Spanker Madness
Spanker Madnessis the Asylum Street Spankers' salute to the devil weed--or, if you prefer, the holy herb. Founding members Christina Marrs and Wammo are joined by a rotating cast of inmates that includes former full-time SpankerGuy Forsythand producer David Leroy Biller on lead guitars. Marrs initiates a Betty Boop-style duet with the veddy British Martin Blacker on "Wake and Bake" and strums a ukulele on "Pakalolo Baby." Wammo mounts up with the Ghost Riders in the Sky for "Winning the War on Drugs" and does theTom Waitsthing on "Amsterdam." Clarinetist Stanley Smith takes a casuallyDylanesque vocal on "Blade of Grass" before Forsyth revisits the Delta on the bluesy "Take the Heat." The Spankers' loose communal spirit entertainingly recalls seminal hippie folk groups such as theJim Kweskin Jug Bandand theHoly Modal Rounders. But the most telling observation belongs to Wammo, who confesses that after decades of devoted experimentation, his favorite altered state is ... beer.--Rick Mitchell