Wild Seeds

• Mud, Lies and Shame [Passport, 1988] B
• I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long [Aznut, 2001] *

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Mud, Lies and Shame [Passport, 1988]
A typical Amerindie story. Led by then-rockcrit Michael Hall, the Seeds took their Southwest-boho syncretism public in 1984 with a self-produced EP that hauled in heaps of hosannas, none so impolite as to note that not a single memorable song shored up the band's, what shall we call it, soulful Austin country-punk. Brave, Clean and Reverent, released in 1986 on the local Jungle label, failed to get them much further despite ace side-leaders: "Sharlene," about Hall's crush on a pretty boy, and "I Work Hard," about his compulsion to wage slavery. Now they've graduated to what's called a major indie, and the first three cuts are everything one could have hoped, especially the self-explanatory "I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long," a true classic as these things are measured. The rest continue their project of defeating male chauvinism in the male chauvinist roots-rock context, but not so's you'd notice. In a saner world, this would be their debut album. It would include "Sharlene" and "I Work Hard" (without horns, please), encouraging everylistener to bear down on their lesser material, the best of which is more than passable. How they would have made a living in the meantime I couldn't tell you. How they make a living now I couldn't tell you either. B

I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long [Aznut, 2001]
scattered classics like the title tune, outtakes worth hearing ("I Wanna Watch You Age," "I'm Gonna Get Drunk With a Good Friend of Mine") *