Mad Daddys
The Age of Asparagus
RAFR
Man, if this isn’t the sleeper of the year. I’ve known the Mad Daddys as purveyors of fine garageabilly for several years, but The Age of Asparagus has pushed the band into a new category: undefinable excellence in rock. It’s impossible to pin this record down, except maybe by playing it over and over again. Starts out with “Daddy Needs a Mamma,” that’s a groovy rockin’ tune about sex. OK, all their songs are about sex. Sex and the power dynamics of being a real man and performing accordingly for the women who appreciate such. Of course, the power dynamics of being a man mean that you’ve got to be “King of the Wild Frontier,” be on the look out for a “Blonde on a Bum Trip,” and aware of your own limitations (“Every Time I Lose My Mind”), but most of all, you’ve got to be on a rock and roll loner death trip – like they sing about on “(I’m Gonna) Die of Rock n’ Roll.”
The fact that a lot of great bands incorporate the aforementioned motifs into their songs, though, means that the Mad Daddys have to move forward the state of the art• And that they do through some of the most incredible metal guitar work, near-supernatural vocals, punk stupidity (the band consists of Stinky Sonobuoni, Eddie Cochring, Pete Moss, and Wrongo Starr), and simply awesome heavy metal blues jams. The Age of Asparagus is a sonic suicide mission that the Mad Daddys beat without cheating!
Rock and Fucking Roll Records, 11054 Ventura Blvd. #205, Studio City, CA 91604; http://www.rafr.com • Mad Daddys, PO Box. 411, Avenel, NJ 07001, Tel: 732 251-4773; http://www.maddaddys.com
