{"id":78,"date":"2022-03-05T21:29:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T21:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/?p=78"},"modified":"2023-03-10T12:33:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T12:33:50","slug":"freedom-and-weep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/?p=78","title":{"rendered":"Freedom And Weep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/?p=78\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Lyrics<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-elements-e30b384a834f7f651659013d68f7e7a8 wp-block-media-text alignfull has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top has-text-color has-background has-link-color\" style=\"color:#fffdc7;background-color:#121c1c;grid-template-columns:auto 45%\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-elements-ae77146bd994d3fe153bbe1660ba0330 wp-block-group has-link-color\" style=\"padding-top:2em;padding-right:2em;padding-bottom:2em;padding-left:2em\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-luminous-vivid-amber-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-size:48px;font-weight:700;line-height:1.15\">Freedom And Weep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-elements-a7ba573a4d04ea63bf223b87b73f71c8 has-luminous-vivid-amber-color has-text-color has-link-color\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/label\/34325-Bloodshot-Records\">Bloodshot Records<\/a> \u2013 BS 119<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"599\" src=\"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/7F45B0D5-DD07-415E-B7E4-1D1D1F8B42ED.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/7F45B0D5-DD07-415E-B7E4-1D1D1F8B42ED.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/7F45B0D5-DD07-415E-B7E4-1D1D1F8B42ED-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/7F45B0D5-DD07-415E-B7E4-1D1D1F8B42ED-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/7F45B0D5-DD07-415E-B7E4-1D1D1F8B42ED-375x375.jpeg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color\">Tracklist:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>1<\/td><td><\/td><td>Nothing At All<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2<\/td><td><\/td><td>Chosen One<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3<\/td><td><\/td><td>Come A Long Way<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4<\/td><td><\/td><td>Secrets<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5<\/td><td><\/td><td>How Fast The Time<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6<\/td><td><\/td><td>Lincoln Town Car<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7<\/td><td><\/td><td>It&#8217;s Amazing<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>8<\/td><td><\/td><td>On The Sly<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>9<\/td><td><\/td><td>Drinkin&#8216; &amp; Cheatin&#8216; &amp; Death<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10<\/td><td><\/td><td>Fantasy<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>11<\/td><td><\/td><td>Missing Link<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>12<\/td><td><\/td><td>Rest Of The World<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>13<\/td><td><\/td><td>Join The Club<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-image so-widget-sow-image-default-8b5b6f678277\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"sow-image-container\">\n\t\t<img \n\tsrc=\"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/25BD40C3-52D5-4989-A54F-9E0D869780E1-scaled.jpeg\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/25BD40C3-52D5-4989-A54F-9E0D869780E1-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/25BD40C3-52D5-4989-A54F-9E0D869780E1-300x154.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/25BD40C3-52D5-4989-A54F-9E0D869780E1-1024x525.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/25BD40C3-52D5-4989-A54F-9E0D869780E1-768x394.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/25BD40C3-52D5-4989-A54F-9E0D869780E1-1536x788.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/25BD40C3-52D5-4989-A54F-9E0D869780E1-2048x1050.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" title=\"25BD40C3-52D5-4989-A54F-9E0D869780E1\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \t\tclass=\"so-widget-image\"\/>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color\">Credits:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Bass, Backing Vocals \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/1028174-Alan-Doughty\">Alan Sprockets<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drums \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/1491353-Lil-Willy-Goulding\">Lil&#8216; Willy Goulding<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/6736991-The-7th-Waco\">The 7th Waco<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Backing Vocals, Producer \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/6736990-Kengineer-2\">Kengineer (2)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Guitar, Vocals \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/1144396-Dean-Schlabowske\">Deano<\/a>*, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/289297-Jon-Langford-2\">Jonboy<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mandolin, Vocals \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/1491351-Tracey-Dear\">Tracey<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pedal Steel Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/234171-Mark-Durante\">Durantula<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Producer, Written-By \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/de\/artist\/521901-The-Waco-Brothers\">The Waco Brothers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color\">Reviews:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bloodshot says:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Down from the hills in their fuel efficient mini-van with \u2018The Waco Brothers Invade Jesusland\u2019 scrawled on the side in glitter and fire-red lipstick, the Brothers are ready to show off the totems they\u2019ve carved out of the corpses of punk and country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Times are tough and disasters both natural and unnatural threaten to dismantle all we hold precious. There can be no more welcome a sight to a beaten and misled populace than a band with nothing left to lose careening through the streets, dousing us with warm beer and sweat, guitars rumbling and tongues sharpened, spraying a foul scent into the corrupt temple. The Waco Brothers\u2019 seventh CD shows their usual subtlety at leaving genre after genre in smoking ruins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the past decade in the blood-bucket roots underground, The Wacos have been called everything from saviors to butchers and Freedom and Weep is a decidedly rockin\u2019 addition to their formidable canon, a swaggering return to form that hits all your g-spots and leaves you panting. Cuts about crafty little Christians dismantling democracy, going for a drink, golfers disguised as national leaders, appearing stupider than you really are, watching your carbs the night before they strap you to the gurney, election night jitters, and models throwing themselves out of first floor Motel 6 windows show that the Brothers are still able to meet the enemy head on with a good, hair-raising boozy cackle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, the years have not dimmed the Wacos zeal for looking into the face of the grotesque cultural and social forces that are forever trying to turn us into placid drones devoid of outrage. Sure, you can dismiss these as songs shouted from the end of the bar by some sozzled cranks. But beyond the pounding of the drums, the shrieking of the steel and the knee-jerking hedonism, outrage stumbles about, there is madness and rage, and the joke is over and the laughter is hollow and tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>from:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vitalsourcemag.com\/story\/view\/100767\"><strong>http:\/\/www.vitalsourcemag.com\/story\/view\/100767<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Originally published 07\/01\/05 in Vital Source.