Three 65, Day 33
Reverend Horton Heat, Liquor In The Front

Forget Dick Dale; the true surf guitar psycho is the Reverend Horton Heat. Some call it punk and some call it rockabilly, but I like the term that the Reverend coined himself: psychobilly.

Liquor stands out from the other Reverend Horton Heat albums not by virtue of its songwriting or musicianship, but its production. The band brought in Al Jourgensen, of Ministry (see Day 6), to help with the overall sound. The result is like a cold steel pipe to the teeth, followed by a quick shot of moonshine - refreshing!

The songs are louder, the attitude is snarlier, and everything is, overall, fiercer than the two Horton Heat albums that preceded this. The picture of the band on the back cover, with Heat in a jester's cap and AC/DC shirt screaming at the camera, should tell you all you need to know about this album, but in case it doesn't, here's a rundown of some of the highlights.

"Big Sky" opens things with a country-tinged instrumental so dry you can smell the desert in between the guitar notes. "One Time For Me" is a love song... if you love watching your girl masturbate. "Yeah, Right" is absolutely furious in its loathing and hatred. The band slows down for the melodic "In Your Wildest Dreams" and "I Could Get Used To It," and the whole thing closes with burps and farts over a piano-led cover of "The Entertainer."

I saw the Reverend play several times back in the day; besides polishing off a bottle of Jack's at every performance, the bassist's upright also doubles as a mosh pit surfboard when the mood hits him. It's this kind of abandon that propels the music on this album, and lifts it above the usual psychobilly flavor that the band is capable of producing.