Shoot That Thang
Shoot That Thang is an album by the American musician Super Chikan, released in 2001.[2][3] The title comes from a phrase shouted by Super Chikan during his concerts.[4] He supported the album with a North American tour, backed by his band, the Fighting Cocks.[5]
Shoot That Thang | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2001 | |||
Recorded | 2000 | |||
Genre | Blues | |||
Label | Rooster Blues[1] | |||
Super Chikan chronology | ||||
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Production
Super Chikan decided in 2000 to concentrate on music full time; the album was recorded between July and September of that year.[6][7] The booklet contains a comic by Harvey Pekar.[8] Super Chikan constructed his guitars from crushed gas cans that he would paint.[9][10] "Tin Top Shack" looks back on Super Chikan's youth.[7] "Mennonite Blues" recalls Super Chikan's time driving tractors for a Mennonite community.[11]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [7] |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | [12] |
JazzTimes wrote that Super Chikan "imbues unique songs like 'Bus-Train-Rain', 'Mennonite Blues', 'Junky Trunk', 'Wrong to Sing the Blues' and 'Staingy Wid It' with a playful, down-home sense of humor, and he tends to go for the wah-wah pedal a lot on his solos."[9] The Toronto Star called Shoot That Thang "full of ranting vocals, playful to heart- rending lyrics, cleanly picked guitar and rumbling keyboard harmonies."[13]
The Philadelphia Inquirer determined that Super Chikan and the band "cook up a stew with an irresistibly greasy flavor that isn't always limited to the blues."[14] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette considered the album "tough, aggressive Delta blues, filtered through ... urban sensibilities and electric talents."[12] The Star Tribune noted that it features "some of the finest roots songwriting of our day—hilarious, poignant and memorable."[15]
AllMusic deemed the album "agreeable, laid-back, funky Mississippi blues."[8]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Guilty Man" | |
2. | "Don't Mess with the Blues" | |
3. | "Tin Top Shack" | |
4. | "Mennonite Blues" | |
5. | "Bus-Train-Rain" | |
6. | "Staingy wid It" | |
7. | "Could Have Been Me" | |
8. | "Junky Trunk" | |
9. | "Marry Me" | |
10. | "Wrong to Sing the Blues" | |
11. | "Shoot That Thang!" |
References
- Komara, Edward M. (October 31, 2006). "Encyclopedia of the Blues: K-Z, index". Taylor & Francis US – via Google Books.
- "A Darling Birdman". Tucson Weekly.
- Levesque, Roger (17 Jan 2003). "Mississippi bluesman's got a few stories to tell". Edmonton Journal. p. E6.
- Petrusich, Amanda (August 19, 2008). "It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American Music". Farrar, Straus and Giroux – via Google Books.
- Rodgers, Larry (30 Aug 2001). "Funky Bluesman Has Down-Home, E-Cluck-Tic Taste". The Rep. The Arizona Republic. p. 38.
- "James 'Super Chikan' Johnson & the Fighting Cocks". Weekender. The Columbus Dispatch. September 26, 2002. p. 8.
- The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books Ltd. 2006. p. 618.
- "Super Chikan - Shoot That Thang Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- Milkowski, Bill. "James "Super Chikan" Johnson: Shoot That Thang". JazzTimes.
- Saal, Mark (August 24, 2001). "Super Chikan succeeds at making a 'buck'". Standard-Examiner.
- Whitaker, Tim (July 4, 2001). "Buck Buck, Buck Buck—Super Chikan plays the blues in Doylestown". Arts and Culture. Philadelphia Weekly.
- White, Jim (23 Sep 2001). "Blues". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. G2.
- Chapman, Geoff (5 July 2001). "Furnace-heat wails and aching ballads". Toronto Star. p. G3.
- Christiano, Nick (6 July 2001). "Super Chikan". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. W23.
- Riemenschneider, Chris (9 Aug 2002). "Blues". Star Tribune. p. 4E.