So here we have it, Spaghetti’s first solo album of originals – and on the strength of this 30-minute showcase you have to wonder why it took him so long.
The Supersuckers mainman has dabbled in solo country rock waters before – not least on 2011’s rather fine Sundowner – but mostly erring on the side of cover versions; on The Value Of Nothing, though, he goes the whole enchilada with hot sauce and lets rip in the only way he knows how.
Blowing in on a dusty intro reminiscent of Ennio Morricone’s Man With A Harmonica from Sergio Leonie’s spaghetti western classic Once Upon A Time In The West – see what he did there? Spaghetti western? – this is country given a serious punk’n’roll boot up the backside.
The lyrics are delightfully world weary and wry, not least the joyful couldn’t-give-a-fuck swing of Waste Of Time and hard-nosed Empty, and the spirit of ‘77 is never too far beneath the surface; witness the magnificent swearfest that is Fuckin’ With My Head. Poetic and fun in equal measure – now that can’t be a bad thing.
