EUGENE CHADBOURNE – Chadbourne Volunteer FIRE Department And Rescue Squad

Rossbin

In 2010 (even if this album was released two years earlier) listening to 1h20min of this version of Eugene Chadbourne is a bit like spending a whole evening smiling forcedly at the somewhat trite jokes of an old uncle whose spirit you reluctantly appreciate; however, when it comes down to honesty, one would much prefer to replace the experience with being somewhere else. The stray cat style, the country echoes, the totally unrehearsed vocals, the elaborately ragged banjo parts and the political incorrectness are still there, and a turntable-infested patchwork such as “Sestina For Religion” is quite OK. But this collection of “impro experimental protest songs” shows a tad of weariness as the minutes elapse and things don’t change in the way we were expecting. Contributions by Chadbourne’s daughters Molly and Lizzie, and also by (never exalted here) Violent Femmes appear to have been utilized more for someone’s curiosity than actual necessity. And the explanatory notes, spread all over the cover in a scarcely discernible font which renders the reading next to impossible, are definitely an element of annoyance due to which I only partially managed to be aware of the record’s origin. The fact that this reviewer didn’t agree to waste his time decoding the liners does not mean that the record is a misunderstood magnum opus, though; just an acceptable, if overly protracted Chadbourne CD. The man’s best doesn’t lie herein, no question about it.