Originally planned for release during the election year of 2012,
Red, White & Bruised didn't crawl out of its outhouse until 2013, but it retained its political concept, including the four "Political Announcements" (numbered "One," "Too," "Again," and "Fore") that close the set. There's also the off-concept track "Graveyard [Dancin' Around Mix]," where a classic
Roy D. Mercer bit gets the techno-banjo treatment, as if there were techno clubs with spittoons just waiting for such hillbilly mayhem, but otherwise this is the usual
Mercer album where radio host Brent Douglas becomes the character and crank calls folks in that
Jerky Boys style. A flag shop gets blasted for sending "Ruskie" flags to a function "honoring one of dem code talkers," a cake shop is taken to task for shipping a boob cake with lopsided boobs, and a motorcycle shop is pestered with a series of
Steppenwolf lyrics and other motorcycle-minded rock songs ("Me and the wife are gonna grab that thing, get our motor runnin', and head out to the highway"). Funny how the growing audience of
Mercer is now big enough to cross paths with the character (one possible prank victim drops "Is this
Roy D. Mercer?" in the first minute) and great to hear a reference/tribute to the legendary country comedian Doodles Weaver. Top-notch zingers this time out include "I'm gonna be on you like Gummi Worms on dirty braces," "I'm so mad I could smoke a pickle," plus the great "I'm bobber deep in the honey hole," which is another way of saying you're "quite busy." ~ David Jeffries