A Bridge Too F****n' Far

Another Sympathy for the Record Industry effort from Monsieur Jeffrey Evans' post Gibson Bros. outfit, 68 Comeback, 1998's A Bridge Too F****n' Far is a double-album tribute to the memory of the group's late guitarist, Jack Taylor. Divided into four segments (Love's Sting, Dance Tyme, Mynd's Game, and Vintage Denim), the loosely conceptual album covers a lot of territory and leaves a whole mess of banged up Fenders in its wake. This time around Evans is joined in his rock & roll debauchery by the likes of Jack and Greg Oblivian of the Crypt-approved Oblivians. In addition to a fresh round of original numbers, the group takes on, and happily tears up, classics by Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Fats Domino. 68 Comeback's version of Cash's "Get Rhythm" is a stripped-down shuffle with hiccupping vocals, while their ocean-of-static-and-reverb rework of Orbison's "Evergreen" leaves only traces of the original's delicate beauty intact, but it still conveys the right mood and is, by 68 Comeback standards, sorta pretty. Again lined with energetic prose courtesy of Evans, the record's inside notes touch on staples like Sun Records, not selling out versus never being given the chance to sell out, and Evans' outrage over a certain ex-bandmate having stolen his girlfriend (no names are named, but many have guessed that the bandmate in question is Evans' ex-Gibson Bros. comrade/alt-rock sex symbol Jon Spencer). As with outfits like the Oblivians and even the Stooges, what makes 68 Comeback a great band isn't so much their technical prowess (or sometimes apparent lack thereof), it is the sheer intensity, sincerity, and sense of urgency with which they rough-up their guitars and drums and assault the microphone in a seemingly possessed attempt to spread the message that is rock & roll. Welcome to the new church, kids, and don't forget to tip the bartender. ~ Karen E. Graves, Rovi