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Waco Brothers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freedom and Weep<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>by Blaine Schultz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1965, Brian Jones insisted that Howlin\u2019 Wolf play on the U.S. teenybopper television program \u201cShindig,\u201d when his group, the Rolling Stones, appeared. This bitch slap effectively asked America: \u201cThis music was in your backyard all along. Why did you need us to tell you it was cool?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast-forward to 1985. History repeats itself when U.K. punks, the Mekons, don thrift-store cowboy shirts and hand country music back to America with the album Fear and Whiskey. A decade later, Mekon Jon Langford \u2013 along with Milwaukee expatriate Dean Schlabowske and Tracy Dear riding shotgun \u2013 forms the Waco Brothers, a side project that takes a life of its own. This Chicago-based band has released a series of shit-kicker country-punk albums more in the spirit and attitude of vintage Bakersfield than Nashville\u2019s gentility. The Wacos don\u2019t claim to be some lithe bluegrass combo or pedigreed blue-harmony yodelers. This is equal parts thought-provoking and Saturday night music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freedom and Weep takes a typically pointed look at the climate in the early days of George W. Bush\u2019s second term. It\u2019s not difficult to read daily headlines into lyrics like \u201cwhat if our history means nothing at all?\u201d and \u201cDaddy says I was the chosen one.\u201d Likewise, the tune \u201cFantasy\u201d draws on reality television shows. Yeah, things change. Nashville is the new Hollywood, complete with power ballads circa Def Leppard\u2019s Hysteria serving as the template for a hit; the novelty of steel guitars and fiddles sprinkled as the pixie dust of authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a fitting lack of subtlety, the tune \u201cMissing Link\u201d takes aim at the crossroads of faith, religion, science and common sense. In the end, history is going to be told by the winners, but there is always going to be a Waco Brother somewhere pointing out the emperor\u2019s new clothes while he blows his tuneless trumpet. And when life just seems to make no sense at all, it\u2019s comforting to realize we can count on the Wacos to pen inspired couplets like \u201cKrakatowa east of Java\/Smother me with molten lava.\u201d VS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>from:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.smokymountainnews.com\/issues\/08_05\/08_03_05\/art_on_note.html\"><strong>http:\/\/www.smokymountainnews.com\/issues\/08_05\/08_03_05\/art_on_note.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On that note<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Joe Hooten<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3 out of 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Political correctness was definitely not a consideration when the Waco Brothers wrote Freedom and Weep, but its possible they believe in their own \u201ccorrectness\u201d which involves plenty of booze, loud guitars, and a closeness to the \u201cleft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brash, loud, and full of political angst on their seventh CD, the Wacos rip through 13 tracks on Freedom and Weep like the Democrats who torched their newspapers and kicked in their televisions the morning after the 2004 election. Scared? Maybe you should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Waco Brothers is a collage of musicians with full-time gigs with other bands. The infamous lineup includes: Jon Langford on vocals and guitar (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts), Deano on vocals and guitar (Wreck, Dollar Store), Steve Goulding on drums (Graham Parker &amp; the Rumour, Mekons), Alan Doughty on bass (Jesus Jones), Mark Durante on steel guitar (Revolting Cocks, KMFDM), and Tracy Dear on mandolin. Since its first album, To the Last Dead Cowboy (1995), the Waco Brothers have been compared to bands like Golden Smog, which is also comprised of all-star players from other bands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The album\u2019s opening track, \u201cNothing at All\u201d gives a promising glimpse into the rest of the album. Part country, part punk, partly contrived, but pleasantly entertaining and enlightening to some (and probably offensive to others), Freedom and Weep is a complete mixture of disdain for those currently in power along with a distorted sense of humor, and a unique musical tribute to good old rock n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Waco Brothers wear their political ideals on their sleeve. Take, for example, \u201cRest of the World,\u201d with lines like: \u201cThe champagne\u2019s still on iceMight as well down it tonightIt ain\u2019t gonna wait four more yearsNor will your rights.\u201d Or on \u201cDrinkin\u2019 &amp; Cheatin\u2019 &amp; Death,\u201d the opening line blasts \u201cLast call before the FallHere come the sponsors to drag me awayThe system\u2019s shut down and the dancing\u2019s stoppedIt was sick but it felt OK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Waco Brothers have a reputation for a \u201cleave it all on the stage\u201d attitude, which can make for a memorable live show or a complete collapse from the numerous bottles and pitchers from the bar. Legend has it that the Wacos have come to be the hallmark band for the impressive SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas, and various CMJ Music Events over the past 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some critics consider the Waco Brothers to be a \u201cfaux-country band,\u201d nothing more than a side project of talented musicians that maintain careers in other bands while taking out their frustrations via the Wacos. Even if this is true, it is evident that songwriting and musicianship is serious stuff to these guys. Although the album is heavily opinionated, it still fits within the \u201cNo DepressionAlt-Country\u201d genre. Despite the heavy attitude on most of the songs, the album is fluid and enjoyable as much as it is comical \u2014 depending on how you voted last November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the 1960s Vietnam era, folk and rock musicians became a catalyst for protest. Their music electrified and corralled people together under a common goal. In my opinion, we haven\u2019t seen such activism in music since