Kerosene Hat is the only Cracker album that I own. I’m surprised I don’t own more, considering how great every tune is on the album. Kerosene Hat includes Cracker’s best known hits “Low” and “Get Off This” as well as 16 other excellent songs, each featuring rustic-rock charm. My favorite is “I Want Everything.”

One of the reasons I love it so much is the ultra-slow tempo. At 60 beats-per-minute, this song is a crawler. You don’t hear many songs at this tempo. Filling vast stretches of time with meaningful notes and lyrics can be intimidating even to the seasoned musician. It’s easy to impress me with speed – try impressing me with content. This song does just that.

The intro involves Johnny Hickman’s tasteful lead guitar work played over a relaxed acoustic guitar harmony. After that, we get a few verses. The lyrics are a little obtuse, but they do the job. What really shines is the solo at 3:10. The guitar has a nice classic overdrive bite with a touch of delay. Hickman’s solo is really a testament to the “less-is-more” school of thought. Every note counts for something. Hickman does a great job of building tension, climaxing with intense chordal double-stops. Just fantastic.

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