100 Proof and Triple-X. Think your country needs more rock? Your rock needs a little country- fried flavor? Then what you need is Jesse James Dupree & Dixie Inc. Straightforward heavy- metal styled rock music is balanced by down-home country, making for what might appear to some ears to be a little on the schizophrenic side, but after a listen, it all makes sense. Really.
Known mostly as being "the guy who plays the chainsaw," as a member of Jackyl (on the track "Lumberjack"), Jesse James Dupree has set out as a solo artist with his previous release, 'Foot Fetish,' which spawned the single "Mainline," which hit #34 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. He's notorious for upstaging Tom Green on the New Tom Green Show (seriously, talk show hosts? If you don't want to be upstaged by your guests, don't let them play with a chainsaw onstage), but he's also a serious musician with some solid sounds.
A Mix of Hillbilly Roots and Heavy Metal
Now with Rev It Up, Dupree vividly displays his hillbilly roots, mingling raucous country rhythms with downright heavy metal sounds (I swear, there are times I was certain I was listening to Kiss). What he's come up
with is, appropriately enough, two sections of a single album entitled, each, "Saturday Night" (the
rockin' side) and "Sunday Morning" (the country radio show). It's really a lot of fun - rather like
Saturday night - that, is provided you like this kind of stuff. I can easily see where it wouldn't be
exactly some folks' cup of tea (or shot of Everclear, I suppose).
The Songs:
The disc opens with the title track, a rockin' country-flavored ditty to get you into the mood for the ride ahead, with a salute to Daisy Duke, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Kiss, as well as asking that age-old question, "Tell me what a Yankee's got against sweet tea."While a lot of the songs are lighthearted and as loud as the label suggests, there's some actual meaning behind the driving guitar and pounding drum line. (The Saturday night part of this is really head-banging rock, so be prepared.)
The stark, almost harsh introspection of "1095 Days" might jar you out of that metal haze; but the real surprise comes with Sunday morning and the introduction to the Sunday morning country radio show. From the "One Extreme Intro" to "One Extreme Outro," this one's a great big ol' hoot & a holler.
There's "The Party," the hilarious "Reality Star," and "Fire It Up," all to keep you going right through to the end of the Old Time Radio Show, with sponsors and everything.
As I said, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it. Dupree can be found at his MySpace Page, just like a bunch of the independent artists. Look him up. You might enjoy the noise.
Release Date: July 15, 2008 - Label: Mighty Loud
Track List:
Saturday Night:
- Rev It Up & Go-Go
- Bite
- Drop Dead Ready
- Tank
- Wash Me Away
- 1095 Days
- Money Lovin' & Speed
- Get To Me
Sunday Morning:
- One Extreme Intro
- Welcome To The Show
- The Party
- Realty Star Intro
- Realty Star
- A. J. White's
- Well Enough
- Fire It Up
- Had To Get Stoned
- American as Apple Pie
- Far Out
- One Extreme Outro