that era until now. While it is certainly on a much smaller scale, the war in Iraq has either spurred another movement or people are just cashing in on the Bush-bashing bandwagon. Musicians and bands like Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, and Son Volt have all come out with songs critical of the current administration, but the Wacos take it a step further (or sideways) by adding a not-so-serious tone while poking fun at the commander-in-chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have a friend whose idea of political activism consists of forwarding tons of pointless chain emails that, unfortunately, are his source for his spoon-fed opinions on governmental affairs (I\u2019m sure you know the type). The Waco Brothers would chew \u201call talk, and no action\u201d folks like him up. In fact, these political posers are just one of the ingredients behind the Waco\u2019s latest concoction, Freedom and Weep. It might appear that the Wacos are just sore losers, but liberalism is sometimes reactionary and therefore the Brothers have every right to stand up and scream their sardonic lyrics at full volume about what they feel is wrong with this country, even if they are jumping on the bandwagon a little too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The album comes out on the reputable Bloodshot Record label on Aug. 16. Ask for it at your local record store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Joe Hooten is a WCU graduate and teacher. He can be reached at that_beat@hotmail.com.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>from:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.splendidmagazine.com\/\"><strong>http:\/\/www.splendidmagazine.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I always thought that I didn\u2019t care for the Waco Brothers. They seemed like the also-ran to the Mekons \u2014 the band that people who didn\u2019t know about Jon Langford\u2019s primary gig would listen to for a watered-down version of the country-punk that the Mekons pioneered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that I think about it, I\u2019m not sure how I ever got that impression in the first place: the Wacos always brought the house down at the annual Bloodshot CMJ label showcase in Brooklyn, and whenever I heard one of their tracks on a sampler I enjoyed the experience. In any case, based on the quality of Freedom and Weep, it\u2019s safe to say that my whole (probably ill-formed) opinion of the band has taken a turn for the positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In any case, for those of you who aren\u2019t familiar with the Waco Brothers, their approach to alt-country errs to the rocky side; not that that\u2019s a bad thing, of course, but if you\u2019re looking for an accompaniment while you weep into a glass of Pabst, you might do well to look elsewhere. There\u2019s not a downtempo moment anywhere on Freedom (the closest is the gentle, midtempo, upbeat \u201cCome A Long Long Way\u201d); neither (and this is far more remarkable) is there a weak track. Vocal duties pass between three lead singers, and you\u2019re sure to like one more than the others, but none is a deal-breaker by any means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On many of these songs, the \u201ccountry\u201d part of the equation has more to do with instrumental textures or songwriting approach (just as was the case with Fear and Whiskey and Honky Tonkin\u2019). \u201cHow Fast Is The Time\u201d, for instance, is a straight-ahead rocker, albeit the kind that a yodeling drawl like Dwight Yoakam\u2019s could turn into a country barnburner. Langford\u2019s same-as-it-ever-was Strummeresque declamations keep the song firmly grounded in the rock camp (not, of course, that there\u2019s anything wrong with that). Naturally, the Wacos\u2019 multi-genre feel leads to a number of interesting textural mash-ups, like the reggae guitar rhythm on \u201cLincoln Town Car\u201d, which manages the neat trick of sounding like the work of a rockin\u2019 honky-tonk band that just played a weekend in Kingston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the album\u2019s title, as well as Langford\u2019s well-known political views, you might expect a great deal more political ranting than you\u2019ll find on Freedom; the only big anti-Bush diatribe is the resigned-but-still-fucking-pissed \u201cRest of the World\u201d, which admittedly features some nice lyrical turns (\u201dThe champagne\u2019s still on ice \/ might as well down it tonight \/ It ain\u2019t gonna last four more years \/ nor will your rights.\u201d For at least half of the Brothers\u2019 audience (Who are we kidding? Ninety-five percent), it will bring back bitter, recent memories. But hey, at least they\u2019re getting drunk too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freedom and Weep is one kick-ass track after another from a group that\u2019s clearly in the midst of its prime. If you\u2019ve ever entertained the same silly notions about the Wacos\u2019 irrelevance that I did, give this one a spin and see if they don\u2019t change your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2013 Brett McCallon<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>from:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/popmatters.com\/music\/reviews\/w\/wacobrothers-freedom.shtml\"><strong>http:\/\/popmatters.com\/music\/reviews\/w\/wacobrothers-freedom.shtml<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>by Stephen Haag<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s hard to keep up with Jon Langford, what with membership in the Mekons, the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, the Three Johns and the Waco Brothers (not to mention a solo career and a sideline gig as a folk artist \u2014 that\u2019s his art on the cover of Freedom and Weep). He never gets complacent and he never gets redundant. He also does his best work when he\u2019s outraged by the goings-on in the world; fortunately \u2014 for his music, at least \u2014 there\u2019s no short of material here in 21st century America to raise Langford\u2019s hackles and inform the latest and greatest from the Waco Brothers, Freedom and Weep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, the Wacos are a democracy; it\u2019s not the Jon Langford show (after all, would the Left-leaning Langford have it any other way?). Also in the Brotherhood are singer\/guitarist Dean Schlabowske, drummer Steve Goulding, bassist Alan Doughty, steel guitarist Mark Durante and singer\/mandolinist Tracy Dear; together they comprise the steadiest, most consistent and just plain rollickin\u2019 alt-country outfit of the past decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freedom and Weep, as with the entire Waco discography, is a hoot to blare while drive down an open stretch of road. The full list of rocking moments on this album would be too long to compile, but Schlabowske, the everyman Yin to Langford\u2019s firebrand Yang, kicks off the album with the barroom stomper \u201cNothing at All\u201d, and his solo on the darker-than-usual-for-the-band \u201cSecrets\u201d is a standout on the disc. Meanwhile, Langford\u2019s \u201cDrinkin\u2019 &amp; Cheatin\u2019 &amp; Death\u201d may not scale the Hot Nashville-vilifying heights of his earlier \u201cDeath of Country Music\u201d (off 1997\u2019s Cowboy in Flames), but the sentiment is strong (\u201dCountry radio lost its bottle\/ Started selling a fantasy\/ No drinkin\u2019, no killin\u2019 and the only D.I.V.O.R.C.E.