Rating: NNN
Even at his trashiest, Jon Spencer has always injected his Blues Explosion with a healthy dose of glam rock. That tendency has grown stronger on recent albums, sporadic though they are. Meat And Bone finds Spencer at what is arguably his most Bowie-esque. He pouts and growls, only occasionally employing the shouted outbursts and shout-outs to his own band that defined his early style.
Apart from truckloads of reverb, the occasional theremin squeal and the goofy intro to Get Your Pants Off, things are pretty straight-up production-wise. Even drummer Russell Simins keeps the cowbell to a minimum, although his wild man drumming is in top form, especially on Ice Cream Killer.
A couple of songs near the halfway mark could’ve been left off. However, the back-to-back weirdness of Danger, which sounds like a discarded Rocky Horror track, and Black Thoughts invigorates the back end.
Top track: Black Thoughts
