Track Listing
1. Tubby Brothers
2. Penny Arcades
3. Butter Song
4. Sentimental Marching Song
5. Youghal
6. Trapdoor
7. Inside The Whale
8. I Am The Law
9. Pill Sailor
10. Last Count
11. My Own Worst Enemy
12. I'm Stopping This Train
13. Deep Sea Diver
14. Tom Jones Levitation
| Details | | Number of CDs: | 1 | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Distributor: | F-Minor | | Recording Mode: | Stereo |
Album Notes
Personnel: Jon Langford (vocals, guitar); Jane Baxter-Miller, Edith Frost, John Hyatt, Lu Edmonds, Dean Schlabowske (vocals); Carlton B. Morgan (spoken vocals, harmonica); Mark Price, Zak Price (spoken vocals); Tracey Dear (mandolin); Tom Ray (ukulele); John Rice (fiddle); Rico Bell (accordion); Paul Mertens (alto flute, baritone saxophone, brass); Wally Ma (brass); Fred Armisen (percussion).The Skull Orchard: Alan Doughty (vocals, bass); Marc Durante (guitar, 12-string guitar); Steve Goulding (drums).Recorded at Kingsize Sound Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois in August 1997.John Langford's solo outing, 1998's SKULL ORCHARD, is a bold, brash, and accessible collection of country and roots songs from one of the co-founders of the Mekons. The Welsh-born Langford, who fronts the Mekons, Waco Brothers, Pine Valley Cosmonauts, and various other country- and roots-inflected rock & roll bands, recorded these 15 songs in Chicago with a pared-down version of the Waco Brothers line-up. SKULL ORCHARD features Langford's sly cover art, and is a rough mix of hard-hitting bar rockers ("Trapdoor" and "I Am the Law") and soaring, powerful ballads ("Penny Arcades"), with the slinky R&B groove of "Deep Sea Diver" thrown in for good measure. Always political, but never preachy, SKULL ORCHARD reveals Langford's dismay and bitterness over the economic decline of his native land and the collapse of socialism among the working class. SKULL ORCHARD is less twang-filled than Langford's work with the Waco Brothers and more conventional than much of the Mekons' oeuvre, though it's often compared favorably with that band's gem, RETREAT FROM MEMPHIS. SKULL ORCHARD is a must for any Mekon fan, and is also an excellent introduction for newcomers to Langford's prodigious and powerful musicianship.
Editorial Reviews
...SKULL ORCHARD is a return to the land of his birth, doing for South Wales what Shane MacGowan of the Pogues attempted for Northern Ireland...
Magnet (03/01/1998)
...this collection of tuneful, edgy rock should, once and for all, elevate him to the ranks of icons like Paul Westerberg...
Option (03/01/1998)
...It's the same sort of punk rock honky-tonk he perfected on great albums like 1989's THE MEKONS ROCK 'N' ROLL. There's nothing formulaic about these songs, though. Langford performs his simple, direct tunes with amazing energy and passion. - Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly (03/27/1998)
4 Stars (out of 5) - ...recalling the Mekons' balance of old-time pub singalongs, stinging punk-rock sarcasm and populist politics....less drunken banter and sloppy studio shenanigans....Another rowdy masterpiece.
Rolling Stone (04/02/1998)
4 Stars (out of 5) - ...recalling the Mekons' balance of old-time pub singalongs, stinging punk-rock sarcasm and populist politics....less drunken banter and sloppy studio shenanigans....Another rowdy masterpiece.Entertainment Weekly (3/27/98, p.69) - ...It's the same sort of punk rock honky-tonk he perfected on great albums like 1989's THE MEKONS ROCK 'N' ROLL. There's nothing formulaic about these songs, though. Langford performs his simple, direct tunes with amazing energy and passion. - Rating: B+Option (3-4/98, p.97) - ...this collection of tuneful, edgy rock should, once and for all, elevate him to the ranks of icons like Paul Westerberg...Magnet (3-4/98, p.69) - ...SKULL ORCHARD is a return to the land of his birth, doing for South Wales what Shane MacGowan of the Pogues attempted for Northern Ireland...
Rolling Stone (04/02/1998)
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