\/ Is from reality\/ &gt;From history\u201d) and to these ears, hearing Langford trill his \u201crrrrr\u201d\u2019s means there\u2019s still hope in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Politics are as important to the Wacos as the riffs; really, it\u2019s a case of a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down. Having already painted an unflattering picture of a certain current American president on 2003\u2019s New Deal with \u201cThe Lie\u201d, but not getting the change in the White House they were angling for, part of me figured the Wacos would devote this entire new album to calling out Dubya further (that said, even done well, it would have been a wearying disc). Instead, only two songs allude to the president, and he\u2019s never mentioned by name: \u201cChosen One\u201d, where Langford snarls in his Welsh accent, \u201cDumb Boy the Patriot\/ One day you\u2019ll run out of luck\u201d,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>and \u201cThe Rest of the World\u201d, where Schlabowske sings, \u201cThe champagne\u2019s still on ice\/ Might as well down it tonight\/ It ain\u2019t gonna wait four more years\/ Nor will your rights.\u201d Come to think of it, these two tunes sum up Langford and Schlabowske\u2019s songwriting tacks: political and personal (with a dash of booze), respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And lest I not mention everyone, other Wacos sing! Tracy Dear contributes two songs \u2014 \u201cCome a Long Long Way\u201d and the life-on-the-road tune \u201cFantasy\u201d \u2014 that are a little slower than Langford and Schlabowske\u2019s offerings. Call them the only two chances to catch your breath during the album. And Mark Durante sings the hopeful, we\u2019re-all-in-this-mess-together closing track, \u201cJoin the Club\u201d. After spending most of Freedom and Weep chronicling the ways in which everyone is separated from each other, it\u2019s nice to hear a call for unity, even if it goes \u201cIf you\u2019re sick of being treated like dirt\/ Sick of being hurt\/ Join the club.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freedom and Weep is, in the best sense of the phrase, more of the same from the Wacos. Yes, they\u2019ve been documenting the same social ills \u2014 the plight of the worker, the stupidity\/duplicity of world leaders, the woeful state of country music and how hard life on the road is (though I can\u2019t sympathize\/empathize with that one) \u2014 over the course of seven albums, starting with 1995\u2019s To the Last Dead Cowboy. And while some would call that a 10-year rut, or even worse, shoveling shit against the tide \u2014 after all, has anything changed for the better during the Wacos run? \u2014 I say they\u2019re still at the top of their game. People are lazy and forgetful and need rabblerousers like the Waco Brothers to come around every two years or so with a fresh batch of songs and reminders that there\u2019s still a lot of work to do to improve our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014 15 August 2005<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/avclub.com\/content\/node\/25642\"><strong>http:\/\/avclub.com\/content\/node\/25642<\/strong><\/a><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the course of eight albums, Waco Brothers have thoroughly established their shtick: tradition-minded, punkish country played by a Chicago band featuring several native Europeans with non-country musical pedigrees (in Jesus Jones, Revolting Cocks, and KMFDM, among others). The Wacos &#8211; led by songwriter-vocalists Jon Langford, Deano Schlabowske, and Tracey Dear &#8211; infuse lefty outrage into rollicking roots songs that lambaste Bush, Christian conservatives, commercial radio, and society in general enough to please any political hardcore band. Red Staters would probably enjoy the music, until they read the lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By this point in their career, the shtick could easily feel rote. Alt-country bands have broken down country-music stereotypes for roughly 20 years (Langford contributed with his other band, Mekons, and their 1985 album Fear And Whiskey), so the Wacos\u2019 acerbic barn-burners aren\u2019t exactly revolutionary anymore. But the current political and social climate provides bountiful inspiration (Schlabowske even thanks \u201cW for all the material\u201d in the liner notes), and in the group\u2019s skilled hands, the entire package never feels hackneyed. The Waco songwriters, particularly Langford, are insightful lyricists; they make the words understandable but slightly arcane, so that people have to pay attention to comprehend their meaning. The penultimate track, \u201cRest Of The World,\u201d is the most direct anti-Bush screed, but Schlabowske never mentions the re-election specifically. Aside from a clunky line about champagne on ice not lasting four years, \u201cnor will your rights,\u201d Schlabowske conveys his everyman outrage well: \u201cThere\u2019s you and me and the rest of the world be damned.\u201d Langford again criticizes one of his favorite targets, mainstream country music, on \u201cDrinkin\u2019 &amp; Cheatin\u2019 &amp; Death,\u201d a rock song with a rootsy edge that blasts country\u2019s self-censorship. In his Welsh brogue, he sings, \u201c\u2018Cos country radio lost its bottle \/ Started sellin\u2019 a fantasy \/ No drinkin\u2019, no killin\u2019, and the only D-I-V-O-R-C-E \/ Is from reality, from history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For all the Wacos\u2019 gleefully sardonic lyrics, clever turns of phrase can\u2019t save a crappy song, but Freedom And Weep doesn\u2019t have one. It comes out of the gates strong with the enthusiastic \u201cNothing At All,\u201d experiments with moodier material on \u201cCome A Long Long Way\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s Amazing\u201d (with its excellent, galloping bassline), and ends with a supremely country group sing-along, \u201cJoin The Club.\u201d Pedal steel permeates all of the songs, inherently lending an air of honky-tonk authenticity. Like the rest of the album, it sounds great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2005\/08\/19\/AR2005081900365.html\"><strong>http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2005\/08\/19\/AR2005081900365.html<\/strong><\/a><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forget Paris, Think Waco<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Shannon Zimmerman<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Special to The Washington Post<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sunday, August 21, 2005; N06<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alt-country\u2019s Waco Brothers have been making amazing records for so long, it\u2019s easy to take them for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fronted by living legend Jon Langford \u2014 whose punk-era luminaries the Mekons are still up and running, God bless \u2018em \u2014 the band is almost too good to be true. The Chicago-based outfit provides such a rich and smart-alecky amalgam of down-home cowpunk and biting lyrical wit that it\u2019s nearly impossible to believe it exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But exist it does, and \u201cFreedom and Weep,\u201d the band\u2019s cleverly titled seventh CD, is easily its best outing yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following on the heels of Langford\u2019s impressive 2004 solo turn, \u201cAll the Fame of Lofty Deeds,\u201d the Wacos\u2019 new one picks up where their ringleader left off: In the midst of contemplating a U.S. of A. cut loose from its wide-eyed moorings and bound up in the kind of mind-numbing paranoia and\/or ennui that apparently only hard drinking, \u201cGirls Gone Wild\u201d and, maybe, Paris Hilton can relieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPass me the bottle, hand me my heart,\u201d offers Dean Schlabowske as his fellow Wacos serve up a twang-laden backyard barbecue on the album\u2019s fiery set opener, \u201cNothing at All.