Rod Stern - Give It Up For

  by Daniel Cressey

published: 17 / 5 / 2006

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The problem with alter-egos is they are clearly there to allow a facet of someone’s character into the open in a way that deflects any blame attaching to real person. Want to beat people up in the street but worried it might damage your reputation in the Gotham society columns? Dress up as a bat first, Mr Wayne. Fancy ravishing women across town? Drink some of this potion, Dr Jekyll. Want to sing songs that would get you locked up – or at the very least a light slapping – if you sang them yourself? Create a bitter, trampled angry country singer to vent your frustrations. And so we have been given Rod Stern, a man who claims to have fought, drunk, sworn, whored and blasphemed his way through life, before ending up in London last year to record this live set. From the open tale of trawling for a whore and degrading her when successful this is a relentless, disturbing set of tales. A vicious sense of humour runs through these simply-executed country numbers and those of a robust disposition will surely not be able to resist taking Stern to their hearts. He reaches a high-point with the malevolent ‘I’m Gonna Fuck You... Over’ where he tells of his father abandoning him as his prostitute mother dies. Then he gets really dark. Even the tender moments are laced with a bitter tinge. On ‘If I Don’t Got You’ he notes he’ll be “like a fox in a hole, like Elvis on the bowel – I’m dead if I don’t got you.” Although Rod Stern opens 'Give It Up' for with “Here’s to rocks and crawling under them.” he seems determined to parade his damaged, anger-riven songs in the light. If Johnny Cash had found the Devil rather than God he might have ended up writing songs like these.

Track Listing:-

1 The Living Sickness
2 Acid & Aliens Dialogue
3 Rod Stern Stomp
4 If I Don't Got You
5 I'm Gonna Fuck You...Over
6 Slavery Dialogue
7 Jump Rope Song
8 Praying Hands
9 Philosophy Of Life Dialogue
10 The Rut
11 Country Boy
12 Damnation To Salvation Dialogue
13 Chain Of Hands

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