Various Artists – Bubbahey Mudtruck (North Carolina Compilation)
This odd little compilation from Fireant Records, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, manages to be both disappointing and essential.
Alas, the disappointments lie in fundamental areas. First, the sound quality is on par with that third-generation Neil Young bootleg cassette in your glove compartment. Second, the roster is uneven at best. Chapel Hills Zen Frisbee drag their skewed Velvets-go-surfing pop from college town out to Rural Route 10 with the results not unlike the thrashy hoedowns of Frontier Trust, but four songs from them (why two versions of Alabama?) is overkill. Ditto for including a pair of thumped-up traditional numbers from Tom Montefusco and his wild guitar when one would do just fine.
Eugene Chadbourne, who also has two songs on the compilation (a cover of Lynn Andersons Mi, Mi, Mi, Mi and a reworking of Lee Hazlewoods These Boots Are Made for Walkin called This Newt Is Made for Squawking) is an artist whose rantings can usually be appreciated, but that doesnt necessarily translate into good music. In fact, hes most digestible when his eccentricities are tempered by working with slightly less eccentric collaborators, as on his albums with Camper Van Beethoven and Evan Johns. And at 1:39, Baby Lets Play Rough falls just within the threshold for Unknown Hinsons redneck vampire shtick.
But its worth all that for the chance to own the three live covers from the Backsliders that are featured here and nowhere else in the world of non-stealth recording. Granted, a studio version of Cowboy Boots is slated for their debut full-length, but you aint going to find their romp through Joe Texs Tulsa County on it. Neither will you hear the bands combustible take on Radio Birdmans punky Hawaii Five-O fantasy Aloha Steve and Dano, with which the Backsliders have been burning down roadhouses and busting up lawn parties for years.
And residing in some bizarre cul de sac between disappointing and essential is Mr. Peters Boom & Chimes Caribbean/reggae cover of Loving Her Was Easier (Kris Krisrastafarian?), which is darn near mesmerizing in its simplicity and repetitiveness.