AMERICAN VII:

Gogol Bordello: Trans-Continental Hustle, CD review (Thomas H Green, 07 May 2010, Daily Telegraph)

It’s produced by Rick Rubin, more famous in recent years for reigniting creative light in older stars such as Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond rather than the visceral fare of the bands he made his name with (Slayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers). Here he brilliantly helps Hutz draw on the sonic pizzazz of Brazil, where the singer now lives, and combine it with his patented Balkan hoedown. The results, delivered in a heavily accented bar room roar, are gauche and melodramatic but have riveting folk-punk resolve. Rampant with fiddle and bandoneon, it packs a punch, joyfully untainted by pop irony. The ghost at the party is Joe Strummer.

MORE:
-Gypsy Punk Group Gogol Bordello in Concert (All Songs Considered, July 18, 2007)

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 9, 2010 7:56 AM