What do you do when a novelty throwaway called “(Let’s Go) Smoke Some Pot” resuscitates a career that’s been wavering between local notoriety and national insignificance for 12 years? Release a whole album of tracks like it!
So New Orleans institution Dash Rip Rock has put out Gold Record, a collection of the silly songs that make up a good part of their crazy and inebriated cowpunk legacy. There’s a blitzkrieg version of “I Saw The Light”, “Jambalaya” turned into a spoof of Cajun culture, and plenty of raunchy stuff like “Pussywhipped” and “Rich Little Bitch”. One of the catchier choruses features the over-the-top line “I want to be locked inside a liquor store with you,” sure to become a Mardi Gras anthem.
To their credit, the band captures much of the fun and silliness that is a Dash Rip Rock concert, and the jokes don’t wear thin until the last strains of “Stairway To Free Bird” (a hidden bonus track, of course) stagger boozily out of the speakers. But on their previous record, Get You Some Of Me, Dash succeeded in melding the silliness with some surprisingly poignant songwriting that even sensitive guys like John Hiatt would be proud of, and it’s frustrating to see the pendulum swing the other way.