''The Modern Sounds of the Knitters'' is the second album by

The Knitters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, released in 2005. It has received mixed critical reviews.

Recording and release

were founded in the mid-1980s by members of X and

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ist Johnny Ray Bartel. The released ''

Poor Little Critter on the Road ''Poor Little Critter on the Road'' is the debut album from X side project The Knitters, ''Poor Little Critter on the Road'' contains original compositions and covers of songs by X as well as established country music performers. Reception Bart ...

'' in 1985 but went into hiatus after that album. The band included covers of existing Americana and folk with punk rock songs based purely on whatever sounded good to the musicians; Exene Cervenka's son requested the inclusion of " Born to Be Wild". The band reformed to tour in support of the album and continued to make sporadic appearances for years after.

Critical reception

The editorial staff of AllMusic Guide gave the release four out of five stars, with reviewer Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., singling out Cervenka and Doe's vocals, Alvin's guitar work, and the unique blending of musical genres on the album. Stephen Haag of PopMatters gave a negative review, writing that the humor falls flat on the album and while some tracks are worthwhile, it ultimately "sound both like an album that took too long to release and one that was released too hastily". In '' The Guardian'', Sylvie Simmons gave the work four out of five stars with special attention given to Cervenka and Doe's vocals.

Track listing

#"Easy Goin' Sunday" (The Knitters)– 0:35 #"Give Me Flowers While I'm Living" (Traditional)– 2:15 #"Try Anymore (Why Don't We Even)" ( John Doe)– 2:52 #"In This House That I Call Home" ( Exene Cervenka, John Doe)– 2:22 #"Dry River" ( Dave Alvin)– 3:23 #"Skin Deep Town" (Exene Cervenka, John Doe)– 2:26 #"Rank Stranger" (

Albert E. Brumley Albert Edward Brumley (October 29, 1905 – November 15, 1977) was an American shape note music composer and publisher, prolific in the genre of southern gospel. Biography Brumley was born near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905, into a famil ...

)– 4:10 #"The New Call of the Wreckin' Ball" (Dave Alvin, John Doe)– 3:38 #"Long Chain On" ( Jimmy Driftwood)– 4:10 #"I'll Go Down Swinging" ( Bill Anderson)– 2:25 #"Burning House of Love" (Exene Cervenka, John Doe)– 3:41 #"Little Margret" (Traditional)– 3:05 #" Born to Be Wild" (

Mars Bonfire Dennis Edmonton (born Dennis Eugene McCrohan; 21 April 1943), also known by the stage name Mars Bonfire, is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter, best known for writing the hit song "Born to Be Wild" for Steppenwolf. Career Born Dennis Euge ...

)– 4:26

Personnel

The Knitters * Dave Alvin– acoustic and electric guitars, production *

Jonny Ray Bartel Jonny is a masculine given name, and pet name, in the English language. A pet form of Jon, the natural diminutive of given name Jonathan, in some cases it can also mean a condom. A variant form of ''Jonny'' is ''Jonnie''. People with the name *J ...

– double bass, production *

D. J. Bonebrake Donald J. Bonebrake (born December 8, 1955) is an American musician who first emerged as the drummer of the punk rock band the Eyes (also featuring Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's). He is best known as an original member of and drummer for punk ...

–

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

, production, arrangement on "Give Me Flowers While I'm Living" * Exene Cervenka– vocals, production * John Doe– acoustic guitar, vocals, production, arrangement on "Little Margret" Additional personnel *Craig Adams– recording,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

on "Easy Goin' Sunday" *Diana Bonebrake– compact disc design, artwork *

Joe Gastwirt Joe Gastwirt is an American audio engineer, known for digitally remastering hundreds of CDs and LPs for famous artists, including the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Helen Reddy, Electric Light Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The B ...

– mastering at Gastwirt Mastering *Steven Jurgensmeyer– booklet design *Kassel Photography– photography * Mark Linett– mixing at Your Place or Mine Recording

References

External links

* *
''The Modern Sounds of the Knitters''
at Rate Your Music
Interview with Doe from ''Warped Reality''A Knitters set
from '' World Cafe'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Modern Sounds Of The Knitters 2005 albums The Knitters albums Zoë Records albums