A Reverse Willie Horton

Studio album by

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Released

1992

Recorded

1992

Genre

Punk blues, alternative rock

Label

Pubic Pop Can^[1]

Producer

Kramer^[2]

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion chronology

A Reverse Willie Horton
(1992)

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
(1992)

A Reverse Willie Horton is either the debut album, or an early bootleg album, by the New York City-based Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.^[1]^[3]^[4] Few copies of the album were produced; many songs appear on the group's next album, 1992's The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, albeit in a different mix or recording altogether (the sound of A Reverse Willie Horton is closer to Crypt Style).^[5] All three albums are made up of tracks recorded in 1991 by producer Kramer and engineer Steve Albini (in separate sessions).^{[citation needed]}

The album was released as a black vinyl LP in an edition of 500 copies. The front and rear art work are two separate images pasted onto a plain black card sleeve (with the exception of white text reading 'JACKET ME IN CANA' on the rear).

During an interview with Fiz Magazine (Issue #5), Spencer discussed the various editions of the first album and hinted at the origins of the release: "When I was travelling around with the Gibson Bros. last year I had a tape of that with me because we had just done it. I let a few people dub it so maybe something came from that."^{[citation needed]}

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Critical reception

Dave Thompson, in Alternative Rock, called the album "deliciously downplayed racket, purposely recorded to sound like a pile of old blues records, rattling through the cheapest speakers in the world."^[2] Spin acknowledged the mystery surrounding the recording and called it better than anything that Spencer's former band, Pussy Galore, had ever released.^[1]

Pointing out that many of the songs appeared on the band's Caroline album, Trouser Press advised that the versions contained on A Reverse Willie Horton were superior, writing "with their echoey mixes and cardboard drums, they sound like they could’ve been appropriated from scratchy 45s found in a secluded Tennessee thrift shop."^[5]

US LP – 1993

Side A

Twenty-9
Type Cast
Water Main
History of Sex
Rachel
Chicken Walk
Big Headed Baby
Support A Man

Side B

Lovin Up A Storm
Comeback
'78 Style
You Gonna Change
White Tail
What To Do
40 lb Block of Cheese

References

^ ^a ^b ^c LLC, SPIN Media (July 15, 1992). "Punk Rock Anthems". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Thompson, Dave (July 15, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306076 – via Google Books.
^ Mccabe, Bret (February 22, 2001). "Out & About". Dallas Observer.
^ Clancy, Sean (22 Jan 2013). "Blues Explosion detonates". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 July 2020.