The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion | ||
| Allmusic Biography : After a long and semi-successful tenure as leader of scuzz-rock heroes Pussy Galore, Jon Spencer shook up his anti-rock vision and hooked up with guitarist Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins to create the scuzz-blues trio the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Postmodern to the core, there was a genuine irony in the bands name; little of what they play resembles standard blues. There is, however, a blues feel to their sound, meaning that in many instances they appropriate aspects of the blues and incorporate them into their anarchic, noisy sound. Spencer clearly wasnt playing the blues, but a real if fractured appreciation of blues and R&B; was audible in the bands music amid the chaotic wail of guitars and drums. Not part of alt-rocks commercial establishment (at least not at the start), Spencer also managed to sharply divide critics who tended to see him as either an inspired showman or a mendacious con man. He did, however, gain popularity and critical respect during the 90s, largely on the strength of the Blues Explosions ferocious live show. As with Royal Trux, the other band to emerge after the breakup of Pussy Galore, the Blues Explosions earliest recordings are virtually incomprehensible. The bass-less mix is awash in distorted guitars, precious little backbeat, and howled vocals. In its favor is the musics exciting, improvisatory feel; also true is that its frequently incoherent and careless, and doesnt hold up well to repeated listenings. It was with the Blues Explosions 1992 self-titled release and the almost immediate follow-up Crypt Style that the band began to write coherent songs: Spencer adopted an affected blues vocal style, and the band riffed wildly and crashed around him in a bluesy manner. The Blues Explosions "breakthrough" came (as it did for Royal Trux) when they began to fold elements of 70s rock and funk into their fractured punk-blues fusion. With the release of Extra Width in 1993, Spencer and company got some air time on MTVs alt-rock show 120 Minutes with the video for the song "Afro." There was a new emphasis on tight songs, funky backbeats, and loads of catchy riffs and hooks. As for Spencer, he was now singing like a crazed Elvis impersonator, but, in turn, lost some of the condescending attitude. Live, the band was (and remains) quite a show, generating the kind of sweat and excitement that became anathema to many punk and post-punk bands. Orange, which was even more accessible than Extra Width (and featured a guest spot from Beck), netted the band even more fans upon its release in 1994, and began to capture the vibe of their live gigs; 1996s Now I Got Worry and 1998s Acme were also successful, and the latter was an unusually ambitious attempt to take their sound in new directions, mixing in elements of hip-hop and electronica. Spencer and his bandmates also shored up their often shaky blues cred by serving as backing band for R.L. Burnside on his 1996 album A Ass Pocket of Whiskey. The band took a long hiatus thereafter, only returning four years later with 2002s Plastic Fang and 2004s Damage (the latter their first record for Sanctuary after a long tenure with Matador), a pair of relatively polished albums produced by Steve Jordan. In 2007, JSBX released a collection of their "Jukebox Series" singles for In the Red Records, after which they went on extended hiatus. The Blues Explosion re-formed to play some shows when their catalog got the deluxe reissue treatment in 2010 via the Shout! Factory-distributed Major Domo label (they also released a career-spanning "best-of" set, Dirty Shirt Rock n Roll), and the band issued the "Black Betty" single for Amphetamine Reptile in 2011. In September of 2012, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion re-emerged with the full-length Meat + Bone. In 2015, JSBX paid homage to their hometown of New York with a new album, Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015, recorded at Brooklyns Daptone House of Soul studio and mixed with help from hip-hop punk producer Alap Momin. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 20 Title: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Released: 1992 Tracks: 20 Duration: 40:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Write a Song (01:53) 2 I.E.V. (01:45) 3 Exploder (02:00) 4 Rachel (02:24) 5 Chicken Walk (02:52) 6 White Tail (02:28) 7 78 Style (01:26) 8 Changed (01:05) 9 What to Do (02:11) 10 Eye to Eye (01:43) 11 Eliza Jane (02:02) 12 History of Sex (01:46) 13 Comeback (03:11) 14 Support a Man (02:00) 15 Maynard Ave. (01:57) 16 The Feeling of Love (01:47) 17 Vacuum of Loneliness (03:02) 18 Intro A (00:52) 19 Biological (02:10) 20 Water Main (01:51) |
