The Beat Farmers
Tales of The New West
Rhino
Fundamental Rock and Roll. Roots. Rock-a-billy. Stuff mom would like. All good, positive descriptors for this West Coast quartet, formed back in the frothy days of the LA New Wave Scene. While other bands cut their hair weird and wore all black outfits, these guys had Pendletons and DAs and acoustic guitars, and pounded out timeless tunes. Rhino, everyone’s absolutely coolest favorite label, released this compilation of their first album, a ton of later stuff, unreleased cuts and what not. It’s a must for the fan and newbie alike. The band’s range is amazing: “Happy Boy” sounds like a Barnes and Barnes novelty song, “Powderfinger” is a cover of a classic Neil Young song and traditional favorites like “Big Rock Candy Mountain” highlight this collection.
The main attraction, of course, is their own material. “Glad ‘N Greasy,” “Gun Sale At The Church” and “Bigger Stones” are powerful, moving songs, characteristic of the album and the band’s work as a whole. The Beat Farmers are some sort of a national musical treasure, and they deserve to be included in any serious collection of American music. This CD yearns to be in your collection, or stuck in the CD player of all beat-up SUVs on back roads everywhere.
Rhino Records: http://www.rhinohandmade.com/ • Beat Farmers: http://www.beatfarmers.com/
