The Mekons

Supposedly an attempt to tackle Caribbean rhythms after a few years of trying Nashville stomps, this excellent disc doesn't really sound like much of a departure -- and that's a good thing. Still, with folks like Nixon, Hitler, Fletcher Christian, Robin Hood, Sigmund Freud and the Band's Richard Manuel (that last one swinging from a noose) replacing (or simply representing) the band's usual crop of British working class antiheroes, it's certainly a worldly affair. Key line: "We took drugs/ and tore our uniforms." It sounds more important than it reads when Tom Greenhalgh sings it.

Reports that they've "gone reggae" are grossly exaggerated and no big deal--the Bellamy Brothers beat them to that crossover by a country mile, and the skank that kicks things off is as lovable as anything they've ever done (bumbling semipros they may be, but their drummer used to work for the Rumour). If only they were hip enough to cover "Old Hippie" (that's a Bellamys song, kids), all would be well. As it is they cover (some would claim redefine) "Heart of Stone" and write bookish lyrics I don't understand even when I've read the authors in question. (Grade - B+)