Shockabilly

Earth Vs. Shockabilly

Label: Chadula Country: USA

An extended rerelease of the original and 1st 1982 Shockabilly album on Rough Trade, expanded to a full 77 minutes with out-takes and rarities, and great liner notes from Dr. Chad himself.

"In the first full-length flowering of the Shockabilly disease, the completely unique power trio infuses Earth with what would become the kind of ammunition the group would regularly fire at an uncaring world of listeners: guitarist Eugene Chadbourne's sociopolitical barbs written on a sliding scale of minor chords and solos, bassist Kramer's rumbling discourse with drummer David Licht. Originals like "City of Corruption," "Party House, Pt. 3 in 3-D, and "Big Money Broad" mix with a bizarre grab-bag of covers ranging from "Purple Haze" and "Day Tripper" to Johnny Cash's "Tennessee Flat Top Box." Though the free-flowing madness that made later records like Heaven masterpieces of a form that no one has mastered since isn't quite boiling at a high-pitch rate, Earth Vs. Shockabilly is still a formidable debut chock-full of a kind of rock music bottom feeding that is compulsively magnificent. The sometimes available Ghost of Shockabilly CD contains both Earth and the band's next album, Colosseum, and is well worth seeking out."-Patrick Foster, All Music