Customer Reviews

Two Fisted Tales

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

 

 

It's hard to contain my enthusiasm for this CD. On it the Long Ryders combine irresistible melodies with intelligent, heart-felt lyrics that -- unlike most of rock and roll -- do not insult your intelligence. "Gunslinger Man" recalls the best western tunes of the Eagles' "Desperado" and the Chicago group of the early 1970s Wilderness Road's -- totally evoking the wild west. "I Want You Bad" is a credible version of the Dave Edmonds classic. But the real highlights include the civil rights ode "Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home," "Spectacular Fall," "and "For the Rest of My Days." There's actually no objectively bad song on the CD, although subjectively you may or may not like a tune. All in all, it's simply a wonderful collection of The Long Ryders at its peek -- not long before this wonderful group disbanded. It's one of the few groups I wish I had seen perform live (them and The Rainmakers -- which if you like the Long Ryders, be sure to check out The Rainmakers).

Track Listing
1. Gunslinger Man
2. I Want You Bad
3. Stitch In Time, A
4. Light Gets In The Way, The
5. Prairie Fire
6. Baby's In Toyland
7. Long Story Short
8. Man Of Misery
9. Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
10. For The Rest Of My Days
11. Spectacular Fall

This is the absolute best album by this great group. It all seems to fall together on this their swan song recording. It is interesting to read the liner notes by drummer Greg Sowders "The boys all turned up with nice new guitars and probably the best tunes we ever put our names on..." I totally agree. The first three song make quite a trilogy- "Gunslinger Man";"I Want You So Bad"; and "A Stitch In Time", these songs are as good as the very best of the Stones (think "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Brown Sugar") YES these songs are that good. The boys then downshift a bit with a great song in the tradition of the Byrds and Tom Petty "The Light Gets In The Way," They then hit the gas with "Prarie Fire" (you'll want to crank up this one). They then enter the realm of Arthur Lee and Love- "Babes in Toyland," then back to a great roots rocker with stunning guitar interplay "Long Story Short," This song is followed by a quartet of amazing songs- "Man of Misery" (great lyrics and great drumming); "Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home" (a song very timely in these intolerant political times);"The Rest of My Days"(very personal lyrics and great band interaction). The album ends on a real high note with "Spectacular Fall". The four bonus tracks are a great plus and worth the price of the recording alone- "Ring Bells"; "State of My Union";"Time Keeps Travelling"; and "Babe We All Gotta Go Down". This is an absolute desert island disk and is one of the best rock and roll recordings of the last 20 years. ESSENTIAL!

I bought this when it came out on vinyl and had to tape it several times because I kept wearing out the tapes. Great american roots rock for fans of The Bodeans or The Blasters.

Lead Longryder Sid Griffin's obvious affinity for Gram Parsons and the whole LA rock-country scene was evident from the release of their very first EP ("10-6-60") and appearances of paisley underground samplers such as The Radio Tokyo Tapes and The Rebel Kind.

This latter-day release, from 1987, has 3/4 of the original band intact, with bassist Tom Stevens replacing Des Brewer. The opening track suggests that the Long Ryders picked up a strain of the 'ballsy rock' disease that infected later albums from the Dream Syndicate (e.g., "Medicine Man"). It's not terminal, and beyond the opener there's actually quite a bit of variety.

A cover of Terry Adams' "I Want You Bad" is incredibly catchy (so catchy that Griffin reused the riff in a more recent release by Western Electric). Background vocals by Bangles Debbi and Vicki Peterson don't hurt. "The Light Gets in the Way" features some beautiful accordion by Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and organ by W. Pleasure of The Spinning Wig Hats. "The Rest of My Days" has a T-Bone Burnett like vocal (assumedly from Steve McCarthy). Other tracks ("A Stitch in Time" "Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home") are less impressive.

Overall, this retains many of the Long Ryders best qualities: punchy electric guitar and drums mixed with a bit of jangle in a Byrds-like way (may the Rickenbacker 12-string never die), some nice acoustic guitar and mandolin playing, and great background vocals and harmonies. But despite their maturation as a band, there nothing here as compelling as their first few releases.