SOME SCORCHING TUNES FROM
JASON & COMPANY
Brian Q. Newcomb; St. Louis Post-Dispatch
March 29, 1995, Wednesday, FIVE STAR Edition

Copyright 1995 - 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc

The heralded return of Jason and the Scorchers found hundreds of fans celebrating the seemingly incongruous mix of country songs and hard rock guitar heroics that made this one of the best live bands back in its heyday in themid-'80s.

Back from the brink of extinction, an extended hiatus that showed few signs that it wasn't permanent, the original quartet - singer Jason Ringenberg, guitarist Warner Hodges, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer Perry Baggs - returned to St. Louis' Mississippi Nights with material from its great new album, "A Blazing Grace," and time-honored classics, both originals and covers.

Jason and the Scorchers' sound probably shouldn't work, but it does. Whereas
countless lesser talents have tried to blend the heart and melody of country with the energy and passion of rock - only to create some benign, yet bewildering half-breed - this band manages to play authentic country with relentless rock fury.

This unlikely artistic success poses problems for purists. They play too aggressively and way too loud for the country and western set, and there's just way too much twang in Jason's vocals and too much country angst in his lyrics for most rock fans. What does make this combination connect, finally, comes down to Ringenberg's songs and the way his vocals juxtapose against the near-metal frenetics of Hodges.

Things got off to a fast start, with "Honky Tonk Blues" leading into "Greetings From Nashville" and the invitation to get "Dixie Fried."

Great new songs from "A Blazing Grace," most notably "200 Proof Lovin'," "Cry by Night Operator," "One More Day of Weekend" and "Hell's Gates," were mingled with classic Scorcher fare like "Shop It Around," "Golden Ball and Chain," "Harvest Moon," "I Really Don't Want to Know" and the set-closing "White Lies."

Baggs and Johnson set a furious pace, but it was Hodges' piercing solos and a
tendency to grandstand, throwing his guitar around his neck a la Steve Vai - and the equally intense showmanship of Jason that has made the Scorchers live show such an amazingly visceral experience.

Whether rocking out to Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" or saluting country tradition with a nod to Merle Haggard on his "Sing Me Back Home," Jason and the Scorchers played both kinds of music - country and rock - well.

© 1995-2001 St. Louis Post-Dispatch— All Rights Reserved