Long-runnin' country punks The Supersuckers are still alive and kicking. Hard to believe that they've been around for fifteen years. Led by Eddie Spaghetti--one of today's most underrated singers, period--The Supersuckers have, quite simply, morphed into one of the best damn live bands today. That their most recent releases have been live albums is no surprise; those live records capture the band's intensity and they whet the appetite for a chance to see them live. Though they now spend more time on the road than they do in the studio, every now and then they find the time to record some killer tunes, some of which don't always find a proper home.
Devil's Food is an odds-n-sods collection, gathering tunes from compilations, studio outtakes and fan club releases. As far as other information about the songs, forget it; these songs are all placed together with no sense of context. After fifteen years, they've managed to accumulate an album's worth of obscure material, and this record's a lot better than your average rarities collection. Originals such as "Kid's Got It Comin'," "Shake it Off" and "Then I'm Gone" are fine originals, highlighting the rock and roll style that The Supersuckers have made their own. They've got a few "country" versions of some of their earlier songs, "Doublewide" and their classic hit "Born With A Tail." A couple of covers are noteworthy, too; their cover of the classic Jerry Reed theme song to Smokey & The Bandit "Eastbound & Down" isn't much of a surprise, nor is their cover of Electric Frankenstein's "Teenage Shutdown," but the same can't be said about their surprisingly faithful version of Outkast's "Hey Ya!" (Visit their website for a hilarious video of it!)
Devil's Food is a great little record; it's fun, it's frantic and it's a sign that The Supersuckers have yet to peak. When your outtakes and set-asides are this good, that's saying something. They could have packages Devil's Food as a record of all-new material, and only the hardcore would have been wise to it. A great little dessert from a meat-and-potatoes band.
--Joseph Kyle
Artist Website: http://www.supersuckers.com
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