Description
Welcome to Struggleville is the fourth album by the American folk-rock/alt-country combo Vigilantes of Love fronted by singer-songwriter Bill Mallonee, release on Capricorn Records in 1994, in co-operation with Fingerprint Records. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Jim Scott, with Dan Russell and the band co-producing. It was the band’s first release for a mainstream label. Music and lyrics by Bill Mallonee. (The album track “Glory and the Dream” was written about the Fellow Georgian, folk artist and Baptist minister, Howard Finster.)
Rock connoisseurs who appreciate a little more than a good guitar solo will love the depth and innovation of the Vigilantes of Love. Rolling Stones rhythms, early Springsteen guts and on-the-edge lyrics embrace the shivering genius of front man Bill Mallonee with such originality it will stimulate, stun and elate the eager listener. This is classic, desert sun, open top, dusty track stuff. But with the sparkle of intelligence and the shake of uncertainty this is wind in your hair 90’s style, a style that leaves all other American rock standing in a cloud of dust. Listen out for this band in the future. [Jonathan Bellamy, Cross Rhythms, October 1994]
One glance at Vigilantes leader Bill Mallonee‘s gaunt visage, wire-rim specs and rumpled clothing, and you might dismiss him as just another too-serious grad student who overslept for an important lecture. But a look beneath that exterior would reveal an artist whose songs are as timless as those of Woody Guthrie or Hank Williams, yet as contemporary as today’s headlines. Mallonee’s first couple of albums, ‘Jugular‘ and ‘Driving the Nails‘ were hyper-charged folk/rock with a touch of country, while 1992’s ‘Killing Floor‘, the best known Vigilantes disc to date, put more of an emphasis on the rock side of the musical equation, and found Mallonee constructing his songs with a greater eye to finesse. Now, with a major label debut, Vigilantes seem poised to make the jump from niche success to the acceptance of a much broader audience.
To achieve this goal, Mallonee & Co. have not significantly altered their approach. The band’s core mainstream following has most likely been attracted to Mallonee’s no-holds-barred writing style, while Vigilantes’ Christian fans have shown their appreciation for Bill’s transparent declaration of faith and his honest admission of his humanness.
Those qualities have been strengthened in Mallonee’s lyrics on ‘Struggleville’, while the band has toughened its musical style, emphasizing southern bluesiness ala The Black Crows or Exile-era Rolling Stones – a very engaging mixture of looseness and precision. Long-time associate Travis McNabb lays down a formidable backbeat, Newton Carter provides stinging leads and chunky rhythms while David Labruyere anchors the Vigilantes with fluid, insistent bass.
From the outset of ‘Stuggleville’, which opens with the title track, you’re reminded of Mallonee’s predilection for using biblical imagery in both literal and metaphorical contexts; “I know the beast is falling” (in reference to the moral decay in our world) and “They are building new gallows for You” (in reference to how Christ’s message has been historically rejected) are just two examples. As a bonus, you’re prompted to remember John the Baptist’s head on Salome’s platter, an image not often evoked in Christian songwriting! In «Babylon», Mallonee reminds those who think they can survive this world on their own strength that “[the] Titanic’s captain said God couldn’t sink her/ You might say he learned a healthy respect.” For a more direct approach, you can look to the opening lines of «All Messed Up», where Mallonee confesses “Said God is my hope and God is my strength/ Very present help in trouble.” Later in the song when he sings “I could have told you/ You was on the wrong track,” it’s with compassion and concern, not smug condescension.
Social concerns, always a hallmark of Mallonee’s writing, are very evident on ‘Struggleville’. «Vet» is a moving tale of a Vietnam veteran unable to cope with the scars of that war, while «Could Ground», a harrowing tale of the racism which still rocks much of America, finds Mallonee all the more appreciative of his family and determined to leave them something better than a legacy of hate. He does not use a broadsword, however, where a scalpel will do. It takes a delicate hand to balance social commentary, wry humor, Bible-based faith and gothic pathos; Mallonee and the Vigilantes more than succeed at that task. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, June 1994]
Welcome to Struggleville; The personnel was beyond incredible.
We had been signed to Phil Walden’s Capricorn label post SXSW in Austin in Summer of 1993; In Fall of 1993 the band walked into Cyclops studio in Atlanta (Courtney Love had apparently just been there to record her first smash hit album «Live Through This».) to lay down the basic tracks for Welcome To Struggleville.
We were able to grab 14 of the 20 song set list that week; Bassist David LaBruyere & drummer Travis McNabb were nothing short of phenomenal, nailing track after track. The large room at Cyclops afforded us a big, full and “live” drum & bass sound.
Keyboardist, Joey Huffman brought his solid rock Hammond B-3 to the mixes, as well. Newt Carter & I later added guitars & vocals at Full Moon Studios in Watkinsville, Ga. Mixing was done by Jim Scott at Bobby Brown’s studio in ATL; And from there? Pretty much the rest is history.
The album, with it’s title cut single, was released to a flurry of great reviews and immediately entered the top ten playlist at Atlanta’s 99x, a modern rock station that was gaining huge momentum. The fledgling Adult Alternative Album radio format was also breaking wide-open nationally and embraced the album, as well. Cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston, Dallas, Austin, St. Louis, Denver, Boulder, Los Angeles, and a host of college towns meant that we would have plenty of work for the next year.
Welcome to Struggleville was the album that broke us nationally. Big sound, huge. I was learning how to become a more engaging performer and put together seamless sets where Hi-octane energy was the name of the game. It was heady times.
The songs? Yes, I think they were really good songs from start to finish; We delivered. And I still believe in them. But, it was the band, “live” and in the studio in all of it’s blazing glory that “sold” the record night after night.
I was humbled & honored to have the GREAT playing by Newt Carter, David LaBruyere and Travis McNabb-hands down one of the finest versions of VoL bands that ever existed. Incomparable. That’s what you find here on this superb recording, an album Paste Music Magazine called “one of the best rock albums & bands of the 90’s.” [Bill Mallonee, 2022]
CD tracklist:
01. Welcome to Struggleville – 4:19
02. Aftermath – 2:25
03. Resume – 3:37
04. Babylon – 3:58
05. All Messed Up – 4:13
06. Vet – 4:26
07. I Can Explain Everything – 3:46
08. Runaway Train – 3:01
09. Sympathy – 5:26
10. Cold Ground – 3:43
11. Last to Know – 3:20
12. Bitter Price to Pay – 2:26
13. Glory and the Dream – 3:47
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Capricorn Records. Re-issued as a 180gram 12-inch vinyl double LP in 2023. (Operating of the 1/2″ master sequence mixed by producer Jim Scott, of the 1993 release, Pete Lyman and the folks at Infrasonic in Nashville have rendered the record in the most advanced audio possible.) Available at Bandcamp: https://billmalloneemusic.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-to-struggleville-1994
https://billmalloneemusic.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-to-struggleville-remaster-by-pete-lyman-2024
Welcome to Struggleville, 2LP Vinyl Edition, independent 2023
CREDITS. Produced, mixed and engineered by Jim Scott. Co-produced by Dan Russell and Vigilantes of Love. Music and Lyrics by Bill Mallonee.
Musicians: Bill Mallonee (vocals, acoustic guitars), Newton Carter (electric guitars, backing vocals), Joey Huffman (hammond, piano), David LaBruyere (bass), Travis Aaron McNabb (drums, percussion).
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