Nashville Pussy – Ten Years of Pussy

‘Ten Years of Pussy’ is the title of Nashville Pussy’s new compilation CD to celebrate their tenth year with SPV records, with whom they have released five albums from ‘And Get Some’ in 2005 to ‘Up The Dosage’ in 2014. ‘Ten Years of Pussy’ takes sixteen studio tracks from their previous releases and a bonus live CD which includes their cover of Ike and Tina Turner’s Nutbush City Limits with Ron Heathman from The Supersuckers putting in a guest appearance on guitar. The live CD was recorded in Nottingham in 2009, on the last day of a UK tour with The Supersuckers.

Frontman Blaine Cartwight who was formerly in Nine Pound Hammer formed Nashville Pussy with guitarist Ruyter Suys (pronounced Rider Sighs), who was to become his wife, and original bassist Corey Parks back in 1997 after meeting them at Nine Pound Hammer gigs. Since then they have played over one thousand gigs, and have toured with many big names including Slayer, ZZ Top and Motorhead, Lemmy even puts in a guest appearance on the track Lazy Jesus. A few line-up changes along the way sees the current line-up, see here for a more detailed biography. I reviewed Nashville Pussy when they played The Roadhouse, Manchester last year see here. I haven’t got, or listened to, any of their previous releases so I’m listening to the tracks with ‘new’ ears, apart from the one or two tracks I’d heard before the gig.

With sixteen highlight tracks from their SPV releases over the last ten years and six bonus live tracks there was some of their best work on here. Some amazing riffage, great vocals, great lyrics, plenty of profanities and no filler tracks. I could end the review there and just say a worthy five stars but, that would be cheating so, here goes with a few observations. Rub It To Death with it’s thumping riffs and fast beat has Blaine singing ‘Rub, rub, rub it’ at top speed, sounding like he’s using a voice synthesizer to give a wah wah wah wah effect, think Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer but he’s not the man really can sing superfast! I’m So High has a similar drum beat to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. Before The Drugs Wear Off with it’s interesting lyrics, including ‘You’re meaner than shit, hotter than hell. Ten months pregnant but you can’t even tell’ has a Violent Femmes’ vibe with Blaine’s vocals in this one sounding very Gordon Gano, I’m thinking something like Gone Daddy Gone meets Blister in the Sun. Then in Hate And Whisky I picked up an Australian influence again, this time Rose Tattoo and Rock ‘N Roll Outlaw with some added bullet fast drumming.

Pussy Time probably has the strangest pairing, as I thought it was like what I imagine a cross between Lenny Kravitz’s Are You Gonna Go My Way and Funk Soul Brother by Fatboy Slim to be (which even has the wah wah wah effect in it but then I’m going back to Rub It To Death!).  Til The Meat Falls Of The Bone had some Black Sabbath riffage, a bit Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Pillbilly a fast one with some duelling guitars had a flavour The Devil Went Down To Georgia by Charlie Daniels Band. Why Why Why with the witty opening line ‘Well she was flatter than a pancake and nowhere near as sweet’ reminded me of both Vintage Caravan’s M.A.R.S.W.A.T.T. and Judas Priest’s Living After Midnight. Lazy Jesus featuring Lemmy, who Blaine actually reminds me of with his cowboy hats, boots, shirts and hair (including facial hair) style has a country rock feel, with a bit of mouth organ thrown in along the way. Maybe it’s just the word business, maybe it ain’t, but the track Ain’t Your Business had me thinking of Monkey Business by Skid Row. The last track on Disc 1, Stone Cold Down, reminded me of AC/DC again, I’m thinking of some of the tracks from their latest album ‘Rock or Bust‘, Miss Adventure meets Let’s Play Ball perhaps?

Then we come to the bonus tracks on Disc 2, six tracks recorded in Nottingham and One Way Down is about God and Monkeys or so said Blaine, by way of introduction. A rocking cover of Nutbush City Limits by another husband and wife team Ike and Tina Tuner included an introduction to the band. Struttin’ Cock and Go Motherfucker Go, great live tracks and last but not least You’re Goin’ Down which actually reminded me a little of Nutbush City Limits in places.

Ten years of Pussy captured in twenty tracks, some brilliant riffage and great tunes here. I think my highlight tracks have got to be Pussy Time and Struttin’ Cock but there’s nothing I didn’t like or wanted to skip! Ten Years of Pussy gets ten out of ten which translates to 5* from PlanetMosh!

Disc: 1
1. Come On Come On
2. Rub It To Death
3. I’m So High (featuring Danko Jones)
4. Going Down Swinging
5. Before The Drugs Wear Off
6. Hate And Whisky
7. The South’s To Fat To Rise Again
8. Pussy Time
9. Til The Meat Falls Of The Bone
10. Pillbilly
11. Why Why Why
12. Up The Dosage
13. Lazy Jesus (featuring Lemmy)
14. Ain’t Your Business
15. Good Night For A Heart Attack
16. Stone Cold Down

Disc: 2
1. One Way Down (Bonus)
2. Nutbush City Limits – Ike and Tina Turner Cover
(featuring Ron Heathman) (Bonus)
3. Struttin’ Cock (Bonus)
4. Late Great USA (Bonus)
5. Go Motherfucker Go (Bonus)
6. You’re Goin’ Down (Bonus)

Band Members:
Jeremy Thompson – Drums – Biloxi, Mississippi
Ruyter Suys – Lead Guitar – Vancouver, B.C.
Blaine Cartwright – Vocals/Guitar – Bowling Green, KY
Bonnie Buitrago – Bass – Huntington Beach, CA

SPV – Nashville Pussy Discography
2005 – Get Some (CD)
2008 – Live In Hollywood (DVD)
2009 – From Hell To Texas (CD)
2012 – From Hell To Texas –Live And Loud in Europe (CD+live CD)
2014 – Up The Dosage (CD)

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/NSPSY
http://www.nashvillepussy.com/