"Big Dwarf Rodeo": Reverend Horton Heat: Reading: Spend A Night In The Box Review

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Spend A Night In The Box
Album Review witten by Arrissia Owen
OC Weekly

The Reverend Horton Heat changed my life. It was Throwrag front man Sean who introduced me to the gospel, passing along a copy of Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em sometime in the early '90s. My life was a mess back then, but from that moment, my soul's constant thirst has been continually quenched by the Good Reverend. His rowdy Texas punkabilly left me wondering how I could have lived as long as I had without hearing it. His newest, Spend a Night in the Box, sends those same familiar streaks of bliss through my bones, making me dance around and remember when I could catch the Reverend at small clubs, feet flying through the air, clinking the bar lights fantastic. The title track is an homage to the old outlaw movie Cool Hand Luke. Seems the Reverend has been having some mishaps with his lady: "My flappin' tongue has sealed my fate/What we've got here is a failure to communicate." Girlfriends and prison wardens-the similarities are eerie! Strangely, the band has cut back on drinking songs—only six deal with the bottled demon this time around. The Reverend's muse even contemplates going on the wagon for a spell: "I'm going to sue Jack Daniels for hittin' me/With the trunk of a big old live oak tree." Personal responsibility is not as interesting or funny—but then he's "Gonna take that money and go do it all over again." Me, too! No fancy studio panache here, just straight-up, boisterous, heel-clickin', hip-swayin' music laced with scorching guitar licks and blistery slap-bass. Say amen, somebody!