Long Hair in Three Stages

Rating

Album: Long Hair in Three Stages
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Hey King
2)	Letter to ZZ Top
3)	Home-Made-Stuff
4)	Magic Job
5)	State Was Bad, The
6)	Aplomado
7)	You Know What Will Get You You Know Where
8)	When a Man Says ''Ow"
9)	Northward
10)	Lady to Bing

Album: Long Hair in Three Stages

Song Title

Time

Hey King

Letter to ZZ Top

Home-Made-Stuff

Magic Job

State Was Bad, The

Aplomado

You Know What Will Get You You Know Where

When a Man Says ''Ow"

Northward

10)

Lady to Bing

Performer Notes

U.S. Maple: Al Johnson (vocals); Mark Shippy, Todd Rittmann (guitar); Pat Samson (drums).
Personnel: Thymme Jones (trumpet).
Recording information: Solid Sound Studios, Hoffman Estates, IL.
U.S. Maple's debut album is nothing short of stunning, combining angular guitar attacks, odd skronks, jazzy tones, and a generally deconstructive approach to music into a sound of unparalleled idiosyncrasy. The record's finest moments come when the slanted attack and fractured composition converge to simulate something approaching a conventional song ("Letter to ZZ Top," with lyrics like "Give my bones to Billy Gibbons," pretty much rules out any notion of normality). Between these off-kilter constructions and the group's even more off-kilter deconstructions, a truly amazing record is created, one that combines hard-edged, "whiskey, no chaser" rock with exceptionally intelligent slants and fractures. ~ Nitsuh Abebe

Professional Reviews

Alternative Press (3/96, p.53) - "...this release...tells the story of a cross-pollination of scenes in Chicago;...it reaffirms an ideal: that there's still more to be done with electric guitars....Far from creating some sort of derivative referential collage, it's as if U.S. Maple were a huge sponge, and LONG HAIR IN STAGES was the sound of it being wrung out..."