Southern Culture On The Skids
Dirt Track Date




Label: Geffen Records
Released: 1995
Source: Original CD 
Size Torrent: 307 MB
Format: FLAC





How to describe Southern Culture on the Skids? Think of a large melting pot of sounds and imagery: Thrift shop chic that continues to redefine what bad taste is all about, an overalls-wearing front man/main songwriter playing cheap guitars through even cheaper amps (think of a sound sort of like a farm-bred hybrid of Creedence Clearwater Revival/Carl Perkins/Link Wray/a dash of early ZZ Top with elements of surf and southern-fried soul thrown in), a bouffant-wig-wearing female bassist with an underused voice of honey, an above average drummer, (and more recently a corpulent keyboardist that appears to out 'bad taste' the others, if that's possible) and a whole feedlot full of lyrics focusing on rural/trailer park/redneck subject matter with a decidedly low rent sense of humor. In short, there's not much competition out there mining the same material as these guys for their act. 
The band was firmly entrenched in the indie Chapel Hill, North Carolina scene for the first half of the 90's. Their major label debut "Dirt Track Date" came out in 1995 and even created a bit of barely-above-ground sales momentum with its song "Camel Walk", which was used in the movie "Flirting With Disaster". The minor bit of general public attention netted the band a 'Twilight Zone' moment you'll probably never see again: an appearance as musical guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Since that time the band's scope has once again returned back to the 'minor leagues' of the indie scene. The good part of this is that there is no real pressure on them to dilute their act/material for mainstream consumption. 
This album mixes re-recordings of songs on some previous S.C.O.T.S releases (noteably, a few from "Too Much Pork For Just One Fork") with some new stuff. The sound is clean and booming without taking away the rawness of the group, and leaves intact Rick Miller's reverb-drenched pawn shop guitar sound. The sequencing of the nine vocal and three instrumental songs is well-thought-out and gives the disc a good flow and groove. Don't think of these guys as some novelty act; this is one rockin' disc, even if you take away the southern fried chicken references. 
Mary Huff takes a smooth vocal turn on a cover of the Shirley Ellis hit "Nitty Gritty", but elsewhere it's all Rick Miller's sly drawl and tongue-in-cheek asides taking up the vocal cause. There are quite a few grins and even a few laughs in the lyrics, as usual. The instrumentals are cookin' as well, "Skullbucket" is the best Link Wray tribute song ever performed, it's structured sort of like a cross between Link's "Jack The Ripper" and "Rumble". The distorted, tremolo-drenched guitar on this one will burrow into your brain and demand that you hit repeat at least a dozen times in order to fully grasp the intense trashiness and full on groove of this amazing track. 
Though S.C.O.T.S purists might argue for a different title (i.e. "For Lover's Only") as their best disc, the sheer momentum and sonic prowess of this one make it a wickedly strong contender for the pinnacle of southern culture. 
Get yourself some corn liquor, a box of breasts and thighs and some snack cakes, then put this music on and just try to stop grinnin' and groovin'. 





Personnel

• David Hartman – drums, maracas, vocals
• Mary Huff – organ, bass, vocals, handclapping
• Michael Lipton – steel guitar
• Rick Miller – guitar, composer, tambourine, vocals
• Soul City Singers – vocals (background)




Track Listing


All songs were written by Rick Miller, except "Nitty Gritty" by Lincoln Chase, and arranged by the band.

1. "Voodoo Cadillac" - 4:40
2. "Soul City" - 2:36
3. "Greenback Fly" - 3:47
4. "Skullbucket" - 2:40
5. "Camel Walk" - 2:37
6. "White Trash" - 2:03
7. "Firefly" - 3:24
8. "Make Mayan A Hawaiian" - 2:24
9. "Fried Chicken And Gasoline" - 4:17
10. "Nitty Gritty" - 2:30
11. "8 Piece Box" - 4:02
12. "Galley Slave" - 3:00
13. "Whole Lotta Things" - 2:29
14. "Dirt Track Date" - 8:39