Ford Supersonic

Description

Ford Supersonic is the sophomore album by the American alternative rock band Aunt Bettys featuring Michael Knott, independently released on Marathon Records in 1998. Aunt Bettys features Michael Knott on lead vocals, Andrew Carter on guitar, and a rhythm section consisting of Brian Doidge and Chuck Cummings on bass and drums respectively.

This indie release of heavy alternative pop songs is sure to be sought after by Michael Knott fans of the future. The album compiles demo material crafted by Knott and company in the wake of an unhappy alliance with Elektra; however, with 17 songs, it plays and sounds like a full-length album. Although the Aunt Bettys are not the prime starting point for understanding and appreciating Knott’s music, the album does contain some of his most accessible material. Fans of Knott’s quieter, serious side should look instead to Life Savers Underground’s newer albums or his solo material, as somber listeners may find the pop/rock attitude and playful lyrics grate on their sensibilities. «Popsicle Stick» is the only song that lacks loud, punky, distorted power chords. However, it is difficult not to be entertained by this album, especially on songs that are innovative and catchy, such as «Ricky Racer». The bonus live tracks showcase Knott’s trademark lunacy without the annoying spaces found on other live tracks (during which he was usually involved in something like taping fans together and booting them off the stage, or the like). [Christopher Anderson, AMG]

One of the true alternative underground’s most prolific music-makers, Michael Knott never stops. He’s a music machine, a factory of fun, a full-on assembly line of top-notch rock ‘n roll. Add the chops-to-make-veins-pop of Andrew Carter, Chuck Cummings, and Brian Doidge, and the stereo is a thumpin’. Thank Jeff Elbel and his little label that could (Marathon Records) for releasing these demos lost in the cracks of the Aunt Bettys’ failed major label debut. But don’t let the word “demos” throw you off – this album walks all over the self-titled. A perfect melding of the pop guitar muscle of Everclear, the whine and attitude of Jane’s Addiction, and the steady-as-she-goes rhythms and vocals of Tom Petty… these are the radio hits that never were. And you die-hard fans should be stoked because you get them all to yourself – no corporate radio station is going to rub them into your ears ad nauseum, and you won’t have to sound like a loser by whining “I was a fan before they got popular…” It’s too bad for the hardworking Knott, though.

Why is Ford Supersonic better? Because, while the self-titled was good, it was too obvious that Knott and Co. thought they were already big rock stars. It was too bombastic, too over-the-top, too ego-exuding, whereas Ford Supersonic is closer to the Mike Knott we know and love, humble but ingrained with the true rock spirit, a soul that swings, strums, sobs, and sees music in every step of life, no matter what the pay is. These might be demos, but the production is just right, crisp but imperfect – the sound of real music flowing from human hands and voices, not the product of big studio overkill. After the 13 new tracks (including a pop reworking of «Rock Stars on H»), surprise, surprise… live tracks to make you cry if you’ve not much chance to ever see the band live: a tiny bit of talking plus distortion-on renditions of «Two-Timin’ Jack» and «Rock Stars on H» sandwiched between the beginning and end of Knott’s deep-voiced take on «Wild Colonial Boy», an old Irish tune.

The easily offended may still find a few lyrics to frown at, but Knott is still singing his quirky, dysfunctional, what-the-hell-is-he-talking-about? true tall tales, with the few nuggets of metaphoric Truth to be found shining all the more for it. Too bad there’s no lyric sheet. Whether you’re a fan or not, this is just a great album, possibly one of the best albums to ever go unsung and unheard. Rock and roll, baby. [Josh Spencer, The Phantom Tollbooth, 8/14/98]

CD tracklist:

01. Getting Normal – 3:42
02. Two Timin’ Jack – 3:17
03. Movie Star – 4:39
04. Christine On Crystral – 4:18
05. Shoot Allison – 4:35
06. Widget Man – 3:18
07. Popsicle Stick – 3:52
08. Local Supply – 3:52
09. Sugar Cane – 3:27
10. Rock Stars On H – 2:55
11. Ricky Racer – 3:52
12. Motor Queen – 3:37
13. Top Of The World – 4:53
14. (silence) – 0:32
15. Wild Colonial Boy (Live) – 1:47
16. Two Timin’ Jack (Live) – 3:25
17. Rock Stars On H (Live) – 2:51
18. Wild Colonial Boy (Live) – 1:13

Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://blondevinyl.bandcamp.com/album/fordsupersonic-deluxe-edition

Liner notes: Here lie the Aunt Bettys; may they rest in peace. There were many who felt this star-crossed, maniacal, loose cannon of a band was just the thing to show the world at large what rock ‘n’ roll should really be all about. Apparently, though, those many believers just weren’t quite enough to launch the Bettys as a force in popular music. The band achieved underground hero status, at best.

We faithful content ourselves by saying they were too good for the masses, anyhow. The Aunt Bettys played a powerful, if schizophrenic, brand of noise, drawing on influences from the glammy to rootsy, punky to poppy, modern to retro. The songs hit at gut-level and drove straight for the hook every time. MC5, T. Rex, Dylan, David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust, Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones; there’s a little bit of all of them in these tunes. Critics found links to modern bands such as Spacehog and Cracker, although those of the former ilk filter out Mike Knott’s banshee wail and his mircrophone-stand-ventilated acoustic guitar. The latter, acerbic though David Lowery may be, could never be as caustic.

Knott and long-time sideman/bassist Brian Doidge struck gold when Andrew Carter answered their newspaper ad seeking a lead player. Carter proved to be a wildly gifted original, playing with bona fide soul. Laying style for miles, Carter’s white Gibson Les Paul was a conduit for raw energy. His solos seemed to bypass the brain entirely, tapping directly into the emotion of the moment. With Chuck Cummings driving the band behind the drum kit, the quartet gigged incessantly, becoming a crack rhythm unit.

The contents of this CD comprise many of the studio demos tracked by Aunt Bettys in the wake of their aborted major-label record deal. In predictably tragic fashion, many masters have slipped through the cracks and disappeared, perhaps being erased by other bands in need of blank media during studio time, or perhaps being simply lost by an artist who has always been too worried about moving his music forward to be bothered with careful archiving. After all, the band was sure to score another label deal, and have a chance to record these tunes in earnest, right?

Wrong.

Over half of the tracks from Ford Supersonic are taken from digital masters. «Popsicle Stick» was recorded especially for this collection. Other songs have been rescued from near-extinction by mastering from the only available sources, such as the second-generation cassettes kept in a burlap bag by Knott’s manager, David Jenison. A year of research and hunting for the best available sources has gone into the compilation of this album. While some of these tracks lack the digital luster of an original DAT master, the versions represented here are far superior to the alternative – namely, nothing.

… And nothing would be a crime. There is passion and fire in these tracks, and these are the blasted demo versions, for crying out loud. Listen now, and enjoy some great songs. Celebrate a band that died far too young, and imagine the pop-guitar heroics that might have been. “We miss you; boo hoo…”

[Jeff Elbel – recording artist, music journalist, fan]