| The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion : Allmusic album Review : Produced by underground rocks most notorious producer, Steve Albini, this is as close as youre going to get to the Blues Explosions primal, industrial-strength noise rock. From the cacophonous start of "Write a Song" its clear that this is not going to be your average blues album. Still, its contagious in a demented kind of way, and the sloppiness, intentional crudeness and semi-coherence are punk rock to the core (the furious, psychobilly track "Rachel"). Not recommended as a place to start with Spencer, and definitely not recommended to those who think theyre going to hear Muddy Waters songs. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 20 Title: Crypt Style Released: 1992 Tracks: 25 Duration: 48:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lovin Up a Storm (01:45) 2 Support a Man (02:00) 3 White Tail (02:28) 4 78 Style (01:26) 5 Chicken Walk (02:52) 6 Mo Chicken / Lets Get Funky (02:42) 7 Watermain (01:14) 8 Like a Hawk (02:25) 9 Big Headed Baby (01:06) 10 The Feeling of Love (01:47) 11 Kill a Man (01:51) 12 Rachel (02:24) 13 History of Sex (01:46) 14 Comeback (03:11) 15 Twentynine (02:16) 16 What to Do (01:31) 17 40lb Block of Cheese (02:05) 18 Write a Song (01:51) 19 I. E. V. (01:41) 20 Eye to Eye (01:41) 21 Eliza Jane (02:02) 22 Maynard Ave. (01:52) 23 Colty (01:45) 24 Intro A (00:52) 25 Biological (02:11) |
 | Album: 3 of 20 Title: Extra Width Released: 1993-05-24 Tracks: 13 Duration: 44:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Afro (02:56) 2 History of Lies (03:42) 3 Back Slider (03:00) 4 Soul Letter (02:49) 5 Soul Typecast (06:06) 6 Pant Leg (02:27) 7 Hey Mom (03:00) 8 Big Road (03:59) 9 Train #2 (02:25) 10 Inside the World of the Blues Explosion (03:27) 11 The World of Sex (03:47) 12 Beat of the Traps (02:49) 13 Memphis Soul Typecast (03:33) |
| Extra Width : Allmusic album Review : On their self-titled debut album, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion had worked out the basic framework of their sound -- lots of guitar clatter, booming drums, and wild vocal gesticulations from Spencer -- but it took a while for the pieces to really come together, and 1993s Extra Width was the first album where they revealed their true potential. The opening tune, "Afro," provides the key -- Spencer and Judah Bauers guitars lock in with a sharp call and response, drummer Russell Simins pounds the kit with the force of a punk rocker but the groove of a soul man, and the organ that chimes in with the band slyly pays homage to any number of classic funk sides while adding a good, greasy undertow to the sound. The Blues Explosion were never any kind of blues band (as they freely admitted when anyone bothered to ask), but on Extra Width they copped to the fact theyd learned a lot from classic R&B; of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, and after spending the better part of a year on the road, their studying and hard work paid off. Not everything on Extra Width comes together with the precise chaos of "Afro," but practically every track feels like a better song and a stronger performance than anything on the debut album, and the layers of vocal reverb, keyboard patches, and dubwise studio effects showed that JSBX had learned a lot about the possibilities of the studio since the bare-bones sessions that produced their earliest recordings. If The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion sounded like the work of a band that was a natural evolution from what Spencer was doing with Pussy Galore, Extra Width made it clear they were something quite a bit different -- still crazed and noisy, but with lots more soul, some butt-shaking tunes, and a sense of fun thoroughly absent from the earlier group. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 20 Title: Mo Width Released: 1994 Tracks: 11 Duration: 32:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Afro (02:42) 2 Out of Luck (01:49) 3 Cherry Lime (02:28) 4 Rob K (03:47) 5 Ole Man Trouble (02:18) 6 Wet Cat Blues (03:03) 7 Johnson (04:11) 8 There Stands the Glass (01:15) 9 Lion Cut (04:02) 10 Beat of the Traps (02:49) 11 Memphis Soul Typecast (03:33) |
 | Album: 5 of 20 Title: Orange Released: 1994-10-26 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:01:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Bellbottoms (05:17) 2 Ditch (02:34) 3 Dang (01:59) 4 Very Rare (03:05) 5 Sweat (03:06) 6 Cowboy (02:57) 7 Orange (02:59) 8 Brenda (02:56) 9 Dissect (02:39) 10 Blues X Man (03:33) 11 Full Grown (03:19) 12 Flavor (06:16) 13 Greyhound (04:06) 14 Bellbottoms (Old Rascal mix) (08:17) 15 Flavor (remix, Parts 1 & 2) (08:36) |
