- Asylum Street Spankers
My Favorite Record
Bloodshot Records
- By Scott Snidow
 Finally
there is a definitive answer to that eternally nagging question,
"what's your favorite record?!" Thanks to the Austin-based
acoustic jazz-blues-rock-country and all around eclectic band
the Asylum Street Spankers, music fans everywhere can now answer
My Favorite Record to this timeless query. (I know...it
sounds like the beginning to a revamp of an old Abbott and Costello
skit.)
All joking aside, My Favorite Record is twelve strong
tracks typical of the Spankers, which, as any Spanker fan can
tell you, is atypical to nearly every other band out there. The
Spankers are quite capable performers, able to switch genres
with uncanny ease and proficiency. And nearly all imaginable
musical styles (sans hip-hop and rap) are represented on the
album.
The record opens with a Christina Marrs penned track titled
"Monkey Rag" that possesses that '20s jazz sound that
would make any flapper proud. In fact, Ms. Marrs affects a very
respectable impression of Betty Boop on the vocals. Listen closely
as Marrs and company harmonize after Stan Smith's clarinet solo.
Recognize that tune? Sure sounds like the theme to "My Three
Sons" to me. No real surprise if it is; the Spankers are
always throwing musical curves into their shows and onto their
records, just to make sure the listener is paying attention.
Consider the verse in "Wammo's Blues" where Wammo
sings the line "I'm Iron Man spinning out of control."
Now, what would any self respecting band capable of social satire
at the level of the Spankers throw in at this point? If you guessed
a couple of licks of some Black Sabbath, then you would be correct.
Yep...right smack in the middle of a blues song, because it just
had to be there.
My Favorite Record is a study in musical styles, showcasing
the talent of every member of the Spankers. Marrs delivers a
haunting solo on the saw on "The Minor Waltz," and
tracks throughout the album feature Wammo on a variety on instruments
ranging from the harmonica to the washboard to a gong to a sheet
of steel. More mainstream instruments are featured on this album,
with Guy Forsyth and Brent Martens on guitar, ukelele, and slide
guitar, Smith on clarinet, and Matt Weiner on bass. This is a
collection of musicians quite enviable in their abilities.
The band's members have also proven themselves to be quite
capable wordsmiths. Consider the opening verse of Guy Forsyth's
answer to the politically correct cause-oriented anthems that
from time to time appear on the American music scene:
I've got to save the world, liberate,
Eat the food that's on my plate
Recycling is really great,
Whatever I can do
To get in bed with you
Typical Spankers' fare!
To many music fans and pundits it would appear that nothing
is sacred to this band from the Texas hill country. If you mean
sacred as in making a record that is predictable and homogenous,
then yes, nothing is sacred to them. But as musicians, it is
more than apparent that the music itself is a thing of great
reverence to this talented group. Music in all forms, predictable
or not, is something to be celebrated. My Favorite Record,
in this light, is one hell of a party!
*It is quite probable that once you listen to the latest album
from the Asylum Street Spankers, My Favorite Record will
be more of an adjective rather than a title. Everything Spanker
related can be found at www.asylumstreetspankers.com.
Contact Scott Snidow at scott-at-rockzilla.net
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