JAMES MATHUS & HIS KNOCKDOWN SOCIETY
''NATIONAL ANTISEPTIC''
OCTOBER 16 2001
52:08
1/Call Your Dawgs Off
Jimbo Mathus/2:29
2/Take a Ride With Me
John Ford/3:56
3/Snake Drive
Kenny Brown / R.L. Burnside/3:40
4/Drinkin' Antiseptic
Lonnie Pitchford/4:36
5/Stranger
Jimbo Mathus/3:01
6/Innit for the Money
Jimbo Mathus/3:13
7/Shake It and Break It
Frank Demond / Josiah "Cie" Frazier / Percy Humphrey / Allan Jaffe / Willie J. Humphrey Jr. / Narvin Kimball / James "Sing" Miller / Frank Parker / Charley Patton/2:37
8/Rock of Ages
Jimbo Mathus/4:11
9/Boogie
Jimbo Mathus/5:08
10/Issaqueena St. Shuffle
Jimbo Mathus/4:08
11/Spare Change
Jimbo Mathus/4:02
12/Chicken Town
Jimbo Mathus/3:18
13/Hambone
Jimbo Mathus/3:18
14/Back to the Bottoms
Jimbo Mathus/2:10
15/Nightingale
Jimbo Mathus/2:21
Greg Bell /Organ, Piano
Stud Cole /Bass
Cody Dickinson /Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Jim Dickinson /Farfisa Organ, Piano, Producer
Luther Dickinson /Guitar, Mandolin
Harmony Four /Vocals (Background)
Greg Humphreys /Vocals (Background)
James Mathus/Bass, Guitar, Mandolin, Producer, Vocals
Jack Oblivian /Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Patrick Smith /Hammond Synth
Jim Spake /Sax (Alto)
Ted Zarras /Drums
REVIEW
by Zac Johnson Former Squirrel Nut Zippers frontman James Mathus has worn many hats during his career. From the Zippers' goofy post-vaudeville hot jazz to his own solo experiments with Delta blues, he has been a tough guy to pin down, and National Antiseptic is no exception. On this 2001 release, James Mathus & His Knockdown Society churn out dirty and gritty swamp blues with an authentic fervor that similar artists like the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and White Stripes have also toyed with. Drums are pushed into the red on almost every track, eclipsed only by Mathus' crunched-out electric guitar and his loose juke joint murmurs and howls. Like other successful white blues interpreters (Koerner, Ray & Glover in the '60s and G. Love & Special Sauce in the '90s come to mind), Mathus seems to draw from a well that has eluded Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. This may be because Lang, Shepherd, and their contemporaries are recalling Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan in their tributes, while Mathus & His Knockdown Society seem to have stacks of old Charlie Patton and Lightnin' Hopkins 78s in their briefcase full of blues. Whatever the reasons, these guys certainly play an authentic brand of roots music, sounding as if most of the record could have come out on Fat Possum records alongside T-Model Ford and R.L. Burnside's recent recordings. Barroom stomps like "Innit for the Money" and "Stranger" stand out as highlights, recalling not only early electric blues records, but a little stride piano and honkin' R&B saxophone as well. Those expecting a continuation of Mathus' work from any of his previous incarnations may be disappointed, but anyone who appreciates a good, loose, gritty blast through some time-honored musical styles will be warmly delighted.
''NATIONAL ANTISEPTIC''
OCTOBER 16 2001
52:08
1/Call Your Dawgs Off
Jimbo Mathus/2:29
2/Take a Ride With Me
John Ford/3:56
3/Snake Drive
Kenny Brown / R.L. Burnside/3:40
4/Drinkin' Antiseptic
Lonnie Pitchford/4:36
5/Stranger
Jimbo Mathus/3:01
6/Innit for the Money
Jimbo Mathus/3:13
7/Shake It and Break It
Frank Demond / Josiah "Cie" Frazier / Percy Humphrey / Allan Jaffe / Willie J. Humphrey Jr. / Narvin Kimball / James "Sing" Miller / Frank Parker / Charley Patton/2:37
8/Rock of Ages
Jimbo Mathus/4:11
9/Boogie
Jimbo Mathus/5:08
10/Issaqueena St. Shuffle
Jimbo Mathus/4:08
11/Spare Change
Jimbo Mathus/4:02
12/Chicken Town
Jimbo Mathus/3:18
13/Hambone
Jimbo Mathus/3:18
14/Back to the Bottoms
Jimbo Mathus/2:10
15/Nightingale
Jimbo Mathus/2:21
Greg Bell /Organ, Piano
Stud Cole /Bass
Cody Dickinson /Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Jim Dickinson /Farfisa Organ, Piano, Producer
Luther Dickinson /Guitar, Mandolin
Harmony Four /Vocals (Background)
Greg Humphreys /Vocals (Background)
James Mathus/Bass, Guitar, Mandolin, Producer, Vocals
Jack Oblivian /Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Patrick Smith /Hammond Synth
Jim Spake /Sax (Alto)
Ted Zarras /Drums
REVIEW
by Zac Johnson Former Squirrel Nut Zippers frontman James Mathus has worn many hats during his career. From the Zippers' goofy post-vaudeville hot jazz to his own solo experiments with Delta blues, he has been a tough guy to pin down, and National Antiseptic is no exception. On this 2001 release, James Mathus & His Knockdown Society churn out dirty and gritty swamp blues with an authentic fervor that similar artists like the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and White Stripes have also toyed with. Drums are pushed into the red on almost every track, eclipsed only by Mathus' crunched-out electric guitar and his loose juke joint murmurs and howls. Like other successful white blues interpreters (Koerner, Ray & Glover in the '60s and G. Love & Special Sauce in the '90s come to mind), Mathus seems to draw from a well that has eluded Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. This may be because Lang, Shepherd, and their contemporaries are recalling Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan in their tributes, while Mathus & His Knockdown Society seem to have stacks of old Charlie Patton and Lightnin' Hopkins 78s in their briefcase full of blues. Whatever the reasons, these guys certainly play an authentic brand of roots music, sounding as if most of the record could have come out on Fat Possum records alongside T-Model Ford and R.L. Burnside's recent recordings. Barroom stomps like "Innit for the Money" and "Stranger" stand out as highlights, recalling not only early electric blues records, but a little stride piano and honkin' R&B saxophone as well. Those expecting a continuation of Mathus' work from any of his previous incarnations may be disappointed, but anyone who appreciates a good, loose, gritty blast through some time-honored musical styles will be warmly delighted.
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