Mick Collins, the self professed "Last Black Man of Rock and Roll," has had many bands over the years and Blacktop has always been my personal favorite. Whether it's rockabilly (The Gories), punkbilly (The Screws) or just old fashion R&R (The Dirtbombs) his music has always had a fun groove to it. Blacktop was his follow-up band to The Gories and it has a lot more of a darker tone to it. When I say dark I don't mean in a Sunn O))) kind of way. It's still just rock and roll but with a little edge to it. The guitar sound is much thicker and full than the Gories. Much of that is the result of second guitarist Darin Lin Wood (Fireworks, Black Snakes, Cat Fur). Mick's vocals are a little more haggard than usual due to the fact that he apparently recorded the album while just getting over strep throat. Which I actually thought kind of added to the tone of this record. The band only produced this one full length LP and this reissue also includes everything else (EP's, outtakes etc.) Blacktop fell apart pretty quickly mostly due to Darin's heroine addiction. Which Darin rebutes on Blacktop's myspace page. According to the liner notes on the CD sleeve, Mick claims that Darin sold their tour van to buy smack. Don't know how true that is but it sure makes for a good "rock star excess" story.
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