Mekons: So good it hurts A review by Michael Murphy I'm Not Here (1967) So Good It Hurts Ghosts of American Astronauts The Mekons Road to Florida Producers: The Mekons & Brian C. T Johnny Miner Pugsley R Dora Engineer: Brian C. Pugsley A Poxy Lips Twin/Tone TTR 88114 C Fletcher Christian Released: 1988 K Fantastic Voyage Total Time: 40:43 S Robin Hood Source - LP Heart of Stone Maverick Vengeance About once a year an album comes along that just completely takes you by surprise and blows you away. Then, it blasts away a couple of more times just for good measure. _So Good It Hurts_ is such an album. The Mekons have had several albums released in Great Britain. _So Good It Hurts_ is their second release on Twin/Tone. It is preceded on Twin/Tone by 1987's _Honky Tonkin'_, an LP that's a combination of punk, country and folk that's brilliant at times, heralding what is yet to come. 'Sleepless Nights' and 'Prince of Darkness' are, perhaps, most poignant examples. Building on the basis of _Honky Tonkin'_, and adding in some reggae, afro-pop and calypso influences, the Mekons have given us _So Good It Hurts_. _So Good It Hurts_ is easily the Mekons best recent album (I haven't heard any of their pre-1985 material) and is one of the best albums I have heard in some time. Not since last year's _Cuba_ by the Silos have I been so impressed by an album. My favorite songs on the album are 'Ghosts of American Astronauts', 'Dora' and 'Heart of Stone', all of which feature a female lead vocal. Also notable are the gritty 'Road to Florida' (which sounds a little like a rum-soaked 'Beds Are Burning', the Midnight Oil tune), 'Johnny Miner' - which begs to be performed in a crowded beer hall, and '(Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian'. In all, there's not a bad cut on the album. The line-up of Mekons has changed quite a bit over the years. They started out as a living example of the punk ethic - amateurism a virtue, musical skill irrelevant, anyone could participate. They have managed to keep a sense of this ethic in their music, though they have become at least "somewhat skilled" musically. No complete list exists of everyone who has ever been a Mekon. A rough list of Mekons today include: John Langford (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Tom Greenhalgh (guitar, vocals), Kevin Lycett (bass, guitar, vocals), Dick Taylor (guitar), Steve Goulding (drums), Sally Timms, Robert Worby, Rico Bell (accordian, vocals), Susie Honeyman (fiddle) and John Gill (melodeon, bass). _So Good It Hurts_ is an album that will live near the turntable. The only time I'll file it away is when I pick up a copy of the Compact Disc, though I have a feeling that the LP format might be the better way to listen to songs like 'Robin Hood' and 'Johnny Miner'.