Oh brother, I done seen the light…..
Such fire and brimstone language seems apt here too, given that for the vast majority of “Spencer Sings The Hits” Jon Spencer casts himself as a kind of rock n roll preacher.
I’d best explain.
Essentially, it’s like this. I’d never quite got Jon Spencer. My younger brother had some Jon Spencer Blues Explosion albums that always left me a bit non-plussed. When this one came into the MV inbox, in truth, I wasn’t expecting to review it.
That feeling was reinforced, if I am honest, when I listened to “….Hits” for the first time, too. Then – and I don’t even know why, as I never normally do this – I put it on again. Perhaps I was subconsciously looking for what I never understood that everyone else did, I am not sure.
Then it happened. Track two came on, “Fake” it’s called. And there’s a bit of primal bluesy, fuzzy rock n roll, and there’s a bit where Spencer says (you couldn’t say what he does is singing) “your ideas are wrong. Washed up and bland. Honey, I am here to warn ya. Your shit is fake….”
And in that moment I realised that with those lines, with that song, he’s talking about all music other than his own. In his mind anyway. And he. Does. Not. Give. A. Fuck. What I – or you – think. He’s true only to himself, and that’s all that matters.
Basically, that’s what this album is about.
It is 33 minutes of balls out Jon Spencer. So yeah, “Do The Trash Can” is frankly ridiculous, but try and resist its percussion and its fuzz and its strut. Likewise “Overload” – which gets huge cowbell bonus points – is like a punk rock Elvis, and “Time 2 Be Bad” is a slammer that is funky blues.
Now, you might say, there is a bit of the fact that he sings the same thing 12 times here, but that ignores the subtleties on offer. A couple of spins reveals a rare catchiness. “Ghost” is eerie, and when he offers that he’s a “spooky ghost” then this is what The Sonics would play at their Halloween Party.
“Beetle Boots” is arguably the best. In the space of three minutes it dismisses all bands that are more image than substance. “Hornet”, on the other hand, wants to get down like Prince.
There is a genuine heaviness about these songs too, whatever sheen they might have. “Wilderness” is glorious simplicity, on an album that is way more complex than it first appears. “Love Handles” has a timeless quality, but still manages to sound original. Which is no mean feat, really.
“I Got The Hits” is like “Wild Thing” by The Troggs souped up and given a shiny makeover – and the lead guitar here is quite wonderful. “Alien Humidity” sounds like it was a leftover from The Prodigy’s “Fat Of The Land” is unhinged.
It has, though, got nothing on the closing “Cape”, which is worthy of Tom Waits. “Who wants to rock a cape?” offers its first verse. It even answers the question: “me”.
And when it comes down to it, who could possibly resist such a song? Not me, that’s for damn sure.
So yeah, I am a convert. Jon Spencer, I salute you for boiling rock n roll down to its most simple form. A sure-fire hit? Probably not. It’s not supposed to be. That said, I have a back catalogue to reappraise.
Rating 8.5/10
