In Cool Blood [KLP240]

Are you planning to purchase the classic Chain & the Gang recording, out on ? If so, you might be wondering about Chain & the Gang's startling sound. Does it shock you? Is it frightening? Good. That's rock 'n' roll, baby. And unlike a lot of modern imposters, Chain & The Gang ain't afraid to shake you outta your Lay-Z-Boy and make you feel something a little peculiar... something hot and breathless. Fans and foes alike have lusted after Chain & the Gang recordings before, but none have ever sounded like this. The truth is, these crazed primeval sounds were captured "monaurally"-- that's "MONO", for short. Stereo babies hold tight. This is single channel rock 'n' roll --- Like you've never heard it before. With new LP In Cool Blood, Chain & The Gang sounds like a psychotic jungle cat automobile --- not something you'd wish to take home to mother. Longtime Chain singer Ian Svenonius and newcomer Katie Alice Greer are a tag-team of snarling bandits--- they sure don't sound like they're looking for friends, but perhaps "Hunting for Love". On guitar is Brett Lyman, the "man of few chords". Some say he's a player who's stark, mean, and grotty. Others say he's sent more than a couple studio hacks home in tears after wailing through a wolfman's solo on a single string. He says he only plays "Certain Kinds of Trash". A nihilist on the fretboard, who knows what will happen when he finds "Something to Do". At the drum kit, FIiona Campbell is certainly "Not Interested" in anything but beating skins and screeching tire rims --- unconfirmed sources are quick to peg Campbell as ringleader in a dangerous auto-theft ring in her spare time, but these "Free Will" recordings only suggest she'd ever commit crimes In Cool Blood. "If I Only Had a Brain", I'd have started a band long ago and begged international bass playing casanova Chris Sutton to join, but he's "(Living in the) Panther's Cage"" with this biker band, low-ending sounds that haven't been heard since Altamont in '69. Spooky stuff. Nasty and sassy. Mean to the very core. On hand for various duties and extra-special appearances are the Biff-Pow-Blam-tacular Fred Thomas, Amber Fellows, Brian Weber, Spencer Kelly, and Austin Cooper. The scene of the crime: notorious Dub Narcotic Studio where the usual recording gizmos take a backseat to baby oil, dowsing rods, and talcum powder. As a live act, Chain & The Gang are already feared by other groups as the most fiery, provocative, and showstopping outfit onstage today. Everyone wants to see them, no one wants to follow them. With the In Cool Blood LP, now the other vinyl records are scared of the new kid in the bin. Chain & The Gang simply has what the other groups don't: carnal thrills, tough dancing rhythms, audience involvement, show business panache, and hard-to-beat underworld connections. Can you hang? Can you dig it? In Cool Blood bears an invisible addendum on the sleeve: Not for the faint at heart. It ain't your grandpa's bop and it don't play by the rules of today's lame game. It's a sound for the other kind, the dirty one-percent on the lost highway. If you can swing, don't wait for "Heavy Breathing" after the telephone rings. "Nuff Said". The digital version of this album is available from Bandcamp. Hunting For Love Certain Kinds of Trash Free Will Nuff Said Surprise Party I'm Not Interested Pt. 1 I'm Not Interested Pt. 2 Where Does All The Time Go? (Living In The) Panther's Cage Heavy Breathing You Better Find Something To Do If I Only Had A Brain In Cool Blood