UPTOWN AVONDALE [Vinyl]

Afghan Whigs: Greg Dulli, John Curley, Rick McCollum, Steve Earle.
Recorded on August 5-7, 1992.
UPTOWN AVONDALE includes covers of songs by The Supremes, Al Green, Freda Payne and Percy Sledge.
A five-song (four covers and one remix of a Whigs original), 21-minute stopgap between the CONGREGATION and GENTLEMEN albums, the UPTOWN AVONDALE EP is the Afghan Whigs' last record for the Sub Pop label. The disc opens with "Band of Gold," originally performed by Freda Payne, here made over in the Whigs' patented mold of sinister, menacing confessionals. Greg Dulli's vocals are heavily echo-laden, and guitarist Rick McCollum's sounds as though he's just waiting for one excuse--just one--to pull out all the stops and really shred.
Percy Sledge's "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" is given a minimalist treatment, the drums barely brushed while guitars shimmer quietly in the background. "Come See About Me" and "Beware" both seem so much like Whigs originals that it is something of a surprise to find that both have already been made famous--by The Supremes and Al Green, respectively. The final track, "Rebirth of Cool," is a disco-fied remix of CONGREGATION's secret bonus track, "Miles Iz Dead," with echo dripping off everything like the tacky cut of a maroon-velvet jacket.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop