Hillbilly Heaven

Jason & the Scorchers

The Washington Post
July 15, 1998

Copyright 1998 - 2004 - The Washington Post

Where BR5-49 reanimates the music of the Grand Ole Opry, Jason & the Scorchers approach it the way most self-respecting punks would — by trashing it. Ten years before the current alternative-country boom, the Scorchers, who play the Iota Club tomorrow, were running the vintage honky-tonk of Hank Williams and Faron Young through their punk-rock blender. Two of the Scorchers’ mid-’80s albums became cult favorites, but even they pale in comparison with the band’s rampaging live shows, a document of which is finally available on disc.
Sparked by Jason Ringenberg’s caterwauling vocals and Warner Hodges’ squalling guitar, “Midnight Roads & Stages Seen” (Mammoth), a double CD recorded in Nashville last November, captures the Scorchers at their frenetic best. The band members may be getting on in years, but as blistering versions of such longtime favorites as “Broken Whiskey Glass,” “Help! There’s a Fire” and Bob Dylan’s “Absolutely Sweet Marie” attest, the Scorchers play with more fervor than bands half their age.

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