THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION

So where to begin with a band and a guy who has had a LONG career in underground music. Jon Spencer has been involved in many musical projects but most famously has played in guitar noise legends Pussy Galore however I'm not here to give you a history lesson I'm sure most of you readers are astute enough to know your history on this guy and his many projects let's deal with the longest running and most succesful the mighty BLUES EXPLOSION!

Formed in 1991 in New York JSBX (as they will be reffered to for the rest of this post) have been around for nearly 25 years Jon Spencer backed by the IMMENSE talents of Drummer Russell Simins and guitarist Judah Bauer (there is and never has been a Bass Player in JSBX) have been peddling their slightly hip hop flavored RAW garage/blues for nearly 25 years I first heard them in about 2000 when a good friend of mine played me their 1996 album "Now i Got Worry" at that time i had no idea there was music like this the extent of my "garage" rock knowledge at the time began with The Stooges and ended with MC5! However i just remember hearing the track "Identify" (a fast paced almost hardcore sounding number) and being completely floored however being slightly out of character for these guys after hearing the rest of the album I was completely addicted!

Investigating further I discovered that they had had quite the career and managed to just catch up with their back catalogue around the time of their "Plastic Fang" album in 2004 which was a stunning and rocking album chock full of great tunes! I have been pretty much keeping up with them since though not the most prolific of outfits of late having only released 3 albums in the following 13 years to date!

So I am gonna take the easy way out here (still trying to stick to shorter write ups more music and also I am not as familiar with all the history of this band as i normally am with posts on here this time it's really just about the GREAT music) so if you haven't heard JSBX I suggest you get cracking on these downloads if you want more info try wikipedia there's a page on them here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Spencer_Blues_Explosion

Ok so my main reason for doing this post apart from the fact that JSBX are one fucking howling raging force of nature in the garage blues world is because back in 2010 their 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th albums were all reissued and massively expanded however aside from the initial flurry of available downloads these seem to have quickly disappeared from the internet and after my external drive died I had a damn shitty time trying to find them and replace my copies so i decided that at least if i did this post they would be available online again as the actual releases though worth the money are a bit expensive especially when you already own most of them and have shelled out the cash once already for them! So onto your links

Year One - This is a compilation of ALL the first recordings done by JSBX these were originally released back in 1992 as the albums "Crypt Style" and "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion" however this "Year One" CD compiles all those sessions onto one handy disc and includes sessions produced by both Kramer (Of Bongwater fame) and Steve Albini.

Extra Width/Mo' Width - This is NOT taken from the expanded version unfortunately as i cannot lay my hands on a copy of the 2 CD re-issue however this contains both albums in full ripped from my own CD though they were released separately they were recorded all at the same time in 1993

Orange/Experimental Remixes - This is the 2CD reissued version "Orange" comes with 7 Bonus Tracks culled from various B-sides and a VPRO session "Experimental.." comes with a further 5 remixes from the "Acme" era

Now I Got Worry - Due to the fast short and furious nature of this album this has been massively expanded but even with all the bonus material this has managed to all fit on one CD! this issue comes bolstered with a further 12 tracks of b-sides/unreleased studio tracks and 4 radio ad's for the album.

Acme/Xtra Acme - so the original releases of these albums were confusing as hell they were released with different colored covers and titles in every country round the world each with different track lists but however the entire "Acme" sessions have been pulled together on this massive 42 (!) track reissue this is definitely one of the high points of their career and contains most of their best known songs and in my opinion some of their best as well!

Plastic Fang (Expanded) - Now this release is actually unique to this post as I put it together! I discovered that there were no less than 15 versions of this album over as many countries and each county had a slightly different tracklist also there was a Japan only CDEP called "Fang Plastique" which had some exclusive tracks for Japan from the session couple this with the multiple singles/B-sides etc as per usual JSBX style it was confusing but thanks to my trainspotting I managed to source pretty much all the "Plastic Fang" era material so if you live in Europe the original album had 12 tracks my version here has a tasty 18 tracks all the B-sides and the exclusives from the Japanese EP

Damage : I felt this to be another High point in JSBX career i really liked this album when it came out in 2004 however it was the best produced thing they had done so far and quite slick for their usual raw sound! I'm afraid there's no bonus material here as there was little to be had mostly remixes.

Meat And Bone : after an 8 year hiatus JSBX were back with a new album and was it any good? well to be honest i didn't think this album was all that great kinda lackluster and a bit disappointing nothing truly terrible just didn't move me.

Jukebox Explosion : between 2002 and to date 2012 JSBX have done 7 x 7" singles with exclusive A and B sides for Italy's IN The Red Records in 2007 enter the compilation "Jukebox Explosion" this contains all 12 A & B sides from these 7"'s plus a further 6 tracks of whose origin i have no idea but be assured this is one GREAT compilation! as i said there have been 7 of these 7" singles and only 6 are compiled on this CD in 2012 they did a further 7" "Gadzooks/Tell Me That You Love Me" I have given you a separate link for that below next to Meat And Bone as the tracks were recorded at that session and appear as bonus tracks on the Australian issue of the Meat And Bone CD

In 1999 JSBX did a collaboration with The Dub Narcotic Sound System I know nothing about that band but the album is called "Sideways Soul: Dub Narcotic Sound System Meets The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion In A Dancehall Style!"
That's pretty much all you need to know! it's a pretty decent listen but not one of my most played JSBX projects!

So Onto your last 2 links Firstly in 2014 JSBX sneaked a 12" out for that fuckin godawful yearly "Record Store Day" with a very good take on the Def Jam records 12" sleeves of the 80's the 12" contained a medley of the Beastie Boys : She's On It and Jack The Ripper (don't know who did the original) backed with "Audio Vacation" a very fucked up take on 80's hip hop JSBX style!

And lastly in the interim while this post has been sitting in the vaults waiting to go BANG these boys only released a new album so hot off the press your last link is to "Freedom Tower No Wave Dance Party 2015" the latest offering from these guys and is it any good? HELL YES! this is a serious return to form for these guys I have been listening to this album a lot since i got it and I have to say it's the best thing they have done since "Plastic Fang" go check it out if you might have lost faith in these boys as a few folk did with 2012's "Meat & Bone" then this will restore you t a fully functioning JSBX fan!

I'm not gonna claim this to be a complete Discography as JSBX have been going far too long and been far too prolific and confusing with their music to claim every scrap is here but at a mighty 255 songs and some 14 hours i really think if this ain't enough you're a bigger geek than I am!

This band are abundantly talented and unique although sometimes under the sheer volume that may be hard to see but without a doubt NO ONE plays the blues like these guys and i find their take on it pretty consistent and always a pleasure hope you enjoy this almost complete discography of one of the best blues based bands on the planet!

Year One - Mediafire

Extra Width/Mo Width - Mediafire

Orange/Experimental Remixes (Remastered & Expanded) - Mediafire

Now I Got Worry (Remastered & Expanded) - Mediafire

Acme/Xtra Acme (Remastered & Expanded) - Mediafire

Plastic Fang (Expanded) - Mediafire

Damage - Mediafire

Meat & Bone - Mediafire

In The Red Records Jukebox Series #7 7" - Mediafire

Jukebox Explosion - Mediafire

With The Dub Narcotic Sound System - Mediafire

She's On It/Jack The Ripper (Def Jam) 12" - Mediafire

Freedom Tower No Wave Dance Party 2015 - Mediafire