
Bar Band Americanus
All profits from sales of this album and Charlie's new single "What I Like About Miami" (with Peter Buck) benefit Direct Relief emergency response for Hurricane Irma victims
"Situating themselves at the crossroads where Johnny Thunders and Son House intersect, Charlie whipped up a bad voodoo vibe of heroin rock and midnight blues. These guys were one of the undiscovered giants of the late eighties." —Peter Buck, R.E.M.
All motorcycle boots and sneers, they rode a squall of throat-grabbing feedback and Stonesy musical middle fingers. They were as much Thunders and Reed as anything country.
Included in this collection are songs spanning Charlie's career, unavailable (unless you're a seasoned crate diver) in any form anywhere for way too long. You'll find his early singles on Miami's Open label ("If This is Love," "Slow Death"); tracks from the seminal EP Cowboy Junkie Au Go Go (tracks 3,8, 9, 13) which the Village Voice's Robert Christgau hailed at the time as "ace country punk;" remixed tracks from the Twin/Tone LP Route 33, featuring the then-current guitarist Jim Duckworth (Gun Club, Panther Burns) (1, 5, 7, 12); the The Wilderness LP produced by Peter Buck (and featuring his guitar playing on 11) (4,10,11), tracks 16-19 from the legendary LP Live at the Button, and finally a previously unreleased track (2) and even a new one (6).
Rounding out this overdue collection are liner notes from Peter Buck, Bloodshot Records co-founder and long time CP-acolyte Rob Miller, as well as a historical primer on Charlie's career from South Florida writer Jeff Schwier.