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A Reverse Willie Horton | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1992 | |||
Recorded | 1992 | |||
Genre | Punk blues, alternative rock | |||
Label | Pubic Pop Can [1] | |||
Producer | Kramer [2] | |||
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion chronology | ||||
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A Reverse Willie Horton is either the debut album, or an early bootleg album, by the New York City-based Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. [1] [3] [4] Few copies of the album were produced; many songs appear on the group's next album, 1992's The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, albeit in a different mix or recording altogether (the sound of A Reverse Willie Horton is closer to Crypt Style). [5] All three albums are made up of tracks recorded in 1991 by producer Kramer and engineer Steve Albini (in separate sessions).[ citation needed]
The album was released as a black vinyl LP in an edition of 500 copies. The front and rear art work are two separate images pasted onto a plain black card sleeve (with the exception of white text reading 'JACKET ME IN CANA' on the rear).
During an interview with Fiz Magazine (Issue #5), Spencer discussed the various editions of the first album and hinted at the origins of the release: "When I was travelling around with the Gibson Bros. last year I had a tape of that with me because we had just done it. I let a few people dub it so maybe something came from that."[ citation needed]
Dave Thompson, in Alternative Rock, called the album "deliciously downplayed racket, purposely recorded to sound like a pile of old blues records, rattling through the cheapest speakers in the world." [2] Spin acknowledged the mystery surrounding the recording and called it better than anything that Spencer's former band, Pussy Galore, had ever released. [1]
Pointing out that many of the songs appeared on the band's Caroline album, Trouser Press advised that the versions contained on A Reverse Willie Horton were superior, writing "with their echoey mixes and cardboard drums, they sound like they could’ve been appropriated from scratchy 45s found in a secluded Tennessee thrift shop." [5]