WISEASS, WISE & KICK-ASS

Tony Peyser
Mirror contributing writer

   Thirty-five years ago, Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” (over eighteen minutes long) took on littering, the police, the Sixties, the draft and Thanksgiving. Equally entertaining is Steve Forbert’s “The Oil Song” (over six minutes long) from 1979 which gleefully chronicled the Exxon Valdez ecological fender-bender.
   I imagine that Guthrie and Forbert would admire Tommy Womack’s entry in the Long Song Sweepstakes: “The Replacements,” based on the cult 1980s band from Minneapolis. The Kentucky-born and raised Womack is a major Replacements fan. Clocking in at over eight minutes, his captivating ode to these knucklehead rockers reveals their talent was only matched by their self-destructiveness: “But folks came to see ‘em, if only to say they saw ‘em before they were dead/And others to see if they could be anywhere near as good or as bad as everybody else said.” Even if you’ve never heard of The Replacements, this song will win you over with its humor, honesty and ragged charm.
   The rest of the album, Circus Town, has some rip-snorting delights as Womack finds sly ways to deal with dying dreams, tough times
and being unfaithful. In “Sleeping With Cecelia,” he predictably pines for a
cheerleader who’s dating the school’s quarterback but tosses in some barbed
surprises: “If she we were mine, I’d keep her oh so safe and warm/If she were mine, I wouldn’t tell the whole defensive line how she performed.” Tommy, we can hear you.
   If you like Ry Cooder and Tandoori Chicken, you’ll love Wise And Otherwise by Harry Manx. He’s from The Isle Of Mann, has toured Europe, played in Japan and his label is in Canada. So, it’s no wonder that his music has a global feel to it. It’s Mississippi Delta blues played on the banks of The Gangees. Like Cooder, Manx is a slide guitar specialist with a passion for world music. Manx offers a gentle version of Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love” and a shimmering take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady.” But it’s “Only Then Will Your House Be Blessed” and “Makes You Wanna Die Laughing” that give the East meets South flavor its best showcase.
   Manx, whose stirring vocals are accompanied by his work on the banjo, harmonica and the Indian Mohan Veena, displays a confidence and quiet strength that’s startling. He also covers “The Thrill Is Gone” but the thrill is just beginning when you consider what a major talent he is.
   The Dictators are from New York —- you got a problem with that? —- and they’re proud perpetrators of power punk. Their current CD is D.F.F.D. Call them The Ramones with personal trainers. The Dictators aren’t kids (the band was formed in the 1970s) and they’re not kidding around. Underestimate them and they’ll kick your sorry ass all over the Tri-State area. If you’re wondering who will save rock and roll, just listen to “Who Will Save Rock and Roll?” The Dictators rock and rule.
   Miles Of Music has Circus Town for $13.00, Amazon has Wise And Otherwise for $13.99 and D.F.F.D. for $14.23.
   On May 1st, Los Straitjackets will be surf rocking at Spaceland, The Dictators will be tearing up The Troubador on May 3 and Bucksworth, those Riverside grit rockers, will be The Mint on May 5th.
   The Goofy Band Name Of The Week is … Nuns With Guns.