One of the true alternative underground's most prolific music-makers, Michael Knott never stops. He's a music machine, a factory of fun, a full-on assembly line of top-notch rock 'n roll. Add the chops-to-make-veins-pop of Andrew Carter, Chuck Cummings, and Brian Doidge, and the stereo is a thumpin'. Thank Jeff Elbel and his little label that could (Marathon Records) for releasing these demos lost in the cracks of the Aunt Bettys' failed major label debut. But don't let the word "demos" throw you off--this album walks all over the self-titled. A perfect melding of the pop guitar muscle of Everclear, the whine and attitude of Jane's Addiction, and the steady-as-she-goes rhythms and vocals of Tom Petty...these are the radio hits that never were. And you die-hard fans should be stoked because you get them all to yourself--no corporate radio station is going to rub them into your ears ad nauseum, and you won't have to sound like a loser by whining "I was a fan before they got popular..." It's too bad for the hardworking Knott, though.
Why is Ford Supersonic better? Because, while the self-titled was good, it was too obvious that Knott and Co. thought they were already big rock stars. It was too bombastic, too over-the-top, too ego-exuding, whereas Ford Supersonic is closer to the Mike Knott we know and love, humble but ingrained with the true rock spirit, a soul that swings, strums, sobs, and sees music in every step of life, no matter what the pay is. These might be demos, but the production is just right, crisp but imperfect--the sound of real music flowing from human hands and voices, not the product of big studio overkill. After the 13 new tracks (including a pop reworking of "Rock Stars on H"), surprise, surprise...live tracks to make you cry if you've not much chance to ever see the band live: a tiny bit of talking plus distortion-on renditions of "Two-Timin' Jack" and "Rock Stars on H" sandwiched between the beginning and end of Knott's deep-voiced take on "Wild Colonial Boy," an old Irish tune.
The easily offended may still find a few lyrics to frown at, but Knott is still singing his quirky, dysfunctional, what-the-hell-is-he-talking-about? true tall tales, with the few nuggets of metaphoric Truth to be found shining all the more for it. Too bad there's no lyric sheet.
Whether you're a fan or not, this is just a great album, possibly one of the best albums to ever go unsung and unheard. Rock and roll, baby.
4.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #72Reviewed by Doug Van PeltWhat? I thought these guys were signed?! Guess what? They got dropped! They're history! Here's a collection of over a dozen demos from the planned-but-never-realized second album, plus a few live songs. You get a slightly re-worked version of this writer's favorite Mike Knott song of all time - "Rock Stars On H" (No, it's not an endorsement of heroin, but just the opposite); and, best of all,…Puddlegum 1998Reviewed by Jim MendenhallBack in 1995, when I heard that Mike Knott had formed a new band and been signed to Elektra Records, I just knew that the Aunt Bettys would be the biggest thing to hit the mainstream world since the Beatles. Four years later, the Aunt Bettys are not much more than a memory, broken up. Much like Steve Taylor's short lived band Chagall Guevara, the Aunt Bettys fell victim to label politics and…The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by Steven S. BaldwinThe Aunt Bettys, one of rock & roll's best kept secrets, had a surprisingly short shelf-life given the dizzying excellence and energy of their debut, one of this decade's best albums. Amidst much rejoicing by fans of the band, Marathon Records, home of Farewell to Juliet among others, has gratefully gathered together an album of unreleased Aunt Bettys tracks and demos. Ford Supersonic begins…Similar sounding releases
2000Tragedy AnnViva La Revolucion
1998BrowbeatsWither Wing
2002The ZiggensThe Ziggens
2000Fake BrainDepartment of Our Ways
2004Gatsbys American DreamIn The Land Of Lost Monsters
2002PlankeyeWings to Fly
