Dragstrip Riot (album)
| Dragstrip Riot | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Genre | Punk rock | |||
| Label | SST[1] | |||
| Producer | Chris D. | |||
| The Flesh Eaters chronology | ||||
| ||||
Dragstrip Riot is an album by the American band the Flesh Eaters, released in 1991.[2][3] It was their first studio album since 1983's A Hard Road to Follow. They supported the album with a North American tour.[4]
Lyrics to "Dragstrip Riot" appear in Bruce Harris Craven's novel Fast Sofa, published in 1993. The Flesh Eaters recorded a new song to promote the book, which was included with Fast Sofa as a flexi-disc.[5] "The Youngest Profession" was rerecorded for 2018's I Used to Be Pretty.[6]
Production
[edit]The album was made with a new lineup of the band, with Chris D. the only longtime member.[7] It contains covers of the Flamin' Groovies' "Slow Death" and Mott the Hoople's "Moon Upstairs".[8] The title track stretches to almost 10 minutes.[9]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 5/10[7] |
Trouser Press concluded that the new band "proves potent enough to keep pace without clinging to their leader’s tornado-swept coattails, whether the context is quietly malicious delta blues ('The Youngest Profession'), Alice Cooper-via-Jim Thompson power-metal ('Sugarhead and Panther Breath') or stripped-down docudrama (the ten-minute title track), not to mention a handful of territory-defining covers."[12] The Los Angeles Times called the new Flesh Eaters "a more tempered band with a blues and garage-rock sound that sometimes echoes such punk precursors as the Stooges, Television and the Patti Smith Group... Formerly a ranter and raver, Chris D. now can sing when he wants to."[8]
The Arizona Daily Star wrote that "lead screamer Chris D. has reassembled his semi-legendary L.A. punk band, rediscovered the blues and now occasionally forgoes his trademark from-the-crypt wail to actually sing his lyrics, a combination of beat poetry, pulp fiction and B-movie themes."[13] CMJ New Music Report thought that guitarist Wayne James's "every move is a new extension of L.A.M.F./Link Wray squint-eyed grace; his guitar/co-writing skills are within the bounds of both old Flesh Eaters style and stereotype bad-ass rocker blare."[14]
AllMusic determined: "Overlong, but after over a decade they're in great shape."[10] The Encyclopedia of Popular Music thought that the album "saw the band crashing out riotous swamp rock of a virulent, Cramps-type character."[11]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tomorrow Never Comes" | |
| 2. | "Youngest Profession" | |
| 3. | "Soul Kiss" | |
| 4. | "Dragstrip Riot" | |
| 5. | "Bedfull of Knives" | |
| 6. | "My Baby's Done Her Best" | |
| 7. | "Sugarhead and Panther Breath" | |
| 8. | "Out of Nowhere" | |
| 9. | "Dove's Blood Ink" | |
| 10. | "Take My Hand" | |
| 11. | "Agony Shorthand" | |
| 12. | "Agony Sorehead" | |
| 13. | "Buried Treasure" | |
| 14. | "Moon Upstairs" | |
| 15. | "Slipped, Tripped, Fell in Love" | |
| 16. | "Slow Death" | |
| 17. | "Fur Magnet" |
References
[edit]- ^ Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide. Penguin. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
- ^ "The Flesh Eaters Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ^ Ngaire (May 4, 1991). "Albums — Dragstrip Riot by the Flesheaters". Melody Maker. Vol. 68, no. 18. p. 34.
- ^ "Music". LA Weekly. 14 Mar 1991. p. 79.
- ^ Miller, Trudi (7 Jan 1993). "Flesheaters' new song-one for the books". Chicago Tribune. Billboard. p. 11E.
- ^ "The Flesh Eaters are back!". No Depression. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ a b Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 150.
- ^ a b Boehm, Mike (23 Feb 1991). "Flesh Prince of Feeling Talks from the Heart". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 2.
- ^ Herzog, Dave (18 Jan 1992). "Records". The Morning Call. p. A64.
- ^ a b "Dragstrip Riot". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 499.
- ^ "Flesh Eaters". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ Armstrong, Gene (January 10, 1992). "Craftsmanship, songwriting won in 1991". Arizona Daily Star. p. 15F.
- ^ "Flesh Eaters Dragstrip Riot". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 25, no. 226. March 8, 1991. p. 2.