| Orange : Allmusic album Review : In the aftermath of Extra Widths success, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion were drawing large crowds virtually everywhere they played. It both gratified them and made them suspicious. The track "Afro" on the previous album provided a clue as to the forthcoming no mans land JBSE would raucously explore. Orange is almost entirely new sonic terrain -- but it keeps the trios trademark sweaty, musical terrorism and hedonistic rage up front. "Bellbottoms" kicks it off with a distorted two-chord guitar vamp, juxtaposed against strings worthy of the Love Unlimited Orchestra in full dramatic swell. Drummer Russell Simins meets Spencer and Judah Bauers guitars with cracking snares and breaking beats, rolling them out like staccato machine-gun fire yet perfectly on the one. The sound feels like electricity actively coursing through the spine. Funk, hypnotic thrashing white-boy blues, and punk fistfight one another for dominance in a careening frenetic dance number that shakes the very foundations of rock & roll while defining its spirit. This is the liftoff point through the bravado of James Brown, the self-destructive gospelized pill-fueled hellish visions of Jerry Lee Lewis, the sheer exaggerated funk of blaxploitation soundtracks, and Saturday-night knife-fight juke-joint blues. "Ditch" melds the burn-it-down boogie of R.L. Burnside, the sloppy vibe of Exile-era Rolling Stones, the Cramps demonic swagger, the rhythmic attack of the Meters, and the overdriven volume of the Stooges live. "Blues X Man" marries 12-bar back-country roadhouse blues and back-alley back-seat eros to Lower East Side boasting about the Blues Explosions musical virility. It begins sparse and skeletal before adding a female backing chorus and DJ turntablism, turning traditionalism upside down and scraping country and city down to their nubs in order to make everything bleed. "Greyhound," the sets final track, rocks hip-hop drums and 70s rock guitars on stun that riff hypnotically and knottily; two-note vamps substitute for solos before the entire thing morphs into pure breakbeat cacophony and smears turntable scratches across the mix as it crashes out the door. Orange is the most commercially successful set JBSE ever turned in, but thats beside the point. In the 21st century, it sounds every bit as messed up, necessary, and frenzied as it did in 1993. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 20 Title: Experimental Remixes Released: 1995-05-24 Tracks: 10 Duration: 45:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Bellbottoms (Old Rascal mix) (08:17) 2 Flavor, Part 1 (Beck Hansen, Mike Diamond and Mario Caldato Jr. mix) (04:47) 3 Flavor, Part 2 (04:09) 4 Soul Typecast (Dub Narcotic Sound System mix) (03:42) 5 Greyhound, Part 1 (04:14) 6 Greyhound, Part 2 (The Genius remix) (03:25) 7 Tour Diary (07:01) 8 Implosion (03:35) 9 Explo (Plunderphonic remix) (02:37) 10 Blues “XXX” Man (03:22) |
 | Album: 7 of 20 Title: Now I Got Worry Released: 1996-10-15 Tracks: 32 Duration: 1:19:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Skunk (02:39) 2 Identify (01:08) 3 Wail (03:09) 4 Fuck Shit Up (03:09) 5 2 Kindsa Love (03:02) 6 Love All of Me (01:58) 7 Chicken Dog (03:01) 8 Rocketship (03:14) 9 Dynamite Lover (02:58) 10 Hot Shot (02:09) 11 Cant Stop (02:53) 12 Firefly Child (03:25) 13 Eyeballin (03:16) 14 R. L. Got Soul (04:05) 15 Get Over Here (02:09) 16 Sticky (02:55) 17 Cool Vee (04:10) 18 Fish Sauce (03:28) 19 Yellow Eyes (03:57) 20 Turn Up Greene (02:52) 21 Buscemi (01:42) 22 Get With It (01:34) 23 Lets Smerf (02:12) 24 Down Low (02:02) 25 Chocolate Joe (02:32) 26 Judah Love Theme (01:26) 27 Dig My Shit (01:38) 28 Roosevelt Hotel Blues (03:23) 29 Radio Ad #1 (01:09) 30 Radio Ad #2 (00:31) 31 Radio Ad #3 (00:50) 32 Radio Ad #4 (00:40) |
| Now I Got Worry : Allmusic album Review : The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion were one of the most viscerally exciting indie rock acts of the 1990s, but making their blast of frantic energy work in the studio was sometimes a challenge if you were going for anything more than sheer gutbucket stomp. On Orange and Acme, JSBX used strings, hip-hop beats, and various production niceties to add texture to the two-guitar-and-drums onslaught, but with Now I Got Worry, they moved forward into the past with the fiercest and most elemental set theyd released since Crypt Style. Now I Got Worry kicks off with Spencer screaming his head off while Russell Simins lays down a funky, muscular backbeat, and that sets the tone for what follows; the album plays at full-blast from beginning to end, even when the tempo shifts and the band eases back a bit in the name of dynamics. The blast-furnace tone is consistent, but the approach jumps from cut to cut, as JSBX tackle proto-hardcore on "Identify," shift into country-blues mode on "Rocketship," party with Rufus Thomas on "Chicken Dog," lay into a punishingly funky groove on "R.L. Got Soul," and wander through a pool of drug-addled dub on "Fuck Shit Up." But, ultimately, extremity is the point on Now I Got Worry, and even when it seems relatively gentle, its never subtle; the production (mostly by Jim Waters) isnt afraid to push the music into the red zone, and Spencers fearsome vocal wail, the attack of Spencer and Judah Bauers guitars, and Simins relentless drumming connect with the force of a fist into the solar plexus. Now I Got Worry may not be JSBXs best album, but it does capture their taut, blazing, live sound and their eccentric studio approach with a better balance than anything else in their catalog; if you want to get slapped upside the head while you boogie all night long, this is the album for you. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 20 Title: Rocketship Released: 1997 Tracks: 5 Duration: 14:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Rocketship (03:14) 2 Down Low (live) (01:57) 3 Dynamite Lover (02:41) 4 Flavor (03:03) 5 Full Grown (03:44) |
