Long awaited country sequel to 1997’s “Must’ve Been High”

The Supersuckers have come a long way since the punk rock of their early releases. But it’s been twenty-five years since they began dropping the singles that became The Songs All Sound the Same, and lineup and management changes have paralleled musical excursions that included the country side road of 1997’s Must’ve Been High, the album’s demo sessions and live companion Must’ve Been Live. Oh, and an EP collaboration with Steve Earle. Country continued to thread into the group’s heavier rock, with catalog classics like “Creepy Jackalope Eye” getting numerous new treatments as the band’s membership and sound shifted.

2013’s Get the Hell showcased their guitar rock, but this year’s album is a treat for fans of the band’s country sounds. With cowboy hats tilted toward the setting sun, and guest appearances from Hayes Carll and Lydia Loveless, the band tackles ten originals, an updated cover of Hank Jr.’s “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down),” and on the CD and LP releases, an energetic cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Georgia on a Fast Train.” Recorded in Austin at Ray Benson’s Bismeaux studio, the sessions also include appearances from Mickey Raphael, Jeff Pinkus, Jesse Dayton, Jason Roberts and Nathan Fleming. The band’s current lineup is led by the unflagging Eddie Spaghetti on vocals and bass, and features guitarist Marty Chandler and drummer Chris Von Streicher.

Spaghetti has been dedicated to the band since its 1988 founding, but the resurgence of his singing and songwriting after a bout with throat cancer is the stuff of legends. Having poured his energy into recording and performing for so long, it must have been difficult to shift himself into recovery; and having done that, now shift back into performing. Spaghetti is clearly one tough dude. Even though the cancer diagnosis came after the album was recorded, many of the songs evince the badass, survivor’s attitude that is no doubt a part of Spaghetti’s wellness plan. And though a badass can be thorny and sarcastic (and very, very funny), they can also be surprisingly sensitive, as shown by the album’s songs of relationship turmoil.

The title track opens the album with romantic wariness that turns into bona fide doubt for the double entendre “High and Outside.” In turn, there’s annoyance (“Jibber Jabber”), mourning (“I Can’t Cry”) and, finally, acceptance (“This Life Would Be a Whole Lot Better If I Didn’t Have to Share it With You”). The album cover’s western shadows are paid off with the trail rhythm of the nameless “Man on a Mission” and the waltz-time “That’s How It Gets Done,” and though the arrangements are threaded with harmonica, banjo, mandolin, accordion, fiddle and steel, the band breaks out late-70s-styled rock ‘n’ roll for “Shimmy & Shake.” Well into their third decade, the Supersuckers sound better than ever, and with any luck, they’ll take this album on the road in 2016. [©2015 Hyperbolium]

Supersuckers’ Home Page