REVIEW: Jason & The Scorchers, A Blazing Grace (Mammoth)

- Scott Byron

It's likely that most of the people reading this have never heard of Jason & The Scorchers, and that's a cryin' shame. Among a small circle of devotees, this band's power is the stuff of legend. An unholy union of reckless punk energy and twangin' country soul, they burned brightly through endless numbers of overwhelming live shows and a handful of albums in the late '80s. Admittedly a hard band to capture on record, they nevertheless came close to breaking through, but without a hit and dragged down by the excesses of the rock life, they crashed and burned at the end of the decade.

This reunion came about for the best of all possible reasons -- it was motivated by a desire to just play, without thought given to making a record or a career of it. Those who saw the band on that first reunion tour in 1993-4 (myself included) could feel the joy and energy in the renewal of these old ties. Jason Ringenberg is a frenetic singer, shouting as much as singing; Warner Hodges is one of the most amazing lead guitar players anywhere, fully deserving "guitar hero" status; and the rhythm section of Perry Baggs' drums and Jeff Johnson's bass is as solid as they come. Once the tour fell together as gloriously (and painlessly) as it did, the recording of an album followed just as naturally.

A Blazing Grace is a straightforward document of the band's sound, ripping through such torrid rockers as "Why Baby Why," "Cry By Night Operator," "Hell's Gates" and a revved up cover of "Take Me Home, Country Roads." Self-produced (and nicely done at that), these ten tracks lack the pretensions that bogged down some of the band's earlier albums -- they just smoke. And while there are a few tender tracks thrown in as well, it's the rockers that ignite A Blazing Grace. Forever may they burn.