''Sour Mash'' is the second album by Australian blues rock band

Beasts of Bourbon Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists), Spencer P. Jones on guitar (The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris ...

which was recorded in 1988 and originally released on the Red Eye label.Walker, C
The Ugliest Band on Earth
Preface from ''Beasts of Bourbon: Ten Years Behind Bars'' (Music Sales, 1993), accessed January 14, 2019

Reception

In the review on

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Skip Jansen states "With

The Johnnys The Johnnys are an Australian pub rock band from Sydney forming in 1982 and still active today that combines country and punk musical styles. Members are Graham Hood, Billy Pommer Jr and Slim Doherty and have included founder, Roddy Ray'da (ak ...

and

Scientists A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophica ...

both calling it a day just prior to ''Sour Mash'', the collective creative forces were pooled to make the Beasts of Bourbon's landmark in which remains their prime document. A raw blues-rock album with post-punk afflictions ... With the enigmatic Tex Perkins, who could be one of rock & roll's last great frontmen, and the blistering slide-guitar-driven sound, the band does a fine job of re-creating the sound of a twisted night out at the pub".

Track listing

All songs by Kim Salmon and Tex Perkins except where noted # "Hard Work Drivin' Man" (

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...

, Tex Perkins, Beasts of Bourbon) – 3:22 # "Hard for You" (Perkins, Beasts of Bourbon) – 3:30 # "Watch Your Step" – 2:00 # "Playground" (Salmon) – 3:58 # "Door to Your Soul" – 3:37 # "These Are the Good Old Days" (Spencer P. Jones, Salmon, Perkins) – 3:00 # "The Hate Inside" (Jones, Perkins) – 3:27 # "Pig" (Jones, Perkins) – 4:33 # "Driver Man" (Traditional) – 4:03 # "

Today I Started Loving You Again "Today I Started Loving You Again" is a 1968 song written by Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens. Haggard first recorded it as a B-side to his number 1 hit, " The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde", but it failed to chart. It also appears on his 1968 album, '' ...

" (

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

Bonnie Owens Bonnie Owens (October 1, 1929 – April 24, 2006), born Bonnie Campbell, was an American country music singer who was married to Buck Owens and later Merle Haggard. Biography She was born Bonnie Campbell in Blanchard, Oklahoma, United Stat ...

) – 4:20 # "Flathead (The Fugitive)" (Salmon) – 2:00 # "This Ol' Shit" (Perkins) – 2:40 # "Sun Gods" (Perkins) – 3:18

Personnel

;Beasts of Bourbon *

Tex Perkins Gregory Stephen Perkins (born 28 December 1964), better known by his stage name Tex Perkins, is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted the Australian rock band The Cruel Sea, but has also performed with the Beasts of Bourbon, Thug, James B ...

– vocals, siren, guitar, drum *

Spencer P. Jones Spencer Patrick Jones (28 October 1956 – 21 August 2018) was a New Zealand guitar player and singer-songwriter from Te Awamutu. From 1976 he worked in Australia and was a member of various groups including The Johnnys, Beasts of Bourbon, Paul K ...

– guitar, clock guitar *

Kim Salmon Kim Leith Salmon (born 24 January 1957) is an Australian rock musician and songwriter from Perth. He has worked in various groups including The Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Kim Salmon and the Business, and Dar ...

– guitar, slide guitar, wild boar guitar, harmonica, tambourine, conductor *Boris Sudjovic – bass, tambourine, foot stomping, handclaps *

James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...

– drums, cymbal, handclaps with: *Adrian Hornblower – tuba, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone (tracks 6, 8 & 9)

Production

*Phil Punch – engineer *Phil Punch and The Beasts – producer

References

{{Authority control Beasts of Bourbon albums 1988 albums Red Eye Records (label) albums