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Posted by GradyManion on 10-04-2011 at00:26:

  More Blues Please...

I know, you've tried to escape it in the past. When i was a kid and discovered the 77s with Ping-Pong Over The Abyss it was Renaissance Man that hooked me. And later the Psych-Furs vibe of Ba-bA-bA-bA. And the FIXX vibe of alot of your other early work--particularly Unguarded Moment--which still, to this day, grips me. But then i had the chance to ride out to Sac with some ex Hells Angels cum Bikers For Christ to see you guys live when ALL FALL DOWN was out. Early to mid 80s? In the lobby of the Warehouse. I walked into the lobby and a big screen had the video for MERCY MERCY. Then i saw it live. It looked like Mike was having a seizure up there on the floor with his bad hair (good hair?) flopping around spasticly. Then there was You Dont Scare Me, and Closer and Perfect Blues and Pearls and Quails and Mary & The Baby Elvis and Where It's At and Tom Tom Blues was full of nasty licks and Blue Sky had one of the strongest choruses i've ever heard and...Well, i guess i'm just saying i've heard alot of good strong material, some of it loud, and some mellow and reflective...but what sticks in my head is those Blues monsters you unleashed. I'm not saying you need to do just that. I like the sad songs, the slick songs, the Prog experiments, all that stuff. Most of all (at 44 years now) it aint so much the slow stuff as the dirty riffs that i still need.
Here's my thing : I've heard God's Children play everything from Punk to Prog to Industrial to Goth (all of which i can get behind to some degree) to Hip-Hop to other stuff i don't even wanna talk about. But the BLUES....Oh, man, theres alot of people pretend, but that stuff you guys put out was the real deal. That jam on Mercy Mercy on the 88 disc was no joke. That put alot of people to shame. Nobody else was doing the Blues in a Way like that, and nobody's doing it now. I've been to Blues festivals and it's sad. I look at these sorry old farts doing the same riff over and over and its sad and sorry white boy work. You guys were like Nick Cave or the Blues Explosion or Screaming Jay Hawkins or Howlin' Wolf or Blind Willy Johnson or Robert Johnson or Lightnin Hopkins... . Jim Jones Review has it going on now. I wanna hear more Blues from Mike Roe. I'm not saying i want you to do that exclusively. I just need that kinda thing from time to time. And you know how to find that God-Spot that real Blues requires.
Take it for what it is. A fan with a request. Take it or leave it. I still Respect.

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Posted by GradyManion on 10-05-2011 at22:16:

 

Geeze, ok, i take that back. I'm sorta filling in some blanks in my collection and i just got DROWNING WLI and theres Blues on it. REALLY GOOD Blues. Spoke too soon. Thanks guys!

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Posted by Kit on 10-06-2011 at11:03:

 

Yeah, the Jim Jones Revue are pretty awesome.

As far as blues, there has been no shortage of that in Roe's work since he started and I doubt he'll be holding back on the blues element on any future recordings.