Workdogs “One Night Only!”
Workdogs “One Night Only!” 1995. In the Red Records. Heavy heavy punk blues, a “live in the studio” recording on August 9th and 11th, 1992 by Workdogs main members Rob Kennedy (bass, vocals) and Scott Jarvis (drums) who had a revolving door of guest musicians throughout the years. One Night Only! guests are none other than Jon Spencer (on guitar, theremin; Boss Hog, Pussy Galore and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) and Jerry Teel (on guitar; Chrome Cranks, The Honeymoon Killers). The guest-star aspect of Workdogs was by design, humorously noted in the liner notes on One Night Only! “It is the principal that the Workdogs were built upon: every guest shall has his or chance to blow the ‘dogs into another dimension – each and every one of them bringing something special and unique to the stage – for one night only!…I never mention the perverse Workdogs’ penchant for pairing improbable sideman combos like slim trombone and lap steel guitar, or inviting ten musicians to participate in a karaoke cover band…I have had to take out restraining orders against more than one fanatical sideman to discourage their obsessive behavior. Fortunately this did not apply to the two sideman represented here. They understood instinctively that this was…one night only!” (Yves Bisquet*). Well, that’s not actually true as both Spencer and Teel recorded with Workdogs on Old (1995) as well as the single “Electric Mutt” (1992) and Spencer also performed on A Tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson (1994, 7″ featuring “Too Young To Die” and “Our Goodman“).
One Night Only! is raw and grainy, rough and lo-fi. My top track is the sole cover on the LP “Insane Asylum” originally by Willie Dixon. It is crazy, of course with the beats all over the place, weird starts, stops and yelps, and feels the most Jon Spencer exploding the blues. I also like “Unbroken” and “Roberta” which are both fairly epic in length and have a Stooges protopunk scuzzy strung-out dirge vibe, though “Roberta” eventually evolves into an all-out blues freak fest.
*I was curious to find out who Yves Bisquet was/is and found this interesting tidbit posted by Rob Kennedy on King Dog Biscuit Records’ Facebook page this past January:
In the evil pantheon or rock management (Col. Parker, Alan Klein, Peter Grant, Malcolm McLaren) never forget the Workdogs manager, Yves Bisquet, who had the audacity to:
>Keep the Workdogs addicted to drugs during the making of Workdogs In Hell.>Steal the master tapes to Workdogs In Hell from the Workdogs>Sell the incomplete master tape to Sympathy For The Record Industry who released Workdogs In Hell without the Workdogs approval.>Steal the advance from Rob and Scott.>Declare the Workdogs dead in a bid to boost sales.>Never pay the Workdogs one cent for their work.
On Tuesday you will finally be able to hear Workdogs In Hell the way Rob and Scott wanted: Workdogs In Hell – The Cassette Mixes. Remixed and remastered by Rob and Jim Waters this is much more the In Hell that the Workdogs intended.
Daily (maybe) pulls from the vault: 33-1/3, 45, 78, old, older, classic, new, good, bad. Subjective. Autobiographical. Occasionally putting a record up for sale.
