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Kerosene Hat

Camper Van Beethoven had been one of my favourite bands of the mid-to-late '80s, and I was more than ready to see what David Lowery's next group Cracker came up with, only to feel that their first, self-titled album was something of a disappointment. Their follow-up Kerosene Hat, on the other hand, I loved. I think I must have bought it on cassette when it came out, but my memories on that point are hazy. Nor am I exactly sure when I acquired my currrent CD copy.

I'd just missed out on catching Camper Van Beethoven play what turned out to be their final London show, but did eventually see Cracker live, ca. '94, in a low-key gig at the Fleece in Bristol. As I recall, that evening brought my first encounter with the song 'Eurotrash Girl', which appears as a hidden track on the CD (but which wasn't, if I'm not mistaken, on the cassette). It, along with 'Nostalgia' and 'Take Me Down to the Infirmary', are my favourite songs on the album. 

My ertswhile affection for some of the other tracks on the disc ('Movie Star' and 'Get Off This', for example) has rather faded over the years, and, where I once owned five Cracker CDs, this is the last one remaining on my shelves. It occurred to me while writing this that I'd never once heard Jerry García's original version of the song 'Loser', the album's sole cover version. Thanks to YouTube, I have now belatedy rectified that omission, and know Cracker's rendition to be a reasonably faithful homage.

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