These Yorkshire punk dinosaurs embraced the abyss and anarchism and went down swinging with mythic swagger on the most diverse and engaging album of their career. The band had been iconoclastic from the very beginning with their art punk debut 'The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strained/Strnen'. They reinvented themselves and spawned alt-country in the process with 'Fear And Whiskey' and 'The Edge Of The World' before experimenting with world beat and electronic music for 'So Good It Hurts'. Their underground classic 'Rock 'n' Roll' should have been breakthrough; but it was compromised by their relationship with executive from their new label A&M. The sessions for the followup did not fare any better.
To embrace the sense of doom, the band assumed diabolical pseudonyms for the liner notes: Jon "Dee Fanglord" Langford, Tom "In The Green" Greenhalgh, Sally "Endora" Timms, Eric "Rico Hell" Bellis, Lu Cipher, John "The Dubmaster General" Gill, Steve "Ghoulding" Goulding, Susie "Samantha Herebemonsters" Honeyman, Guy Crackers, Neil Yates, Gavin Sharp, John Hart, Ken Litemare, and Brendan "Crowkey" Croker. The proceedings were produced by The Mekons and Ian Caple.
'The Curse of the Mekons' was only available as an import on the Blast First! label for over a decade because A&M refused to release it. Perhaps because of how intensely they railed against the machine, their relationship with the execs at A&M deteriorated and they were dropped. Even as their records garnished more critical acclaim; they were deemed commercially unviable. 'The Curse of the Mekons', indeed.
To embrace the sense of doom, the band assumed diabolical pseudonyms for the liner notes: Jon "Dee Fanglord" Langford, Tom "In The Green" Greenhalgh, Sally "Endora" Timms, Eric "Rico Hell" Bellis, Lu Cipher, John "The Dubmaster General" Gill, Steve "Ghoulding" Goulding, Susie "Samantha Herebemonsters" Honeyman, Guy Crackers, Neil Yates, Gavin Sharp, John Hart, Ken Litemare, and Brendan "Crowkey" Croker. The proceedings were produced by The Mekons and Ian Caple.
'The Curse of the Mekons' was only available as an import on the Blast First! label for over a decade because A&M refused to release it. Perhaps because of how intensely they railed against the machine, their relationship with the execs at A&M deteriorated and they were dropped. Even as their records garnished more critical acclaim; they were deemed commercially unviable. 'The Curse of the Mekons', indeed.
The country honk of 'The Curse' sets the stage like a manifesto.
"Magic, fear and superstition
this is the Curse of the Mekons
you'll be called on by our crew
it's no joke I'm telling you
on our stone heads and leaky hearts
we'll leave our mark to say we called"
The weeping country beauty of 'Wild + Blue' was originally done by Nashville star John Anderson.
"It's four in the morning and you're all alone
With no place to go, why don't you come home?
I'll be right here little baby waitin' for you
I know you've been wild and blue"
'Funeral' long version
'The Curse of the Mekons'
full album:
The Curse 03:45
Blue Arse 02:50
Wild and Blue 02:54 (John Scott Sherrill)
Authority 05:00
Secrets 05:20
Nocturne 04:57
Sorcerer 04:33
Brutal 04:35
Funeral 03:28
Lyric 03:57
Waltz 04:25
100% Song 05:21
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