Reverend Horton Heat: Liquor In The Front [SUB POP]

Why you'll love it

This Sub Pop pressing comes with a printed inner sleeve carrying the Reverend's own track notes and "Reverend Recommends" picks for every song. It's the Dallas trio's third album, co-issued by Sub Pop and Interscope, with "Big Sky," "Five-O Ford" and "Baddest of the Bad."

This edition

• Printed inner sleeve
• Track notes and credits on the inner sleeve
• Etched runouts
• Lyrics included

About the album

Psychobilly isn't the first thing you'd expect from the man behind Ministry's industrial racket, but Al Jourgensen turned out to be the perfect producer. Jim Heath, the Reverend himself, had been rattling the clubs of Dallas's Deep Ellum since the mid-80s with Jimbo Wallace on upright bass and Taz Bentley on drums, and after two albums for Sub Pop the band was ready to hit harder. Interscope came in to co-issue the album, putting the trio in front of a much bigger audience across North America.

Jourgensen gave the trio a punchier sound without sanding off any of the twang. "Big Sky" opens at a gallop, "Five-O Ford" is a hot-rod anthem, "Baddest of the Bad" struts, and "Liquor, Beer & Wine" and "I Can't Surf" keep the rockabilly party going. Heath wrote most of it, and a few well-chosen covers, "Jezebel" among them, round it out.

Two years later the band cracked the Billboard 200 with It's Martini Time, and Heath has since been called the godfather of modern rockabilly and psychobilly. Put it on in the shop and the counter staff start slapping imaginary upright basses, which looks considerably better on Jimbo Wallace.

Also at Kops: more The Reverend Horton Heat on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Sub Pop / Interscope (cat# SP 250), a reissue of the 1994 album.