Customer Reviews

Modern Sounds of the Knitters

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Twenty years might seem a long time to wait between albums but that's the story of the Knitters, a fun, side project that features members of X and Dave Alvin. Twenty years ago, the Knitters formed, played a few gigs and released an album called Poor Little Critter on the Road. The reaction of some was that it was a novelty act, but in truth the Knitters were especially important in Los Angeles' music scene that was dominated by hardcore punk. The Knitters proved that country could be cutting edge and had more to say than many punk anthems.

You can do that when you have talented people like Dave Alvin, John Doe, Exene, Jonny Ray Bartel and DJ Bonebrake. You can they had so much fun with their first CD 20 years ago and it especially showed when they played live.

It's 20 years later and we have a new CD, and it's much better than the first one. This might be a fun side project but this is not a novelty CD. There are a number of amazing songs on this album including Give Me Flowers While I'm Living, Dry River, and Long Chain. The entire album is great and is a great showcase for these great musicians. I wholeheartedly recommend this CD and urge you to see this band live for the limited tour that they will embark upon. This is truly for a limited time only. Take advantage of it while you can.

After a long stretch (over ten years) during which I only listened to Classical, this new release from "The Knitters" has renewed my love for the risk-taking, intelligent music of John Doe, Exene Cervenka, and D.J. Bonebrake (all three of "X", my all-time favorite band), who collaborate beautifully here with the guitar virtuoso Dave Alvin and bassist Johny Ray Bartel. Since X's punk music always was rooted in country (and often shared with it the themes of unrequited love, drunken loneliness, and desperation), the country idiom comes naturally to these musicians. Though often tinged with caustic humor, the songs are not a parody of country, but rather a respectful and imaginative reworking of the approaches of folks like Loretta Lynn or Johnny Cash and June Carter. How I love John and Exene's intriguing, immediately recognizable harmonies -- and though it's been 20 years since "The Knitters" last release, they sound fresh as ever.

May this recording bring new attention to these exceptionally talented invidiuals who, in careers spanning over two decades, have made enormous contributions to American music. I saw "The Knitters" live last night in Alexandria, VA, and was blown away by their energy, their distinctive sound and unpretentiously high level of artisty, and their good-natured humor and generosity with the audience. All those qualities come through on this disc. Get it -- you won't be disappointed.

Christopher Wilson, Virginia

Who are The Knitters?... Well, you could say they are are talented group of artists who serves up delights that you'll have ringing in your heard for the next few days and weeks...Zoe and Rounder Records brings this latest release "THE MODERN SOUNDS OF THE KNITTERS", featuring Dave Alvin (electric/acoustic/steel body/baritone guitars), Jonny Ray Bartel (string bass), D.J. Bonebrake (snare drum/wash tub/percussion), Exene Cervenka (vocal) and John Doe (vocal/acoustic/slide guitars)...strong distinctive style that takes you back to the early days of Country and Folk Music...Americana roots and Zoe/Rounder have done more for the genre today than any other label that comes to mind...remember the likes when country and folk music was pure and not mixed with pop...The Knitters bring this album full circle, just the way we like 'em!

The album songs in alphabetical order and composers listed:
BORN TO BE WILD (Mars Bonifire)
BURNING HOUSE OF LOVE (Exene Cervenka/John Doe)
DRY RIVER (Dave Alvin)
EASY GOIN' SUNDAY (The Knitters)
GIVE ME FLOWERS WHILE I'M LIVING (Public Domain - arranged by Exene Cervenka)
I'LL GO DOWN SWINGING (Whispering Bill Anderson)
IN THIS HOUSE THAT I CALL HOME (Exene Cervenka/John Doe)
LITTLE MARGARET (traditional - arranged by John Doe)
LONG CHAIN ON (Jimmy Driftwood)
NEW CALL OF THE WRECKIN' BALL,THE (John Doe/Dave Alvin)
RANK STRANGER (Albert C. Brumley)
SKIN DEEP TOWN (Exene Cervenka/John Doe)
TRY ANYMORE (WHY DON'T WE EVEN) (John Doe)

There is a lonesome tone, a mood set between genres of rockbilly and blends of folk mixed with country-punk...a flavor not so unbecoming from former X members like Doe, Cervenka and Bonebrake feature storytelling as much of the truth rings from each lyrics...closing with Steppenwolf's "BORN TO BE WILD", a classic from this multi-talented group of entertainers...gotta love it!

Total Time: 39:00 on 13 Tracks ~ Zoe Records 1057 ~ (7/12/2005)

Take the remnants of X, one of the seminal bands of the 80's, and Dave Alvin, once of the Blasters, throw in a healthy understanding of roots music, and you come up with a beautiful concoction of punk, rock, roots, blue-grass, music that will blow your socks off.

With excellent vocals from Exene and John Doe of X, the songs on this CD are, each and everyone of them, a classic. Remakes of a couple classic X songs and the coolest rendition of "Born to Be Wild", and some original tunes, make for a strong Cd top to bottom. Not a weak track to be found, just toe-tapping, enjoyable music throughout.

If you see them in concert you will be much rewarded. They put on a more punk-inspired set that blows away most acts nowadays.

This album will make you head back into the past and look for those classic X albums. A good place to start is with their recent Los Angeles live album.

Bought this album in Seattle yesterday, and kept it in the CD Player all the way to Portland and back. Couldn't get enough of it!

