Straight out of Festus, Mo., the Bottle Rockets blazed like rural rock ’n’ roll philosophers across the Midwest expanse. Mixing rock with a little bit of country and punkish attitude, the group - original members Brian Henneman, Mark Ortmann, Tom Parr and Tom Ray - became part of the alt-country tribe that rose up in the late ’80s and early ’90s and included Uncle Tupelo, Old 97s, The Jayhawks, Whiskeytown, the Drive-By Truckers and more.
In fact, Henneman was tight with alt-country poster boys Uncle Tupelo, playing on that band’s first three albums, touring with them as a roadie and gigging with them as a member of Chicken Truck and The Blue Moons.
The band’s first two albums, the eponymous 1993 debut and 1994’s The Brooklyn Side, both of which have been criminally out of print, are being re-released by Chicago label Bloodshot Records, along with the requisite demos, live tracks and alternate versions, in a two-CD, 46-track collection that should bring more attention to this band of ragtag country rockers who can rip the roof off a juke joint, bring you to tears and make you laugh till your sides hurt, all in the space of a few songs.
Like the Drive-By Truckers, whose Patterson Hood contributes to the liner notes of these reissues, the Bottle Rockets excelled at songs about the rural working poor and flyover-country politics. “Welfare Music,” from The Brooklyn Side, is a devastating acoustic portrait of a 17-year-old single mother, her dead-end life, the baby-daddy who left her, the politicians and radio hosts who look down on her and the power of music (there’s a raging electric version recorded at a 1994 New York show included on Disc 2 of the collection).
In “Wave That Flag,” this band that sounds like a direct descendant of Lynyrd Skynyrd rages against the “good-ol’ boys waving the stars and bars.” In just over two minutes, Henneman succinctly sums up the white frustration and anger at the “Forget, hell!” crowd. “It’s a red, white and blue flag/but it ain’t ours,” he snarls with an undeniable twang.
And then there are songs like “Idiot’s Revenge,” a hilarious, country romp/take down of a hipster chick who wears thrift-shop clothes,likes Dinosaur Jr. but not country music and has an “itemized list of everything she loathes.” If Roger Miller had been born 30 years later and listened to The Replacements, then he would have written “Idiot’s Revenge.”
Among the bonus material is the gorgeous and raw acoustic demo “Indianapolis” with Uncle Tupelo’s Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. The song is a Henneman composition about being stuck with a broken-down van in the Hoosier state and being left to the mercy of the boys down at the Firestone. There’s even a dig at John Cougar.
The Tupelos are also around for a few other songs, including a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Wallflower” and ademo of “Idiot’s Revenge.”
Also included are early Chicken Truck versions of “Lonely Cowboy,” “White Trash” and “Radar Gun,” the latter of which, in its Brooklyn Side iteration, picked up a little airplay on rock radio.
The Bottle Rockets are still around, you know. The lineup has changed a bit, but Henneman and Co. are still putting out records and touring and their influence can be heard in bands like Two Cow Garage, Lucero and singer/ songwriters like Lydia Loveless. This set is a reminder to those who may have forgotten how good the Bottle Rockets are, and a perfect entry point to those curious about this excellent and most American of bands.
Style, Pages 48 on 12/08/2013