Slick Threads: Phantom, Rocker, and Slick.
While digging through my record collection, I found this gem, "Men Without Shame" b/w "Time is on Our Hands" -- a rock
and roll record featuring Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats.
Dig those threads.
This 45 is the first single from their self-titled first album recorded on hiatus from their more famous band. With the addition of co-founding guitarist, Earl Slick, the band created hard rocking music that exchanged the rockabilly of their former project for an 80s rock approach that includes everything from ballads to mainstream rockers. While Brian Setzer was refashioning himself as a heartland rock-inspired solo artist, Phantom and Slick opted for rocking out.
"Men Without Shame" is a 6 1/2 minute song that never outwears its welcome with Slick's impressive guitar chops front and center. The solo alone separates the song from the group's former projects. Slick's session work holds him in good stead as drummer Phantom and bassist Rocker show what made them such an adept and underrated rhythm section. Lyrically, the song does not hold up under such close scrutiny, but it does paint a picture of bad boys ready to tangle with anything, even though it approaches Ramones levels of simplicity in its rhyming schemes. This is not necessarily a bad thing since it is still heartfelt and catchy like all good rock and roll singles.
The band broke up after releasing Cover Girl in 1986, and the Stray Cats reformed, but their two records are more than just an interesting footnote in 80s rock.
This 45 is the first single from their self-titled first album recorded on hiatus from their more famous band. With the addition of co-founding guitarist, Earl Slick, the band created hard rocking music that exchanged the rockabilly of their former project for an 80s rock approach that includes everything from ballads to mainstream rockers. While Brian Setzer was refashioning himself as a heartland rock-inspired solo artist, Phantom and Slick opted for rocking out.
"Men Without Shame" is a 6 1/2 minute song that never outwears its welcome with Slick's impressive guitar chops front and center. The solo alone separates the song from the group's former projects. Slick's session work holds him in good stead as drummer Phantom and bassist Rocker show what made them such an adept and underrated rhythm section. Lyrically, the song does not hold up under such close scrutiny, but it does paint a picture of bad boys ready to tangle with anything, even though it approaches Ramones levels of simplicity in its rhyming schemes. This is not necessarily a bad thing since it is still heartfelt and catchy like all good rock and roll singles.
The band broke up after releasing Cover Girl in 1986, and the Stray Cats reformed, but their two records are more than just an interesting footnote in 80s rock.
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