Rube Waddell

The re-release of Hobo Train is a supposedly "deluxe" edition of this band's infamous 1996 album, but certainly not in a sound remastering kind of way. Think Tom Waits on the most primitive four-track in need of serious calibration. Musically, however, they are like Elvis Presley on vacation in India (or Indiana?) while high as hell on Velvet Underground junk obtained from Mexico. Bound For The Gates of Hell, their first album in three years, sounds as if the attempt was made on cartoon acid and they are now showing signs of mass unpredictability (a stage of Alzheimer's likely brought on by the previously mentioned Elvis vacation). From the circus to bluegrass to folk roots, Rube Waddell has it all.