Stone Fox
Really Burnt
Man’s Ruin
Ok, so they’re billed as “San Francisco’s Premier Sisters of Rock,” which, since they sound like a West Coast Cycle Sluts, they certainly are. However, it says “ re -released by popular demand… “ I checked out the Man’s Ruin web site and found scant information other than the little included with the CD. I did a search and… Could it be that the band is named after a 1987 Buddy Ebsen movie?
Perhaps… Nevertheless, Really Burnt is nineteen hard-rockin’, out-of-control tunes full of great metal guitars and lots of all-girl attitude. The most-touted song, “The Donkey and the Butterfly,” sounds like it’s about women in heat – and they need it bad . And that’s what I think “Giant Opie” is about, too! The other songs I was particularly fond of: “Embalm Me” is a creepy, near-folk tune about (my guess) a dying lover telling her partner what to do with the corpse. “Candee” is a doo-wop number about lip-gloss, and “Want It in One Hand” is a haunting pop number about something I think is secret to the girls… There’s a lot of metal on “H.E. Double Toothpicks” and “Highway to Heck,” also.
The remainder of the album appears to be live tracks, including a very hard cover of Shonen Knife’s “Twist Barbie.” Overall, Really Burnt is a good album for those of us who dig the hard rock chicks.
Man’s Ruin Records, 610 22nd Street #302, San Francisco, CA 94107
