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The Asylum Street
Spankers
God's Favorite Band
Yellow Dog
Records
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The Asylum Street Spankers have been
exploring the wide range of American roots music
since the mid ’90s. For their latest release,
God’s Favorite Band (Yellow Dog Records), the
band takes on gospel music with a mix of old
traditional tunes and some new original compositions
by harmonica/washboard player/vocalist Wammo,
recorded at the Saxon Pub in their home base of
Austin, TX.
Actually, a foray into gospel music is not that much
of a reach for the Spankers. Many of the songs
featured on this disc were originally performed by
the band during a three-year stint at Austin’s
Sunday Gospel Brunch that became a much-loved event
over the years. The band sounds great performing
these songs before an enthusiastic crowd.
The disc opens with a harrowing version of Blind
Willie Johnson’s chilling “Dark Was The Night, Cold
Was The Ground,” then jumps to the Old Testament
story song, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.”
Guitarist/vocalist Christina Marrs does an
incredible reading of “Last Mile of The Way” that
will raise goose bumps.
Other traditional tracks like “Down By The
Riverside” and “Wade In The Water” put the band’s
impressive group harmonies up front, while “Jesus
Walking On The Water” will surely get your hands
clapping and your toe tapping. Wammo’s two new songs
include the humorously ambivalent “Right and Wrong,”
and the whimsical “Volkswagen Thing,” should bring a
smile. The closing track is a boisterous version of
the Gershwins’ “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”
The current Spankers (Marrs, Wammo, Nevada Newman –
lead guitar and vocals, Sick – fiddle, mandolin, and
vocals, PB Shane – string bass, and Scott Marcus –
drums, percussion) are joined by a pair of alums –
Guy Forsyth, who plays resonator guitar and does
lead and harmony vocals, and Stanley Smith, who
plays clarinet and also takes a lead vocal.
With God’s Favorite Band, the Asylum Street
Spankers demonstrate that gospel music is the root
music of many, if not all, American genres of music.
At times, both faithful and somewhat irreverent, the
disc should appeal to fans of gospel or roots music.
--- Graham Clarke
