Scumbags Of The Rodeo by Wild Bill And The Lost Knobs

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Wacky is the operative word here. But in a good drank too much, stereo’s too loud, memory lapse kinda way. A healthy mix of sloppy rock n roll, 77 punk, southern rock and honky tonk just about sums this up. This is good time party music. But, the writing is way better than most party music you will ever hear. Although the music is light hearted and funny at times, these guys are first rate musicians and writers. It is a breath of freash air to have a band of people that don’t take themselves too seriously. I can pretty much surmise from listening to Wild Bill And The Lost Knobs that they don’t take themselves too seriously. 

Tell Me What I Did Wrong is the perfect example. It is Ramones meets Elvis Costello meets Hank Williams. Humorous but hard driving with lovely harmonies straight of 77. They get their point across in a humorous way yet very intelligent. Themes on Scumbags Of The Rodeo include drinking too much, relationships troubles, run ins with the law, and just being down on your luck. All of the classic country themes are represented well here. Bill and Amanda Ogden, the dual vocalists have perfect voices for this band and the harmonies are world class. Ledge is another winner which opens with a beautiful little mandolin solo and speaks about waking up on a ledge outside. Too much livin’ on the edge caused the incident on the ledge.  Well, I don’t want to give too much away. The element of surprise at just how amazing this album is should be experienced by everyone. Bandcamp is the place to listen and buy.

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