The Friday Morning Listen: Jason & The Scorchers - Page 2

Part of: Friday Morning Listen

My two favorite moments: the concert-opening "Self Sabotage". Jason takes the stage announcing, "As Rudyard Kipling said, 'He who rides the tiger finds it difficult to dismount'", before launching into the kind of blistering rock song that makes a club seem to simultaneously expand, contract and heat up. Later, for the show's first encore, Jason introduces the parents of guitarist Warner E. Hodges, Edgar & Blanch Hodges. Blanch says all the right things about her son and how they used to play music together when Warner was a kid. Blanch (dang, I love that name) introduces the song with "This is one I used to rock him to sleep with...". Are we about to be treated to a Carter family-type thing? No, it's a foot-stomping, explosive take on "Walkin' The Dog". Makes my skin tingle just thinking about it.

Beautiful... simple though. Like Spring. Nothin' fancy.

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Article Author: Mark Saleski

Mark Saleski is a writer and music obsessive based out of the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. He has contributed to Jazz.com and also writes reviews for Blogcritics.org. He produces the weekly feature The Friday Morning Listen. …

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  • 1 - Mary K. Williams

    Mar 31, 2006 at 11:31 am

    Sir Saleski:

    From now on you are REQUIRED to add an mp3 link to at least one song per FML. Got it? K?
    'nuff said. : )
    (you tease us with this great stuff and then we cant' hear it)
    OK don't listen to me because I am not a boss. At least I am not the Boss of You.

    Yet. HA

  • 2 - Vern Halen

    Mar 31, 2006 at 11:40 am

    This band is great - but I think this live album is out of print - anyone know if it's still available?

    I picked up their collection of outtakes a few year back - there's a version of Ruby (Don't Take Your Love to Town) with guest Rick Richards from the Georgia Satellites on slide guitar - has to be heard to be believed.

  • 3 - Mark Saleski

    Mar 31, 2006 at 11:42 am

    man, that's a damned shame.

    i swear, i'm gonna go out and buy up everything else of theirs that i can find.

  • 4 - Rodney Welch

    Mar 31, 2006 at 11:47 am

    A friend made me a tape of this long ago, and we used to argue about whether their version of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" was better than Dylan's. He preferred the Scorchers version, but I don't think he had heard Dylan's until I played it for him. I had the opposite view, but it was nonetheless an absolutely brilliant and very inspired choice.

  • 5 - Vern Halen

    Mar 31, 2006 at 11:48 am

    Find their "comeback" album A Blazing Grace - great originals, and two killer covers - George Jones' "Why Baby Why" and John Denver's "Country Roads (Take Me Home)", sorta the companion piece to the aforementioned Ruby.

  • 6 - Mark Saleski

    Mar 31, 2006 at 12:08 pm

    mary does bring up a good point (gee thanks...like i need more work to do!).

    uh, anyway. a buncha mp3s of this stuff (including "Country Roads (Take Me Home)") can be found at the Jason & the Scorchers mp3 page.

  • 7 - Triniman

    Mar 31, 2006 at 2:25 pm

    I realy dug the song "White Lies."

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