Sport Fishin': The Lure of the Bait, the Luck of the Hook

by Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet

Overview

Sometimes having the right guy at the controls can make all the difference. Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet had made some great records with Coyote Shivers as producer, but for 1993's Sport Fishin': The Lure of the Bait, the Luck of the Hook, the trio left their Canadian homeland and booked time in Chicago with engineer and gadfly Steve Albini. Albini did nothing to alter the group's musical approach, but on Sport Fishin' he gave their recordings a sonic backbone the Shadowy Men had never managed before. Albini's talent for capturing great guitar and drum sounds did wonders to beef up the tone of Brian Connelly's six-string work (the song title "We're Not a Fucking Surf Band" might have been a bit much, but here the protest seems justified), and numbers like "Farbs," "That Wuz Ear Me Callin' a Horse," and "Honey, You're Wasting Ammo" allowed him to make the most of the more robust audio. Bassist Reid Diamond and drummer Don Pyle were similarly well served in the mix, and the group's collective performances rank with their very best, technically dazzling and full of wit and imagination. Sport Fishin' is SMOASP's hardest-hitting recording, and the band managed to do it without losing their personality along the way; the songs still owe their greatest inspiration to several generations of instrumental pop and rock, and the fact the band had the opportunity to crank up the amps and hit things harder doesn't rob them of their melodic sensibility or their wit. Sport Fishin': The Lure of the Bait, the Luck of the Hook would prove to be the last album from Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, but it saw them going out on a high note. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	10/14/2016
Label:	Yep Roc
UPC:	0634457246515

Tracks

1. Unwatchable A
2. Spend a Night, Not a Fortune
3. Three Piece Suit
4. Fortune Tellin' Chicken
5. (Relax) You Will Think You Are a Chicken
6. Plastics for 500, Bob
7. That Wuz Ear Me Callin' a Horse
8. The Singing Cowboy
9. Farbs
10. Spy School Graduation Theme
11. Cheese in the Fridge
12. Unwatchable B
13. Mecca
14. Haig Earl
15. Algoma Reflections
16. We're Not a Fucking Surf Band
17. Peas Porridge Rock
18. Honey, You're Wasting Ammo
19. They Don't Call Them Chihuahuas Anymore
20. Off Our Back Conrad Black
21. We'll Be Right Back!
22. What I Like About Grease
23. Memories of Gay Paree
24. Babywetsitself
25. Lick
26. Sugar in My Hog
27. The Last of My Hiccups
28. The Jehrney
29. Song of the Lobster
30. Underground Sounds
31. 16 Encores

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Derek VonEssen   Editing
Neval Nader   Composer
Ormond Jobin   Engineer
John Gluck   Composer
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet   Composer
Steve Albini   Engineer