(CD digipac with 64-page booklet; 20 songs, playing time 57:48) There was a time when every LP by George Jones had an Eddie Noack song; in fact, Jones even did a complete LP of Noack songs. Hank Snow did well with Noack's song These Hands. Texas honky tonk fans love Noack's mid-1950s recordings for their wit and insight into the human condition. But then in the 1980s, the Psychobilly and Trash fans discovered bootlegs of Noack's way farout recordings of Psycho and Dolores. Both songs are told from the perspective of a psychopathic serial killer. Cramps and Meteors fans recognized that this was as dark as it got. Eddie Noack achieved cult status, but by then he was dead.
In 2012 BEAR FAMILY RECORDS released Noack's classic honky tonk recordings, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a collection spanning the years 1948 to 1961. Now, the second compilation, Psycho - The K-Ark and Allstar Recordings, 1962-1969, is available. This set not only contains the two deranged cult classics (Psycho and Dolores) but offers other daringly abnormal songs like Invisible Stripes, Prisoner Of War and The End Of The Line.
Noack lived what he preached: his hardcore honky tonkin' eventually cost him his life. When some of those around him started sobering up, Noack kept smoking and drinking. He even wrote about it. Check out Sleeping Like A Baby (With A Bottle In My Mouth).
The CD is illustrated by award winning German graphic novel artist Reinhard Kleist. His adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft and Johnny Cash have already proven his knack for the darker aspects of the human experience. As a companion item, BEAR FAMILY is also issuing Psycho/Dolores as a limited 45rpm single with the Kleist illustration!
