Review: Painted Willie - Mind Bowling (re-issue)

Label: DC-Jam Records

Released: July 17, 2009

SST Records was, if nothing else, a source of 80s musical madness. The label was somewhat diverse, but insanity was its consistency. While Hüsker Dü, the Meat Puppets and a few others moved on to major label semi-success, many of their bands burned up in the label's creative melee. Painted Willie was just such a band.

While Mind Bowling doesn't present essential listening for the general public, there are many out there who either missed it the first time or were too young when it went out of print or who sadly never owned a turntable (as it never made it to CD until now) that will appreciate it. The loose-to-the-point-of-near-deconsturction tunes meld mid-tempo, metally punk with the psych jams brought to the table by bands like Black Flag and the Meat Puppets. Along with other SST acts like DC3 and SWA, Painted Willie represent some of the earliest rumblings of what would later evolve into stoner rock. Mind Bowling will never have the broad impact of SST's upper echelon, but for those who want to dig a little deeper into underground rock's history, this re-issue is a fantastic opportunity to sample the madness.

Ratings
Satriani: 5/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 7/10

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