 | Album: 9 of 20 Title: Controversial Negro Released: 1997-12-01 Tracks: 29 Duration: 1:10:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Get With It (01:21) 2 Can’t Stop (03:16) 3 Son of Sam (02:24) 4 Cool Vee (02:45) 5 Afro (01:32) 6 R.L. Got Soul (02:50) 7 Blues X Man (05:42) 8 Watermain (01:11) 9 Love All of Me (01:43) 10 Fuck Shit Up (01:39) 11 Hot Shot (01:39) 12 Skunk (02:22) 13 The Vacuum of Loneliness (03:53) 14 Sticky (05:04) 15 Bellbottoms (?) 16 The Feeling of Love (01:58) 17 Down Low (01:46) 18 Dynamite Lover (02:41) 19 Flavor (03:03) 20 Full Grown (03:45) 21 Train #2 (?) 22 Train #3 (?) 23 Memphis Soul Typecast (03:32) 24 Support a Man (02:00) 25 Greyhound (04:06) 26 Sweat (03:12) 27 Back Slider (03:00) 28 ’78 Style (01:37) 29 Dissect (02:39) |
 | Album: 10 of 20 Title: ACME Released: 1998-10-20 Tracks: 13 Duration: 45:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Calvin (03:02) 2 Magical Colors (04:10) 3 Do You Wanna Get Heavy? (04:08) 4 High Gear (02:07) 5 Talk About the Blues (03:58) 6 I Wanna Make It All Right (03:45) 7 Lovin Machine (03:45) 8 Bernie (03:01) 9 Blue Green Olga (03:40) 10 Give Me a Chance (03:16) 11 Desperate (03:17) 12 Torture (04:09) 13 Attack (03:10) |
| ACME : Allmusic album Review : Part of the reason the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is so distasteful to the legions of blues purists is that Spencer cherishes not the mythology of the blues or the songcraft, but the groove, the actual sound of classic blues records. He couldnt care less about songwriting or technique; whats important is the feel and the grit of the performance, whether its on-stage or on record. Often, that means that the Blues Explosions records are better when theyre playing than they are in memory, but theres no question that ever since Extra Width, the New York trio was exceptionally shrewd in crafting albums that pack real sonic force. They also were sharp enough to subtly explore new territory with each album, gradually moving from the Stonesy blooze of Extra Width through the funky Orange and gutbucket Now I Got Worry to Acme, where pure sound matters more than ever. Like the Stones, the Blues Explosion never abandon their signature sound, even when theyre branching into new territory. No matter how many electronic bleeps, hip-hop loops, or cut-and-paste arrangements rear their heads on Acme, or how many producers or remixers are employed (including Calvin Johnson, Steve Albini, Suzanne Dyer, Alec Empire, Jim Dickinson, and the Automator), the primal, two-guitar racket remains at the center of the Blues Explosions sound. But the electronica and hip-hop flourishes arent folly, either -- they confirm Spencers ultimate goal of sound over structure, force over sense. And while there are only a handful of songs to latch onto -- the slow, sexy "Magical Colors," the gonzoid rant "Talk About the Blues," the Jill Cunniff duet "Blue Green Olga" -- the dynamic explosions of sounds guarantee that Acme is a captivating listen, at least the first time through. While frequently exciting, the sonic experimentations sound cerebral instead of primal. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 20 Title: Xtra-Acme USA Released: 1999-01-21 Tracks: 9 Duration: 34:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Wait a Minute (03:48) 2 Get Down Lover (03:47) 3 Confused (Zebra Ranch) (03:02) 4 Bacon (Sansano) (03:30) 5 Electricity (02:30) 6 New Year (Rough) (02:58) 7 Lovin Machine (Automator) (03:39) 8 Chowder (03:16) 9 T.A.T.B. (For the Sinners and Saints remix) (07:25) |
| Xtra-Acme USA : Allmusic album Review : Clearly a band that abhors waste, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion developed the habit of periodically releasing albums of leftovers, outtakes, and remixes early in their career. Just as Crypt Style followed the groups self-titled debut, Mo Width cleared the vaults after Extra Width, and Experimental Remixes tweaked tracks from Orange, Xtra-Acme USA brought together 19 numbers that had been worked up during the epic-scale sessions for the 1998 album Acme. Reflecting the fascination with hip-hop and electronica that informed that albums production style, seven of the tracks on Xtra-Acme USA are remixed versions of Acme material, though in some cases whats presented here is more straightforward than the "official" versions. "Torture (Waters)" strips the recording down to