Ten Foot Pole - Bad Mother Trucker
2002 / 29:10 Minutes / 12 Tracks / Studio
Release Date: September 24, 2002 - Victory
Produced by: Jim Monroe
Website: www.tenfootpole.com

Reviewed by Matt Rowe on August 20, 2002

Punk is a wild, rampant growth in the world of music. It is like uncut grasses in marshlands, tall wheat in fields that have grown for time uncounted. As you walk in the field, you find all sorts of plant life and insects. The anology for this? Easy. Punk music comes in all styles. Like much of rock music that becomes divided into sub genres, punk has divided like amoebas in a science lab.

So, what sub genre does Ten Inch Pole adhere to? Well, imagine Punk for the masses, a radio ready, pop styled music designed to be attractive to several classes of listeners. This lops Ten Inch Pole with the popular Green Day camp. And songs they can write too. Their music, short, perfect little confectionary delights, sweet to the taste buds are structured to entertain.

There are some damn fine pop nuggets here too. The guitars in "Nova Scotia", giving crisp lines are memorable as are other tunes in this sparse but cool collection of hip and poppy punk songs. Sharp enough to entertain an audience of skatekids across the nation and skilled enough to get radio play, Ten Foot Pole could find themselves on the fast track to tours and airplay.

DISC

The production on the disc, while fast and furious and without imagination, serves the audience that the music caters to. It's clean without being too clean. Like the music, the production serves its audience with straight ahead rock and roll.

PACKAGING

I'm a tad shut off by the art on the front cover. As a matter of fact, it peeves me. Why would bands, and Ten Foot Pole isn't the only band to do this so it isn't a direct knock against them, shoot the chance to make a great cover and settle for an unimaginative one? The cover would lead you to believe that you are buying a bad ass, good ole boys, beer swillin' country band. A bad sales idea? I'd say so.

As for the insert, a ten page fold out, it ranks pretty good, cover shot and other photos aside. It lists all the lyrics for the package. You can never go wrong there. Plenty of notes for note readers.

THE FINAL SAY

An overall good recording. Aside from the poor choice of cover photo, the distinct SoCal sound that is so popular permeates this disc. Lyrics are punchy and sung like jabs to a boxing opponent. If you like Green Day, you're likely to enjoy Ten Foot Pole.

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