CD Review

My first exposure to Lambchop came when David Byrne covered “The Man Who Loved Beer” for his recent release Grown Backwards. My ears were curious to hear more, but head to your local record store to peruse the eclectic Nashville band’s large discography of full-lengths, imports, and singles and you’re going to become intimidated. You know every album Lambchop has created since its inception is more different and dramatic than the last and that’s what draws fans to their catalog, so where does a Johhny-come-lately begin?

]The Decline of Country and Western Civilization Part II: The Woodwind Years is an excellent place to start, even though it is a collection of rarities and B-sides to their better known singles. Kurt Wagner’s vision of jazz meets the thoughtfulness of Nick Drake mixing with country-roots music isn’t even that accurate a description of what you hear in this collection, but it helps the new guys such as me find a place to start in the muddled inconsistency of their catalog and offers those who have been following them since the 90’s a chance to complete their collection and hear a new track titled “Gettysburg Address.”