In the liner notes to their pretty damn brilliant album
Something to Crow About,
the Riverboat Gamblers mention that producer (and former
Big Boy)
Tim Kerr would goad the band into more frantic performances by telling them "Do it like you're from Texas." On their fifth album,
Underneath the Owl, it sounds like producer
Mudrock instead told the guys, "Do it like you're from
Sum 41." In all fairness to
the Riverboat Gamblers,
Sum 41 would give their eyeteeth to make an album this good, but
Underneath the Owl hardly shows
the Gamblers to their best advantage. Producer
Mudrock (aka
Andrew Murdock), best known for his work with
Godsmack, has given
the Riverboat Gamblers a far cleaner and more polished sound than on their best work, slowing down the tempos a bit, buffing off the rough edges, and letting the individual instruments stand out in sharp relief from one another. The results sap this band's natural energy and intensity, and where
Something to Crow About sounded like a sweaty and raucous rock & roll party,
Underneath the Owl feels curiously artificial and tame. Adding vibes to "Robots May Break Your Heart" (played by none other than
D.J. Bonebrake from
X) and trying a slow country-influenced song complete with pedal steel guitar ("The Tearjerker") might have seemed like good ideas, but in this context they just fall flat. Despite the misguided production,
the Riverboat Gamblers clearly strive to breathe some life into the proceedings; vocalist
Mike Wiebe still sounds like he has enough attitude to level Fort Worth on a good day, and "Keep Me from Drinkin'," "Dissdissdisskisskisskiss," and "Victory Lap" manage to push themselves into fifth gear and show the band can still deliver the goods. But since
the Riverboat Gamblers are regarded as one of the best live acts on the current punk scene, it seems curious that
Underneath the Owl follows the strategy of sounding as little like a live performance as possible, and it neuters a band that knows how to get wild in the studio. Hey
Tim Kerr, want to take another shot at these guys? Someone needs to help them get back in touch with their inner Texan.