Jason & the Scorchers – Clear Impetuous Morning
Mammoth Records – 92730-2, Atlantic – 92730-2 [1996]
Self-Sabotage – Cappuccino Rosie – Drugstore Truck Drivin’ Man – Going Nowhere – Uncertain Girl – 2+1=Nothing – Victory Road – Kick Me Down – Everything Has A Cost – To Feel No Love – Walking A Vanishing Line – Tomorrow Has Come Today – Jeremy’s Glory – I’m Sticking With You
After a reunion album (A Blazing Grace) in 1995, which saw the original line-up (Jason Ringenberg, Jeff Johnson, Perry Baggs, and Warner Hodges) working together again, Jason & the Scorchers released Clear Impetuous Morning the following year. This album should have opened the doors to a wider audience than the still-restricted circle of “those who know.” Everything was reunited to make this record a success: the group was in great shape, there were good songs, the production was perfect, and they even had a distinguished guest in the person of Emmylou Harris. The problem with this album is that it is poorly balanced. After a fantastic start with four almost-perfect songs, the pace weakens. The energy drops, the songwriting is not up to par, and the album’s second part is more common.
The band kicks off with a bang with Self Sabotage recalling the fervor of Lost & Found, followed by Cappuccino Rosie. Supported by the relentless rhythm of the Johnson/Baggs duo, Ringenberg’s country influences blend perfectly with Hodges’ metal-sounding guitar. The group then covers the Byrds’ Drugstore Truck Drivin’ Man, which seems to have been written expressly for the Scorchers to be transformed into cow-punk. Co-written with Tommy Womack, like the first two songs, Going Nowhere is a very beautiful Honky Tonk with superb harmonies. After that, the band breaks the mood with Uncertain Girl, which recalls the best moments of Thunder & Fire. 2+1=Nothing is slightly less convincing, alternating between big Rolling Stones-style riffs and country passages. Victory Road, if not bad, is quite ordinary, and the guitar’s sound quickly gets boring. Kick Me Down is a good and energetic Rock tune, but once again, the guitar tends to do too much.
Fortunately, Everything Has A Cost, a mainly acoustic duo with Emmylou Harris, provides a welcome breath of fresh air. Behind the two singers, Warner Hodges knows how to be subtle, complemented by Fats Kaplin’s steel guitar. This song and the very beautiful To Feel No Love (although the latter is a little spoiled by the break, which doesn’t add much) prove Jason & the Scorcher’s ability to write highly melodic songs.
Unfortunately, Walking A Vanishing Line and Tomorrow Has Come Today, although energetic, are fillers, bordering on caricature as if the group had lost the good balance between Punk energy, metal guitar, and country melody. The group, mainly Jason, supported by a harmonica, an acoustic guitar, and a fiddle, continues with the folk-tinged Jeremy’s Glory, which is worthy of Bob Dylan’s first albums. But the album ends awkwardly with I’m Sticking With You, some sort of Gospel mixing steel guitar and saturated guitar, not always in the best taste.
In the end, Clear Impetuous Morning contains terrific songs, some even worthy of their first albums, but is marred by some more average songwriting. The quality wins despite everything, but the group should perhaps have stuck to a more concise album like Lost & Found or even Fervor.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
