The Iron City Houserockers
' first album sounded like the work of a better than average bar band with the potential to grow into something more; 1980's
Have a Good Time but Get out Alive
was where they proved just how good they could be. While the band sounded solid on their debut, here they landed with the impact of a Louisville slugger connecting with a fastball (especially drummer
Ned E. Rankin
and harmonica player
Marc Reisman
), and producer
Mick Ronson
managed to get their nuances on tape with tightly focused clarity. (
Ian Hunter
and
Steve Van Zandt
also helped with the production and arrangements, and their hard rock smarts certainly show in the final product.) But what really sets
apart from the work of dozens of "Heartland Rockers" who emerged in
Bruce Springsteen
's wake is
Joe Grushecky
; his songwriting and lead vocals seethe with a furious passion that's never less than convincing, and if the details of his songs sometime lean towards cliches, the total commitment of his performance, delivered with the conviction of a man fighting for his life, brings these stories to vivid, sweaty life. Lots of songwriters have written about desperate guys on the wrong side of the tracks, but on
"We're Not Dead Yet,"
"Runnin' Scared,"
and the title cut,
Grushecky
makes them sound as real as the guy who mugged you last week and turns their stories into something both tragic and compelling.
is a masterpiece of hard-bitten Rust Belt rock, and the remastered CD reissue released in 1999 is a major improvement over the noisy vinyl pressings of the album's original release. ~ Mark Deming