''A Reverse Willie Horton'' is either the debut album, or an early bootleg album, by the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spen ...

. Few copies of the album were produced; many songs appear on the group's next album, 1992's ''

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spenc ...

'', albeit in a different mix or recording altogether (the sound of ''A Reverse Willie Horton'' is closer to '' Crypt Style''). All three albums are made up of tracks recorded in 1991 by producer Kramer and engineer

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

(in separate sessions). The album was released as a black vinyl LP in an edition of 500 copies. The front and rear art work are two separate images pasted onto a plain black card sleeve (with the exception of white text reading 'JACKET ME IN CANA' on the rear). During an interview with ''Fiz Magazine'' (Issue #5), Spencer discussed the various editions of the first album and hinted at the origins of the release: "When I was travelling around with the Gibson Bros. last year I had a tape of that with me because we had just done it. I let a few people dub it so maybe something came from that."

Critical reception

Dave Thompson, in ''Alternative Rock'', called the album "deliciously downplayed racket, purposely recorded to sound like a pile of old blues records, rattling through the cheapest speakers in the world." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' acknowledged the mystery surrounding the recording and called it better than anything that Spencer's former band,

Pussy Galore Pussy Galore is a fictional character in the 1959 Ian Fleming James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and the 1964 film of the same name. In the film, she is played by Honor Blackman. The character returns in the 2015 Bond continuation novel '' Tri ...

, had ever released. Pointing out that many of the songs appeared on the band's Caroline album, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' advised that the versions contained on ''A Reverse Willie Horton'' were superior, writing "with their echoey mixes and cardboard drums, they sound like they could’ve been appropriated from scratchy 45s found in a secluded Tennessee thrift shop."

US LP – 1993

;Side A # Twenty-9 # Type Cast # Water Main # History of Sex # Rachel # Chicken Walk # Big Headed Baby # Support A Man ;Side B # Lovin Up A Storm # Comeback # '78 Style # You Gonna Change # White Tail # What To Do # 40 lb Block of Cheese

References

External links

A detailed article on the album

Discogs.com entry
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion albums 1991 debut albums {{1990s-alt-rock-album-stub