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Jason and the Nashville Scorchers:

By Jon Young and Ira Robbins, Ira A. Robbins, Editor,
The Trouser Press Record Guide To ‘90s Rock, Fifth Edition

Jason and the Nashville Scorchers:

Reckless Country Soul EP7 (Praxis) 1982, (Praxis/Mammoth) 1996
Jason and the Scorchers:
Fervor EP (Praxis) 1983 (EMI America) 1984
Lost and Found (EMI America) 1985
Still Standing (EMI America) 1986
Thunder and Fire (A&M) 1989
Essential Jason and the Scorchers, Volume One: Are You Ready For the Country (EMI) 1992
A Blazing Grace (Mammoth) 1995
Clear Impetuous Morning (Mammoth) 1996

Jason [Ringenberg]
One Foot In the Honky Tonk (Liberty) 1992

Hillbilly cats with a serious punk streak, Jason and the Scorchers were - in their early days - about as un-Nashville as any Nashville-based band could be. Fronted by tightly wound Illinois farm boy Jason Ringenberg, ably abetted by flame-throwing guitarist Warner Hodges and the crack rhythm section of bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer Perry Baggs, the group set out to blend incompatible elements and succeeded well beyond their expectations, mixing dirty roots rock, nihilistic, energy-crazed hardcore and traditional cornball country, spiked with dashes of blues and gospel. It may ultimately be little different from what Jerry Lee Lewis did, but few artists can presume to approach the Killer’s outlaw majesty the way the Scorchers do when everything clicks.

The original Reckless Country Soul - a Hank Williams classic, a Jimmie Rodgers number and a pair of originals, all recorded live to 4-track and issued on a modest 7-inch - was clearly a formative work. The reissue - augmented by a leftover from the band’s first session, five outtakes from studio time later in ‘82 and an unlisted bonus - is an entertaining snapshot of the boys rooting around for a style to call their own. In a wild and randy cover of Carl Perkins’ “Gone Gone Gone” and the ripsnorting medley of Kostas’ “I’d Rather Die Young” and George Morgan’s “Candy Kisses”, they stumble right into it.

While the Fervor EP kicked the renamed band into high gear (the disc’s major-label re-release brought the track count up to seven with a barn-burning cover of Bob Dylan’s “Absolutely Sweet Marie”), Lost and Found is a sizzler from start to finish. In these lower-fi, post-’80s times, Terry Manning’s clean, echoey production seems a bit sterile, but there’s no denying the band’s righteous fury. Red-hot originals like “White Lies” and “Last Time Around” (not to mention soulful covers of moldy oldies “Lost Highway” and “I Really Don’t Want To Know”) render discussions of genre bending, or blending, moot: Here, the Scorchers are simply excitement personified. (The aptly, if optimistically, titled Essential Volume One compiles Fervor and Lost and Found in their entirety, plus four odds and ends.)

Maintaining that breathtaking intensity was probably impossible - not even the best band can deliver a killer live show every single night. In any case, the two subsequent albums define a downward curve on which the band spins out its eager-to-please freshness. Still Standing is fine enough, despite the presence of clever-yet-crass producer Tom Werman (Cheap Trick, Motley Crue). Highlights include “Shotgun Blues”, “Crashin’ Down” and a ripping cover of the Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown”, but it all sounds a tad forced. Thunder and Fire, by contrast, is simply a dud. Jason and company strain for effect, and the material seems shopworn. No wonder they disbanded soon after.

Ringenberg’s 1992 solo album, dubiously credited to “Jason”, was a misguided attempt to infiltrate the country mainstream. A host of Music City reliables - from producer Jerry Crutchfield to slick session players to trusty songwriters like Dennis Linde, Paul Kennerley and Kevin Welch - are on hand, but the feeling’s all wrong. The contrast between Jason’s insistent drawl - he couldn’t relax if his life depended on it - and his glib colleagues suggests two records playing at once.

A few years later, all the original members reunited to fire up Jason and the Scorchers again; the quartet’s electrifying 1995 reunion album is the best thing they’ve done in a decade. There’s nothing new here, just plenty of slashing, go-for-broke rock n’ roll like “Cry By Night Operator”, “One More Day of Weekend” and “American Legion Party”, all of which are about as intellectual as they sound. The wicked cover of George Jones’ “Why Baby Why” almost stands up to the original, but the standout may be, believe it or not, an atomic version of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. God bless these hillbilly punks.


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		Jason and the Nashville Scorchers: By Jon Young and Ira Robbins, Ira A. Robbins, Editor, The Trouser Press Record Guide To ‘90s Rock, Fifth Edition Copyright 1997 - 2005 - Fireside, Simon and Schuster Jason and the Nashville Scorchers: Reckless Country Soul EP7 (Praxis) 1982, (Praxis/Mammoth) 1996 Jason and the Scorchers: Fervor EP (Praxis) 1983 (EMI America) 1984 Lost and Found (EMI America) 1985 Still Standing (EMI America) 1986 Thunder and Fire (A&M) 1989 Essential Jason and the Scorchers, Volume One: Are You Ready For the Country (EMI) 1992 A Blazing Grace (Mammoth) 1995 Clear Impetuous Morning (Mammoth) 1996 Jason [Ringenberg] One Foot In the Honky Tonk (Liberty) 1992 Hillbilly cats with a serious punk streak, Jason and the Scorchers were - in their early days - about as un-Nashville as any Nashville-based band could be. Fronted by tightly wound Illinois farm boy Jason Ringenberg, ably abetted by flame-throwing guitarist Warner Hodges and the crack rhythm section of bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer Perry Baggs, the group set out to blend incompatible elements and succeeded well beyond their expectations, mixing dirty roots rock, nihilistic, energy-crazed hardcore and traditional cornball country, spiked with dashes of blues and gospel. It may ultimately be little different from what Jerry Lee Lewis did, but few artists can presume to approach the Killer’s outlaw majesty the way the Scorchers do when everything clicks. The original Reckless Country Soul - a Hank Williams classic, a Jimmie Rodgers number and a pair of originals, all recorded live to 4-track and issued on a modest 7-inch - was clearly a formative work. The reissue - augmented by a leftover from the band’s first session, five outtakes from studio time later in ‘82 and an unlisted bonus - is an entertaining snapshot of the boys rooting around for a style to call their own. In a wild and randy cover of Carl Perkins’ “Gone Gone Gone” and the ripsnorting medley of Kostas’ “I’d Rather Die Young” and George Morgan’s “Candy Kisses”, they stumble right into it. While the Fervor EP kicked the renamed band into high gear (the disc’s major-label re-release brought the track count up to seven with a barn-burning cover of Bob Dylan’s “Absolutely Sweet Marie”), Lost and Found is a sizzler from start to finish. In these lower-fi, post-’80s times, Terry Manning’s clean, echoey production seems a bit sterile, but there’s no denying the band’s righteous fury. Red-hot originals like “White Lies” and “Last Time Around” (not to mention soulful covers of moldy oldies “Lost Highway” and “I Really Don’t Want To Know”) render discussions of genre bending, or blending, moot: Here, the Scorchers are simply excitement personified. (The aptly, if optimistically, titled Essential Volume One compiles Fervor and Lost and Found in their entirety, plus four odds and ends.) Maintaining that breathtaking intensity was probably impossible - not even the best band can deliver a killer live show every single night. In any case, the two subsequent albums define a downward curve on which the band spins out its eager-to-please freshness. Still Standing is fine enough, despite the presence of clever-yet-crass producer Tom Werman (Cheap Trick, Motley Crue). Highlights include “Shotgun Blues”, “Crashin’ Down” and a ripping cover of the Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown”, but it all sounds a tad forced. Thunder and Fire, by contrast, is simply a dud. Jason and company strain for effect, and the material seems shopworn. No wonder they disbanded soon after. Ringenberg’s 1992 solo album, dubiously credited to “Jason”, was a misguided attempt to infiltrate the country mainstream. A host of Music City reliables - from producer Jerry Crutchfield to slick session players to trusty songwriters like Dennis Linde, Paul Kennerley and Kevin Welch - are on hand, but the feeling’s all wrong. The contrast between Jason’s insistent drawl - he couldn’t relax if his life depended on it - and his glib colleagues suggests two records playing at once. A few years later, all the original members reunited to fire up Jason and the Scorchers again; the quartet’s electrifying 1995 reunion album is the best thing they’ve done in a decade. There’s nothing new here, just plenty of slashing, go-for-broke rock n’ roll like “Cry By Night Operator”, “One More Day of Weekend” and “American Legion Party”, all of which are about as intellectual as they sound. The wicked cover of George Jones’ “Why Baby Why” almost stands up to the original, but the standout may be, believe it or not, an atomic version of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. God bless these hillbilly punks. © 1997 -2005 — Fireside, Simon and Schuster — All Rights Reserved
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