Fear and Whiskey

Fear and Whiskey is the fourth studio album by English rock band The Mekons. It was released in 1985 and marked a dramatic shift in their sound following a short hiatus. It is universally viewed as their masterpiece by fans. It is credited as being the first alternative country album, as it blends the band's previously-established punk rock style with a country music sound. The album was initially released by Sin Records to significant critical praise and commercial success. However, due to Sin's small capacity for production and distribution, the album then remained largely unavailable until it was rereleased in 2002 by Quarterstick Records, a subsidiary of Touch and Go Records.

Fear and Whiskey
Studio album by
The Mekons
Released1985
Recorded1984–1985
GenreAlternative rock, alternative country
Length35:13
LabelSin
ProducerMekons
The Mekons chronology
The Mekons Story
(1983)		 Fear and Whiskey
(1985)		 The Edge of the World
(1986)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA+[2]
Pitchfork9.7/10[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[5]
Uncut[6]

The musical style represents a sharp break with the group's previous work, as fiddle, steel guitar, and harmonica are included, but the instrumentation of punk music is also present, particularly on the energetic "Hard to be Human Again". Tom Greenhalgh, one of the primary creative forces in the Mekons, commented that as he listened to a great deal of country music in the early 1980s and "pretty soon the difference between the three chords of country and the three chords of punk became blurred."[7] The album closes with a cover of Leon Payne's "Lost Highway".

The album's lyrics describe a dark scenario of a community struggling to retain its capacity for joy and humanity through a devastating war. Rock critic Robert Christgau described it as "a sort of concept album sort of about life during wartime".[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Mekons, except as noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Chivalry" 4:03
2."Trouble Down South" 4:15
3."Hard to Be Human Again" 3:58
4."Darkness and Doubt" 5:15
5."Psycho Cupid (Danceband on the Edge of Time)" 2:52
6."Flitcraft" 3:23
7."Country" 2:54
8."Abernant 1984/5" 2:21
9."Last Dance" 3:13
10."Lost Highway"Leon Payne2:59
gollark: Fixed that too.
gollark: Fixed.
gollark: <@!160279332454006795> <@151149148639330304> <@!309787486278909952> Your thoughts?
gollark: Create a new section "Bees" %bees.Create a rule "Bee utilization part 1" (%bees-1) in %bees:> The deployment status of bees is considered part of the Game State. No bee action (except for bee deployment) may be taken unless bees are currently deployed. Bee actions include deployment of bees, which makes bees become deployed, cessation of bees, which makes bees not be deployed, and use of bees against a player. The player bees are to be used against must be indicated in the Bee Poll authorizing this action. Use of bees against players causes their Points quantity to be reduced by 1, unless it is already 0, in which case there is no effect.Create a rule "Bee Poll" (%bee-poll) in %polls:> A Bee Poll is required to authorize bees to perform actions, as described in %bees. The default allowed reactions for a Bee Poll are 👍 (representing a vote for) and 👎 (representing a vote against). Bee Polls may be closed if they have existed for 12 hours or more, rather than the usual 24. If a Bee Poll is passed, the action it describes is taken. Players are permitted to use multiple reactions on a Bee Poll. A Bee Poll must clearly indicate that it is a Bee Poll.Due to the passage of proposal #207, bees are to be considered "deployed" initially.
gollark: Because funlolz.

References
  1. Jurek, Thom. "Fear and Whiskey – The Mekons". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1990). "The Mekons: Fear and Whiskey". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  3. Dahlen, Chris (6 March 2002). "Mekons: Fear and Whiskey". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  4. Considine, J. D.; Hoard, Christian (2004). "The Mekons". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 534–36. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  5. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  6. "The Mekons". Uncut (90): 141. November 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  7. "The Mekons: Fear and Whiskey". wacobrothers.com. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
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