Asylum Street Spankers - Spanker Madness

  by Darrell Angus

published: 12 / 2 / 2002

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Review

Spanker madness indeed! The Austin, Texas based Spankers have recorded an album dedicated to the ups of recreational drug use....mainly marijuana. Every song (with the exception being 'Beer') deals with the joys of hemp. While most of the songs are somewhat tongue-in-cheek, 'Winning the War on Drugs' mocks America's somewhat hypocritical policies and 'Take the Heat' wonders who the real criminals are in regards to possession. The song 'Wake and Bake' has my favourite line-"I gaze into your eyes so red". That said let's move onto the music. A fine amalgamation of oldtime blues, country and jazz makes the Spankers comparable to the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Fine musicianship abounds(especially the harmonica work of Wammo) and the vocals of Christina Marrs add to the already heady mix of banjo, fiddle and slapped bass. The recording sounds like it was done live in someone's garage giving the record an intimate feel and an excellent sound. While the subject matter tends to wear thin , the rollicking good time feel of the album more than makes up for it. Highly recommended for fans of the Bloodshot Records roster as well as the Smithsonian Folkways and Revenant record labels.

Track Listing:-

1 High As You Can Be
2 Beer
3 Blade of Grass
4 Take The Heat
5 Winning The War on Drugs
6 Wake and Bake
7 Interlude
8 Knock Myself Out
9 Amsterdam
10 Pakalolo Baby
11 Getting High
12 Its Dry Down Here
13 Orion