Cracker Preview

Cracker
Durty Nellie’s, Palatine
Saturday, April 1, 2006

We were always sort of impartial to alt-rockers Cracker, who gained fame via a string of hits in the early ’90s. Sure, “Low” got on our nerves to the point that even today we change the station when it comes on the radio, but they weren’t the Gin Blossoms, or worse yet, fucking Everclear.

But our admiration for Cracker grew significantly when we learned how they stuck it to the man –the man in this case being their former employer, Virgin Records. When band co-founders David Lowery (vocals) and Johnny Hickman (guitars) learned the label, which released their most popular material including 1993’s Kerosene Hat, was planning a greatest-hits package, they understandably wanted a say. For whatever reason they were denied. It would have been easy, after being rebuffed by the label, to say “We tried,” sit back, and collect the royalties. Countless bands have been faced with the exact same dilemma when it comes to former labels and back catalogs.

Instead, in a move that surely warmed the hearts of disgruntled former major-label bands everywhere, Cracker responded with a Daniel LaRusso crane kick to Virgin’s naughty parts.

Lowery and Hickman, along with drummer Frank Funaro, keyboardist Kenny Margolis, and guest bassist David Immergluck (Counting Crows) entered the studio, re-recorded 12 of their songs, added one bonus track, tagged the collection Greatest Hits – Redux (Cooking Vinyl), and released it February 21st . . . the exact same day Virgin rolled out Get On With It: The Best Of Cracker.

The compilations share nine songs, but probably to nobody’s surprise, Get On With It doesn’t include “Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself,” the group’s not-so-carefully worded homage to Virgin.

— Trevor Fisher

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly