Various Artists – Bloodshot Six Pack To Go: Working Songs For The Drinking Class

Cheers

A crucial element necessary to any worthwhile bender is music. To celebrate their 21st birthday, Chicago based record label Bloodshot took it upon themselves to showcase their artist’s best liquor soaked songs in a set. Bloodshot Six Pack To Go: Working Songs For The Drinking Class is a compilation set craft brewed to be the perfect chaser to any liquor. The six pack is a box set of 7” vinyl singles that takes the chore of making a drinking playlist off the table as it hand picks songs sung about booze and the people who drink it. The songs vary from a style that makes the listener think of a breakup mix tape their sympathetic best friend would make them to the spice of some mug raising and people rousing tunes.

The record starts out with “Askin’ For Disaster” by Banditos, a Nashville based honky tonk rock group. The mixed male and female vocals blend beautifully as they sing of “Walkin a little faster / The way I always go / When the bottle makes a fool out of me” The song is driven by a similarly juxtaposed guitar riff that plays splendidly across from some salty banjo picking. The song is a natural choice to start off the album as it gives the premonition of all the trouble (fun) people get into after throwing a few back.

The album’s highlight happens potentially at track three where veteran country rockers, Deer Tick, give their take on “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” by Celtic punk rockers and party enthusiasts, The Pogues. As Deer Tick swaps out bagpipes and accordion for whistling and guitar they achieve one of those rare covers that remains faithful to the original version while still putting a refreshing twist on a great song. As far as songs to be sung loudly on top of a bar with a rowdy chorus of degenerates go, this is one of the best ever written. May the rivers never run dry.

As this album sways across the bar from cheery drinking tunes to worn jukebox ballads of love lost the listener is sure to stumble over something that they find pleasing. Happy 21st birthday to Bloodshot Records, and thank you for the gift of this great box set.