Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads & Fugitive Songs
Studio album by
Stan Ridgway
ReleasedJuly 13, 2004
GenreRock
Length68:27
LabelredFLY
ProducerStan Ridgway
Stan Ridgway chronology
Blood
(2004)		 Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads & Fugitive Songs
(2004)		 Neon Mirage
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]

Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads & Fugitive Songs is an album by Stan Ridgway.[3][4] It was released in 2004 through redFLY Records.[5]

Production

After the deaths of two former Wall of Voodoo bandmates, Ridgway wrote "Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues Pt. 1", a reflection on the band's history.[6]

Critical reception

PopMatters called the album "full of the sort of lyrical darkness that's been a hallmark of Ridgway's material since the get-go."[7] The Monterey County Weekly wrote: "To accompany his off-kilter lyrics, Ridgway plays music that evokes country blues artists, Tom Waits and arty electronic bands from the ‘80s. Throughout the album, strange instruments accentuate Ridgway’s surreal stories."[8] The Stranger wrote that "the dusty, atmospheric songs of Snakebite bristle and twitch with stringed instruments."[5] The Times of Northwest Indiana called it "perhaps [Ridgway's] finest overall collection to date," writing that "like the best of Ridgway's eclectic oeuvre, the 16 songs nestled into this 'Three Act' album are musical vignettes populated by a twisted cast of darkly-hue characters most everyone can relate to in some way."[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Stan Ridgway, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Into the Sun" 3:29
2."Wake Up Sally (The Cops Are Here)" 3:02
3."Afghan/Forklift" 4:49
4."King for a Day" 5:26
5."Your Rockin' Chair" 3:43
6."Monsters of the Id" (Mose Allison)Mose Allison4:04
7."Running With the Carnival" 4:39
8."Our Manhattan Moment" (Stan Ridgway, Pietra Wexstun)Stan Ridgway, Pietra Wexstun5:19
9."Crow Hollow Blues" 2:28
10."That Big 5-0" 2:47
11."God Sleeps in a Caboose" 5:37
12."Throw It Away" 3:16
13."My Own Universe" 3:33
14."Classic Hollywood Ending" 3:54
15."Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues Pt. 1" 5:55
16."My Rose Marie (A Soldier's Tale)" 5:19

Personnel

  • Bob Demaa – mastering
  • Baboo God – mixing
  • Stan Ridgway – Banjo, Bells, Celeste, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Guitar (Nylon String), Hammer Dulcimer, Harmonica, Harp, Mandolin, Melodica, Slide Guitar, Sound Effects, Vocals, production, engineering, mixing
  • Doug Schwartz – mastering
  • Alvin Fike – Brass, French Horn, Saxophone, Woodwind
  • Skip Heller – Guitar, Guitar (Nylon String), Hi String Guitar, Piano
  • Brantley Kearns – Fiddle
  • Ricky King – Flute (Wood), Guitar, Vocals
  • David Sutton – Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Box
  • Pietra Wexstun – Autoharp, Celeste, Composer, Effects, Elka, Farfisa Organ, Glockenspiel, Juno, Loops, Mellotron, Oberheim Synthesizer, Organ, Programming, Reed Organ, Sampling, Sound Effects, Vocals, Wurlitzer
  • Bruce Zelesnik – Bird Calls, Drums, Handclapping, Hand Drums, Jawbone, Percussion, Prop Design, Rake, Rhythm, Siren, Sound Effects, Spoons, Train Whistle, Trash Cans

References

  1. ↑ Horowitz, Hal. "Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads & Fugitive Songs". AllMusic. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 21.
  3. ↑ "Stan Ridgway | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ "Songwriter Ridgway Offers Potent, Eerie 'Snakebite'". NPR.org.
  5. 1 2 Reighley, Kurt B. "Border Radio". The Stranger.
  6. ↑ "Singer transcends Voodoo, 'Mexican Radio'". Oklahoman.com. August 13, 2004.
  7. ↑ "Stan Ridgway: Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs". PopMatters. July 5, 2004.
  8. ↑ Thornton, Stuart. "Twenty years after "Mexican Radio," Stan Ridgway still finds his own way". Monterey County Weekly.
  9. ↑ LOUNGES, TOM. "Stan Ridgway: A thinking man's punk survivor". nwitimes.com.
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