After parting ways with his partner of the last six years, Skid Roper, rock’s madman Mojo Nixon struck out on his own. Teaming up with producer Jim Dickinson and putting together a hell of a backing band – including members of Dash Rip Rock, the Beat Farmers, the Del-Lords and X –
Nixon set out to make a different type of record than the ones that had garnered him all the notoriety he had already achieved.
This album’s most famous song is “Don Henley Must Die,” a diatribe against that SOB from the Eagles and all the crappy music he’s subjected us to over the years. Mojo succeeds in tearing the whiny Eagle apart (and even made Henley a fan in the process). But this record wasn’t all humorous and sophomoric like his other records had been. Mojo decided to try something different to see if it worked, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t achieve what he wanted.
The sheer power of opening track “Destroy All Lawyers” really helps from having the whole band rockin’ behind him. Without a doubt, this is one of his most notable tracks. His sense of humor still reigns supreme on this disc; “I Wanna Race Bigfoot Trucks” is a good example, but the best one is “Shane’s Dentist,” a quick little track about Shane McGowan of the Pogues and his disgusting, rotting teeth. This truly needs to be heard to be believed.
Some tracks like “Perry Mason Of Love” and “You Can Dress ‘Em Up (But You Can’t Take ‘Em Out)” truly have not aged well, but the sense of fun and sheer joy that can be heard on every damn track is something that must be admired. One of my personal favorites is the old school funk throwback “Put a Sex Mo-Sheen In The White House,” which is just funky and fun as hell and should go down as one of Mojo’s greatest moments EVER! The final track, “Gonna Be A New World” is one of the more introspective songs Mojo ever did. It’s a very interesting track and a fine, fine way to end this record.
Maybe if Mojo’s record label had been a bit more solvent, he would have been able to make more records like this. But alas, it was not to be and his recording career became more stagnant after this release. But damn, was this a great record that should be discovered by fans of great music!
