Root Hog or Die | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by
Mojo Nixon and
Skid Roper | ||||
Released | 1989 | |||
Studio | Sounds Unreel Studios, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | Engima | |||
Producer | Jim Dickinson | |||
Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper chronology | ||||
|
Root Hog or Die is an album by the American musicians Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, released in 1989. [1] [2] It was the duo's final studio album. [3] Nixon originally wanted to call it Bush Idiot Slime; he took "root hog or die" from Davy Crockett's autobiography. [4] [5] The duo supported the album with a North American tour. [6] Root Hog or Die sold more than 50,000 copies in its first six months of release. [7]
" Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child" was released as a single; MTV refused to air the accompanying video, which starred Winona Ryder as Gibson. [8] [9] The song peaked at No. 16 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. [10] The video for "(619) 239-KING" includes guest appearances from the Beat Farmers, Dead Milkmen, and Kris Kristofferson. [11]
Recorded in Memphis, the album was produced by Jim Dickinson. [12] [13] The producer helped Nixon create a much fuller band sound. [14] Ben Cauley, of the Bar-Kays, played trumpet on the album. [15]
"(619) 239-KING" provides a number for Elvis to call to confirm his aliveness, with the area code located in San Diego. [16] Nixon raps on the cover of Woody Guthrie's " This Land Is Your Land". [17] "Pirate Radio" criticizes the FCC. [18] Nixon considered "High School Football Friday Night" to be less satirical and closer to traditional singer-songwriter material. [19] "Chicken Drop" is about the game of chance. [20]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [21] |
Chicago Tribune | [22] |
Robert Christgau | A− [23] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [24] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [25] |
Robert Christgau gave Root Hog or Die an A−, deeming it "Nixon's finest artistic achievement." However, he was unimpressed with Roper's cuts, calling them "the usual yawn" and commenting that "Mojo's loyalty to his partner, who has-his-own-album-out God-help-us, is one reason I think he's got a good heart." [23] The Los Angeles Times noted that, "though his lyrics are one continuous snicker, the musical settings betray a true fondness for rock 'n' blues roots," writing that Nixon "plays the part of the junior-high bad boy with enough zest to be endearing, at least to listeners who don't easily take offense at crazed, scatological mockery." [26] The Dallas Morning News stated that the songs "bend and buck with a raucous energy... The music is raw and catchy, filled with sharply picked guitars and smoothly sassy horns." [27]
The Toronto Star considered Nixon "rock's lewd, anarchistic answer to Foghorn Leghorn," writing that several songs are "are suitably goofy, lascivious rants." [28] The Calgary Herald labeled the music "some of the funkiest, stripped-down, rock 'n' country 'n' blues around." [29] The Gazette judged the album "drunken, belligerent novelty-store rock, in pursuit of the perfect gag." [30] The Chicago Tribune branded Nixon a "rockin' libertarian, a guy who extols free speech, free thought and free love with equal parts audacity and sincerity." [22]
All songs written by Nixon and published by Tallywacker Tunes/La Rana Music except as indicated.
6 appears only on the cassette and CD releases of the album; 13 appears only on the CD release.
with:
Root Hog or Die | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by
Mojo Nixon and
Skid Roper | ||||
Released | 1989 | |||
Studio | Sounds Unreel Studios, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | Engima | |||
Producer | Jim Dickinson | |||
Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper chronology | ||||
|
Root Hog or Die is an album by the American musicians Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, released in 1989. [1] [2] It was the duo's final studio album. [3] Nixon originally wanted to call it Bush Idiot Slime; he took "root hog or die" from Davy Crockett's autobiography. [4] [5] The duo supported the album with a North American tour. [6] Root Hog or Die sold more than 50,000 copies in its first six months of release. [7]
" Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child" was released as a single; MTV refused to air the accompanying video, which starred Winona Ryder as Gibson. [8] [9] The song peaked at No. 16 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. [10] The video for "(619) 239-KING" includes guest appearances from the Beat Farmers, Dead Milkmen, and Kris Kristofferson. [11]
Recorded in Memphis, the album was produced by Jim Dickinson. [12] [13] The producer helped Nixon create a much fuller band sound. [14] Ben Cauley, of the Bar-Kays, played trumpet on the album. [15]
"(619) 239-KING" provides a number for Elvis to call to confirm his aliveness, with the area code located in San Diego. [16] Nixon raps on the cover of Woody Guthrie's " This Land Is Your Land". [17] "Pirate Radio" criticizes the FCC. [18] Nixon considered "High School Football Friday Night" to be less satirical and closer to traditional singer-songwriter material. [19] "Chicken Drop" is about the game of chance. [20]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [21] |
Chicago Tribune | [22] |
Robert Christgau | A− [23] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [24] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [25] |
Robert Christgau gave Root Hog or Die an A−, deeming it "Nixon's finest artistic achievement." However, he was unimpressed with Roper's cuts, calling them "the usual yawn" and commenting that "Mojo's loyalty to his partner, who has-his-own-album-out God-help-us, is one reason I think he's got a good heart." [23] The Los Angeles Times noted that, "though his lyrics are one continuous snicker, the musical settings betray a true fondness for rock 'n' blues roots," writing that Nixon "plays the part of the junior-high bad boy with enough zest to be endearing, at least to listeners who don't easily take offense at crazed, scatological mockery." [26] The Dallas Morning News stated that the songs "bend and buck with a raucous energy... The music is raw and catchy, filled with sharply picked guitars and smoothly sassy horns." [27]
The Toronto Star considered Nixon "rock's lewd, anarchistic answer to Foghorn Leghorn," writing that several songs are "are suitably goofy, lascivious rants." [28] The Calgary Herald labeled the music "some of the funkiest, stripped-down, rock 'n' country 'n' blues around." [29] The Gazette judged the album "drunken, belligerent novelty-store rock, in pursuit of the perfect gag." [30] The Chicago Tribune branded Nixon a "rockin' libertarian, a guy who extols free speech, free thought and free love with equal parts audacity and sincerity." [22]
All songs written by Nixon and published by Tallywacker Tunes/La Rana Music except as indicated.
6 appears only on the cassette and CD releases of the album; 13 appears only on the CD release.
with: