TAV FALCO & THE PANTHER BURNS
Panther Phobia (Frenzi/In The Red)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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For his stage debut Tav Falco took, in turn, a skill saw and a chain saw to his Silvertone at the climax of Leadbelly's "Bourgeouis Blues". People screamed. People fled. Tav passed out and had to be dragged off stage. Tav Falco just might be the saviour of American music. It's been too long since we last heard from the Panther Burns, and the world of rockinroll is in much need of an adrenaline booster. After a European adventure, where all crazed, ergo important artists are not only welcomed but revered, Tav Falco returns to his Memphis plantation, back to the fiery sugar cane where the mythical black panther screams a horrific fate. The bastard, mutant son of rockabilly, Delta blues and carnival freak shows, Falco stirs his potent gumbo like no other. Panther Phobia collects, or rather unearths eleven staggering numbers from the likes of Nehemiah James, Guitar Gable and Eugene Baffle. The latter gent is responsible for the gruelling title track, which in the warped hands of Falco, is transformed into a swampy, hoodoobilly epic and the band's calling card. The seemingly muddled guitars come to life and Tav's megaphone pedestal preaching digs deep as the spell takes hold. "Wake up! Wake Up!" he bellows. The call comes just in time.

© 2001 - John Sekerka