Customer Reviews

Cock a Doodle Dont

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever wonder what it might be like to hear Elvis roaring over a mosh-pit on the moon? Well, you've clicked on the right link! If the epic duststorms of the Grapes of Wrath-era American plains ever had a soundtrack, this would be it. Featuring a tornado on harmonica and a locomotive on electric guitar, this album is a frenzied storm of sound from start to finish. Reinventing Slim Harpo with a sizzling take on "Shake Your Hips," these guys don't just shake the shack down; they char the ground it stood on. Not since Muddy Waters has anyone played the harmonica so rudely; the album plays like an audible time warp -- some lost great LP from the famed "Chess" label of Muddy, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Slim and Bo, perhaps. Equally as astonishing as this album's energy is the musical range it navigates. Addictive boogie-woogie blues like "Hunkerdown" and especially "CB Song" launch effortlessly into the ragtime hysterics of "Help Me From my Brain." Appealing to people from every destination along the spectrum of musical tastes, The Shackshakers serve up something for everyone. If their Tom Waits-ish clang doesn't drag you into the maelstrom of their glory, then maybe the banjo/fiddle freakouts will do the trick. This is the kind of stuff that can transform a Friday night game of bingo into a good old-fashioned rave.

I discovered this bunch of Yay-hoos when I was trying to find out who recorded the awesome, slimey, bluesy number I heard on a certain Geico insurance commercial. It was these guys, and the song is called "CB Song". Tone deaf friends would tap their toes to it - it was the hoochie coo anthem of the dark side of human existence. The Shack Shakers populate a twisted landscape of night creatures, where hillbillies run from lynch mobs, the Devil holds auctions on Saturday night, and cockfighting is the national sport. Awesome, bent stuff that is sure to get under your skin like a tattoo and ruin you for the vapid, uninspired garbage they play on the radio these days. These guys are ORIGINAL, a term you don't often apply to popular music. Do yourself a big favor and grab this album. Words don't do any justice - just play the cuts you can listen to here and see if you don't agree this is a cut above the regular bump and grind.

If you are looking for something that is different, I mean really different, then this is it!! The Legendary Shack Shakers proud to present their latest release "Cockadoodledon't" courtesy of the folks at Bloodshot records in Chicago. Don't let the label fool you though, this is no alt country release like any I've ever come across.

Apparently not to be confused with the rockabilly band of the same name (featuring the same Col. J.D. Wilkes, the former Mr. Puniverse of the rockabilly world), the Legendary Shack Shakers put out a set o­n this CD that will amaze, confound and amuse.....or just plane blow out your eardrums if you've got the right track o­n too loud. Combining blues, rockabilly, hillbilly, country, punk and whatever they can get their hands o­n they've come up with their own deep-fried explosive sound. The boys have enlisted the use of just about every instrument in the book o­n "Cockadoodledon't"...harmonica, melodeon, banjo, keys, guitar, upright bass, drums, key accordion, mandolin and I even thought a heard a twangy little mouth harp in there.

The album slips from rockin' blues o­n songs like "Pinetree Boogie" to the jug band sound o­n "Clodhopper", from hard edge rock to ole timey. Vocally, sounding a bit like Reverend Horton Heat meets S.C.O.T.S. meets deliverance, Col. J.D. captures his manic-auctioneer-on trucker speed delivery perfectly. I will have to admit that some of singing through the harmonica mike did get o­n my nerves, but the album has a whole is sure to amuse.

The Legendary Shack Shakers let loose with some of the most energetic rockabilly/blues/bluegrass you'll ever hear. Add a dash of punk rock to that mix too. JD Wilkes can really blow the harp too. Picture the Reverend Horton Heat meets Slim Harpo and a bit of Bill Monroe and MC5. Check out their version of Slim Harpo's "Shake Your Hips". It's got the spirit of the original, yet is done way over the top (in a good way). Hear they put on a great show too, so if you get a chance go see 'em.

Cockadoodledont is a natural step forward from the band's previous album, Hunkerdown. It also seems to be a fan favorite. This time around, Col JD Wilkes is working with alt. country(don't you friggin hate that genre label?) singer/guitarist, Joe Buck, who would later go on to do a solo career and work with Hank III. The results are outstanding! Lightning can strike twice, and harder! This time around Wilkes and Co. add some new elements to the mix-We have more Bluegrass, more Punk, and more Swampy Southern Rock. Plus some goofy stuff I can't really even categorize! Lyrics are getting more demented and crazy as well. The production is still raw, but slicker than on Hunkerdown, but it sounds great. The album is rather short(like all Shack Shakers albums), but there's not a stinker in the bunch, and it's so much better for a band to leave you wanted more than to bore the hell out of you. And if you dig American roots music with an edge, Cockadoodledont will certainly NOT bore the hell out of you.
And why the hell is Gwar in the tag suggestions?

These guys rule! This disc is a must for fans of Rev. Horton Heat or anything on Fat Possum. I saw this band open for The Black Keys and they blew the roof off the place! When i went out during the set break to buy the CD there was the lead singer wandering around looking for PBR in a can. I knew right then this was a great band.

If you have been told about the Legendary Shack Shakers, and are wondering which album to start with, this would be it.
th'Legendary Shack Shakers are a southern gothic band out of Paducah, KY, whose lead singer/harpist is completely fascinating in his explorative style, and search for American roots music.
Some of the strongest tracks on the album are "Pinetree Boogie", which starts off the album with a high energy burst. Following is "CB Song", smooth cruising to feel dangerous, primitve and sexy. "Hunkerdown" seems to be an invitation to the fire, sit on your haunches and let the night weave into darkened tales. "Blood on the Bluegrass" is, like most LSS songs, contains the evocative imagery of denied spirits, hungering hearts and wild vengance.
"Shake Your Hips", a cover of a Slim Harpo tune, is a fantastic throw in that almost keeps up with the original's power.
"Bullfrog Blues", "Devil's Night Auction", "Hoptown Jailbreak" are also three fairly good tunes, though not as much as the five previously mentioned.
"Clodhopper" is a strong country/folk tune, and for those anticipating the southern gothic or psychobilly leanings will be thrown off by this purer throwback. "Wild Wild Lover" was simply an average song, and overall not to judge the album by.
A fantastic album, and the first "new" band I've fallen in love with for over a decade, their music is just that exciting and brimming with originality and energy. Get in to them today!

I bought this and a couple other cd's at the same time. I put this one in my player first, and it hasn't left yet. Just a great cd, start to finish, no duds on the entire disc. I'm anxious to start listening to some of their other stuff, just a little worried it might not be as good, if it's better than this... I don't know. I also liked this because it has A LOT of work by Joe Buck who is a freaking maniac! I'd love to see this guys live, hope they come to Wisconsin sometime soon.

I was looking for a band that mixed the influences of GWAR, Dolly Pardon, AC/DC, Carl Orff and the Jonas Brothers into one Album.

Buy it, play it, live it

Iggy Pop, The Sex Pistols, and Jason & The Scorchers got together and had a baby. They named it The Legendary Shack Shakers. If you EVER get the chance to catch these guys "live"... DO IT! You will not regret that evening.