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m wasted and stunted, but I talk like a star.\u201d In a perfect world, that lyric, dripping with sarcasm, would be a call \u2014 if not to arms then at least to stop Tivoing \u201cThe Simple Life\u201d and to start paying attention to real life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Wacos, alas, aren\u2019t too hopeful on that front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To wit: The swaggering \u201cDrinkin\u2019 &amp; Cheatin\u2019 &amp; Death\u201d \u2014 a track that sounds like something the members of Kiss might cook up if they operated a Branson nightspot \u2014 opens during \u201clast call before the fall\u201d at a country bar. And it closes, appropriately enough, with a sputtering lament, offered from the point of view of a performer whose corporate sponsors have come to drag him off the stage, that \u201cthe only D-I-V-O-R-C-E is from reality, from history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elsewhere, on the barnstorming \u201cChosen One,\u201d Langford zings the powers that be by commingling the parable of the loaves and fishes with an ad hominem attack on \u201cDumb Boy the Patriot,\u201d a character who finds \u201cmayhem so seductive\u201d and that \u201cdestruction is instructive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subtle? Not hardly. But that\u2019s never been the Wacos\u2019 calling card. Instead, on pithy, bitter ditties like \u201cSecrets\u201d \u2014 a fast-paced country two-stepper that could inspire a mosh pit at a hootenanny \u2014 and the crunchy \u201cOn the Sly,\u201d the band combines torn-from-the-op-ed-pages words with music that fans of higher-profile alt-country acts would no doubt swoon for. And that goes double for \u201cIt\u2019s Amazing,\u201d a track that taps into the country mystique that Lucinda Williams shot for (and missed) on 2003\u2019s tepid \u201cWorld Without Tears.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But cherry-picking keepers from \u201cFreedom and Weep\u201d is light work. Better to slightly misquote Langford\u2019s contemporaries in the Clash and say that, taken together, the songs assembled on this fine and substantial platter resonate like public service announcements \u2014 with pedal steel guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now \/ Toronto:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Waco Brothers are the Grateful Dead of cowpunk, an incredibly spectacular live outfit who\u2019ve rarely been able to translate their fervent, propulsive energy into a solid studio set. They\u2019ve lways been the left-wing voice of reason, downing pints at the local pub and puking up political manifestos for the working man like some old-timer who just won\u2019t shut the fuck up no matter how any times you politely ask. And Freedom is no exception, with typically humorous rants about Christian extremists, reality TV, George Dubya and the state of the States. Yet it\u2019s as if the Brothers ent for a night of virgin Marys instead of their normal crutch and came out rejuvenated, clear-headed and determined to clear up any questions about their ability to serve up a full-on rock record with nary a weak track, and just enough pedal steel to show they haven\u2019t lost touch with their roots. A must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember back in 1995, when the Waco Brothers told us \u201cBad Times (Are Comin\u2019 Round Again)\u201d on their first album? Who ever knew they would be so right? Maybe we all thought things looked grim under the rule of \u201cBill the Cowboy\u201d back in the day, but six years of \u201cDubya\u201d can go a long way towards changing someone\u2019s perspective, and kicking up your heels isn\u2019t as easy as it used to be. Jon Langford and his fellow Waco Brothers seem to know it, and Freedom and Weep, the group\u2019s seventh album, is a bit less twangy and a bit less rambunctious than the band\u2019s best work, though if you think that means the band is losing sight of their rage, you\u2019d be wrong. Freedom and Weep is a full-bodied but bitter chronicle of living in an America that more than ever resembles Phil Ochs\u2019 description of a nation that\u2019s become \u201ctwo Mack trucks colliding on a superhighway because all the drivers are on amphetamines.\u201d With tougher rock, tighter performances, and a bit less mournful steel than one might expect (don\u2019t worry, it hasn\u2019t gone away, it\u2019s just less prominent), Freedom and Weep rants against working class poverty (\u201dNothing at All\u201d), ugly Americanism (\u201dRest of the World\u201d), conspicuous consumption (\u201dLincoln Town Car\u201d), and the president of the United States (\u201dChosen One\u201d), while the less polemical numbers still speak of a time and place where confusion reigns and desperation is just as real as the beer in your refrigerator. Freedom and Weep isn\u2019t quite a top-shelf Waco Brothers album, but it\u2019s an appropriate one for America in the year 2005, and if there\u2019s a good share of bitter futility in these songs, there\u2019s also a liberating rage, and if this once-great land is at the point of collapse, the Waco Brothers are here to, at the very least, see that the folks who still care go down swinging. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>from:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pitchforkmedia.com\/record-reviews\/w\/waco-brothers\/freedom-and-weep.shtml\"><strong>http:\/\/www.pitchforkmedia.com\/record-reviews\/w\/waco-brothers\/freedom-and-weep.shtml<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rating: 6.6<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the grim smirk of its title implies, Freedom and Weep finds Jon Langford and the Waco Brothers\u2013 now rather unbelievably 10 years and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>seven albums into the game\u2013 in a cranky, dispirited frame of mind. Though outwardly the group\u2019s foursquare, whiskey-soaked country-rock remains as wry and ornery as ever, on many of these tracks a distinctive air of bitter, spiteful resignation has crept in, leaving the album with a depressive, hungover pallor around its gills. And while by this point one could never question the Brothers\u2019 zealous devotion to their cause, nor their unimpeachable talents as a riotous live act, one can\u2019t help but wish that their righteous anger more frequently translated itself into similarly fiery, unrestrained abandon in the recording studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For their first album since 2002\u2019s New Deal, the Waco Bros. have scaled back on their twang slightly\u2013 and on the vestiges of actual punk almost completely\u2013 and have now cozily settled into a tempered Crazy Horse\/Skynyrd mid-range classicism. Early in the group\u2019s career the Wacos were often perceived as merely another of Jon Langford\u2019s numerous side projects away from the Mekons\u2013 and rather a play-acting novelty at that. But they\u2019ve long since matured into a true, fully democratic band, and here Langford splits microphone time with guitarist Deano as well as mandolinist Tracy Dear. Performances are stout if generally uneventful throughout, and often it\u2019s the tasteful pedal steel contributions of Mark Durante (formerly of Revolting Cocks and KMFDM) and the relentless pummel of drummer Steve Goulding (who\u2019s played with everyone from Graham Parker and Elvis Costello to Archer Prewitt) that rescue these tracks from their most hidebound roadhouse tendencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat if our history means nothing at all?