Here we have the band in 1999, the Acme period, when Jon Spencer himself was toying with electronic additions to the music, with hip hop scratches and all of that shit. It’s interesting, but not even close to the greatest bits of their music, to my mind.
Whatever, these songs are still (mostly) a lot of fun. The remix of Heavy is a slinky, laid-back groove worth of early G. Love and the Special Sauce. With the remix of 2 Kindsa Love, we get what sounds like a DJ E-Z Rock sample with Spencer’s guitar looped over it. Hm. Not a personal favourite, but can’t win ‘em all. Then Blues Power picks things up again, sounding more like the Blues Explosion that I love best, even when the levels get lost a bit at one point and a hugely piercing sound comes through the speakers to attack your ears. Next up is the remix of Do You Wanna Get Heavy?, which has a groove all its own that recalls the relaxed slip n’ slide of the first track on this disc.
And lastly, guarding our six is Attack (Detroit), a purely techno rave dancehall track that holds no appeal for me whatsoever. I acknowledge that this style of music is out there, and that some people love it, but this is way too far off the deep end for Mr. Spencer (and crew). I’m not against branching out a bit, but this shit is better left to DJ Numb Nuts and The Fucking Idiots, or whatever those tweakers call themselves these days. This is unworthy of JSBX, on every level. It was this type of crap that sent Judah Bauer running for the cover of his own blues side project, 20 Miles, and I can’t blame him one bit (and the 20 Miles records kick ass, by the way).
Look, in sum, this wasn’t a bad EP, and of course I’ll keep it because I’m a collector geek. But if you’re a listener with a passing interest, stick to the main albums. Don’t let this be your first introduction to the band, if you can help it at all.
Track Listing:
01 Heavy (remix, radio edit)
02 2 Kindsa Love (Duck Rock 105.9 FM remix)
03 Blues Power
04 Do You Wanna Get Heavy? (Duck Rock Hip ‘N Bass remix)
05 Attack (Detroit)
keepsmealive 