Webb Wilder - Acres Of Suede (1996)

The Webb Wilder character was created for a short film about a backwoods private detective who fell out of the '50s and happened to also be a musician. With his group, Wilder combines the surf guitar of the Ventures with the rock roots of Duane Eddy, drawing on the feel of both country music and film noir. Though sometimes bordering on the gimmicky, the band is quite humorous yet plays serious music. It Came from Nashville featured a cover of Steve Earle's "Devil's Right Hand," appropriate because, like Earle, Wilder rocked too hard to be country but kept a twang that might put off mainstream rock fans. Wilder's next two albums didn't necessarily forge new ground but refined the band's sound somewhat, making its R&B influence more apparent. In concert, Wilder often gives stream-of-consciousness recitations that touch on motor homes, voodoo, television, and other somewhat kitschy subjects; usually they're funny enough to work. An example of his live show, Born to Be Wilder, appeared in 2008 from Blind Pig Records. More Like Me followed in 2009, again from the Blind Pig label. by Robert Gordon

The self-proclaimed "Last of the Full-Grown Men" returns with a bad suit-day's worth of dry wit-infused roots rockin' party music, by far his most consistently cool slab since underrated 1989 major label release Hybrid Vigor.

On one hand, Wilder takes his most accessible, radio-friendly stab to date with "No Great Shakes," a rousing slide guitar anthem (with the delightfully self-deprecating "the crystal ball ain't all it's cracked up to be/the Psychic Hotline, hell, that's way too deep for me...") that would feel right at home as a John Hiatt show-stopper. Long time producer and songwriting/instrumentalist collaborator R.S. Field tops himself with the stirring, acoustic ballad "Fall In Place."

On the other hand, there's no dearth of that trademark snake oil that makes Webb...ah...wilder, including the rebellious "Loud Music," manic "Flat Out Get It,"cheesy space-age "Rocket To Nowhere," freeform interior decoration tips via "Scattered, Smothered and Covered," and liberal excerpts from the inspirational _Webb Wilder's Motivational Tips for Teens Manifesto and Rock'n'Roll Pamphlet_.

Keyboards gracing "Soul Mate" fall somewhere between Tex-Mex Farfisa and early-Elvis Costello and The Attractions aggro. For a change of pace history lesson, we learn that "The Olde Elephant Man" "took a lick from an ugly stick/Made all the people of London sick." Nothing like a little kultur with your corn flakes in the morning.

With _Acres of Suede_, The wily Wilder weaves a tangled Webb for afficionados of vintage rock'n'roll in its myriad of country, blues, and pop personalities and forms.
 by Roch Parisien



1.Olde Elephant Man    
2.No Great Shakes
3.Loud Music
4.Fall in Place
5.Flat Out Get It
6.Soul Mate    
7.Scattered, Smothered and Covered
8.Tell Me Why Charlie    
9.Why Do You Call?
10.Carryin' the News to Mary
11.Lost in the Shuffle
12.Rocket to Nowhere

320AAC
Puck's Place

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --