Ian Svenonius has joined the stellar company of
Merle Haggard,
Gordon Lightfoot,
Roy Orbison, and a number of other noted artists now that he's re-recorded some of his best songs for release by another label.
Best of Crime Rock finds the former
Make-Up and
Nation of Ulysses frontman cutting new versions of nine songs from the back catalog of his group
Chain & the Gang, with the new versions released by In the Red Records rather than his usual business partners, K Records. (The album features three new tunes as well.) Given that K's financial difficulties have been well documented in the indie music press, it's not hard to imagine why Svenonius might want to give these songs another chance with a more solvent indie imprint, but this time around art has been nobly served as well as commerce.
Best of Crime Rock features a new lineup of
Chain & the Gang (Svenonius on lead vocals, Francy Z. Graham on guitar, Anna Nasty on bass, and Mark Cisneros on drums and keys), and these versions honestly beat the originals. While the original recordings were fine, this edition gives the bluesy garage punk wail of the music greater energy and an attack that's tight while still making room for a potent low-rent groove. And after living with these songs for a while, Svenonius delivers more compelling vocal performances on many of these tracks (especially the shaggy-dog story of "Deathbed Confession"), making the most of his sly wit and skewed but intelligent political commentary. While
Chain & the Gang have made other albums well worth hearing (including 2009's Down with Liberty... Up with Chains! and 2014's Minimum Rock N Roll),
Best of Crime Rock is one "greatest-hits" album that lives up to the billing, and this is the best recorded introduction to one of the most interesting bands on the garage punk underground. ~ Mark Deming