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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

O.K., so you listened to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's Acme till your ears bled. What do you do now? Fortunately, Xtra-Acme USA is available to succor your poor, sorry JSBX-junkie soul! It's a collection of out-takes and remixes from the band's afore-mentioned, genre-busting, super-funky, hard-rockin' 1998 album. I'm not going to pretend that it qualifies as a new record -- think of it more as a little something to tide you over -- but as a commentary on the explosive (pun intended!) Acme it serves nicely. After all, what you get on Xtra… is mainly the stuff that didn't make the cut for the original release, albeit more for reasons of musical consistency than quality. This is an eclectic album, with techno-fied funk bumping shoulders with good-ole-fashioned, "kick-out-the-jams" rock 'n' roll. Producer, mixer or remixer credits on this album include Moby, Calvin Johnson, Steve Albini and The Automator (generally the same perps as on Acme), and such a diverse talent roster can only result in a stylistically sweeping product. In terms of impact, while it's not as self-contained as Acme, Xtra… achieves a similar fervor. This is only to be expected, as it was spawned in the same burst of rock creativity as its predecessor.

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Xtra-Acme USA
Matador

CD
click for Real Audio Sound Clip
Buy it at Insound!
reviewed by Noah Wane

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