You Get The Match and Gasoline: The Afghan Whigs

Whenever I get really stressed out, one of my favorite things to do is go for a drive through the nearby park, especially at night. Since I started doing this back last winter, it has become one of my favorite ways to relax. One of the key things I love about driving at night is just being able to put on music and listen to it as I stroll in the dark. While my soundtrack for driving at night can be fairly diverse, one of my favorite bands to listen to on these drives is the Afghan Whigs.

Initially coming to prominence in the early 1990s with their breakthrough album Gentlemen, the Afghan Whigs set themselves apart from their alternative rock contemporaries by embracing more soulful influences, which only became more apparent with each album.

Prior to 2016, my knowledge of and exposure to the Afghan Whigs was extremely limited. I had occasionally seen a copy of Gentlemen at Goodwill, and I knew their frontman, Greg Dulli was the only other person to perform on Foo Fighters' first album aside from Dave Grohl. My only exposure to Dulli's work was with the Gutter Twins and an Afghan Whigs song titled "Retarded" on a Sup Pop compilation. Even when I heard "Retarded", it didn't leave much of an impression.

However, I guess on a whim after seeing another copy of Gentlemen in a thrift shop, I decided to check out the group on iTunes. The songs all seemed okay until I got to the song, "Something Hot" off of 1965. I recognized from a scene in American Pie 2 (the American Pie movies are sort of a guilty pleasure for me) and it all started to come together. I already enjoyed the parts heard in the movie and once I got to hear the rest of the song, I fell in love. From there, it basically opened the floodgates. I first got my hands on the albums Black Love and 1965 in April this past year, and my collection expanded further over the summer. In that time frame, the Afghan Whigs became one of the best groups I discovered in 2016.

Musically, the band started out as a fairly conventional rock band, with a semi-grungy alternative that seemed to cross the sounds of their Sub Pop labelmates and the Replacements. However, as time went on, Dulli's songwriting began to incorporate wider influences, especially R&B and soul, as well as more instruments such as horns, violins and a clavinet. By the time the group put out 1965, they were wearing these influences loud and proud. Meanwhile, Dulli's lyrics often tend to be sexual and/or sleazy, which go well with the group's soulful sound. The only thing that is can be off-putting for the first time listener is Dulli's voice. However, with time, his voice only comes to add to the listening experience.

A Breakdown of My Collection

1. Up in It (1990, CD) - When listening to this album, it's difficult to realize this is the same band that would put out Black Love or 1965, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The music is far more raw draws from a punk and garage background, eschewing almost all the R&B and soul found in the music that would come in following releases. However, the material itself is fairly strong on its own, and I rank it fairly highly among their albums. In the long run though, while it's an enjoyable listen, the group's material in the coming years would surpass it and this would serve more as a testament to the group's early years.
Highlights: "White Trash Party", "Hey Cuz", "Retarded", "I Am the Sticks"

2. Congregation (1992, CD) - I recently bought this album and while as of now, it is not my favorite, it is slowly growing on me. This actually the band's third album, but it is the earliest album I own. It was also the last independent album before making it big and has them still performing their earlier sound. However, it begins to show shades of what they would do on Gentlemen and later albums, with the R&B influence.

Highlights: "I'm Her Slave", "Congregation", "Miles iz Ded"

3. Gentlemen (1993, CD) - This is one that broke the band into the mainstream and is one that critics now point to as a highlight of 90s rock albums. However, for the longest time, I just wasn't very interested in it. I don't know why, but I just wasn't. However, in the past couple weeks, I've been listening to it more frequently in the car and am beginning to really enjoy it. While it is still not my favorite album by them, I'd probably recommend this for newcomers because it is probably the strongest rock-heavy material they did.

Highlights: "Gentlemen", "Debonair", "Be Sweet", "What Jail Is Like", "Now You Know"

4. Black Love (1996, CD) - From what I remember, this was my first Afghan Whigs album. I ordered this along with a copy of 1965 and this one showed up first. This is the first album, to me, where the group's R&B influences were particularly prominent in the songs. Much like Gentlemen, I did not immediately fall in love with this album. However, I found songs I liked very fast and it's now probably my second favorite album by them. From what I know, this was actually inspired by an unproduced film-noir movie Dulli planned on making, and the music has a darker tone. On a side note, it also has the song, "Going to Town", which is one of my favorite songs in general.

Highlights: "Crime Scene Part One", "My Enemy", "Double Day", "Blame, Etc." "Honky's Ladder", "Going to Town"

5. 1965 (1998, CD, Vinyl) - This album is hands down my favorite by the Afghan Whigs. In fact, it may be one of my favorite albums of all time. It features the group at their most eclectic, incorporating elements of rock, pop, R&B, soul, and jazz to create a beautifully diverse set of songs. It has several songs that got me into the group in the first place. So if you want a fantastic album to listen to, I'd easily say go for this one. For Christmas 2016, I got a vinyl copy of the album as well, which, to my surprise, included a second disc with some covers, remixes, and live recordings, and I really loved the remixes to "Somethin' Hot" and "66".

Highlights: "Somethin' Hot", "Crazy", "Uptown Again", "66", "Cito Soleil", "John the Baptist", "Omerta"

6. Do to the Beast (2014, CD) - The band's first album since their reunion, it is also my most recent album, and when I mean recent, I mean I bought it less than a week ago. Granted, I haven't taken the time to listen to it in full, but for the songs I have heard, I can make some assumptions. The songs definitely have that distinct Afghan Whigs sound, albeit more subdued and with less angst heard on Black Love or Gentlemen. Much like most of the other albums by the Afghan Whigs, it will most likely grow on me with time.

Highlights: "Matamoros", "Algiers", "The Lottery"