its essentials with the addition of a bit of DJ cutting, "Blues Explosion Attack (Dub Narcotic)" presents the raw materials of Acmes concluding mixmaster battle, and "Magical Colors (31 Flavors)" sounds even more languid than the original, one of the most relaxed performances in the groups catalog. And while "Lovin Machine (Automator)" and "Heavy (Stimulated Dummies)" offer significant twists and turns on the Acme versions, they also deepen the grooves that were the songs original reasons for being. Elsewhere, "Get Down Lover" is a wild, fiery performance with a tight horn chart that should have made the cut on Acme and is one of the rare moments while the Blues Explosion sound like they could have been a proper R&B; band if theyd wanted, "New Year" and "Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again" are top-shelf rockers, the funky clavinet on "Wait a Minute" is an inspired addition to the groups sound, and "Lap Dance" is a literally and figuratively dirty collaboration with Andre Williams that pays fitting homage to a longtime source of greasy inspiration. Acme was an album so full of ideas that sometimes the bands full-on attack got lost in the shuffle; the same can be said for Xtra-Acme USA, but the sense of fun and excitement that was diluted on the "real" album comes through stronger and harder here, and this is one example of the sequel being more entertaining than the original. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 20 Title: Sideways Soul: Dub Narcotic Sound System meets The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a Dancehall Style! Released: 1999-09-14 Tracks: 9 Duration: 39:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Banana Version (06:00) 2 Love Aint on the Run (02:40) 3 Fudgy the Whale (09:50) 4 Banana Meltdown (02:55) 5 Frosty Junction (04:11) 6 Diamonds (04:00) 7 Sideways Soul (03:22) 8 Chicken Legs (03:28) 9 Calvins on a Bummer (03:25) |
 | Album: 13 of 20 Title: Plastic Fang Released: 2002-03-27 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:20:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sweet n Sour (03:15) 2 She Said (04:17) 3 Money Rock n Roll (03:02) 4 Killer Wolf (04:33) 5 Tore Up & Broke (03:16) 6 Hold On (04:54) 7 Down in the Beast (04:25) 8 Shakin Rock n Roll Tonight (02:52) 9 The Midnight Creep (03:49) 10 Over and Over (03:50) 11 Mother Nature (04:30) 12 Mean Heart (04:34) 1 Point of View (04:34) 2 Do Ya Wanna Get It? (03:19) 3 Maureen (04:44) 4 Alex (03:55) 5 Over and Over (Techno Animal mix) (04:09) 6 She Said (The Tremelo Beer Gut mix) (02:47) 7 Money RocknRoll (Sub Species mix) (04:22) 8 Over and Over (Barry Adamson mix) (05:15) |
| Plastic Fang : Allmusic album Review : The Jon Spencer Blues Explosions wild blues on critical albums like Orange and Now I Got Worry defined the band as belonging in a league of its own. The electronica mold of 1998s Acme album was sophisticatedly different, but the grit found in the bands previous work was nearly absent. The band might have known it as well -- a change in direction was due. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosions eighth record, Plastic Fang, doesnt overlook anything this time, for the album exudes a new power. Spencer and his mates sought the expertise and slick work of musician/producer Steve Jordan, who brought brashness back to the front. "Sweet n Sour" flourishes with a huge guitar blast, and Spencers tangy vocal howl has never sounded better. "She Said" is comprised of typical swagger, but its the Rolling Stones-like romp of "Mean Heart" thats truly killer. (Its Spencers best take on a ballad too.) "Down in the Beast" has an explosive wail, and the chug-chug-chugga rawk of "Money Rock n Roll" rollicks even harder. As a songwriter, Spencer is impressive, and the Blues Explosions collaboration with Dr. John and Bernie Worrell on the seductive, bluesy, and brooding "Hold On" suggests that Plastic Fang isnt exactly focused on one particular sound. With Jordans assistance, Plastic Fang sounds live and abrasive, infectious and undeniable. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 20 Title: Damage Released: 2004-09-16 Tracks: 14 Duration: 46:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Damage (02:25) 2 Burn It Off (02:56) 3 Spoiled (03:33) 4 Crunchy (03:40) 5 Hot Gossip (03:31) 6 Mars, Arizona (02:25) 7 You Been My Baby (03:22) 8 Rivals (01:55) 9 Help These Blues (03:50) 10 Fed Up and Low Down (04:06) 11 Rattling (04:17) 12 Blowing My Mind (03:46) 13 Grinding (03:06) 14 The Funky Gremlin (03:05) |
