On a personal note, I purchased this album a long time after the other other Reverend Horton Heat (RHH) albums. It turns out that the song which began my interest in RHH wans't actually on the other albums; my first encounter with the band was many years ago, when I heard Girl in Blue on the radio late one night. Years later, I stumbled across the note I'd scribbled about the song at the time, yet I was leaning towards ignoring it. Surely I had "enough" great music from the band, and I probably had a few songs of similar quality to the mysterious Girl in Blue? Despite this, eventually I backflipped, and bought the album.
And thankfully that purchase proved that too much Reverend Horton Heat is never enough!
Spend a Night in the Box is a wonderful rock'n'roll ditty. The cheeky story is perfectly complemented by the bouncy music, complete with some great hooks. Sleeper Coach Driver is similar, and also a favourite. Its highlights are the tale of a humble bus driver contrasting with the proud chorus. Also, the honky-tonk piano works a treat.
Big D Boogie Woogie doesn't quite float my boat. Somehow it seems like the song is building up to something musically, but it never quite gets there.
Regarding my first taste of RHH, Girl in Blue is indeed a wonderful song, one of my all-time favourites. Most obviously, the guitar riff is incredible. The style is also special- a superb mix of slammin' psychobilly and smoother jazz. I don't often find guitar solos memorable, but the interplay between this solo and the song structure in the background is really special. Nicely illustrative lyrics, too. Is there anything I've forgotten to rave about? In summary, every aspect and moment of this song is outstanding.
Speaking of jazz, Hand it to Me works well to calm things down for a little while. Although I am biased, since I'm a sucker for hammond organ! Returning to rock'n'roll, unfortunately the groove of I'll Make Love is destroyed by all the stop-starts. However, it does have a very good chorus.
It Hurts Your Daddy Bad perfectly combines flowing elements (the smooth verses) and stompin' elements (the with slammin' rockabilly chorus). The lyrics tell the tale of deception with great imagery. A highlight for me is the false ending, making us appreciate the treat of the song rolling along for a little while longer.
The recording quality is perfectly adequate unless you're specifically listening for it. Closer inspection reveals that the kick-drum can get lost underneath the double-bass and the guitar can sound hollow. On the plus side, the character of the double-bass comes through nicely the snare sound (an eternal quest for audio engineers) is punchy yet characterful, and the cymbals are particularly sweet.
The light-hearted tales return with The Bedroom Again. Just as I'm not sure whether the lyrics are serious in their suggestion of reinstating the bedroom, it's hard to tell whether the song is genuine hillbilly, or a bit tongue-in-cheek. Personally, I like the mystery.
The whimsical tale King tells a nice story, but is slightly let-down by a lacklustre chorus. Similarly, The Millionaire is a solid instrumental, but it doesn't grab me, for reasons unknown.
I'm a big fan of stroller-style songs, and Whole Lotta Baby fits the bill perfectly. As an added bonus, it's amusingly unusual for a song of this style to have lyrics that are basically "I like big butts, and I cannot lie".
The combination of surreal circus-synth with psychobilly works a treat for Unlucky in Love. While we're down the rabbit hole, The Party in Your Head is perhaps the world's only prog-rock psychobilly hybrid! Similarly, the lyrics are nicely obscure, although I have no idea what "carpet bagger" means... and perhaps it's better that way??
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