\u201d worries Deano on the opening blue-collar lament \u201cNothing At All\u201d, a Son Voltish scorcher that immediately (if unsurprisingly) reestablishes the Wacos\u2019 alignment with the woebegotton, put-upon underdog. This can\u2019t-win-for-losing stance leads the band quite naturally to the election night blues of \u201cThe Rest of the World\u201d, (\u201dChampagne\u2019s still on ice\/ Might as well down it tonight\/ It ain\u2019t going to last four more years\/ Nor are your rights,\u201d) as well as to Langford\u2019s exquisitely vindictive Bush diatribe \u201cChosen One\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the well-titled \u201cDrinkin\u2019 &amp; Cheatin\u2019 and Death\u201d, Langford returns another of his favorite barn-sized targets\u2013 commercial Nashville country. Over the album\u2019s best woozy hook he drops the newsflash \u201cCountry radio lost its balls\/ And started selling fantasy\/ No drinking, no killing and the only divorce is from reality,\u201d tidily bringing up-to-date those listeners who\u2019ve been comatose or otherwise out-of-pocket for the past couple decades. Elsewhere, the Brothers direct barbs at reality TV (\u201dFantasy\u201d), crass materialism (\u201dLincoln Town Car\u201d), and Intelligent Design (\u201dMissing Link\u201d) with varying degrees of wit and subtlety, but unfortunately the band\u2019s staunch musical conservatism ensures that none of these tracks ever ventures far from the predictable. Freedom and Weep culminates with the raucous, misery-loves-company anthem \u201cJoin the Club\u201d, an appropriately cheerless finale for what\u2019s arguably the Waco Brothers\u2019 most accomplished but least fun album to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>-Matthew Murphy, August 30, 2005<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Amazon:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As they\u2019ve demonstrated since the time of their first release (1995\u2019s To the Last Dead Cowboy), the Waco Brothers have a dual reason for their existence. One is to give voice to the angers, fears and hopes they feel as they bear witness to the world around them, and the other is to rock with unshakable commitment. Combining the compellingly vivid vocals of the Clash with similarly outraged diatribes, they couch them in human scaled scenarios, not unlike the approach Steve Earle has taken. This is a band John Fogerty could be proud of, as they take on the abuse of privilege, the arrogance of power, and the dizzy travails of those on the lower rungs of the social ladder. \u2013David Greenberger<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First Appeared in The Music Box, August 2005, Volume 12, #8<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Written by John Metzger<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Waco Brothers has made a career out of pitting its Joe Strummer-esque inclinations against its Mick Jagger-ish posturing, but rarely has this unique dichotomy worked as well in the studio as it has in concert. On its latest outing Freedom and Weep, however, the band makes its most concerted effort since 1999\u2019s Waco World to avoid trying to duplicate the blood and guts fury of its live performances. While the end result is, perhaps, more polished than one might expect, it also is more mature, more accessible, and remarkably more engaging than much of what the ensemble has released in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the record, Freedom and Weep\u2019s songs are sung with a snarl, but its underlying music is delivered with a certain semblance of restraint. Although the bulk of the outing is propelled by the Waco Brothers\u2019 knack for concocting angst-filled, rhythmic tension, it also is carefully shaded with the textural layers of guitar, mandolin, and pedal steel. Indeed, it seems that after all this time, the Waco Brothers finally has crafted a radio-friendly batch of material, all of which would fit quite comfortably within the context of a typical classic-rock station. In fact, for once it feels as if the band actually found the album-making process to be an agreeable affair. Indeed, the group\u2019s performance throughout Freedom and Weep is lively and vibrant, and consequently, the selections \u2014 be it the acoustic, country-tinged ballad I\u2019ve Come a Long Way or the galloping cow-punk of Secrets \u2014 sounds fresher than most like-minded endeavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason, perhaps, behind the Waco Brothers\u2019 newfound, organic approach may lie within the reoccurring thematic message that binds together Freedom and Weep\u2019s disparate selections. Although the band consistently has positioned itself as a voice for the working man, its attention increasingly has turned towards larger, more worldly issues. Fantasy, for example, skewers America\u2019s infatuation with reality television and celebrity culture. Reignited by George W. Bush\u2019s imperialistic rule, the group takes direct aim at Christian fundamentalists (Missing Link), the intertwining of faith and politics (Chosen One), and the President\u2019s re-election (The Rest of the World). By concluding with its rousing pep talk Join the Club, the Waco Brothers successfully unites its past and present visions into a electrifying call-to-arms that allows Freedom and Weep to stand as its most focused outing to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Threeimagniarygirls:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Chris Estey<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a PISSED OFF album, made by a gin-soaked gaggle of British and American club-crawling punk Godfathers, and it\u2019s full of snarling but smart complaints and lamentations about dumb-ass Christians and greedy fucking Texas warlords and how \u201cIf you think you\u2019re getting screwed, join the club!\u201d The tasty minimum wage gruel of timeless rock, fuel-pungent gas station 70s folk and country, and it\u2019s-fucking-late-I\u2019m-out-of-here pub-punk, perfectly matches the kidney-punch of the working class poetry smoothly sung by several of the musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of the musicians, it\u2019s hard to believe that various Waco Brothers have been doing this for seven records, but Jon Langford (Mekons) sexily leads his band through these lucky thirteen songs about bad luck and bad faith, featuring Wreck\u2019s Deano, Graham Parker\u2019s drummer Stephen Goulding, mandolin player Tracy Dear, and the bass player from Jesus Jones (!