| Damage : Allmusic album Review : Since the Blues Explosion -- who, as of this record, have officially dropped the "Jon Spencer" prefix from their name (the better to illustrate that they are a genuine band) -- have always been about the sound, power, and feel, not the song, it only makes sense that they work with a cornucopia of producers, mixers, and guest musicians on their seventh album, Damage. After all, theyve done this before, particularly on 1998s Acme, which had one foot firmly in indie rock and one in the surging electronica of the day. It had loads of interesting sounds, but it didnt hold together. Damage, however, not only holds together, it finds the trio unexpectedly flourishing as a rock & roll band, a bunch of record-makers, and most surprisingly of all, songwriters. Underneath the whirlwind of sound, the Blues Explosion turn in some of their best songs, whether its the diamond-hard "Burn It Off" -- one of their best-ever rockers -- or the moody, evocative neo-ballad "Crunchy," featuring suitably spooky and sexy vocals from former Tricky cohort Martina Topley-Bird. But what gives Damage a real kick is that each of the various producers -- whether its the Blues Explosions own drummer Russell Simins, journeyman Steve Jordan, or electronica daredevils Dan the Automator, David Holmes, or DJ Shadow -- has a distinctly different take on the band, soliciting muscular yet supple performances out of the trio, then putting the recording into hyperdrive on the final mix. Instead of contradicting each other, these different approaches are complementary, revealing a band thats more adventurous and visceral than its last handful of records led you to expect. Damage is their best record in years, proof that the Blues Explosion are the real deal, getting better with age just like any other blues band. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 20 Title: Crunchy Released: 2005-05-02 Tracks: 5 Duration: 27:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Crunchy (album version) (03:39) 2 Mars, Arizona (DFA remix) (10:46) 3 Crunchy (Solex Bounce remix) (02:57) 4 Hot Gossip (TMJ (!!!) remix) (04:08) 5 Crunchy (TMJ (!!!) remix) (06:04) |
 | Album: 16 of 20 Title: Jukebox Explosion Released: 2007-10-26 Tracks: 18 Duration: 49:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Shirt Jac (01:27) 2 Son of Sam (03:07) 3 Train #3 (02:02) 4 Caroline (02:12) 5 Naked (01:32) 6 Push Some Air (02:29) 7 Get With It (01:35) 8 Showgirl, Parts 1 & 2 (04:08) 9 Ghetto Mom (03:10) 10 Latch On (01:23) 11 Bent (02:11) 12 Curfew Blues (02:47) 13 Train #1 (02:02) 14 Jailhouse Blues (02:17) 15 Fat (03:54) 16 Down Low (02:01) 17 Do Ya Wanna Get It? (03:16) 18 Dig My Shit (07:38) |
| Jukebox Explosion : Allmusic album Review : Given their fervent belief in all that is loud, sleazy, and butt-shakable, its no great surprise that the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion saved some of their most raucous performances for that most all-killer, no-filler of audio formats, the 7" single. Jukebox Explosion crams 18 JSBX sides that were previously available only on 7" vinyl (most as part of In the Reds Blues Explosion Jukebox Series) or were never before released onto one CD for the turntable deprived, and if this set lacks a bit of the coherent flow of the groups best albums, for sheer party-down noise this is high-octane frenzy at its most satisfying. While some observers have grumbled that JSBXs work in the 21st century hasnt been up to the standards they previously established, even the newer tracks on Jukebox Explosion roar like a mountain lion on steroids, with the Plastic Fang outtake "Ghetto Mom" sounding as good as anything on board. Other high points include "Caroline," a venomous kiss-off to the bands former record label; the slow and melodramatic "Jailhouse Blues" (a cover of an old Andre Williams number); the heavy-grinding "Showgirl" (featuring Cristina Martinez of Boss Hog on backing vox and previously available as a giveaway from Sassy Magazine, of all places); and "Curfew Blues," a soulful strut Spencer confesses was ripped off from Earl King at the fade. If you prefer JSBXs more polished efforts such as Acme and Plastic Fang, Jukebox Explosion may not be your cup of cheap whiskey, but if you want to hear this band rocking full-stop, this does the job as well as anything these guys have released since Crypt Style. Points added for the excellent cover artwork by Mort Todd, which should look familiar to fans of the Back from the Grave series. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 20 Title: Dirty Shirt Rock n Roll: The First Ten Years Released: 2010-03-30 Tracks: 22 Duration: 1:09:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Chicken Dog (02:59) 2 Magical Colors (04:08) 3 Money RocknRoll (03:01) 4 Love Aint on the Run (02:40) 5 Blues X Man (03:32) 6 Buscemi (01:40) 7 Bellbottoms (05:17) 8 History of Sex (01:45) 9 Fuck Shit Up (01:40) 10 Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again (05:04) 11 Shake em on Down (edit) (04:00) 12 Train #2 (02:24) 13 Water Main (01:12) 14 Hell (03:24) 15 Wail (video mix) (03:08) 16 Afro (02:40) 17 Greyhound (04:03) 18 Talk About the Blues (03:57) 19 Flavor (remix) (04:36) 20 Feeling of Love (01:45) 21 Lap Dance (03:24) 22 She Said (single edit) (02:56) |
| Dirty Shirt Rock 'n' Roll: The First Ten Years : Allmusic album Review : We needed this. The excellent Jukebox Explosion, which collected all the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s singles, was released in 2007, and it was a serious boon for those who didn’t have access to turntables or decent record stores. What we didn’t have was a representative portrait of the insane mind-explosion wildness, shambolically combustible diversity, and bravado that could never be contained on a single album by the band. Each record was as different as the collective waste-oid mood that Spencer, Judah Bauer, and Russell Simins shifted. This massive 22-track set collects many of the group’s album tracks -- sequenced by Spencer -- that capture the entire range of the psychotic, roots-drenched roar that was JSBE. Spencer’s band was able to take roots rock, blues, R&B;, and even funk and twist and turn them into something simultaneously ugly and irresistibly seductive. Check the opener, “Chicken Dog,” where, assisted by the great Rufus Thomas, they managed a Memphis rock & roll not heard since the Panther Burns earliest days, pasted onto a two-chord riff and taut, slamming beat with a huffing bags worth of airplane glue. It’s followed by “Magical Colors,” with Spencer vampirically hosting the ghost of Mick Jagger (à la Emotional Rescue) and marrying it to Memphis soul, slippery guitar, and bass riffs that the Rolling Stones are no longer capable of. Contrast this with the rage of “History of Sex,” from 1991, where punk rock and early Chicago blues hook up against a wall for some filthy fun in a glass-strewn alley on a sweat-drenched summer night. The polluted funk of “Afro,” from 1993, contains sampled flute sounds, a monolithic bass vamp, and a B-3 cranking over the wah-wah guitar. Spencer alternately croons and growls all but indecipherable lyrics before his ten-second guitar solo turns everything within earshot into nuclear waste. Check the clavinet funk in “Buscemi” and the use of strings in “Bellbottoms” for further evidence of murky devil funk and groove consciousness, where the beat is as big -- and real -- as the boast. “Shake Em on Down” is here in edited form from the A Ass Pocket of Whiskey collaboration with R.L. Burnside, as is “Love Ain’t on the Run” from the unholy union between JSBE and the Dub Narcotic Sound System. These songs are two versions of the blues that conjure the spirits of the Delta via misanthropic musi-erotic fantasies of forbidden unions in the dimly lit juke joints from Spencer and his mates’ collective imagination. Some see irony in JSBEs music. Its there but not because of amplified imitation; its mockery of how far rock & roll had traveled from its origins. For ten years, JSBE gave indie rock, grunge, and everything that came after a gigantic, righteous middle finger. This big-slice reminder of that is exactly what we need in the 21st century when the wildness inherent in rocks backbone has all but utterly disintegrated. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 20 Title: Acme + Acme-Plus Released: 2010-10-19 Tracks: 43 Duration: 2:36:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Calvin (03:02) 2 Magical Colors (04:10) 3 Do You Wanna Get Heavy? (04:08) 4 High Gear (02:07) 5 Talk About the Blues (03:58) 6 I Wanna Make It All Right (03:45) 7 Lovin Machine (03:45) 8 Bernie (03:01) 9 Blue Green Olga (03:40) 10 Give Me a Chance (03:16) 11 Desperate (03:17) 12 Torture (04:09) 13 Attack (03:10) 14 Right Place, Wrong Time (03:38) 15 The Black Godfather (03:34) 16 New Year (Destroyer) (03:04) 17 Confused (Sansano) (02:59) 18 Hell (Benzel-Waters) (03:29) 19 Bacon (Techno Animal) (04:18) 20 Lap Dance (Thirlwell) (08:38) 21 Blues Power (03:50) 1 Wait a Minute (03:48) 2 Get Down Lover (03:47) 3 Confused (03:04) 4 Magical Colors (31 Flavors) (04:10) 5 Not Yet (04:09) 6 Get Old (01:46) 7 Bacon (03:32) 8 Blue Green Olga (Waters) (04:30) 9 Heavy (Stimulated Dummies) (03:13) 10 Lap Dance (03:26) 11 Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again (05:06) 12 Soul Trance (04:28) 13 Electricity (02:30) 14 New Year (02:59) 15 Lovin Machine (Automator) (03:39) 16 Chowder (03:16) 17 T.A.T.B. (demo) (03:21) 18 Hell (Zebra Ranch) (03:26) 19 Torture (Waters) (03:53) 20 Blues Explosion Attack (Dub Narcotic) (04:36) 21 Calvin (Bagel) (03:06) 22 Shhh (01:36) |
 | Album: 19 of 20 Title: Meat + Bone Released: 2012-09-17 Tracks: 14 Duration: 43:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Black Mold (03:16) 2 Bag of Bones (03:54) 3 Boot Cut (03:45) 4 Get Your Pants Off (02:43) 5 Ice Cream Killer (03:18) 6 Strange Baby (03:05) 7 Bottle Baby (03:05) 8 Danger (02:43) 9 Black Thoughts (03:22) 10 Unclear (02:02) 11 Bear Trap (04:16) 12 Zimgar (04:08) 13 Tell Me That You Love Me (01:19) 14 Gadzooks (02:04) |
