Cracker – Gentleman's Blues

This one screams for a Vinyl release.
2018 : 20th birthday edition. Please!

Straight from the “Cracker Web Site” ... “We are the only band to hold the distinction of opening for both The Grateful Dead and The Ramones.” That one sentence tells more truth about the quality and flexibility of a band than most groups could possibly hope to achieve in a lifetime. And the truth behind that statement lies in the pure Americana sound they bring to each and every outing.

Cracker are much like The Grateful Dead in that Cracker consider themselves a family, with splinter groups, side projects, including the resurfacing of Camper Van Beethoven [every now and then], and solo outings, all of which fold back onto themselves nicely when they unite as Cracker. If you have never been to a Cracker show, I would highly recommend it, you’ll be hooked for life ... I guarantee that.

From the outset, Cracker is first and foremost a rock n’ roll band, guitar driven, and as hard hitting as you are every going to find. But rock n’ roll is just the base they have structured their sound on, they blend and bend the blues, psychedelic, and country sounds until it's almost impossible to tell one from the other as they relentlessly carry you from one song into the next. Trying to extend a hand to you, to help you understand the music of Cracker, is proving to be a nearly impossible task. All I can say is that this band is well rehearsed, and tightly perfected from years of non stop touring and a life lived on the road. They know their material, they know their audience, and from the moment they set foot to the stage, they own it. The same can be said of this album, from the first note they draw you ever deeper into their world of sound and visions; much like falling down the rabbit hole, only you won't need the acid.

Normally I would suggest that one begins at the beginning with a band’s material ... however, I maintain that this, their fifth release “Gentleman’s Blues,” is probably the perfect album for you to discover the music of Cracker, and if you’ve passed over or put aside their other material, I suggest that you reacquaint yourself to the band with this release.

As to their music, it's technically perfect, they hit notes and chords that leave me shaking my head in wonder. The lyrics are ... I can’t think of anything other to say than to call them slightly demented, as in those perfect moments that fly off too quickly, when all the world makes sense ... and you’re left saying, “Yeah, that’s how it is!” Of course, in the next breath they are going to slow it all down so much that you have no choice but to go "on the nod" with them. Interlaced and mixed throughout all of this music you get the sweetest and most unexpected little notes that just bounce off your forehead. If I could, I would drop the song “Been Around The World” into everyone’s pocket ... it’s so sexy, so smooth, and with each chorus it picks up tempo while slowing it down at the same time ...

Well is it such a sin to linger with the magazines?
I want a chocolate bar made of something sweet
I want a stranger with your face
So I followed her to this place
It's been so long, I been around the world
I say hello to Howie, say hello to Spike
'Cuz the canals in Camden are filled with bottles tonight
[I put them there!]
To watch the ripples fade away
To feel the rain upon my head
So I could say I been around the world.
And how I wish I was in your apartment tonight
To hear the rain come down, down upon your roof
To see your clothes beside, clothes beside your bed
To lie and listen to your breath
Instead I been, I been around the world
And how I wish I was in your bed tonight
To taste the salt upon, the salt upon your neck
To feel your body press, pressing down on me
Instead I been, I been around the world
Yeah I been around, I been around the world
Yeah I been around, I been around the world

Cracker’s music gets into your blood ... it pounds in your head ... it melts your heart ... it makes you strong ... it makes you weak in the knees for the one you love ... and best of all, it will make you spin.

Excuse me I have to cue up “The World Is Mine,” because at this very moment, with Cracker in the background ... IT IS!

Review by Jenell Kesler