Get Off the Cross, We Need the Wood for the Fire

Firewater

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 22, 1996)
• Original Release Date: October 22, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jet Set Records
• ASIN: B0000058SB
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #188,089 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Some Strange Reaction

2. Bourbon and Division

3. Refinery

4. When I Burn This Place Down

5. Circus

6. I Am the Rain

7. Balaliaka

8. Drunken Jew

9. Mr. Cardiac

10. Snake-Eyes and Boxcars

11. One of Those

12. Hold On, Slow John

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hallelujah!, July 15, 1999

By A Customer

Let me just say that Tod A. is God and this album proves it. What a swagger! What an sneer! What a voice! This album will bring you up when you're down and keep you up when you're up. I read a review saying the songs are like little bastard children dancing on the devil's grave. Can I hear an amen, brothers and sister?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars indie rock at its best, a worthy 5-star, November 17, 2000

By	almosthappy (San Diego, CA, California) - See all my reviews

When it comes to creating sonic ambience, exercising inner demons, revealnig the most tender feelings ,and mixing exotic musical styles and influences, few artists come close to Tom Waits; the boys from Firewater came pretty damn close, very very close. The record opens with two powerful tracks: "Some Strange Reaction" and "Bourbon and Division". The two openers have a near perfect mixture of rock, folk and Eastern European influences. The first two tracks are like a squeaky old elevator that takes you down to a dark, bleak, industralized but nevertheless romantic underground world. The songs in this disk celebrated loveable losers, weird characters, the beauty and the tranquillity in the most unlikely places, spirituality of atheists, hope from despairs, and all the insignificant details of the world ignored by the pop culture. A very good CD indeed, highly recommended. If you enjoy this CD, may I also suggest Mule Variation by Tom Waits and Malediction by Botanica.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bloody BRILLIANT!!, October 21, 1998

By A Customer

An all-time favorite! A friend turned me on to this CD about 2yrs. ago when I was really bored with heavy rotation radio and all things Seattle. On first listen I literally got out of my chair and said 'Who is this? These guys are GREAT!" (As a musician and listener - I don't usually do that) After over 2 years owning "Get Off The Cross...", I haven't worn it out yet and is high on my "stranded on a desert island" list.

While maintaining a pop-ish sort of appeal and accessibility to their sound, Firewater blends in a middle-eastern or even slightly Russian flavor into thier sound, giving a whole new (to the popular American palette) and interesting dimension which suits the agreeable, albiet slightly darker songwriting perfectly! "Some Strange Reaction", "Bourbon + Division", "Mr. Cardiac" and "Snakeyes & Boxcars" are personal favorites.

I would file this CD with Led Zeppelin - I, Pearl Jam - Ten, or any other album that just simply defined a new standard. As a fan of everyone from Greg Brown to The Dead Milkmen to Slayer to Savatage to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Stuck Mojo, I can see an appeal to many of those fans too. Buy it. It rocks! Although I'd love to see them in a club, these guys should sell out stadiums!