Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks – It Came From Nashville
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Posted On November 1, 2004
Webb Wilder & the Beatnecks worshipped classic rock ‘n’ roll, and all of its meat-and-potatoes influences, too much to ever be labeled punk rock. But the band’s mid-’80s origins benefited from the do-it-yourself aesthetic and flair for the outrageous begat by the punk movement.
That said, it’s hard to imagine a frontman purposely less punk than Wilder. In an era that accentuated gauntness, dark melodrama and anti-couture style, Wilder was a tall, stout, bespectacled guy in a fedora, suit and tie spouting comic monologues about individuality and tolerance and poking fun at the devil. His stage persona reminded audiences that artifice could be entertaining when done cleverly.
It helped that he was supported by whip-smart songs and a crackerjack band. Musically, the Beatnecks resembled a cross between Rockpile and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, sharing with those acts a love of tightly combustible, guitar-driven arrangements. The secret weapon was Wilder’s co-conspirator, producer R.S. Field, a Mississippi buddy who served as the band’s original drummer and writer of most of its songs.
By the time of their 1987 debut, It Came From Nashville, Wilder and Field had recruited a top-notch trio featuring guitarist Donny Roberts, drummer Jimmy Lester and bassist Denny Blakely. Reissued and expanded to 26 songs, the album now includes a large sampling of live cuts that capture the singer’s hilarious ’80s routines, including the Webb Wilder credo — “Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need ’em” — and an extended explanation of “Who Is Webb Wilder?”
Today, Field originals such as “How Long Can She Last”, “Poolside” and “One Taste Of The Bait” stand up well alongside outstanding covers of Steve Earle’s “The Devil’s Right Hand” and Jerry Lee Lewis’ classic “Move On Down The Line”, with Wilder’s brawny baritone the perfect foil for the muscular Beatnecks. With the rest of Wilder’s ’80s and ’90s releases now out of print, the re-release of his debut is a welcome gift to longtime fans — or anyone who loves crisp, classic rock ‘n’ roll.
