The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let’s-Go-Out Tonights

The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let’s-Go-Out Tonights
Label: Powerballad / Epic
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let’s-Go-Out Tonights, The
Butch Walker has always had the attitude of a successful rock star. His interviews have been more interesting than his records, which have been likable in their homage to the tradition of wanting to piss on tradition while also maintaining it. Walker’s a smart guy who can make any record he wants, yet can never quite nail down a persona worth keeping. He’s been most successful producing other people’s records, working with anyone from Avril Lavigne and Lindsay Lohan to Sevendust and the Donnas, yet his own work has never caught fire. And here he’s made a glam rock album that any fan of T. Rex would immediately recognize. ‘Too Famous To Get Fully Dressedâ?� sparkles with Marc Bolan worship and includes the sound of crackling vinyl at its end, while ‘Bethamphetamine (Pretty Pretty)â?� cooks with a soaring chorus worth replaying on the imaginary ’70s AM radio station that Walker seems to have written these songs for.

This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2006.