Combine sharp sarcastic punk-style social commentary with old country standards, and you get the Knitters. Just like the musically talented alter-ego punk band 'X' which shares most of the same musicians, the Knitters are unknown by much of the Alt- Music mainstream, but are worth a hard listen - and purchase. A country fan may recognize the sound of old-time country or rockabilly guitar, but the lyrics to the Knitter's original songs can be a little less traditional, to say the least.

Certainly not over-produced, nor particularly refined, the Knitters have easily picked up where they left off 20 years ago with a combination of traditional country tunes and original country-style and punk songs, sung with the remarkable dissonent harmonies of Exene Cervenka and John Doe, and backed with an energetic band.

The Knitters will likely never be on the Country Music Awards (like it matters), but I can never get them out my head, or ear.

If you like alt music, either rock or Country, consider a listen to the Knitters or X. Both are alot of fun, with some good liberal social commentary mixed in. The only two Knitters albums appeared 20 years apart. Hope its much sooner before the next one!

Well, I was in university when I got my pawas on the first album. Between the original album by the Knitters and the original Jason and the Nashville Scorchers album, your picture of alt country in the 1980's is complete.

THe problem for alt country started right after that Dwight got commercial, and everyone else that followed couldn't write a song that was more than a durge/98 beats per minute. You could feel the pain but never the joy. Ol'97s came close but not close enough. The dynamic nature of the 1980's led us into stuff like WHiskeytown, anything by Jeff Tweety, Niko Case etc. All of the new alt country bands seemed to think that coutry music was all waltzes originally.

Now the foreshadowing of this album came a long in the for of bands like Big Sandy, Sonney Leyland and like it or not Hank III.

Today, what we call ageing rockers, bring together the stuff that made them famous . . .no holds barred effort, output, and energy. THis is what true professionals can do. Dave alvin sounds like to Dave of my youth so to speak. Playin' hard! Harmonies with the ex Mr & Mrs Doe are great as they fly up and down the backbone of each song, just like they did in the 80's. I don't like to go on too much about the past, but a bancd that waits 20years to give us a second album, gives us no choice.

I'm going to see them tonight in Toronto at Lee's Palace. This will be like every other Dave Alvin/Blasters/X show I've ever seen. . . . high impact.

For X fans, this CD would be worth buying just to hear John Doe and Exene make their distinctive almost-harmonies together again -- it was for me, at any rate. But this is a terrific set on its own, one for blasting on the car radio, music that makes the case that the great American originals who started country music had a lot of punk in their attitudes. A big bonus is "Born to be Wild," which is simultaneously a sendup of this dopey hippy anthem and one of the best versions of the song I've ever heard.

Suffice to say, Poor Little Critter in the Road is one of the best albums of ALL TIME, and so I am excited to see the Knitters back. I heard a great interview with Dave Alvin on NPR, and it is always a joy to hear an interview with a wizened musician who is so real and makes it clear that he would be a joy to buy a drink for. I get the same impression of every member of the Knitters: they're not "down-home," for that is a bastardized term that has come to mean someone who likes to appear sincere and natural, but truly has nothing down-home about him or her. No doubt that the 3 ex-X members would make the drinking session a memorable one, but by no means boring.

But no doubt, the evening would incite wisdom.

That is the feel of this album. Though not as hardcore a classic as Poor Little Critter, it does show that the Knitters bat 1.000 at doing country music more sincerely than any current country performaers of any note. And of course, they do it with a little edge that combines a true respect for country while also having a sense of humor about it. Rather than buying everyone in this band a drink, I'd rather bring a bottle with me to the recording studio and just enjoy the level that this crew can jam and enjoy each other in their music.

There are, of course, two obligatory X remakes (the version of "Burning House of Love" is not quite as sharp as the live countrified version that they did live and appears on the X Anthology disc, but still of high notary excellence) and some old tunes brought to new life, but with songs like "The New Call of the Wreckin' Ball," the colorful character who once graced Poor Little Critter as a chicken-stomping creature banned to live out his days in a rundown coop comes back with some new wisdom. The song itself is one of my least favorite on this disc, but it does show you how thoughtful The Knitters are about their music. Maybe TOO thoughtful, since it took 20 years to hear another Knitters album, but this kind of thoughtfulness would make their perfect record of putting out great albums untouchable.

dudes, i love the Blasters and i like X and the original Knitters was 1 of a kind, but what's with all the 5 stars here? If the 1st was 5* this is 2-1/2. sorry. mighta coulda benefited from an outside producer and after 20 years perhaps a little better song selection. Wrecking Ball redux is weak and mixed with the vocals down and nearly undecipherable. Some of the songs are good and i wouldn't want to discourage further efforts by what, in tandem, is a hide-skinning band. Little more soul coal woulda fired my boiler.

I can't tell yas how happy this album makes me. It was well worth the wait, that's for sure. Their original "Poor Little Critter"--along with Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue" and Jason & The (Nashville) Scorchers' "Reckless Country Soul"--turned me on to the bottomless well that is great country music. Those records (NOT Uncle Tupelo--though I dug them too) were the beginnings of what is called "alt-country" now, so if you've never heard them, go back and find them. BUT don't pass on this, as it completely lives up the promise of their first. A great record by a historic band--what more could ya want? AND they're playing an hour from my house in September!! Life is good, folks.