Much was made of the Joy Division-meets-Barry White lyrics of the Afghan Whigs’ 1994 breakthrough album, Gentlemen. But before Greg Dulli was awarded notoriety for his lascivious dick-swinging characters, he was already waxing poetic with lyrics far more substantial than contemporaries like Mudhoney, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. 1990’s Up In It even pre-dated Nirvana’s breakthrough. Meanwhile, left in the background was the underrated, brilliant guitar stylings of Rick McCollum. His consistently captivating guitar parts define the Afghan Whigs sound, keeping their music interesting even when Dulli went overboard with self-importance and symphonic impenetrability in 1996’s Black Love. After a year of separation, a change of labels, and recovery from depression, the Whig’s have lightened up, gotten funkier, developed a sense of humor and are better for it. While Gentlemen was about the politics of breaking up, 1965 is simply a shameless shagfest that would have made even Marvin “You Sure Love To Ball” Gaye blush in that same year. Isaac “Chef” Hayes is recalled in the use of strings and women backup singers. On “Sweet Son Of A Bitch,” they strip down butt-naked for a 20 second bump and grind quickie a la Prince’s “Kiss” and “Superfunkycalifragisexy.” Add this to the others in your 5 CD-changer and get back under those sheets!
October 27, 1998 by A.S. Van Dorston
