Review Revue: Gibson Bros. - Dedicated Fool

There's not a lot of information out there about Gibson Bros. (not to be confused with The Gibson Brothers), but they seem to have been purveyors of the low-fi psycho-bluesy-rockabilly-ish sound that college radio stations saw a fair amount of in the '80s and early '90s. A quick YouTube survey of some of the songs on Dedicated Fool, their third album, has me thinking (in that annoyingly reductive way of music reviewers everywhere) that they sound something like a combination of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the Reverend Horton Heat, although since they'd released two or three albums before either of those bands released their first, perhaps it would be better phrased that JSBX and RHH each took a part of the Gibson Bros. sound to make their own.

If you look back at this delightful Homestead Records one-sheet for the album (which probably accompanied this very copy to KCMU), the musical touchstones mentioned are Tav Falco and Pussy Galore, as well as "a love for this nation's forgotten country blues, along with a healthy lack of respect for the process of playing and recording." Sounds like a good time to me!

"A combination of American musical styles done in an authentic and occasionally powerful way. M or L." ["Occasionally" and "or L" were written in a different color pen; I'm not sure if this was the original reviewer amending his or her comments, or someone else editorializing.]

"I love this! Less grungy & more rootsy than the Cramps, but still kind of similar to their rockabilly moments as well as to Tav Falco's Panther Burns. A shit load o' fun!"

"Not as strange as the cover suggests. This band won't play many weddings. Rock/rockabilly w/grunge + psychedelic twists. I like 'Tight Capris' + 'The Sperm Count' best. They aren't all men, aren't related, + no one's named Gibson."