A Reverse Willie Horton is either the debut album, or an early bootleg album, by the New York City-based Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.[1][3][4] Few copies of the album were produced; many songs appear on the group's next album, 1992's The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, albeit in a different mix or recording altogether (the sound of A Reverse Willie Horton is closer to Crypt Style).[5] All three albums are made up of tracks recorded in 1991 by producer Kramer and engineer Steve Albini (in separate sessions).[citation needed]

A Reverse Willie Horton
Studio album by
Released1992
Recorded1992
GenrePunk blues, alternative rock
LabelPubic Pop Can[1]
ProducerKramer[2]
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion chronology
A Reverse Willie Horton
(1992)
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
(1992)

The album was released as a black vinyl LP in an edition of 500 copies. The front and rear art work are two separate images pasted onto a plain black card sleeve (with the exception of white text reading 'JACKET ME IN CANA' on the rear).

During an interview with Fiz Magazine (Issue #5), Spencer discussed the various editions of the first album and hinted at the origins of the release: "When I was travelling around with the Gibson Bros. last year I had a tape of that with me because we had just done it. I let a few people dub it so maybe something came from that."[citation needed]

Critical reception

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Dave Thompson, in Alternative Rock, called the album "deliciously downplayed racket, purposely recorded to sound like a pile of old blues records, rattling through the cheapest speakers in the world."[2] Spin acknowledged the mystery surrounding the recording and called it better than anything that Spencer's former band, Pussy Galore, had ever released.[1]

Pointing out that many of the songs appeared on the band's Caroline album, Trouser Press advised that the versions contained on A Reverse Willie Horton were superior, writing "with their echoey mixes and cardboard drums, they sound like they could’ve been appropriated from scratchy 45s found in a secluded Tennessee thrift shop."[5]

US LP – 1993

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Side A
  1. Twenty-9
  2. Type Cast
  3. Water Main
  4. History of Sex
  5. Rachel
  6. Chicken Walk
  7. Big Headed Baby
  8. Support A Man
Side B
  1. Lovin Up A Storm
  2. Comeback
  3. '78 Style
  4. You Gonna Change
  5. White Tail
  6. What To Do
  7. 40 lb Block of Cheese

References

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  1. ^ a b c LLC, SPIN Media (July 15, 1992). "Punk Rock Anthems". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b Thompson, Dave (July 15, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306076 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Mccabe, Bret (February 22, 2001). "Out & About". Dallas Observer.
  4. ^ Clancy, Sean (22 Jan 2013). "Blues Explosion detonates". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
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