Jon Spencer Blues Explosion “Wail”

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion “Wail” b/w “Flavor (live version)” 1997. Mute Records, 45 rpm on green vinyl. (I have no idea why Jon is misspelled “John” on the cover of this single.) “Wail” appears on JSBX’s 1996 album Now I Got Worry, which is in my top 5 Jon Spencer records. Spencer, well, wails, with visceral intensity on “Wail,” backed by bluesy guitar (Mr. Judah Bauer!) and heavy beats (Russell Simins). Weird Al Yankovic directed and made a cameo in the highly entertaining and hysterical video which includes Spencer popping out of a toilet and Judah and Russell doing the macerana. The live version of “Flavor” is at super-speed with a theremin shrieking its accompaniment. The original version of “Flavor” is from JSBX’s ‘94 LP Orange (probably my favorite release and it contains my all-time favorite track, the instrumental “Greyhound” which, to my everlasting delight, the band played per my request at their Madison show in June 2015). The album version of “Flavor” has a much slower grooving tempo and the best part is the phone call recording of Beck, speak-singing “you got the flavor!”