Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

 

Jon Spencer formed his Blues Explosion ensemble in New York City in 1991. The group consisted of Jon Spencer (vocals, guitar, theremin) Judah Bauer (guitar, vocals, harmonica) ,& Russell Simins (drums). At heart, the Blues Explosion was pure power trio playing a mutated blues-funk amalgam, rife with dueling, rubbery riffs from the two guitarists & relentless grooves courtesy of Russell Simins. From 1991 until they disbanded 1n 2016 the Blues Explosion played some of the most timeless treasures of musical mayhem in the history of Manhattan & beyond. Opinions of the band were diametrically opposed: purists saw them as treading on age-old blues traditions with no respect while millions of fans were fascinated by the band's deconstruction & reinvention of the music. But always true to form, Jon Spencer tells the tales, Judah Bauer plays the blues, & Russell Simins smashes things to bits.

The first full-length to explode the blues from Jon Spencer & cohorts was A Reverse Willie Horton, a limited edition LP that was taken from a beat cassette. I'm skipping to their second release, the 1992 Crypt-Style... 

 

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Crypt-Style, Crypt Records CR-029, 1992.
all decryption codes in comments

Side One -
Lovin' up a Storm
Support-a-Man
White Tail
'78 Style
Chicken Walk
Mo' Chicken / Let's Get Funky
Water Main
Like a Hawk
Big Headed Baby

Side Two -
The Feeling of Love
Kill-a-Man
Rachel
History of Sex
Comeback
Twentynine
What to Do
40lb Block of Cheese

 

 

 

 

Entering a new phase for the band, 1994s Orange finds the Blues Explosion leaving behind the Crypt Records trash-garage rock universe & hitting the NYC downtown genre blending cosmopolitan party. Here the Blues Explosion jump head first into some honest, organic music experiments, fusing various different styles into their musical assault without compromising their raw ferocity.

note: Even someone as removed from Spencer's blues explosion as Beck shows up on Orange, literally phoning in a guest verse on "Flavor". 

 

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Orange, Matador OLE105-2, 1994.

Bellbottoms    
Ditch    
Dang    
Very Rare    
Sweat    
Cowboy    
Orange    
Brenda    
Dissect    
Blues X Man    
Full Grown    
Flavor    
Greyhound

 

 

 

 

Through the rest of the 90s & early 00s, JSBE honed their studio skills & upped their experimental tricks with mixed results, music-wise. In 2002 they released Plastic Fang, attempting to reclaim some of their earlier raw savagery. The release mixes everything from raunchy rock 'n' roll, 50-60-70s, rockabilly, to Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, garage, Stooges, Primal Scream (my favorite part is Bernie Worrell on three tracks). 

 

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Plastic Fang, Matador OLE542-2, 2002.

Sweet 'n' Sour    
She Said    
Money Rock 'n' Roll    
Killer Wolf    
The Midnight Creep    
Hold On (Dr. John - guitar & Bernie Worrell - organ)
Down in the Beast    
Shakin' Rock 'n' Roll Tonight    
Over & Over (Bernie Worrell - Moog bass)
Mother Nature    
Mean Heart    
Point of View (Bernie Worrell - Farfisa organ)

 

 

 

 

From 2004 until 2012, nothing forthcoming from the Blues Explosion. Then in 2012 they released Meat + Bone, a thrilling, high-energy comeback album. Stripped of the cut/paste studio trickery & the celebrity cameos that defined the band's records from the mid-90s onward, the self-produced Meat + Bone boasts no ambition beyond capturing the Blues Explosion in straight-up, no-bullshit rock 'n' soul mode with the direct three men in a room making a racket approach,  reasserting the band's real-deal bona fides. 

 

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Meat + Bone, Mom + Pop MP068-2, 2012.

Black Mold
Bag of Bones
Boot Cut
Get Your Pants Off
Ice Cream Killer
Strange Baby
Bottle Baby
Danger
Black Thoughts
Unclear
Bear Trap
Zimgar

  

Enjoy,
NØ