Share This Article
Dan Sartain ”ËœToo Tough To Live’ (One Little Indian TPLP 1117)
CD/LP/DL
Available 30th January 2012
Alabama based Dan Sartain is clearly mixing in the right circles for on this his sixth full length album sees him add singer/ guitarist Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s as guest-star on ”ËœNow Now Now’ ”“ The Go-Gos were the recipients of a ”Ëœstar’ on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2011.
Not that this caused either of them to bask in the indulgent glory of a single track over 2mins in length; what you get here are 13 tracks all delivered in under 19 minutes which might indicate along with the song titles that Dan is a little uppity about daily life; an itinerary of hassles – department stores, death, the unseeing eye, the all-seeing eye, heaven, hell, Vietnam, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays – and you, all fall into his sights.
”ËœToo Tough To Live’ sees Sartain takes a sideways step from his more usual rockabilly based material and plunge into hot-rod fuelled old school punk rock ”“ less Rocket From The Crypt more Ramones but with the benefits and production values offered by Lucky Cat Studios, San Francisco. The album is angry, impatient ”“ a full on adrenaline rush.
Despite the switch to an early punk sound the guitar licks remain recognisably Sartain, most noticeably on ”ËœI Wanna Join The Army’ .
”ËœFuck Friday’ is nihilist genius with its repeated ”ËœFuck Friday, Fuck Saturday, Fuck Sunday ”“ FUCK YOU!!’
Even the gap length between the tracks is kept to a minimum, you barely have time to catch your breath before we are off on another urgently delivered missive ”“ despite the brief timescales Sartain still manages to demonstrate intelligence and playfulness; he clearly enjoyed the making of this album.
If you’re looking for musical invention then you might be disappointed, but if you are looking for a record that will energise you then, that will reaffirm your belief in punk rock then ”ËœToo Tough To Live’ will do the trick.
Track-list:
1. Nam Vet
2. Now Now Now (with Jane Wiedlin)
3. I Wanna Join The Army
4. I’m Aware
5. Rona
6. Swap Meet
7. Boo Hoo Hoo
8. Indian Massacre
9. Fuck F*iday
10. I Got Insurance
11. I Can’t Go Home Now
12. Even At My Worst I’m Better Than You
13. In Death
Quran (4:104) – “And be not weak hearted in pursuit of the enemy; if you suffer pain, then surely they (too) suffer pain as you suffer pain…”
Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.
You could definitely see your enthusiasm within the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. At all times follow your heart. “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” by Napoleon.
Excellent beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your site, how could i subscribe for a blog site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear idea
You are my aspiration , I have few web logs and sometimes run out from to post .
Thanks for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research about this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I am very glad to see such great information being shared freely out there.