eMusic

Start Your Trial

Changin' Tires On The Road To Ruin

by

Superdrag

 
  • Deal
Changin' Tires On The Road To Ruin
view larger image View Larger

Rate it!

Avg: 4.0 (21 ratings)

B-sides and rarities from the Beatles-loving quartet that brought you “Sucked Out.”

  • We Say...

    Review by Lindsey Thomas

    Superdrag’s “Sucked Out” was one of the better lone alterna-hits of the ‘90s, but it failed to display the group’s talent for graceful ‘60s thievery. With a few ancient organs and flanging drum fills, this compilation of b-sides and rarities, ranging from 1997 to the start of their ongoing hiatus in 2003, makes up for that. In fact, opener “Here We Come” borrows so blatantly from the Beatles' “You Never Give Me Your Money” that you can practically hear the musicians winking when they get to the loping chorus. Not that Superdrag are just another bunch of ankle boot-wearing Fab Four fetishists. On “No Inspiration,” the band produces a swoon-worthy girl-group sway, and “I Am Incinerator” is a great rush of chunky guitar power pop. For the most part, the band’s would-be-retro-hit machine is on par with that of Fountains of Wayne — and hey, it took them years to be a one hit-wonder.

  • They Say...

    Review by Mark Deming, All Music Guide

    Some bands have more worthwhile songs than places to put them, and this seems to be the case with Knoxville, TN's guitar pop powerhouse Superdrag. Given the steady stream of singles the band has cranked out during their lifespan, John Davis and his bandmates clearly generate more material than they can use up at the rate they record albums, and Changin' Tires on the Road to Ruin is a collection of demo tapes and live recordings that offers alternate versions of five tunes from earlier Superdrag albums, and nine songs that have never made it onto a long-player before. Most of the tracks on Changin' Tires were recorded on cassette, so the production lacks something in the way of gloss, but as a set of songs, this is as consistently enjoyable as anything Superdrag have put out since Regretfully Yours in 1996, and "Here We Come," "She Says," "I Am Incinerator" and "Relocate My Satellites" deliver the kind of high quality melodies and high octane hooks that made this act a favorite in the first place. And despite the no-frills recording, the band sounds tight and forceful when they turn up the amps in their demo studio; most of these performances recall the straightforward energy of a good live tape than anything else, and the final two tracks, recorded during a 2003 gig at Nashville's Exit/In, offer further evidence of how good Superdrag can be when they hit their stride in front of an enthusiastic audience. Some listeners not already hip to Superdrag might be put off by the scratchy lo-fi sound of a few tracks, but fans will have much less trouble listening through the flawed audio (which is actually pretty good most of the time) and enjoying the great songs and estimable energy at the heart of these 14 tracks. [This version of the album contains an untitled bonus track.]

  • You Say...

    Write a Review

    I would like to say...

    Artist: Superdrag

    Album: Changin' Tires On The Road To Ruin

    Review Title: (maximum 50 characters)

    Your Review: (maximum 1,000 characters)

    Cancel

    Please keep your comments to the recordings themselves, and be courteous and respectful. Thanks! For further info, read our Community Guidelines.

“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”


Rolling Stone
Start Your Trial

Recently Viewed

Back
Forward

© 1998-2009 eMusic.com Inc. eMusic and the eMusic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks in the USA or other countries. All rights reserved.

All Music Guide © 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC

Facebook®, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia® are registered trademarks of their respective owners, Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Neither Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. nor Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. are partners or sponsors of eMusic. eMusic uses the Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia API but is not endorsed or certified by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. eMusic does not pre-screen, monitor, endorse nor assume any liability for websites, contents, products, services or claims made by Facebook, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia®.

Legal or copyright question regarding Facebook, YouTube, Flickr or Wikipedia content on eMusic? Please email us.