-Alan Doughty) and Mark Durante, the steel guitarist from \u2014 KMFDM? The Revolting Cocks? What the fuck?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, what the hell \u2014 times have been weird for everyone, and we\u2019re all in the same post-election shit-hole. Anyways, the Waco Brothers are coming to the Sunset Tavern on September 25th, and I wouldn\u2019t miss it for anything. Just seeing Langford brings back for example the gorgeous raw energy of Joe Strummer at the Showbox a few years ago \u2014 these are the equivalent of blistered bluesmen, full of stinking anarchist urine from the most fermented swing-time wine. Don\u2019t miss it, this guy\u2019s a swanky goddamn comet, and just gets full of more roots-rock fire with each passing year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The songs you\u2019ll be hearing in a couple weeks will include the opening not-making-it-by-payday basher \u201cNothing At All,\u201d the have-hope-or-die atheist-gospel flow of \u201cIt\u2019s Amazing,\u201d and especially \u201cChosen One,\u201d one of Langford\u2019s greatest rants ever (\u201dLoaves &amp; fishes \u2014 guns and drugs \u2014 cruel New Jerusalem \u2014 You\u2019re faith is shaken, no mistaken \u2014 We\u2019re only as strong as the drugs we\u2019re taking\u201d), feeling like something Dylan would have imbibed, scribed, and shrived for \u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d (seriously). In fact, the fed-up, mystical, religious-political melancholy of that classic rock album feels like a hurtful hangover all the way through Freedom And Weep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s that good, that sad, and that NECESSARY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bumbershot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026favourite leftie-socialist-cowboy-twang-collective has returned with what is actually their most non-\u201cWaco\u201d CD yet. Rest assured, our heroes are still fightin\u2019 the good fight (can they do anything else? \u2013 bless you, boys!) but Freedom And Weep is the most accomplished piece of country-flavoured rock the band has put out yet. The Waco Brothers stopped \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Waco Brothers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freedom And Weep \u2013 (Bloodshot)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is that a Waco Brothers CD title, or what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our favourite leftie-socialist-cowboy-twang-collective has returned with what is actually their most non-\u201cWaco\u201d CD yet. Rest assured, our heroes are still fightin\u2019 the good fight (can they do anything else? \u2013 bless you, boys!) but Freedom And Weep is the most accomplished piece of country-flavoured rock the band has put out yet. The Waco Brothers stopped being a loose novelty a few releases ago, but Freedom And Weep may be the culmination of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not like these guys haven\u2019t been playing for years (many know the drill \u2013Mekon Jon Langford, ex-Rumour Steve Steve Goulding and so forth), but through songs like the opening anthem \u201cNothing At All\u201d and the closing, uh, anthem \u201cJoin The Club\u201d (yeah, they know how to put together fist-in-the-air songs) sound like a band with a roster that\u2019s never played with anyone else. And with pedal steel no less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dean Schlabowske (who also heads up his own outfit, Dollar Store) and Tracey Dear offer the finer vocal performances here in songs like the aforementioned \u201cNothing At All\u201d while Dear delivers on the actually pretty \u201cI\u2019ve Come A Long Way\u201d. Of course, there\u2019s familiar Waco territory in songs like \u201cLincoln Town Car\u201d (\u201cThat\u2019s the pride of Detroit, the pride of workers\u201d) and Langford\u2019s quotable all over \u201cChosen One\u201d (\u201cYour faith is shaking, there\u2019s no mistaking, we\u2019re only as strong, as the drugs we\u2019re taking\u201d). Of course, the state of country music doesn\u2019t get overlooked either (\u201cDrinkin\u2019 And Cheatin\u2019 And Death\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Waco Brothers continue to demonstrate that punk doesn\u2019t own the privilege of getting pissed off &#8211; mixing it with a solid twang can work wonders as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rocktimes (Germany):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Waco Brothers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wer denkt bei einem solchen Namen nicht gleich an eine Gunfighter-Gang, die von Allen gef\u00fcrchtet, robust in ihrem Auftreten ist und doch irgendwie bewundert wird? Ihre Musik k\u00f6nnte exakt vor diesem Hintergrund gemacht worden sein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFreedom And Weep\u201d reitet daher auf einem Gaul namens Country Rock. Die Fendergitarren schrabbeln mit einer verdammt l\u00e4ssigen Verzerrung und der Bass pr\u00e4sentiert seine Line mit der beschwingten Leichtigkeit eines Bisons. Die Waco Brothers performen ihre Songs \u00fcbrigens trivocal und lassen dazu im Background die Pedal Steel in der Tonlage des Kojoten jaulen. COOL!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keine Minute kommt Langeweile auf, genau wie bei einem Bank\u00fcberfall in El Paso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Von ihrer besten Seite pr\u00e4sentiert sich die Band immer dann, wenn sie im gestreckten Galopp durch die Pr\u00e4rie pfl\u00fcgt. Soll hei\u00dfen: Die schnellen Nummern entwickeln eine besondere Note, n\u00e4mlich das klassisches \u201cYeehaaa\u201d-Feeling. Das eine oder andere Mal schimmern zwar die Drive-By Truckers durch die Arrangements, was aber durchaus als Kompliment begriffen werden sollte.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Insgesamt klingt \u201cFreedom And Weep\u201d wie das Hintergrundrauschen zu einer rasanten Postkutschen-Verfolgungsjagd, inklusive Achsenbruch, Skalpj\u00e4gern und eine Fass Feuerwasser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Die nicht immer v\u00f6llig sattelfesten Vocals von Bandenchef Jon Langford und seinen Sidemen Deano und Tracey geben den Songs eine n\u00fctzliche Raufboldatmosph\u00e4re. Wenn sie allerdings durch die Backgroundvocals Unterst\u00fctzung finden, werden diese Passagen richtig gut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Schwingt euch also auf die Schindm\u00e4hren und h\u00f6rt in ein paar Songs rein:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Auf kaum einem privaten Party-Sampler der Country-Rock infizierten Randgruppe wird zuk\u00fcnftig das flotte \u201cNothing At All\u201d fehlen. Im Grundriff klingen die Akkorde sch\u00f6n aus und die Pedal Steel johlt dazu euphorisch. Der eing\u00e4ngige Refrain wird sp\u00e4testens ab 02:00 Uhr lauthals mit gegr\u00f6hlt. Dieser Song ist eines der Dinger, die auch von den Drive-By Truckers stammen k\u00f6nnten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Am Lagerfeuer, bei Sonnenuntergang und einer Kanne starken Kaffee, startet \u201cCome A Long Long Way\u201d. Die Strophen werden vom typischen