I can remember, precisely, the four
times prior to picking up this cd, that I was fortunate enough
to hear The Reverend’s music.
1. Remember Mix 1060? They had an evening program with some dumb
name like The Edge on which they played music by up-and-coming
artists. The Reverend was/is on Sub Pop records. How much more
up-and coming can you get? Anyway, one time on The Edge, they
played "Liquor, Beer and Wine." It was different from
most of the other stuff on radio, but didn’t make me go out and
buy an album or anything.
2. "Liquor, Beer and Wine" (which is not included on
Holy Roller) came up again. A friend from the Gauntlet thought
I should hear some Reverend Horton Heat, so he brought in a cd,
and played only one track for me. Interestingly enough, he played
the only song of theirs that I had heard before.
3. If you ever listened to CJSW FM on Saturday mornings, until
about January of this year, you probably heard Seven-10 Split.
The host of that show was a good friend of my girlfriend, so
I listened in a few times. Anyway, the host, Danny, was fond
of The Reverend’s song "Bales of Cocaine," which he
happened to play once while I was listening. ("Bales"
is one of the tracks on Holy Roller.)
4. There is a car commercial on TV (maybe at this very moment!)
based on "Big Red Rocket of Love" (also on Holy Roller).
"Big Red Rocket of Love" is about a car. Really.
(Note: The friend who played "Liquor, Beer and Wine"
for me was also known to sing the chorus from "Cowboy Love,"
which I don’t feel like repeating at this time.)
Alas, despite the lack of The Reverend in my life until now,
I now own a collection of their greatest hits and can listen
to them whenever I want. Lucky me. I can have all the twisted
rockabilly fun that I want.
I didn’t figure out how to include this in the main body of the
review, but I really wanted to mention that one of the best song
titles ever is "Where in the Hell Did You Go with My Toothbrush."