Rocket From The Crypt
by Reg DeCessares, special to Imprint

A recent cover story in the British music weekly NME illustrated a scary degree of ignorance about Rocket From The Crypt. The article stated that the San Diego quintet had something in common with another San Diego band Drive Like Jehu, like, say, a producer or something.

Since the article was, repeat, a cover story, it's perhaps slightly incumbent to get a few details straight before discussing the new Rocket full-lengther. First off, a fistful of songs on Scream, Dracula, Scream! are credited to Jehu bassist Mark Trombino as mixer. Bravo! But sadly, the geniuses at NME have neglected to research the fact that the mastermind behind both these groups is the same person, namely John Reis (aka Apollo).

Put it down to mad cow disease, but my mentioning all this is because the "success" of Rocket has long been a thorn in the side of die-hard Jehu fans. As a group, Jehu was always more ferocious, intense, and (ironically) subtle than Rocket; let's call a spade a spade-- Jehu was a better band. Unfortunately, since Rocket sold more records, Jehu was put on the backburner.

Therein lies a problem with pissed-off Jehu fans evaluating Rocket: they simply aren't going to measure up. Be that as it may, Scream, Dracula, Scream! is by any measure a really terrific album.

We don't get Reis' execution style guitar wallops, but what we do get are a lot on crunchy, hard, driving rock nuggets that have a lot more in common with Pixies, early Elvis Costello, and even (ackk!!) Tom Petty, than hard core or punk. The bonus of honking sax really helps matters along too. Ya want songs...?? Lots of great ones: "Born in '69," "On A Rope," "Drop Out"... hell, most of 'em. Even songs like "Young Livers" and "Used" which sound like Darkness-era

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Bruce Springsteen (there's even some glockenspiel!), aren't too hard to swallow in the cynical nineties.

Above all, it's time to accept Rocket at face value as a truly great American rock and roll band; not Jehu, just a fun band with a new record that deserves many repeated listenings this summer. For that alone, the band will doubtless continue to forge its own legacy, because despite all the comparisons, there really isn't another band out there at the present doing what Rocket From The Crypt is. Vive le difference! Buy this album and rock.