Spoor

by Thin White Rope

Overview

Spanning a career of fringe rock releases and rhythm section revisions, Spoor gathers 15 musical oddities from Davis, CA's Thin White Rope. Wearing their influences on their sleeve, the quartet stumble through a grab bag of covers both obvious (the Velvet Underground's "Here She Comes Now," the Stooges "Little Doll") and truly confounding ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," Tiomkin & Washington's "Town Without Pity"). At the collection's core is the group's 1988 tribute EP Red Sun. Unfortunately, of the handful of originals, only the demos for frontman Guy Kyser's "Red Sun" and "Tina and Glen" are up to the standards of the group's album material. The latter finds the band cutting loose on a light-hearted surf rave-up while the former is still better heard in it's album incarnation. Even the jagged edges of "Munich Eunich," however, are an improvement over many of the covers on hand. Removed from the live gig's setting of hot, tightly packed bodies, the feedback sprawl of the Stooges' "Little Doll" wears thin. Likewise, while a take on "Town Without Pity" may have seemed ambitious upon appearance in 1988, it boarders perilously close to parody territory with the passing years. There are some exceptions however: the James Bond theme "Man With the Golden Gun" suits Thin White Rope's desert noir sound just fine, and a take on Marty Robbins' "They're Hanging Me Tonight" has its moments, particularly when Kyser makes his way into the chorus. By the very nature of the collection however, Spoor is a fan issue, not the recommended initiation to the band's music. ~ Nathan Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	02/07/1995
Label:	Frontier
UPC:	0018663106427
Rank:	127211

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Thin White Rope   Primary Artist
John Von Feldt   Bass
Frank French   Drums
Stooert Odom   Bass
Roger Kunkel   Bass,Guitar,Vocals
Jozef Becker   Drums
Kevin Staydohar   Bass
Matthew Abourezk   Drums
Stephen Tesluk   Bass
Guy Kyser   Guitar,Vocals
Robert Lloyd   Piano
Bill Noland   Organ

Technical Credits

Bill Noland   Producer
Ron Asheton   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Jimmy Reed   Composer
Guy Kyser   Liner Notes,Composer
Christof Ellinghaus   Engineer
Dave Alexander   Composer
Dimitri Tiomkin   Composer
Scott Asheton   Composer
Iggy Pop   Composer
Dan Vallor   Producer
Phil Nicholls   Photography
Joe Sacco   Artwork,Cover Art
Art Slave   Design
Robin K.   Photography
Matthew Abourezk   Photography
John Cale   Composer
Lee Hazlewood   Composer
Scott Miller   Producer
Low   Composer
Roky Erickson   Composer
Ned Washington   Composer
Poster Children   Composer
Thin White Rope   Group,Producer
Moe Tucker   Composer
Tom Mallon   Producer
Sterling Morrison   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Paul McKenna   Producer