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Fizz reviews Jackyl's When Moonshine & Dynamite Collide
JACKYL: When Moonshine And Dynamite Collide (Mighty Loud Entertainment)
By Fizz
Rating: 9.0
I had just about given up on the possibility of new music from Jackyl, one of my favorite bands. Their last studio album, Relentless, came out way back in 2002, and since that time, they released one bootleggy-sounding live album, and despite a full touring schedule, mainman Jesse Dupree had seemingly turned his attention to other ventures. And so I transferred my interest turned to other, more productive bands to fill the shitkicker-metal void, American Dog chief among them. But then, late last year, rumblings from the south foretold a new Jackyl album in the near future, with the official release of the single “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass,” a song that had been playing on the band’s MySpace page for almost two years.
And sure enough, six months later, the new disc arrived. Now, huge fan that I am, I’m also the first to admit that Jackyl’s catalog is a bit spotty. 1997’s Cut The Crap was weak, ‘98’s Stayin’ Alive is recommended for diehards only (and even then, I guarantee you won’t listen to it very often), and overall, the band has failed to match the piss and vinegar of their self-titled 1992 debut. Until now, that is. With the release of When Moonshine And Dynamite Collide, I’m proud to say I am one happy Jackyl fan. Finally, the band has come close to recapturing the fire and attitude of the first album. Gone are the bitter tirades against the music industry, and the limp-dick mellow songs that littered the band’s mid-career period. In their place, we get the sass and swagger and odes to hell-raising and horn-dogging that endeared Jackyl to us in the first place.
Of course, Jackyl fans already know “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass.” I first heard this one on a bootleg of a 2005 gig, so by the time the studio version surfaced, I was already familiar with its hokey call-and-response of “Hey, y’all!” “What?” “You wanna hear a story?” “Yeah!” At first, I wasn’t sold on this uptempo southern-pride anthem, but eventually, the track’s addictive qualities snared me. I still think it goes over better live than on record, though. The second single from WMADC, however, is an immediate winner: “She’s Not A Drug” is destined to become a strip-club classic. This song is catchier, more fun, and just plain better than anything titty-bar favorites Buckcherry will ever do. It’s too bad Jackyl are now in that dubious category of bands too old to have their new music played on active-rock radio, yet not withered enough for classic-rock, because I could see “She’s Not A Drug” being a huge summertime hit (and I like to think I’m cynical enough that I don’t say that about just every song that tickles my ears). Just give it a spin at your next backyard bash, and see if it doesn’t ignite spontaneous bursts of bumping and grinding amongst the ladies.
The rest of the disc is full of instant favorites. The leadoff track, “Loads Of Fun” reminds of Ted Nugent’s “Wango Tango” to a degree, as Dupree sings a surprisingly PG-rated tribute to his lady. He could be singing about bed-rattling sex or feeding the ducks at the pond for all we know, but ultimately, the song lives up to its title. Also exemplifying its name is the careening, nearly out of control “Freight Train,” Jesse screaming at the top of his lungs as the band pounds along behind him like they’re about to crash into a ravine on the next curve, until the song grinds to a screeching halt, guitarist Jeff Worley mimicking the sound of a train chugging to a stop, air-brakes howling and couplings clanking. “Full Throttle” is also self-explanatory, summing up both the song, and Jesse’s philosophy, while conveniently working in the name of his TV show.
One of the cool things about Moonshine is its diversity. You get the fast-paced barnburners, but plenty of variety among the other tunes. The title track, which would be my choice for the next single, might have you expecting another high-speed free-for-all from its name, but it’s actually a lighter-waving southern-rock song very similar to something Jesse’s buddies in Blackberry Smoke might do. This is hands-down their best “mellow’ song since “Secret Of The Bottle.” Jesse turns in a surprisingly melodic performance on a song that’s bound to bring a lump to the throat of tipsy redneck rockers everywhere. By contrast, the band offers up possibly their heaviest song yet in the form of the lurching “Get Mad At It,” as Roman Glick leads the way with his finger-style bass-playing in a paean to rough sex.
The boys get funky, something they haven’t truly done since ‘94’s Push Comes To Shove, on the provocatively-titled “Just Like A Negro.” Jesse wants us all to know that some of his best friends are black, though, and in fact, the song was originally performed by the funk-rock band Mother’s Finest (who also had a minor hit in the mid-‘70’s with a sarcastic little tune called “Niggizz Can’t Sing Rock ‘n’ Roll”—or spell, apparently). The deal is, Dupree was playing in a little side-proejct with members of Mother’s Finest and Fishbone, and he really wanted to play “Just Like A Negro,” so the other guys agreed, and suggested he rewrite the lyrics to suit his own white-boy perspective (the original having been sung by a black woman). What we get is a heartwarming bid for racial tolerance, and a reminder of how music brings people together, and anyway, “you know the bothers are the ones that started rock ‘n’ roll.” Social conscience aside, the song flat-out jams, becoming yet another highlight of the disc.
If you’re a big Jackyl fan, you may remember a song called ”Deeper In Darkness,” which appeared only on their rare 1996 live album Night Of The Living Dead. I figured that song was destined to be just another rarity, but lo and behold, here it is, in rockin’ studio form, sporting lyrics that are a bit angrier than usual, but which musically keeps the energy up.
When Moonshine And Dynamite Collide isn’t a perfect album. The lyrics can be repetitive, and the song sequence doesn’t help, with the same phrases popping up in consecutive songs. Some tunes have a Hagar-esque tendency to sound like little more than commercials for the lifestyle: riding motorcycles, drinking moonshine, raising hell, and “getting’ down to the dirty-dirty,” with Jesse working in all his latest catchphrases. And a couple songs just don’t seem “finished,” if you will. “I Can’t Stop” has a good groove, but clichéd, redundant lyrics about cranking it to eleven (yawn!), and “The Overflow Of Love” just doesn’t rise to the high level of catchiness as most of the rest of the material. But the worst thing on the record is Jesse’s faithful, a capella rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz.” I don’t like the song to begin with, and this version should’ve been made as a bonus, hidden track, and almost was. But it’s less than two minutes long, and anyway, that button with the arrow pointing to the right was invented for a reason, so there you have it.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, there is no chainsaw on When Moonshine And Dynamite Collide. I guess the band finally wised up and realized that schtick was starting to get old.
I can’t overemphasize how much I’m digging this album. The debut has been the soundtrack to many a party in my life, and “I Stand Alone” is sort of my personal theme song. I enjoyed both Push Comes To Shove and Relentless, but When Moonshine And Dynamite Collide kicks the shit out of both those albums. One way I evaluate a record is by asking myself, if I were making a best-of compilation by the band, how many songs would I include from the current release? And I can say that if I burned a Jackyl mix tomorrow, WMADC would have more tracks than any album except the first one. In fact, the album as a whole is the band’s strongest since their debut, and that, my friends, is mighty high praise.
Best songs: “She’s Not A Drug,” “Freight Train,” “When Moonshine And Dynamite Collide”
Worst songs: “I Can’t Stop,” “Mercedes Benz”
Hear some music and keep up with Jackyl here:
6/14/10
