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The Asylum Street Spankers | Spanker Madness

A heart-warming cocktail of pre-war blues music, kitschy country and authentic jazz samples.
CD, Spanks-a-Lot

Tekst: Maurice Dielemans

Publicatiedatum: 13 augustus 2002

With an extraordinary and heart-warming cocktail of pre-war blues music, kitschy country and authentic jazz samples, The Asylum Street Spankers - an idiosyncratic collective from the heart of Texas - recalls the breeding and good old days of Tom Waits. Though it’s anything like Waits, because Waits’ melancholy and infinite sadness have been carefully replaced by a weird sense of humour. The Asylum Street Spankers demonstrate how to bring a smile into this world of heartbroken troubadours and losers. The instruments that are used on Spanker Madness are anything but rock ‘n’ roll, such are the bizarre lyrics and The Spanker’s touch of extravaganza. There is a ukulele, mandolins, singing saws, and even washboards can be heard, but the most important instrument here is an ancient water pipe to take the listener upwards. Sometimes you’ll be surprised by folk sounds or an exotic melody from Hawaii. Anything seems to be possible with The Spankers. The most remarkable tunes are High As You Can Be, the J.J. Cale-ish Blade Of Grass, Winning The Warm On Drugs (with a melody that is borrowed from Ghost Riders In The Sky) and Amsterdam, which song titles all reveal that the green, green grass of The Netherlands was the main influence of Spanker Madness. Once you are on higher grounds it doesn’t really matter that there is a singer who suddenly starts laughing in the middle of a serious song. This is not something for everyone.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/the-asylum-street-spankers/spanker-madness/1763/
Meer The Asylum Street Spankers op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/the-asylum-street-spankers