Alabama 3 - Hits & Exit Wounds

Acid house country punk at its most vibrant

Less of a band, more a collective of misfits, musicians, madheads and magicians, Alabama 3’s genius was in their appearing so ramshackle while delivering ultra-slick, superblyconstructed songs. This collection proves there always was a depth to the band only ever partially obscured by their wilful obliqueness.

A journey through their career to date, these 18 tracks range from the acid-house Presleytarian Church days of their debut (Hypo Full Of Love, Mao Tse Tung Said and the ubiquitous Woke Up This Morning), all still sounding like songs made for – and by – a gang of revellers who don’t want the party to end. Elsewhere, Too Sick To Pray represents their second, Tuesday-morning-comedown LP, the bleaker La Peste, with deep-down vocals from Larry Love bouncing off D Wayne’s squeakier schtick. The group’s socially responsible side matures throughout: alongside the acid house grooves and real love for gospel and blues there remains a constant rooting for the underdog. The politics are occasionally overt, but more often than not it’s rooted in the personal: How Can I Protect You is given an empathetic new remix, Monday Don’t Mean Anything is matter-of-factly nihilistic and Peace In The Valley remains devilishly tender. Great stuff.

One Little Indian | TPLP 928 CD

Reviewed by Joe Shooman
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