Send "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Given the congenial pose he strikes with his current rockabilly outfit Heavy Trash, it's hard to remember a time when Jon Spencer was the most polarizing figure in American indie-rock. Sure, Vampire Weekend may catch message-board flak over the socio-economic disparities between their privileged upbringings and the impoverished African musicians who've inspired them, but they've never been labeled a minstrel act or, worse, racist-- tags that dogged Spencer and his band, the Blues Explosion, through their mid-1990s heyday. Really, Spencer adopted black musical tropes and affectations-- be it the hysterical hoots and hollers of Little Richard or the self-referential shout-outs of Flavor Flav-- no more flagrantly than Elvis or Mick Jagger or Captain Beefheart before him. But amid the time's otherwise sexless indie-rock culture, Spencer's speed-freak lover-man act made him a godsend to some and an easy target to others.Compared to the recently released compilation Dirty Shirt Rock 'n' Roll-- which emphasized the more accessible, funkier tracks in the JSBX discography-- these two reissues plant us firmly back in the eye of the storm circa 1996, the year the New York trio's notoriety was at an all-time high. From its nervous title on down to its queasy, claustrophobic production, the band's fourth album, Now I Got Worry, sees the Blues Explosion aggressively reacting to both critical attacks and increased commercial expectations. Not only was it the follow-up to 1994's underground breakthrough Orange, it was also the first JSBX release to benefit from the wider distribution afforded by Matador's (short-lived) partnership with Capitol Records. But the closest thing to a sell-out move here was getting "Weird" Al Yankovic to direct the video for lead single "Wail"; Now I Got Worry begins with a tortured scream (on the opening declaration of ostracization "Skunk") and ends face down in the dub sewage of "Sticky", with hardcore blitzkriegs ("Identify") and profane Dub Narcotic covers ("Fuck Shit Up") in between....full text |
| Pop-catastrophe |
| Expanded release of Controversial Negro (in comparison to the Japanese release) adds Bellbottoms to the original running-order and an additional 9 tracks recorded at DPC in Tucson on October 30, 1994. This release copies the artwork and design of the Japanese release and includes the original photo booklet and an additional insert featuring the Mike Edison sleeve notes (the booklets are numbered '826663-11816-B1' and '826663-11816-B2'). The shoutfactorystore.com [LINK] states that it adds 4 tracks from the same show and 12 from 1994 but in comparison to the US release it looks like there are 6 tracks (the 5 from the Japanese release + Bellbottoms) and only 9 from 1994 Previously released as a promo LP (US), promo CD (UK) and limited / regular CD in Japan.The title for this album comes from the Public Enemy song Burn Hollywood Burn from their 1990 album Fear of a Black Planet. Towards the end of the track someone asks Flava Flav the following question: "Now we're considering how do you for a part in our new production, how do you feel about playing a controversial negro?" The artwork used on the promotional version along with the title Controversial Negro was originally intended for Now I Got Worry....full text |
| Austinchronicle |
| History remembers the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion as predecessor to the bass-less, post-millennium blues of the White Stripes and Black Keys, but the NYC-bred trio's skuzz rock had more in common with the maniacal shock of the Butthole Surfers: confrontational performance art at maximum volume. The Pussy Galore offshoot's slacker ambivalence and take-it-or-leave-it punk ethos defines 1996's Now I Got Worry as much as guest vocalist Rufus Thomas' Pavlovian response on "Chicken Dog" and ghetto blaster "Fuck Shit Up." The remastered edition nearly doubles the fun, with 12 previously unreleased tunes that vary from gutter rockabilly ("Get With It") to red-light sleaze ("Turn Up Greene"). JSBX's comfort zone wasn't in a studio, however. That much is evident from Dirty Shirt Rock 'n' Roll: The First Ten Years, a haphazard overview assembled by Spencer himself that pairs half-baked jams with the likes of Andre Williams-led "Lap Dance" and the R.L. Burnside blues of "Shake 'Em on Down" from 1995 collaboration A Ass Pocket of Whiskey. There's a few jukebox standards, most notably the unshakable "Afro" and metallic "Bellbottoms," but their in-the-red rattle is better served in a live setting. Insert Controversial Negro, a promotional-only live vinyl LP originally shelved due to its cover – a Warholian Mick Jagger. Guitarist Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins hold down the back line as Spencer, gloriously incomprehensible with CB radio mic fidelity and tent revival audacity, wields his theremin like a weapon ("The Vacuum of Loneliness"). Its long-overdue U.S. debut, modeled after the Japanese import version, tacks on four additional songs and another live set recorded two years prior. Jagger's duct-taped likeness remains a fitting image, given that the album's main blitzkrieg sounds like the Stones' Rock and Roll Circus crossed with James Brown's Star Time soul revue....full text |
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