedestrian MOR grunge and naval gazing indie only to see their frenzied, blues inspired, bass-less take on rock ‘n’ roll hit pay dirt a good ten years after the fact with Jack, Meg, Karen and co. Indeed the cheeky Crypt Records tribute sleeve depicts a zombified Explosion return from the dead to bury Stone Temple Pilots and Tori Amos in a shallow grave. ‘Jukebox Explosion’ is a neat reminder of the visceral rock’n’roll thrills JSBX dealt out at the height of their powers. Compiled from rare 7inch singles released on the In The Red label, near-hits like ‘Bellbottoms’ and ‘Wail’ are nowhere to found. Instead these track find the Explosion at their rawest and most experimental, freed from the (relative) constraint required to make proper songs on a full album and as such should satisfy fans who lost interest after the (again relatively) more sedate direction taken after ‘ACME’ in 1999. The formula will be familiar to most, Jon howls his lungs out while Judah Bauer and human drum machine Russell Simmins lay down the greasy grind while a lot of the tracks are buried in noise reminiscent of Spencer’s early work with Pussy Galore. Highlights included the swaggering blues punk of ‘Get With It’ and ‘Ghetto Mom’ the hardcore tempos of ‘Naked’ and the woozy theremin jam ‘Showgirl’ A neat alternative history of one of rock’n’roll’s finest.

Words_James McDonald

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DOWNLOAD: ‘Get With It’, ‘Showgirl’
FOR FANS OF: The White Stripes The Dirtbombs Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Issue #52 - Very Bro-some

Featuring Panama Kings, ASIWYFA, an investigation into DIY touring, details of what over 25 of the finest NI bands are up to in 2009 and much more.