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April 14 - 21, 2000

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*** The Asylum Street Spankers

SPANKER MADNESS

(Spanks-a-Lot Records)

It doesn't take much effort to figure out the concept behind this Austin combo's fourth album. The title alludes to the public-service anti-drug movie and cult classic Reefer Madness, and the songs are all about recreational drug use. The fiddle-accented, country-flavored "Winning the War on Drugs" mocks current government and legislative tactics as facile and even hypocritical. "Wake and Bake," a ragtime jamboree with cackled, lovy-dovy lines like "I gaze into your eyes so red," is more indicative of the album's simple lyrical agenda: fun. This is no ordinary tale of reefer madness but a fine trad blues, country, and hot-jazz recording put together by top-notch musicians (a Spanker is someone who can play an acoustic instrument both vigorously and proficiently). The subject matter might wear thin at times, but the wit and wily musicianship make Spanker Madness more than the sum of its various drug jokes. Plus, "Beer," with its slapped bass and picked banjo, extols the virtues of a hops-based beverage rather than a hemp-based plant.

-- Linda Laban
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