Gitarrensound und der Pedal Steel untermauert. Ein Liedchen, um sehns\u00fcchtig in den Westen zu gucken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mit Fast-Rider Rhythmik springt \u201cSecrets\u201d durch die Canyons. Die Snare wird von Lil\u2019 Willy Goulding h\u00e4ufig frequentiert und wieder ist der Refrain das Gold Nugget in der Songmine. Aber auch das Gitarrensolo sticht ins Ohr. Rau im Sound, dabei aber urspr\u00fcnglich und staubig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eine pr\u00e4chtige traditionelle Americana Roots Nummer liefern die Waco Brothers mit \u201cIt\u2019s Amazing\u201d ab. Die melancholische Stimmung der Rhythmusgitarre wird durch die eindringlichen Harmonika Akkorde noch verst\u00e4rkt. Die Wacos lassen die Gitarren sch\u00f6n ruhig schnurren und legen den Schwerpunkt auf den Gesang. Dazu gesellen sich immer wieder die Harmonika- Fills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So ein Ding wie \u201cDrinkin\u2019 &amp; Cheating &amp; Death\u201d traute man bisher wohl am ehesten Country Dick Montana zu. Gott sei seiner Seele gn\u00e4dig! Von Speed her liegt das St\u00fcck im mittleren Tachobereich. Gegen Ende gibt\u2019s ein kleines Duell zwischen den Keyboards und der Gitarre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In die gleiche Kerbe, n\u00e4mlich in die einer flotten Beat Farmers Nummer, schl\u00e4gt \u201cMissing Link\u201d. Das fehlende Glied swingt amtlich. Aber am besten daran ist wohl die Rhythmusgitarre. Es schringt und schrammt im Fendersound. Herrlich, scharf, kantig, unmodern und schroff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Da drau\u00dfen sind noch eine Menge Bands unterwegs, die man unbedingt mal auf einer B\u00fchne erleben muss. Die Waco Brothers geh\u00f6ren dazu. Die Bilder auf der Fan-Web-Seite zeigen warum. Den Link gibt\u2019s unten. Sie scheinen live mindestens so authentisch zu agieren wie auf Datentr\u00e4ger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFreedom an Weep\u201d lohnt sich also nicht nur f\u00fcr \u2018Lonesome Riders\u2019. F\u00fcr viele Stimmungen sind Songs darauf. Auch f\u00fcr Parties! Nicht f\u00fcr diesen steifen Cocktail Schwachsinn, bei dem beschlipste Schlaumeier so gerne ihre Lehrbuchweisheiten absondern, sondern f\u00fcr richtige Parties. Ihr wisst, welche ich meine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Die Scheibe ist genre\u00fcblich produziert. Sie klingt so, wie es beabsichtigt wurde &#8211; n\u00e4mlich ehrlich und ungeschliffen. Als Kopfgeld setzten wir sieben RockTimes- Uhren auf die Waco Brothers Bande aus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Shepherd Express:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there\u2019s any one thing the Waco Brothers have proved since their 1995 debut, it\u2019s that rollicking cow-punk can very well come from the minds and mouths of Englishmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On their latest effort, Freedom and Weep, the Waco Brothers\u2014originally formed as a side project by the Mekons\u2019 Jon Langford, one of three Brits and an Irishman in the six-man band\u2014mash up twanging Americana and slurred, woeful punk into a high-octane attack that\u2019s as undeniably fun as it is rough \u2018n\u2019 tumble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s this take-no-prisoners attitude and double-guitar approach that lends the CD its edge, with \u201cNothing at All,\u201d \u201cSecrets\u201d and \u201cMissing Link\u201d finding the band at its rowdy peak. Joe Camarillo drives much of the action with aggressive but well-timed shots at his drum kit. Tossing in the band\u2019s politically aware lyrics, such as its take on the \u201cmaster of disaster\u201d currently residing in the White House (\u201cChosen One\u201d), makes it impossible to write off the Wacos as just another ass-kicking barroom band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, their reputation as a must-see live act qualifies them for that distinction. But even when the Chicago-based band\u2019s tunes get harder, the subject matter graver, and it seems like they\u2019d be liable to drop the next unfortunate soul who throws a cockeyed glance their way, there\u2019s an underlying sense that Freedom is supposed to be fun\u2014that the next time the Wacos are in town drinks are on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014Dave Rossetti<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Vital Source:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>by Blaine Schultz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1965, Brian Jones insisted that Howlin\u2019 Wolf play on the U.S. teenybopper television program \u201cShindig,\u201d when his group, the Rolling Stones, appeared. This bitch slap effectively asked America: \u201cThis music was in your backyard all along. Why did you need us to tell you it was cool?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast-forward to 1985. History repeats itself when U.K. punks, the Mekons, don thrift-store cowboy shirts and hand country music back to America with the album Fear and Whiskey. A decade later, Mekon Jon Langford \u2013 along with Milwaukee expatriate Dean Schlabowske and Tracy Dear riding shotgun \u2013 forms the Waco Brothers, a side project that takes a life of its own. This Chicago-based band has released a series of shit-kicker country-punk albums more in the spirit and attitude of vintage Bakersfield than Nashville\u2019s gentility. The Wacos don\u2019t claim to be some lithe bluegrass combo or pedigreed blue-harmony yodelers. This is equal parts thought-provoking and Saturday night music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freedom and Weep takes a typically pointed look at the climate in the early days of George W. Bush\u2019s second term. It\u2019s not difficult to read daily headlines into lyrics like \u201cwhat if our history means nothing at all?\u201d and \u201cDaddy says I was the chosen one.\u201d Likewise, the tune \u201cFantasy\u201d draws on reality television shows. Yeah, things change. Nashville is the new Hollywood, complete with power ballads circa Def Leppard\u2019s Hysteria serving as the template for a hit; the novelty of steel guitars and fiddles sprinkled as the pixie dust of authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a fitting lack of subtlety, the tune \u201cMissing Link\u201d takes aim at the crossroads of faith, religion, science and common sense. In the end, history is going to be told by the winners, but there is always going to be a Waco Brother somewhere pointing out the emperor\u2019s new clothes while he blows his tuneless trumpet. And when life just seems to make no sense at all, it\u2019s comforting to realize we can count on the Wacos to pen inspired couplets like \u201cKrakatowa east of Java\/Smother me with molten lava.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tracklist: 1 Nothing At All 2 Chosen One 3 Come A Long Way 4 Secrets 5 How Fast The Time 6 Lincoln Town Car 7 It&#8217;s Amazing 8 On The Sly 9 Drinkin&#8216; &amp; Cheatin&#8216; &amp; Death 10 Fantasy 11 Missing Link 12 Rest Of The World 13 Join The Club Credits: Reviews: Bloodshot says: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479,"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions\/479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wacobrothers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}