David Johansen: Shaker : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . real people played real music on real instruments in real time, i.e., while looking in each other's eyes. Occasionally -- as evident on this ex-New York Dolls frontman-led quintet's second album of explorations into the sort of roots 'n' snoots, country-blues-hokum exemplified on the recently reissued Anthology of American Folk Music compiled by the band's namesake -- they still do. A sonically pristine, unusually empathetic ensemble performance that's more fun than a barrel of porch monkeys playing in your living room. There's more killing than a gangsta rap disc, suitably lived-in vocals (especially considering most of these songs were originally recorded by people who weren't professional musicians), and a treasure trove of diamond-cut, evocative, plain-spoken lyrics: "The police look up and see me/And they began to make their law." This is where everybody stole everything from.

DON WALLER
(May 28, 2002)