Customer Reviews

Wildfires & Misfires: Two Decades Of Outtakes & Rarities

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This is a surprizing mix of songs most done during the first two decades of Jason and the Scorchers. The liner notes are extensive with Jason giving tid-bits to enliven your understanding and enjoyment of the music. Some are covers of their standards, Absolutely Sweet Marie, Jimmie Roger's Last Blue Yodel and Cappuccino Rosie. These are very different versions from the versions that you have heard. A number of songs they never released are here as well.
If you enjoy Jason and the Scorchers, don't pass this by.

Jason and the Scorchers recorded two of the greatest Country-Punk-Rock albums : 'Lost and Found' and 'Fervor'. I was really excited when they released this collection of unreleased and rare material. However, it did not turn out to be the 'huge' album that I hoped it to be. All the previously released material is definitely better in its original then these alternative versions. The live material is a bit 'sloppy' at times and one of the tracks ('Tear it up') is even faded out - a definite 'no-no' for a live recording. The highlights to me are 'Fallen Angel', 'Buried me like a Bone' and the great cover version of 'Ruby, Don't take your love to town'. If you are a Jason and the Scorchers fan, this one should be part of your collection, otherwise try to get 'Both Sides of the Line' which combines the first two releases on one CD.

This is made up of 19 tracks of outtakes, rarities & live stuff. Jason Ringenberg gives a couple of sentences of background info on each song. Some of the highlights are a live guitar duel in the true sense of the word between Warren Hodges & Link Wray...covers of Polk Salad Annie and Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town with the guitarist from The Georgia Satellites and there is a real tearjerker that's sung by Hodges' mom. As individual songs go, this disk is a great collection...but as an entire album it fails because the songs genres jump too drastically between mellow C&W weepers into live raunchy "guitars on 11" rockers. It was laid out chronologically but in this case it's too jarring. But it should sound great in my CD shuffler.

I was one of the lucky few who caught Jason & The Scorchers during the handful of live dates they did last year. [It was July Jamm in Lincoln, NE, and worth the long drive back home to see these guys on stage!] While it looks like we can be waiting indefinitely for the re-release of their early albums (FERVOR and LOST AND FOUND especially!), this collection of demos, live tracks and outtakes is a welcome fix for those of us who got hooked on the Scorchers brand of high-octane country/rock.

Many of these songs--though presented here in different form--will be readily recognizable: demo versions of "Absolutely Sweet Marie," "Shop It Around" and a live version of "Lost Highway (recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour). But the real gems are the new songs. There's a haunting version of "Long Black Veil." The pull-out-all-the-stops version of "Tear It Up" performed before a live audience in Denmark features a guitar battle between Warner Hodges and Link Wray that will leave you breathless. They also tear through a rousing live version of "Polk Salad Annie" with Warner Hodges on vocals. And there's a classic country quality to the tearjerker "The Slow Train Never Ends," which features a duet with Warner's mother Blanche. One of my personal favorites is a live and unplugged radio show performance of "Jimmie Rodgers' Last Blue Yodel."

All told, this is a welcome addition to the Jason and the Scorchers canon. If you miss these guys half as much as I do, you owe to yourself to buy this album (before it goes out of print, too). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Another very fine compilation of
B songs, sides, 'in-the-can' stuff
and goofs as only this band can make
them sound good. Fine collectable,
but look especially for Essential
J& S! Pick Up on It!