Blood of the Ram

Amazon.com
Ten years together and the Gourds remain exactly who they set out to be: Austin's good-time answer to the Band. Their devotion to country rock and bluegrass, their free-spirited sense of fun and tradition, and their strange and surprising wordplay are still intact judging by these 13 new originals, which thump and swing through off-color boogies, dirt-road daydreams, raunchy sing-alongs, and baptisms in bourbon or, as on the title track, in gospel blood. Founders Kevin Russell and Jimmy Smith have never harmonized with such scratchy spirit, and if their songwriting and arrangements stick to the acoustic, just-shy-of-stoned bop they long ago perfected, the sound and soul still ring true and joyously alive. --Roy Kasten

Blood of the Ram,The Gourds,Eleven Thirty,Alternative Country-Rock,Alternative Pop/Rock,Americana,Honky Tonk,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Blood of the Ram

Average customer rating:

Excellent!
I'm washed in the blood of the ram
Bloody Good Fun
All that and some cracklins
More "music for the unwashed and well-read"

Blood of the Ram
The Gourds
Manufacturer: Eleven Thirty
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Heavy Ornamentals
Cow Fish Fowl or Pig
Dem's Good Beeble
Bolsa de Agua
Ghosts of Hallelujah

ASIN: B0003JALIO
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Tracks:

Lower 48
TTT Gas
Escalade
Illegal Oyster
Arapaho
Wired Ole Gal
On Time
Do 4 U
Let Him In
Cracklins
Spanky
Blood Of The Ram
Turd In My Pocket

Amazon.com

Ten years together and the Gourds remain exactly who they set out to be: Austin's good-time answer to the Band. Their devotion to country rock and bluegrass, their free-spirited sense of fun and tradition, and their strange and surprising wordplay are still intact judging by these 13 new originals, which thump and swing through off-color boogies, dirt-road daydreams, raunchy sing-alongs, and baptisms in bourbon or, as on the title track, in gospel blood. Founders Kevin Russell and Jimmy Smith have never harmonized with such scratchy spirit, and if their songwriting and arrangements stick to the acoustic, just-shy-of-stoned bop they long ago perfected, the sound and soul still ring true and joyously alive. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

Excellent!.......2007-07-24

The Gourds have done it again! If you love Gourds music you can listen to this disc from start to finish.

I'm washed in the blood of the ram.......2006-09-09

Although this album is not quite as good as "Cow Fish Fowl or Pig," "Stadium Blitzer" "Dem's Good Beeble" or even "Ghosts of Hallelujah," it still warrants 5 stars. The best three tracks on the album are Lower 48, Cracklins, and Blood Of The Ram. Jimmy's strongest contributions are Illegal Oyster and Spanky. Max's On Time is good, but too bad there isn't more from him. Anyway, if you're a Gourds fan, you gutta get this. If you're new to the Gourds, you may want to get one of the albums mentioned above first.

Bloody Good Fun.......2006-03-08

This continues in the same vein as Cow, Fish, Fowl Or Pig. It's good but not as good as that one. Jimmy's songs are even odder this time out (not necessarily a bad thing). Max's song "On Time" is one of my favorites. Actually in some ways this is also like their earlier cd Bolsa De Agua. On that one, Max's song "Jesus Christ with.." was also a favorite amongst another bunch of quirky songs from Jimmy and catchy genre busting tunes from Kevin Russel. Both these albums open and close the same with an uneven ride in between.

All that and some cracklins.......2005-01-12

I love The Gourds and have seen them many time in concert and they are the best. That said, Blood of the Ram is not as good for me as their last few outings, but I still like it. There really aren't many(any?) other bands to compare The Gourds to, except themselves. So, Blood doesn't feel as easy or as generous as Cow Fish Fowl or Pig, which was an embarrassment of riches. I feel that Blood of the Ram needs more Max Johnson tunes(there's only one). Max's tremolo and traditional sound balances the off-kilter Jimmy Smith and down-home drawl of Kevin Russell offerings.

Blood finds the Gourds trying some new sounds that I haven't heard from them, like the soul of Escalade or the Allman sounding guitar of TTT Gas, complete with solo. Another more prominent thing that I heard on this CD that I can live without is the profanity. Personally, it doesn't bother me, but it limits who I can listen with. Jimmy, I'm looking at you :) The electric organ added to Turd in My Pocket adds a kind of odd revival feel to that song. As it is, it is really hard to classify any of the songs as most are a blending af several different styles into something new, with unconventional lyrics laid on top of that. My two favorites are "On Time," and the unusual "Blood of the Ram," which is kind of an old trail-ride sounding song about a ram and slaughtering. It sticks in your brain.

So, to rate the Gourds CDs:
Stadium Blitzer *****
Cow Fish Fowl or Pig *****
Bolsa de Agua *****
Blood of the Ram ****
Ghosts of Halleluja *** (couldn't really get into this one)
Dems good Beeble*** (Didn't listen to this one much, but maybe I should)
Shinebox ? Never managed to get this one

More "music for the unwashed and well-read".......2004-12-04

Try as I might to find some substantial criticism of "Blood of the Ram," I just cannot find any withering, fatal flaw to this latest madcap outpouring from these purveyors of what has sometimes been called "beergrass." (The urge to criticize wells up because I'm a Virgo and that's what we do, or so I am told.) The more I hear this latest set, the more I like this collection of odd tales and odd musical arrangements all swirling with an undercurrent of gonzo mysticism.

The Gourds have never shied away from liberally infusing their work with local color and folk wit, and why should they? It's worked magically before and does so here as well. I cannot keep from stomping about during "Lower 48"---which is sometimes a problem when I'm on the highway. This time the fellows even borrow a page from the "magic realism" literary genre Borges popularized with the mysterious escape of the criminal narrator in "Cracklins." And the weird parade of images and ideas conjured up in "Arapaho" are worth revisiting.

Yet in a way, the better the Gourds get, the harder it must be to keep up the informal, odd-ball style that makes the Gourds so good and so distinct. But they do (sort of reminds me of the Pogues progression back in the `80s.)

"Blood of the Ram" also shows that the band is not going to back away from the sometimes disturbing imagery ("a pool of blood on a superhighway") or scatological meandering that is now intertwined in the Gourds mythos. This may be more "music for the unwashed and well-read," as they have declared which might explain why more folks are not listening to some of the best tunes being cranked out by any band these days. (Of course, don't expect to hear this music on the radio!)

OK, one criticism has come to mind. That is, there is only a single song by Max Johnston on this collection. Next time, more from Max, please.