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THE BEAT FARMERS
Tales of the New West (Rhino)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Over a decade before the alt-country scene really got cookin' on all burners, a very small handful of bands were unknowingly working on the blueprints. The Blasters and Los Lobos are probably the best remembered, but think back... What does the name The Beat Farmers mean to you? If you basically stuck to airplay for your info, probably not that much, but if you bought their 1985 major label debut, Tales of the New West, I sincerely doubt you've forgotten them.
By the time of that release, they'd been playing in some of the craziest dives in Southern California for a few years, doing so many gigs that they'd become a tight outfit. Their music, a mix of originals and covers, ran the gamut from rockabilly to pub-rock to yeeehaaaw country, and they had something other bands trying the roots game couldn't come up with: the ability to take what sounded like a standard rocker and make it sound totally different from anything you'd heard before. You'd sing along easily because they designed the song that way, but when you predicted a same-ol-same-ol, they'd take it someplace new and refreshing. There just weren't enough bands like The Beat Farmers, bands able to make a twangy country tune rock hard and stick in your memory.
The Beat Farmers enjoyed a very short ride, unfortunately. After Tales of the New West, they were picked up by Curb (well known for turning good bands into schlock), and after an album that was below TBF standards but still better than most of the alternatives in 1986 (Van Go), Guitarist/vocalist Buddy Blue didn't like the way things were heading, so he headed elsewhere. Country Dick Montana, the drummer, occasional lead vocalist (when the song called for a good ol' boy baritone) and official character of the band, died of a massive coronary on stage in 1995. The surviving members have since reunited as The Beat Farmers A.D..
This single CD collects quite a bit of impressive music. It contains all of the debut album, Tales of the New West, all of the U.K.-only EP, Glad 'N' Greasy (1986), some outstanding demo tracks from the Van Go sessions (you really need to hear "Gun Sale At The Church" played straight forward without tons of production), eight live tracks from Live at the Spring Valley Inn 1983, and a track by The Beat Farmers A.D.. Basically, a hell of a Beat Farmers collection on one CD. There's more out there to hear, but this is the cornerstone your collection needs.
© 2004 - DJ Johnson