Customer Reviews

Real Sock Ray Blue

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, let me say I rarely give a perfect score in anything. After a good dozen or so listenings, I have to say that Mojo is still Mojo after all these years. That is saying a lot. At first,I was worried that after a good seventeen-eighteen years of playing his music Mojo-Style, he wouldn't be able to keep up to the high standard he set w/ Bo-Day-Shus or Root Hog or Die. It is great to see he's not being Mojo Nixon-1989, or trying to re-create it. Compare his eighties "Debbie Gibson is Pregnant w/ my Two-Headed Love Child" or "Stuffin' Martha's Muffin" w/ "Drunk Divorced Floozy" or "Orenthal James was Might Bad Man" from this disc. He can make accurate social commentary and the topics/content/lyrics aren't stale, & neither is the music. I could go on & on in more detail, but this is a must disc for all Mojo fans, and a definite for all who have still not been exposed to this God-send. We all need to pay more attention to the Mojo-perspective in the world. It has helped me survive.

"Sock Ray Blue" covers a lot of ground in terms of its topical content. Although it does not always pack the punch of "Gadzooks" and "Root Hog or Die," it still manages to encompass everything from the "Rock and Roll Hall of Lame" to the "Drunk Divorced Floozie" farce that the Princess Diana Spencer media circus funeral became in our recent past. When Mr. Nixon isn't singing the praises of the late great Otis Redding, he's denouncing the reverse racism of the O.J. Simpson verdict. These redneck rants must be kept in perspective, but they range from powerful statements about the meaning of freedom to the trivial pursuit of celebrating the mindlessness of popular culture for its own sake. "Disney Is The Enemy" may not be the best song on the album, but its title typifies the attitude of this record. At the end of the 20th century, "Sock Ray Blue" may be the guiltiest pleasure of the year. Funny, raunchy, and always in bad taste, enjoy it with someone you can afford to offend.

"The Real Sock Ray Blue" captures Mojo Nixon at his rabid, foaming at the mouth, disgusted at the fake and phony, best. Never one to hide his light under a bushel, Mr. Nixon buzzes through such timely themes as cybersex, faked coolness, bad relationships, paranoia, and gonzo living. His takes on cultural touchstones such as the rock n' roll hall of fame---which he accurately depicts as the Rock & Roll Hall of Lame---Disney and McDonalds, and on Orenthal James might cause polite company to wince. Well, pretty much everything here would. . .

The ride is raucous, sometimes raw, and mostly enjoyable. His back up group, the cleverly named Toadliquors, prove a dependable lot, churning out a stable background and chugging along as Mr. Nixon runs roughshod in his rockabilly from Hell mode.

I suspect listening too much would cause a bit of headache, but if you treat this recording as something to respect---like a bottle of mescal with the worm hovering near the bottom---you will enjoy it for quite some time.

Woah, I picked this up not expecting too much, and was just amazed ! Mojo just gets better with age. His trademark rockabilly sound with funny, inflamatory, and very clever lyrics is much smoother and refined than back in the "Burn Down The Malls" days. And thankfully, just as, if not more, irreverent.

Some people classify this as Comedy. Not that it isn't funny, but Mojo is so much more. He's COOL AND smart AND hillbilly/redneck AND Rockin' AND a voice yellin' out for justice.

"Drunk, Divorced Floozy", "You Can't But Cool", "Tankman Blues", "Orenthall James[Was A Mighty Bad Man]", all just awsome songs.

But there's more. The last song is so un-Mojo, so personal and *intimate* and introspective. Wow. This is the Mojo deep-down that we've never really seen. And I like it.

This CD is good stuff! The music is strong (Elvis woulda been mighty proud). The politics are biting. Just what one expects from the Toadliquors. The cover of the Muddy Waters classic "Got my Mojo Working") is just plain exciting. And someone had to tell the truth about Princess Diana -- Mojo Nixon presents it quite well in his lyrics and singing for "Drunk Divorced Floozie." The CD closes with a surprising acoustic ballad -- "When Did I Become My Dad?" that isn't exactly gut-wrenching stuff, but is about as reflective as I ever expect to hear from a veteran punker.

This album is a sad document of the transformation of a rebellious youth with some wit to a judgemental prick singing kidergarten rants as an adult. Ironically the most cathartic song that earns the one star is "When Did I Become my Dad". This song is an excellent character study that drives home its point with musical acumen. Sadly the rest of the album is pathetic. "Machines Ain't Music" culminates this disease with its idiotic, unmusical rant. Music is organized noise, a guitar is a machine, vocals are the man machine that behaves according to the contingencies of reinforcement, a piano is a machine and just because you haven't learned to appreciate synthesizers and the tones don't ring true to you based on your ignorant subjective assessments, does not mean it can't organize noise as well as a hand moving along strings over wood or other material. The Man Machine by Kraftwerk is so much more musical, than this garbage, at getting its message across AND its seriousness is so much funnier then Mojo's songs will ever be, it is ironic. Musical artists like Brian Eno, Devo, Greydon Square and on and on AND songs like, "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five and "It's Like That" by Run D.M.C. and even the album Speak & Spell by Depeche Mode also stand head and shoulders above Mojo's music in their abilties to organize noise that entertains, provides a cathartic rebellion with needed messages, and creates MUSIC that is enthralling, captivating and exciting. This album misses the boat on all fronts. This album is a sad document of how intermittent bullseyes in the past have turned to pathetic judgemental prick rants without any wit in the present, that ain't music.

I bought this after hearing it on a listening station at Tower Records three years ago -- like receiving a revalation from a burning bush. I still listen to it as frequently as anything in my CD collection. Why? Because nobody does politically charged [tail]-rockin' hillbilly music like Mojo. Like all shamans, he's a madman......frothing at the mouth, winking at the audience, leering at the girls, laughing with the gods, screaming at hypocrites and power-trippers. Rasputin with an electrical guitar. His stuff would jump off the radio if anyone would dare play it, but they never will. Too dangerous.

Mojo Nixon is one weird morbid freak with a lot of humor. And most of all his music rocks. It's a mix of country, rockabilly and blues. His tribute to Country Dick Montane on the tune of Jesse James is certainly worth listening "Country Dick had three wives, he told'em bald faced lies." But there's more to enjoy and to laugh on this CD. Buy it. You won't be dissappointed.

Disco still does suck!

Wow. I have not bought a Mojo album since Prairie Home Invasion and this guy is like a cheap bottle of wine - he just gets better with age!

Why isn't Mojo Nixon heard on the radio? There's no one better at singing about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He proves it on this CD. You've got to skip the first four cuts, but after that the alcohol fueled rock rant just rolls downhill. If you're brave enough to get this CD, try to catch yourself before absent mindedly singing one of these tunes at the office, in front of a client, or in front of your parents. It could mean big trouble.