Gear Blues

About five years ago, in only the second post on this blog, I wrote briefly about a really good Japanese rock 'n' roll band called Thee Michelle Gun Elephant and their album Gear Blues (1998). Tonight, for the first time in a couple of years, I listened to this album again and remembered how completely floored I was the first time I heard it. I thought I'd mention it again because a) if you're a fan of punk you may not have heard of these guys (Gear Blues is most definitely a punk album), b) while this blog is still pretty small-time, I quite definitely get a lot more traffic now than I did 5 years ago (so there's more chance of exposing these guys to new fans), and c) it's my blog and this is what I feel like talking about right now!

TMGE-West Cabaret Drive

Clearly TMGE owe a sonic debt to The Stooges, but that one track doesn't really give you any idea of the overall range of their musical ideas and influences. In fact, choosing just a couple of tunes for this post has been driving me a bit crazy, because the band has a lot of different influences. It's how they assimilate and synthesize influences that makes them rock, and if I had to peg one thing about TMGE's music, it's that they're the first punk band I've ever heard with any real sense of swing (and as we all already know, it don't mean a thing if...).

TMGE-Boiled Oil

Two tunes is not nearly enough to convey what a monster album this is. Personally, I'd put it in the top 100 of all time, and in the top 50 of all time for punk albums. It's a great album. Check it out.

UPDATE: Video!!!

"Smokin' Billy"



"GWD"



Yeah...