The X Rated Cowboys Hang ‘Em High Record Release Party w/ Marcy Mays Thursday, October 2nd at Natalie’s Grandview. Click here for tickets.
If Morgan Wallen already has 49 songwriters on his latest record he should cover “Let’s Sleep Together” by Quinn Fallon and make it an even 50. At least there would be a song worth listening to on Morgan’s new effort. Quinn and his band The X-Rated Cowboys are back with another stellar LP just two years following the excellent Last Barstool In Hell.
While longtime Columbus, Ohio bar owner and band leader Quinn Fallon writes the songs and leads the charge, the X Rated Cowboys are a true band band on par with BlackBerry Smoke or The Olympic Ass-Kickin’ Team. These guys aren’t hired guns getting paid to do a ten-show run, the Cowboys are friends who party together even when they aren’t playing together.
Quinn is similar to Charlie Starr and Terry Anderson in that he provides the soundtrack, but the personality of the band shines through, giving the record a beating heart and some grit. All the players are essential: Bob Hite (keyboards), Ben Lamb (bass and artwork), Jake Reis (guitars), Dave Murphy (drums, vocals) and Mark Nye (guitar, vocals). And with longtime Columbus producer extraordinaire Joe Viers again twiddling the knobs, it’s as close to a cannot-miss boozy rock n roll record as one could expect.
Highlights besides “Let’s Sleep Together” include “Ragged Road” which sounds like a Springsteen show opener and “Young and Dangerous” which sounds like a Paul Westerberg outtake. The title track infuses some clever tex-mexy horn parts which seems appropriate considering the fact Quinn plans on spending this Ohio winter in Mexico (parts unknown) writing even more songs.
I recently asked Quinn to assemble a 12-track album featuring equal parts songs from Hang ‘Em High, and two of his favorites: The Replacements and Bruce Springsteen. Quinn’s picks…….
Side A
1. “Young and Dangerous” / Good little barn burner from the Cowboys to kick things off!
2. “Ghosts” from Bruce / Fantastic throwback from a fairly recent album. Lyrics are touching and the band is killing!
3. “Never Mind” from the 'Mats / Here lies the whole blueprint for the grunge revolution. Nirvana even stole the title for an album.
4. “Unsatisfied” / Honestly, narrowing down Bruce songs is easier. I have thrown out several lists so far.
5. “Candy's Room,” Bruce. I actually thought the original assignment was to pick songs we would cover. I think we would crush this :)
6. “Ghost Runner,” Cowboys / A very forlorn song about voluntarily walking away from a career I loved, most of the time :)
Side B
1. “Where the Bands Are” / Bruce left this off a record?? And left on “Crush on You” and “You Can Look”?!? Sometimes some of The River is a little too ‘50's for me, but he nails it on this one.
2. “Ragged Road,” Cowboys / Well, if we gotta follow the Boss, this is def our most Bruce tune!
3. “Bobby Jean,” Bruce / Not actually my fave E Street tune, but it always reminds me of Andyman.
4. “Hang ‘Em High,” Cowboys / A lot of BitUSA has a little bit of an Elvis vibe and we kinda nailed that on this tune.
5. “Here Comes a Regular” ‘Mats / You don't have to work behind a bar for several decades to appreciate this, but it helps.
6. “I Don't Know,” 'Mats / Really?? Yup! First, let's end on a fun note. Second, I can hear how gloriously wasted they are on this track and the utter contempt they have for the music industry and even their own band. Genius!!
Click here to see Steve McDonald’s Redd Kross + Beatles + Cheap Trick record.
Colin Gawel founded Pencil Storm and plays in the band Watershed. He has been known to drink beers with Quinn and watch Black Sabbath on YouTube.