Buckskin Stallion Blues

AMG Review of Buckskin Stallion Blues

Ned Raggett
All Music Guide

One of the most unlikely but rewarding collaborations in '90s ock, Buckskin Stallion Blues combines the efforts of Mudhoney with outside-the-mainstream Texas country legend Jimmie Dale Gilmore, then finally starting to receive some long overdue attention. Given ock's own roots in country & western, of course, it's not as surprising a combination as might be thought, but what's especially enjoyable about this release is how both sides match up straight down the line. The title track itself isn't an original from either Mudhoney or Gilmore, but a cover of another unjustly non-famous country icon, Townes Van Zandt. Gilmore's great twang takes the lead while Arm backs him up and the rest of the band adds solid but not too thrashed-out support. With Gilmore and Arm apparently trading guitar parts in the instrumental breaks as well, it's a wonderful blend of just-frazzled-enough feedback and steel guitar twang. Great as that is, it's the remainder of the tracks that really get the attention; besides featuring the original recording of a song by each of the acts -- Gilmore's "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown" and Mudhoney's "Blinding Sun" -- the disc includes new cover versions of these songs by the other musician(s). Mudhoney's take on Gilmore avoids explosive garage fuzz in favor of a cleaner lope (midsong solo aside) that still keeps the full-band energy strong. Gilmore, meanwhile, takes the spaghetti Western psych drama of the Mudhoney song and turns it into a truly haunting, high lonesome classic, taking the lyrical imagery of death and desolation to new heights. Topped off with a hilarious illustration from regular Mudhoney cover artist Edwin Fotheringham, the end result is a stand-alone joy rather than simply a footnote for Gilmore or Mudhoney.