The Mekons Honky Tonkin'
{{Infobox album
| name = The Mekons Honky Tonkin'
| type = studio
| artist = the Mekons
| cover = The Mekons Honky Tonkin'.jpg|border=yes
| alt =
| released = 1987
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre =
| length =
| label = Sin{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&pg=PA662|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|first=Peter|last=Buckley|date=September 13, 2003|publisher=Rough Guides}}
Twin/Tone
| producer = The Mekons
| prev_title = The Edge of the World
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = New York
| next_year = 1987
}}
The Mekons Honky Tonkin' is an album by the British band the Mekons, released in 1987.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mekons-mn0000399895/biography|title=The Mekons Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=AllMusic}}{{Cite news|url=http://chicagoreader.com/music/the-mekons-love-you/|title=The Mekons Love You|date=September 30, 1993|work=Chicago Reader}} It was their first album to be released in the United States and the band's third country music-influenced album.{{cite news |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=Rock: Britain's Mekons |work=The New York Times |date=30 Apr 1987 |page=C22}} The band supported the album with a North American tour.{{cite news |last1=Tucker |first1=Ken |title=The English band the Mekons will perform... |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=24 Apr 1987 |department=Features Weekend |page=22}}
Production
The liner notes include book recommendations for most of the songs.{{cite magazine |last1=Piccarella |first1=John |title=Spins |magazine=Spin |date=Jul 1987 |volume=3 |issue=4 |page=28}} "If They Hang You" commends Dashiell Hammett for his conduct in front of a HUAC hearing. "The Trimdon Grange Explosion" is about a 19th century colliery explosion; "Hole in the Ground" is also about the mining life.{{cite news |last1=Robins |first1=Wayne |title=The Mekons have had 75 different members since they were formed... |work=Newsday |date=15 May 1987 |department=Weekend |page=17}} "Sympathy for the Mekons" adapts themes from "Sympathy for the Devil".{{cite news |last1=Boehm |first1=Mike |title=Mekons blend punk, British country music |work=The Providence Journal |date=May 14, 1987 |page=B6}}
Critical reception
{{album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-mekons-honky-tonkin-mw0000307816|title=The Mekons The Mekons Honky Tonkin'|website=AllMusic}}
|rev2 = Robert Christgau
|rev2score = B+{{Cite web|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=The+Mekons|title=The Mekons|website=Robert Christgau}}
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=5 |page=690}}
|rev4 = The Gazette
|rev4score = 8/10{{cite news |last1=Griffin |first1=John |title=The Mekons |work=The Gazette |date=2 July 1987 |page=E3}}
|rev5 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
|rev5score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=744}}
|rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev6score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=466}}
|rev7 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
|rev7score = 7/10{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |pages=248–249}}
}}
Robert Christgau considered the Mekons "just a catchy, rocking Brit country band with more enthusiasm than skill in the vocal department and lyrics." Trouser Press wrote that "the genially appealing music, a well-organized wash of fiddles, accordion, guitars and simple drums, makes few demands but keeps the folky standards high."{{cite web |title=Mekons |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/mekons/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=13 September 2022}} The Los Angeles Times stated that "the closest reference point for U.S. listeners might be the Pogues, though the Mekons' anarchic approach tolerates a fair degree of amateurism."{{cite news |last1=Cromelin |first1=Richard |title=Lost Souls of Leeds |work=Los Angeles Times |date=3 May 1987 |department=Calendar |page=69}}
The New York Times noted that, "for all their informality, the songs gleam with intelligence," and concluded that "the Mekons bring the fatalism of country and Celtic music into the fractured 1980's."{{cite news |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=Rock Album of the Week |work=The New York Times |date=24 Apr 1987 |page=C19}} The Washington Post determined that "the musical results are smoother than on the band's previous country forays, but the lyrics remain smart, funny and wary."{{cite news |last1=Jenkins |first1=Mark |title=Mekons: Darkly and Delightful |work=The Washington Post |date=24 Apr 1987 |page=N25}} The Star Tribune listed The Mekons Honky Tonkin{{'}} as the 19th best album of 1987.{{cite news |last1=Bream |first1=Jon |title=43 LPs make picking tough for best of '87 |work=Star Tribune |date=14 Feb 1988 |page=1F}}
AllMusic deemed the album "just short of a masterpiece," writing that the version of "The Trimdon Grange Explosion" "was a remarkable meeting of folk-rock's earnestness and punk's spitting wrath which ranks with the group's most powerful recorded moments."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = I Can't Find My Money
| length1 =
| title2 = Hole in the Ground
| length2 =
| title3 = Sleepless Nights
| length3 =
| title4 = Keep On Hoppin'
| length4 =
| title5 = Charlie Cake Park
| length5 =
| title6 = If They Hang You
| length6 =
| title7 = Prince of Darkness
| length7 =
| title8 = Kidnapped
| length8 =
| title9 = Sympathy for the Mekons
| length9 =
| title10 = Spit
| length10 =
| title11 = The Trimdon Grange Explosion
| length11 =
| title12 = Please Don't Let Me Love You
| length12 =
| title13 = Gin Palace
| length13 =
}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{The Mekons|state=expanded}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mekons Honky Tonkin'}}