There are some records in my collection that I couldn’t tell you how they got there if you put a gun to my head. There are others that I vividly remember buying. “Orange” by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion represents the latter. I picked it up on a rainy evening in 1994 at Kim’s on Bleecker Street in NYC (the one by Christopher Street not NYU). I was a big fan of the video for Dang that MTV had been playing at the time and the CD had a cool look to it. This may sound stupid but I had never seen a cardboard CD case before and this one had a silver mirror effect to it so based on that alone it caught my eye. That’s right folks The JSBX fucking pioneered cardboard reflective CD case technology, check yer wikipedia if you don’t believe me. I still listen to “Orange” a few times a year and even though it’s the only album of theirs I own I consider myself a big fan of the Blues Explosion.
“Dirty Shirt Rock ‘N’ Roll” spans the first ten years of NY three piece the Blues Explosion (roughly 1991 to 2002). If you don’t own anything by these guys I think this is a good place to start. Most of their early stuff is out of print and relatively difficult and expensive to come by even used. Their old label Matador only has their 2002 album “Plastic Fang” for sale. But if you luck out and find “Orange” or “Extra Width” in a used bin go for it. Otherwise just pick up “Dirty Shirt Rock ‘N’ Roll” and save yourself the headache and the cash.
Don’t let their name fool you either. The Black Keys the Blues Explosion are NOT. Don’t get me wrong either I dig The Black Keys. But the Blues Explosion go from blues to rock to soul to funk to punk to garage to noise to hip hop and back again during the course of one song let alone one album. The band will say they are a Rock and Roll act though and this label fits them best. They have all of the important rock traits. Loud fucked up distorted guitars. A marriage of noise and swagger. The occasional Biz Markie sample. Harmonicas set to kill. And a perfect frontman. When Spencer lets you know “the Blues is #1” he does it with enough conviction that you can’t argue otherwise. When he yells “Blues Explosion” it’s like flash grenade going off. Plus he has some awesome sideburns. And this, this is a quality that I look for in all capable frontmen. Sideburns. Make a mental note of this before sending the FSS your demos kids, grow your fucking sideburns something fierce first.
Do I have a couple gripes with this album? Sure why not. For one it’s a little heavy on instrumentals. And for two it’s missing the aforementioned Dang. But these are minor and I’m nitpicking. More on the plus side it also features one of the last worthwhile appearances from alt rapper Beck since he turned Country singin’ scientologist. His verse on Flavor might even change your opinion on him if you were never a fan in the first place. In fact the version here is the remix, the original is even better than that, so suck it scientology. Magical Colors, Blues X Man, Wail, and She Said stood out as my favorites at first listen but seriously they’re all winners. THE reason to get this though. I mean if there were one reason, THE reason is Bellbottoms. UHHHHHH. Bellbottoms. UHHHHHH! Bellbottoms is possibly one of the best rock and roll songs ever written about clothing or anything and after hearing it once you’ll never be able to hear the word bellbottoms again without immediately grunting UHHHHH. You’ll be on your deathbed and your grand-kids will come in and say “Look pop-pop bellbottoms are back in fashion.” And before they have a chance to finish the sentence you’ll sit up alert and grunt UHHHHH!! and subsequently die a rock and roll death. Seriously though, Bellbottoms is the shit, you can smell it down the fucking block. The drumming is so simple and primal and yet so fucking effective in making you go apeshit. The UHHHHHs are so on point. The swagger so swaggery. This is the JSBX at their best, this is the reason I’m writing about them now, and this is why you should buy this retrospective immediately.
Bellbottoms.
UHHHHH!!!
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