Electric Six - Senor Smoke (2005)
Created | Updated Jul 3, 2005
2003’s ‘Fire’ established Electric Six as one of the few original ideas in the retro throwback movement, featuring a unique blend of garage rock, metal, funk, disco, electronica, and punk. It would be easy for most bands to get lost in such a long list of influences, but Dick Valentine and co. are master craftsmen with a sardonic wit and pop sensibility that is second to none. With songs such as ‘Danger! High Voltage’ and ‘Gay Bar’ - which featured a video of a half-naked weight-lifting Abraham Lincoln proclaiming his desire to take you to, yes, a gay bar - it is easy to miss what exactly is going on in-between all of the catchy hooks, poppy beats, and funny lyrics.
Electric Six may have sensed this, as 2005’s ‘Senor Smoke’ comes out swinging. The lead-off track, ‘Rock and Roll Evacuation’ is one of the most powerful songs ever used to kick-start an album, and it pulls no punches: “This is an evil generation / I see with my eyes / I seen them walking around in their suits / and I seen the ties…This is an evil generation / Rock and roll evacuation / As far as the eye can see / Tune into this radio station / Rock and roll evacuation / In event of emergency.” Taking aim at corrupt politics (“I seen them lining us up on the walls / and trading us for pies”); an irresponsible media (“See the man on the television telling me to listen to the radio / Hear the man on the radio telling me, No no no no no no no”); pretentious rockers (“You can play your electric guitar / but it ain’t gonna change the world”); and the fall-out of masculinity (“you can get all emotional on me / and cry like a little girl”); the song climaxes with what is simultaneously a kiss-off to the country’s politicians and a royal send-off for the President himself: “We are disposable creations / They’re throwing us away / Ignoring everything that we do / And everything that we say / Mr. President, make a little money sending people you don’t know to Iraq / Mr. President, I don’t like you. You don’t know how-to rock!”
It presents a challenge to the listener to follow up such a powerful song without letting it influence their opinion of the rest of the record. Fortunately, Electric Six never try to out-do it, only meet it. Following two hard-hitting funk-fused rock numbers comes ‘Jimmy Carter,’ a throwback to the band’s days as ‘The Wildbunch’ and another number detailing our modern world of big brother, passing fads, religion, and decades of social confusion; all with the lumbering backing of a synthesizer. ‘Vibrator’ is a joking look at one night stand’s and a girl’s best friend (all gone wrong). The real surprise is the inclusion of a cover of Queen’s ‘Radio Ga Ga,’ used strategically as a parody of modern radio which practically ignored ‘Fire.’ To truly get the joke you have to see the video (the medium which garnered the band most of their fame), featuring a very flamboyant Dick Valentine dancing on Farrokh Bulsara’s (Freddie Mercury’s real name) grave.
It isn’t to say that the Queen cover is bad, or that the album drags after ‘Rock and Roll Evacuation.’ The band did a great job at placing comedic interludes and including enough flat-out fun rock songs to keep the average listener happy, but to truly appreciate the album you have to experience it from start to finish while listening for all the subtleties Electric Six have added. ‘Senor Smoke’ is a labor of love for the band and fans alike, and it is one hell of a record from a band that was only ever thought to be a throw-away. Like the Presidents of the United States before them, Electric Six are at their best when they combine their unique wit with an unbridled love for performing. ‘Senor Smoke’ takes this to heart, and while it might take a careful few listens to ‘get it,’ those who do will be in for a treat.
Electric Six may have sensed this, as 2005’s ‘Senor Smoke’ comes out swinging. The lead-off track, ‘Rock and Roll Evacuation’ is one of the most powerful songs ever used to kick-start an album, and it pulls no punches: “This is an evil generation / I see with my eyes / I seen them walking around in their suits / and I seen the ties…This is an evil generation / Rock and roll evacuation / As far as the eye can see / Tune into this radio station / Rock and roll evacuation / In event of emergency.” Taking aim at corrupt politics (“I seen them lining us up on the walls / and trading us for pies”); an irresponsible media (“See the man on the television telling me to listen to the radio / Hear the man on the radio telling me, No no no no no no no”); pretentious rockers (“You can play your electric guitar / but it ain’t gonna change the world”); and the fall-out of masculinity (“you can get all emotional on me / and cry like a little girl”); the song climaxes with what is simultaneously a kiss-off to the country’s politicians and a royal send-off for the President himself: “We are disposable creations / They’re throwing us away / Ignoring everything that we do / And everything that we say / Mr. President, make a little money sending people you don’t know to Iraq / Mr. President, I don’t like you. You don’t know how-to rock!”
It presents a challenge to the listener to follow up such a powerful song without letting it influence their opinion of the rest of the record. Fortunately, Electric Six never try to out-do it, only meet it. Following two hard-hitting funk-fused rock numbers comes ‘Jimmy Carter,’ a throwback to the band’s days as ‘The Wildbunch’ and another number detailing our modern world of big brother, passing fads, religion, and decades of social confusion; all with the lumbering backing of a synthesizer. ‘Vibrator’ is a joking look at one night stand’s and a girl’s best friend (all gone wrong). The real surprise is the inclusion of a cover of Queen’s ‘Radio Ga Ga,’ used strategically as a parody of modern radio which practically ignored ‘Fire.’ To truly get the joke you have to see the video (the medium which garnered the band most of their fame), featuring a very flamboyant Dick Valentine dancing on Farrokh Bulsara’s (Freddie Mercury’s real name) grave.
It isn’t to say that the Queen cover is bad, or that the album drags after ‘Rock and Roll Evacuation.’ The band did a great job at placing comedic interludes and including enough flat-out fun rock songs to keep the average listener happy, but to truly appreciate the album you have to experience it from start to finish while listening for all the subtleties Electric Six have added. ‘Senor Smoke’ is a labor of love for the band and fans alike, and it is one hell of a record from a band that was only ever thought to be a throw-away. Like the Presidents of the United States before them, Electric Six are at their best when they combine their unique wit with an unbridled love for performing. ‘Senor Smoke’ takes this to heart, and while it might take a careful few listens to ‘get it,’ those who do will be in for a treat.
