Recorded in studio for the most part with
Tom Cora,
David Licht, and
Michael Kramer forming the core of the LSD C&W band and a bunch of rock and country musicians (including
John Zorn) filling in the gaps,
LSD C&W: The History of the Chadbournes in America came out in 1987 as a two-LP set. At the time, the Doctor was in a great creative period, churning out album after album of crazy country-rock covers and mad improvs. This project is country-oriented, but it doesn't prevent a hefty
Beatles medley, a couple of
Hendrix songs, or even a tune by
Albert Ayler (that's jazz, folks).
Roger Miller,
Carl Perkins, and
Johnny Cash rank among the artists whose songs go through
Chadbourne's grinder. Wacky guitar solos, weird tape editing, excited tempos, some fantastic cello playing from
Cora, and that special kind of humor you get whenever you try to fix the words "avant" and "Western" together, that's what this album has to offer. More anarchic than
Vermin of the Blues or
69th Sinfunny -- and therefore a little less good -- this set remains the best document of the
Chadbournes. Its reissue on the Doctor' label, House of Chadula, adds a lot of extra material from 1981 concerts with
Cora,
Licht,
Kramer, and
Zorn (sound quality is shaky, be warned) and tampers with the original track list, omitting some material in the process.
–
François Couture, Rovi