Customer Reviews

Believe

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After going through numerous guitarists and three drummers since the exit of former Shack*Shaker JoeBuck (now with Hank Williams III's "Damn Band"), Those Legendary Shack*Shakers don't seem to miss a step on the latest release from YepRoc, "Believe". Col. JD Wilkes returns this time with David Lee on guitar, Mark Robertson on bass, and an array of guest musicians filling in where the gaps are. Paulie Simmonz, who left the band in August to spend more time at home, plays most of the drums on this album. If you're familiar with the Shakers' previous outing, "Cockadoodledont", you'll be ready for the vocals screamed through a harmonica mic, as well as changes of pace from rock to bluegrass to goth country in the blink of an eye. In the first track "Agony Wagon", you'll hear a fiddle, clarinet, and banjo being played. And this song really defines the band. A simple, Southern sensibility added to Wilkes' natural showman attitude and a little dysfunction and sin thrown in to spice things up. In "County Of Graves", Wilkes plays the part of a preacher, and towards the end of the song delivers his sermon about Biblical character Abraham, something found regularly in his live performances. "Believe" does sound like a gospel album at times. But perhaps it's a gospel album that's been tainted with rock'n roll and the ways of the world. "Cussin' In Tongues" features some back-up mock choir vocals, and "Bible Cyst" explores JD's wish to return to Earth as a poltergeist. If you're a hillbilly punk; a punk that can go for some harmonica with his electric guitar; or just a fan of rock music in general, you should enjoy this album. It's got many a foot-tapping, head banging moments that will have pompadourks everywhere shaking their hips.

This album is definitely a departure from their last. The music still has the rockabilly/blues/hillbilly/punk influence of their last disc, but throw in some klezmer and some polka too. They're going in so many different directions it gets confusing. They really seem to be etching out their own style though. When I first got it, I must say I was a bit disappointed. I kept listening though and it really grew on me. JD and Co. really don't seem to be trying to play any kind of specific music at all. There are just some darn good songs on here. I'd like to hear some more harp, but that's just nit-picking. The music is still high energy with some great lyrics. Their version of "Help Me" (Sonny Boy Williamson II), start off like the original and then kicks into distorted screaming mania. Some tunes feature fiddle and clarinet also. Fistwhistle Boogie features the most/best harp by JD on the album, some great bass slapping by Mark, and boogies like nobody's business. Pick it up, and give it several listens to really let it sink in.

...it doesn't stick to my ribs quite like "Cockadoodle Don't". That second album from this amazing band was one of the finest, most original things I've heard in years. (Actually the band has changed more times than you can count - it's the front man that never changes: J.D. Wilkes, who may be the best harp player working now.) But this most recent offering doesn't seem to be quite as original, quite as addictive. It took me several days to play all of it, for instance - I kept finding something else to do, unlike Cockadoodle, which got played 3 times back to back the first time I heard it. The songs are all great - tight, screaming rock typical of the genre, but lots of the sounds are very derivative (you could, of course, call them "classic") and seem lifted right out of other albums. One song has a pure 70's hard rock sound - Led Zepplin would be proud. The next has a classic 1-4-5-1 blues lick that seems mundane in comparison to what Wilkes is capable of writing. Then there's some klezmer stuff that sounds like it came from a deranged Jewish wedding. All fun, all listenable, but compare any of it to "CB Song", or "Devil's Night Auction" or "Pine Tree Boogie", and the difference is apparent. I'm glad I got this, and will give it many many more listens, but for album #4 I hope the good Colonel can dig up that Mason Jar of inspiration that brought us album #2. This is still one of the most amazing bands working now, and their live show is a draining experience.

Good stuff! A great album from a great band. This is the 3rd Shack Shakers album I have purchased and I have yet to be disappointed. Believe is the first of 3 concept albums. You can tell that the band has grown since this album, but it is still a very good piece. If you enjoy good American music and have an open mind, give it a listen. I doubt you will be disappointed.

This Cd has a better balance of songs on it.Then the last Cd. This Cd shows growth in the band.I like this Cd the best out of all of them.It's got a little more of a grown up feeling to it,in a cool way.They are great fun live so check them out if you get the chance. see ya!

I just saw these guys open up for the Rev in Cambridge over the weekend. Wow wanna talk about stealing the show? These guys brought the house down, consider me converted. Damn JD can play that harp, the whole band was really tight and on point.

Occasionally I'll score an album higher than it deserves, just because of the initial enthusiasm I have when it comes out, and will later revise my review after my excitement has abated. The Legendary Shack Shakers "Believe" I think will have the opposite effect. The more I hear it, the more I think it deserves a '5'.

I'll briefly reiterate what several other reviews have said: this is psychobilly, a blend of blues, punk, country and a couple of other things in what is the most unique, yet traditional sound in recent music history. Contradictory? Thus is the nature of the Legendary Shack Shakers.

My album favorite track is 'Piss and Vinegar', but there is no really bad track on the album. No ballads, no introspection (well, OK, 'Pony to Bet On' is kind of introspective), just raw energy that crawls on top off your brain and hops frantically around, demanding your attention. This isn't background music.

LSS is lyrically wicked without excessive crudity, blending their styles without the slightest hiccup.

Definitely recommend buying this new and for listening to the entire album.

This album is brilliant. I love how they mix traditional instruments,punk/rockabilly energy, and gothic/doomy themes. My personal favorites on this cd are Agony Wagon which to me sounds like some sort of gypsy romp and Where's the Devil When You Need Him. On the latter that I mentioned it sounds as if they're singing through CBs. Very creepy and very cool.

Nashville's Legendary Shack Shakers are a punk blues rockabilly trio that rock like Rev. Horton Heat run into Southern Culture on the Skids at a roadhouse somewhere on a dark road in the South. Songwriter and vocalist Col. J.D. Wilkes wails through the distortion of his vintage bullet-shaped microphone like (to quote their publicity) "a punk song and dance man" - an apt description of his high-octance performances - both live and on record.

The disc opens with the adrenal klezmer of "Agony Wagon," that's sure to inspire a polka frenzy as the fiddle, clarinet and twangy electric guitar battle for supremacy. From there the disc rocks a bit more straight-forwardly, with the Marilyn Manson-esque march beat of "Where's the Devil... When You Need Him?" giving way to the gutter blues of "Piss and Vinegar." There's psychobilly to be had, but tunes like "County of Graves" carry a Southern gothic edge in their fiddle that lend a flavor apart from The Cramps and their ilk.

The vintage mic is the perfect instrument for the CB-styled "Cussin' in Tongues," and Wilke's harp blows blue for a blistering cover of Sonny Boy Williamson and Willie Dixon's "Help Me." Vocal distortions add a creepy edge throughout the disc, but besides the waltz-time "The Pony to Bet On" and the klezmer coda, "Misery Train," the band never cools down enough for the vocals to seem out of place. This is one relentless record.

If Brian Setzer was back in a rockin' Rockabilly Band, this is it! I can groove to it, but not something I can listen to over and over again.