| Meat + Bone : Allmusic album Review : Its only fair to be wary of an album of new material from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion; after all, its been eight years. There have been so many embarrassing reunions from virtually every corner of the rock & roll spectrum (the offending parties shall remain nameless) that a solid argument could be made for an enforced moratorium. Thankfully, JBSEs Meat + Bone proves the exception. The wild, cross-genre experimentation of 2002s Plastic Fang and 2004s Damage have been left in the desert wilderness of nostalgia in favor of back-to-basics dirty ass rock & roll, warped blues, and fractured funk. Spencers gone back behind the production desk and doesnt muck things up even when he gets (a little) adventurous. He keeps reverb and fuzz up front, the guitars at earschplittenloudenboomer, and the drums miked to 11, and he doesnt worry about much else. "Black Mold" roars out of the gate with the blasted, speaker-shredding riffing of yore. That said, it merely sets the tone for a journey thats sweaty, loud, and proud. "Bag of Bones" morphs the primal 1969 Rolling Stones and Licensed to Ill-era Beastie Boys with surprisingly effective results. "Boot Cut" youve heard before--its a shameless remake of "Bell Bottoms." Its the best cut here. "Get Your Pants Off" is guttersnipe funk that sounds like the Sonics playing James Brown. Things get loopy and whacked on "Bottle Baby," where power riffs, off-kilter rhythms, a lopsided bridge, shambolic, distorted production, and Spencer railing a stream-of-(un)consciousness rant serve grit and grease as a main course. "Black Thoughts" indulges itself in pure Rolling Stones worship, which is fine but not unexpected. "Unclear" is angular late-night blues, while "Bear Trap" is a sinister, howling rocker that would bring out Homeland Security if cranked to full volume. Thankfully, this whole 12-track mess clocks in at under 40 minutes. Meat + Bone may not restore faith in reunions in general, but it does prove that this burly trio has plenty of swagger and sloppy rock and roll left in them. | ||
 | Album: 20 of 20 Title: Freedom Tower-No Wave Dance Party 2015 Released: 2015 Tracks: 13 Duration: 34:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Funeral (02:34) 2 Wax Dummy (03:09) 3 Do The Get Down (02:49) 4 Betty VS The NYPD (01:52) 5 White Jesus (01:38) 6 Born Bad (02:44) 7 Down And Out (02:36) 8 Crossroad Hop (04:01) 9 The Ballad Of Joe Buck (01:42) 10 Dial Up Doll (02:52) 11 Bellevue Baby (03:31) 12 Tales Of Old New York: The Rock Box (02:12) 13 Cooking For Television (02:43) |
| Freedom Tower-No Wave Dance Party 2015 : Allmusic album Review : For a band whose approach was so thoroughly elemental -- two cheap guitars, one small drum kit, and enough energy to power a freight train, just like Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers -- the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion spent a lot of time looking for cool ways to trick up their approach on record after they mastered the recording studio on 1994s Orange. While the electronic-influenced shape-shifting on 1998s Acme showed off an impressively broad range, 2002s Plastic Fang attempted to polish the Blues Explosions sound with limited success, and while 2004s Damage and 2012s Meat + Bone were better, in many ways they sounded like holding actions as the band rallied its energies and formulated a long term strategy. With Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion seem to have finally figured out what to do and how to do it when making a record: wail hard on the blues (or whatever mutated variant this is) and dont fuss over the buff and shine. Freedom Tower is JSBXs most basic long-player since Now I Got Worry in 1996, and for sheer blues wailing fury, this is one of the most purely enjoyable albums theyve unleashed to date. Freedom Tower cuts to the chase and puts the focus on Russell Simins hard swinging drums and the interplay between Judah Bauers scrappy, minimal lead guitar and Spencers low-end six-string buzz, with Spencers vocals (pitched between high-attitude soul shouting and old-school rap science) lurking just beneath the surface as the band generates a boiling cauldron of fractured blues and detourned funk. And the band was shrewd not to put much sonic distance between themselves and the tape -- the JSBX are ferociously tight on this set, turning these 13 tunes into a set of lean, mean party jams that will set your head bobbing and your feet moving. Lyrically, Freedom Tower is a raw but sincere love letter to New York City, celebrating the gritty joys of life in the pre-gentrified city, and this music speaks to the sweaty ecstasies of a basement punk rock show and the joyous grooves of a pumping block party at the same time. Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015 isnt quite the best album of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosions career, but theyve never made one that documents the frantic energy and atmosphere of their live show as well as this, and for a band thats been making music since 1990, this album is little short of a triumph; at 35 minutes, this LPs greatest fault is it leaves you wanting to shout for an encore. | ||