Tired of new bands who only know how to slavishly ape the Stooges and the Velvets? Then this long-awaited new 40th anniversary album by Cleveland’s legendary Backdoor Men is for you because Mohawk Combover takes its retrofitted satirical musical cues from the likes of Alice Cooper (“Take Me Away”), the Stranglers (“Not Fed Up With You Yet”) and even the Dictators (“Bus Station Gyration”).

Even better, they have the respectfully acute sense of history to cover a song written by one of their legendary old pals, the late Peter Laughner. Not only does Laughner’s “I’m So F#cked Up” get the full Huey Lewis And The News treatment, he also gets a dedicatory nod for being one of the founding fathers of Cleveland rock—a scene Laughner helped create in his spare time when he wasn’t busy writing record reviews for CREEM.

And if you’re not sure what inspirational two-tub lyrics like “San Francisco, cans of Crisco” mean, don’t worry because the little girls understand and they’re all going down under the thunder of the Backdoor Men. 

Handsome Jeff Morgatoba
June 2004