Rant n' Rave With John Nagle

To hear songs from Get it Together, check out www.supersuckers.com

Sometime around 2003, the music industry decided that arena rock n’ roll was ironic.  You could still rock out with your proverbial cock out, but it had to be done with a wink and a smile.  The Darkness was a perfect example.  Jack Hawkins’ guitar sounded like the bastard child of Tony Iommi and Angus Young, but frontman Justin was there with his outrageous rock moves and Tiny Tim voice.  The songs were good, but you could never take them seriously.  Hawkins was too fey, too knowing…..too conscious.

Fortunately, Eddie Spaghetti and the Supersuckers were hungover the day that meeting took place.  These dudes actually rock.  Not in that “Look at me, I am the king of Rock Band” kind of way, but in the traditional “Getting drunk on warm Pabst while waiting to get into the Thin Lizzy concert” kind of way.  With a Supersuckers record, you know exactly what you are getting:  A dozen southern fried three chord rock songs.  Even when the band dabbles in country music, they pull it off.

Get it Together is the band’s first full length platter of new material since 2003′s brilliantly titled, Motherfuckers Be Trippin’.   The title isn’t as awesome, but the material is some of the best they’ve recorded.  The songs are slightly less raucous, but the band’s musicianship top is notch.  Guitarists Dan “Thunder” Bolton and Rontrose Heathman balance simple guitar riffs with intricate tandem solos.  Bassist Eddie Spaghetti and drummer Scott Churilla are one of the tightest rhythm sections in rock.  Their style is not fancy, but holds the songs together with an impeccable amount of groove.

The songs are eclectic, ranging from humorous blasts of testosterone like “I’m A Fucking Genius,” to twangy country ballads like “Breaking Honey’s Heart.”  The latter is one of the Supersuckers’ best country songs.  Spaghetti’s voice aches with regret and pathos.  In a time when country music is processed within an inch of its life, it’s really great to hear an actual twang.

The highlight of the album is “Sunset on a Sunday,” a perfect mixture of the band’s rock and country side.  The country feeling is there, but the guitars are straight off an AC/DC record.  Spaghetti’s lyrics are surprisingly sweet, as he describes falling in love with his perfect woman.  Lyrics like “It breaks me apart to see those blue eyes cry,” might seem out of place in a Supersuckers song, but couldn’t be more perfect.  Quite frankly, “Sunset on a Sunday” is one of the best rock songs I’ve heard in ages.

The Supersuckers have made a fantastic record.  It seems like rock records get more bloated and pretentious as time goes on, but Get It Together breezes by in under 40 minutes.  Instead of wearing out its welcome, the Supersuckers leave you wanting more.  Like every great rock record, it gets better with repeat listens.  Something new reveals itself each time.  The Supersuckers are not a trend.  They won’t be on MTV or guest judging American Idol.  They don’t have cute haircuts or ripoff new wave.  The Supersuckers serve a much more noble purpose; they prove that you can still rock in America.  For this, we should be thankful.

This entry was posted on December 1, 2008 at 4:14 am and is filed under Music, Reviews with tags Music, Reviews, Supersuckers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.