Detroit Cobras

I initially came across the Detroit Cobras sometime last year. I'm not even sure what made me give them a listen. My music geek mind works in mysterious ways. A lot of great garage and other rock bands have come out of Detroit (Alice Cooper, the Stooges, the White Stripes, MC5, Gore Gore Girls, etc.). Also, for some reason the name reminded me of the opening line in "Search and Destroy" - "I'm a street-walkin' cheetah with a heart full of napalm." I don't know why that was triggered. At any rate, this rather absurd logic proved to pan out for me. The Detroit Cobras are now one of my favorite neo-garage groups.

Unbeknownst to me, they do pretty much all covers on their albums, and this one has but one exception, the great "Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat)." That said, they don't pick obvious, overplayed rock and r&b classics, but forgotten tracks and lost gems. I'm now compelled to track down the originals for these songs, which in my mind is the mark of a good cover.

The album's single, a cover of "Cha Cha Twist," produced this fun little video:



The Detroit Cobras also have a new album due 4/24, Tied and True (great title!). Hopefully they'll hit the road in support of the new disc, and I'll be able to catch them live. Lastly, the US release of Baby includes the import EP Seven Easy Pieces. I've provided Baby - buy the cd and get the EP too, ya lousy bum!

So crack open some whiskey, crank it up, and enjoy the weekend.

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