The Original Chatham Jack

Billy Childish's stint with Sub Pop in the early '90s produced and handful of savage garage rock recordings -- the best of which is represented here on this album with the Blackhands as supporting cast. From the theme tune, "This Is the Blackhands," through, the proceedings are wild, to say the least. Highlights are classic Billy Childish three-chord stomps " Chatham Jack," " I Love My Woman," "Bottle Up and Go," and "For the Deceived." To some hardcore Billy Childish aficionados, the sound of "Millionaire," "The Axeman Cometh," and "Crying Blud" may expose the aesthetic a little too well -- maybe a bit overproduced for the artist who prides himself on his lo-fi aesthetic. However, tunes such as "Broken Stone," "Louis Riel," and the ecstatic venom of "Politics of Greed and Gain" are adrenaline kicks that make this disc exceptional in his discography of some hundreds of releases.