Exit Stencil Recordings
2006
Top Billin'
About This Album
For a band whose moniker celebrates Lou Reed, this Cleveland group is remarkably devoid of any traces of him or the Velvet Underground. Rather, the New Lou Reeds cook up a stew of messy, ballsy, barroom rock with traces of Thin Lizzy, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the kind of gut-punch '60s garage rock celebrated on the initial (and oft-cited) Nuggets box set compilation. The finest rave-ups come with the tight punch of the first three tracks, "Lookin' for a Boogaloo," "Michael Jones," and "Exploit Me." Elsewhere, on the Stooges-influenced "Captain America," for example, the band falters a bit. And the lengthy exploration "Small Town Blues" seems like indulgent, jammy filler (same for the pseudo-bluesy "Poverty Stinks," where the white blues-wailer shtick gets a bit old). Overall, though, there is enough to impress on this disc: Top Billin' is a collection of tough barroom fare from Cleveland from a group to keep an eye on. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide
Track List (try tracks 2,4,6,7,8,9 and 10)

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