Putting two legends of truly countercultural spirit together simply had to produce something of genius, and though Mojo Nixon‘s dropped a couple of hints since then that things weren’t as cool as they could be, Invasion is nonetheless a fine fusion of Jello‘s deranged nerviness and Nixon‘s rootsy attitude. With Nixon‘s backing band, the Toadliquors, on hand to provide the rest of the cowpunk, honky tonk music, the two come out fighting with “Buy My Snake Oil,” Jello‘s rip into early-’90s alternative culture, and don’t let up. Pete “Wet Dawg” Gordon‘s piano work definitely deserves to be singled out — check the opening break on “Where Are We Gonna Work” — and Mike “Wild” Middleton‘s drumming doesn’t let up once. One of the sharper things about Invasion is its sense of protest roots; almost half the songs are from earlier musicians or public domain folk songs, sometimes more picturesque, like “Convoy in the Sky,” but other times slotting alongside Jello and Nixon‘s work perfectly. Phil Ochs‘ brilliant slam on fuzzy left-leaners, “Love Me, I’m a Liberal,” gets a topically updated revamp, while the album’s lead single revamps an old standard into “Will the Fetus Be Aborted?.” As for the lead performers’ own work, ultimately this is more Nixon‘s show than Biafra‘s. The latter definitely has the spirit for this effort, taking the majority of the lead vocals, but Nixon has the better voice for the proceedings, while his guitar kicks butt and takes names. The artwork for Invasion deserves special mention, too: besides a hilarious back photo of Jello and Nixon re-enacting Grant Wood’s “American Gothic,” the veritable explosion of news stories detailing business and government idiocies, random ad images, and snippets of Tom Tomorrow’s “This Modern World” comic strip, is enough to make anyone reject mass culture in a second.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/prairie-home-invasion-mw0000623963
Well I come from a long line
Of tree falling men
And this company town was here
Before my grandpappy settled in
We kept enough trees a-standin’
So our kids could tow the line
But now a big corporation came and bought us out
Got us working overtime
[Chorus:]
But tell me
Where are we gonna work
When the trees are gone
Will the big boss have us wash his car
Or maybe mow his lawn
I’m a man, I’m a man, I’m a lumberjack man
But I hear it ain’t for long
Where are we gonna work
When the trees are gone?
Now these corporate mergers
Make no sense to me
But they got this junk bond debt to pay
So we’re clear-cutting all the trees
Now that old fishin’ hole
Where I used to take my son
We trashed it out last Monday morn
Oh Lord, what have we done
[Chorus]
Now these Wall Street money men
They got me MAD
I’ve got a family to feed and falling trees
Is the only job I ever had
Say now folks, we just can’t stand here
While this slash and burn goes on
We’ve got to slow down this big corporation
Before all the trees are gone
Down in Hamlet, North Carolina
They had a chicken plant sure did explode
Them tar heels trapped like burnin’ rats
Cuz the boss man chained the door closed
My mama was born in
A town called Hamlet
Sleepy little place on the Seaboard line
My papa worked on the railroad
And my granny went out her mind
One day the railroad
It went busted
Like Richmond County ain’t broke enough
So this Yankee carpetbagger
Figured to make a little money on Hamlet’s bad luck
Built a brand new chicken fixin’ plant
And they paid that minimum wage
But the boss man said no unions
Or he’d move his plant far away
Merele Etta Johnson
She was late for work
Heard a thunderin’ roar out on the highway
Musta been NASCAR over at Rockingham
Or just Merle Etta’s judgment day
8:15 in the mornin’
Chicken plant burst into flames
People trampled, squashed and burned up
Just to keep the profit margin
One iota higher
everybody gotta work in this world
Some folks lucky-some folks ain’t
But that bastard that chained the doors shut
I’m gonna rip him through p!!!!!!
When I was a little boy
With a buzzsaw hair cut
Go down to Hamlet, watch the trains
Now the tourists stop on the highway
Get a little look at the chicken plant workers’ remains