The Great Plains, led by nasal vocalist
Ron House and featuring organist Mark Wyatt, debuted with the
EP The Mark, Don & Mel (1983). Their bouncy, witty and catchy cow-punk
and folk-rock shone on Born in a Barn (Homestead, 1984).
After the quieter Naked at the Buy Sell And Trade (Homestead, 1985) and
Sum Things Up (Positive, 1987), the EP Before We Stop to Think (Shadowline, 1987) marked the end of the band.
Lenght Of Growth (Old 3c, 2000) is a career anthology.
From their ashes there arose the no less original
Gibson Brothers.
Vocalist Ron House and guitarist Bob Petric, who had been missing, took some
years off before forming the Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments.
Their debut album, Bait And Switch (Onion, 1995), focuses on what the
duo knows best, garage-rock: Negative Guestlist is a concentrate of
Cramps, Stooges and Velvet Underground;
Down To High Street is a martial and visceral rave-up;
Quarrel With The World is basically a rewrite of Bo Diddley's Who Do You Love.
But the demented punk-rock of Is She Shy and You Can't Kill Stupid,
not to mention the grotesque rigmarole of Cheater's Heaven, hint at
a satirical rock related to the Fugs.
On the other hand,
the catchy My Mysterious Death sounds like
Elvis Costello churning out southern boogie
riffs.
Despite the enthusiasm, it was only a transitional work.
Crucial to the success of the album was the rhythm section of Ted Hattener
(drums) and Craig Dunson (bass).
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A Columbus, in Ohio, si e` compiuta la parabola di una delle tribu` piu`
interessanti del rock moderno.
Il cantante
dei Great Plains,
Ron House, torno` sulle scene prepotentemente al fianco del
chitarrista Bob Petric nei panni dei Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments
con il rock'n'roll ribelle di Bait And Switch (Onion, 1995),
quello di Is She Shy, Down To High Street,
My Mysterious Death, e il singolo Negative Guestlist.
Si rivelarono persino maestri della satira alla Fugs nel
glorioso sermone di Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Onore anche alla sezione ritmica di Ted Hattener (batteria) e Craig Dunson
(basso), una delle piu` fracassone di tutti i tempi.
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