Cracker Gentleman's Blues CD

Having spent most of the '90s just flying below the radar of what's deemed hip, Cracker blissfully continues down the path of solid songwriting and excellent musicianship on GENTLEMAN'S BLUES. Once again, the band's inspiration comes from all points of the music map. "Seven Days" is a rollicking, road song punctuated by Johnny Hickman's country licks and David Lowery's raspy yelp, while the calliope in "I Want Out Of The Circus" gives it an endearing quirkiness. The weariness reverberating from "Been Around The World" screams Crazy Horse, and "The World Is Mine" has a runaway tempo reminiscent of "Teen Angst," showing these old punks still have some life left in them.

Lowery and Hickman also incorporate the rustic sounds of Appalachian folk and gospel. "James River" walks the same dark path as Nick Cave, whereas the lo-fi-ish "Trials & Tribulations" features fancy fingerpicking and minimal timekeeping. Most impressive is the soulful singing of Kristin Asbury (September 67) and LP (Lionfish). Their spine-tingling contributions on the shimmering redemptive aura of "Hallelujah" just beat out the welcome hidden track "Cinderella," where Cracker backs LP doing her best Janis Joplin.

Kristin Asbury, LP (background vocals).

Recorded at Sound Of Music, Richmond, Virginia; Bearsville Studio, Woodstock, New York; Woodland Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

Engineers: John Morand, Rich Hasal, Mike Snyder.

Cracker: David Lowery, Johnny Hickman (vocals, guitar); Bob Rupe (vocals, bass); Kenny Margolis (keyboards, accordion); Frank Fornaro (drums, guitar).

Additional personnel: Mike Campbell (guitar, cello); Benmont Tench (organ, piano); Davey Faragher (bass, bckground vocals); Tommy Stinson (bass); Eddie Bayers, Charlie Drayton, Steve Jordan, Phil Jones, Brian McLeod (percussion);

Rolling Stone (9/3/98, p.101) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...GENTLEMAN'S BLUES occasionally throws sobriety to the wind and goes on a whimsical bender....Lowery's most interesting effort since...well, since Camper Van Beethoven..."
Entertainment Weekly (8/21-8/28/98, p.126) - "...Standout tunes like the autobiographically barbed `Seven Days,' the achingly bittersweet `Lullabye,' the unself-consciously intimate `Hold Of Myself,' and the bluesily fatalistic title track recall Camper's wild-card eclecticism and absurdist humanity, making this Lowery's most compelling work in ages." - Rating: B+