Wildfires & Misfires

Jason and the Scorchers’ contribution to the pantheon of rock‘n’roll has been largely forgotten, but their early ’80s fusion of the tears and beers of real country music with the piss and vinegar of raw, relentless rock‘n’roll was so far ahead of its time that it sounds no less vital today. This odds and ends collection doesn’t really do justice to their legacy, but it does give newcomers a hint of the Scorchers’ primal power and punk-edged passion. A take-no-prisoners live version of “Tear It Up” with the legendary guitarist Link Wray indicates the band’s reputation as one of the most raucous and fevered live acts ever to grace a stage is well-earned, but the record also delivers a couple of surprises like drummer Perry Baggs impressive vocal turn on a forlorn, pedal steel version of “If Money Talks.” The recording quality throughout is predictably spotty but there’s little that can keep the band’s unhinged enthusiasm from bounding off these tracks.