This year marks the 30th anniversary of Railroad Jerk’s highly lauded album, One Track Mind, first released on March 21, 1995 via Matador. Watch the newly digitized official music videos for ‘Rollerkoaster’ HERE and ‘Bang the Drum’ HERE.
Railroad Jerk’s own Marcellus Hall and Dave Varenka join host (and personal friend) Matt Sweeney in conversation for the latest episode of the Matador Revisionist History Podcast. They look back on some fond memories from tour, including the time when everyone in the caravan got stalled at the border of Slovenia except for Dave and Marcellus, which led to one of the best shows of their careers in Ljubljana. Listen HERE.
Emerging from New York’s underground scene in the late ‘80s, Railroad Jerk became known for their unorthodox fusion of blues, punk, and junkyard rock. With One Track Mind, which came to fruition at Tin Pan Alley Studios in Manhattan, the band worked with co-producer Settly Smith, who helped the band lock in the spare-but-propulsive sound they had been chasing – making it their most critically-acclaimed album to date.
Marcellus Hall of Railroad Jerk on One Track Mind:
“With two previous LPs beneath our belts, bassist/co-founder Tony Lee and I were in sync. Guitarist Alex Stephen brought a blend of classic blues and disjointed art-rock riffage. Drummer Dave Varenka’s syncopated beats were our ace in the hole, and I finally found the courage to turn up the vocals.
We felt, on completing the record, that we had made a statement of some sort. And, looking back now, I feel the same. It’s not a perfect record, but it’s a unified record. You can’t force these things. They just happen. And, if you’re prepared and giving it your best, then the stars might align.”
The expanded reissue is available on digital services and includes a mix of 16 additional live tracks and home recordings from the early ‘90s. From the locomotive energy and sly, deadpan delivery, One Track Mind feels just as urgent today as it did 30 years ago.
ONE TRACK MIND: 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION TRACKLIST
1. Gun Problem
2. Bang the Drum
3. Rollerkoaster
4. Riverboat
5. What Did You Expect?
6. Home = Hang
7. Forty Minutes
8. The Ballad of Railroad Jerk
9. Big White Lady
10. Help Yourself
11. You Better Go Now
12. Some Girl Waved
13. Zero Blues
14. Zero Blues - Live
15. Some Girl Waved - Home Recording 1991
16. Rollerkoaster- Home Recording 1993
17. Ballad of Railroad Jerk - Live
18. Help Yourself - Home Recording 1993
19. You Better Go Now - Home Recording 1993
20. Marie - Home Recording 1994
21. Message to Maisie - Live
22. Big White Lady - Home Recording 1993
23. What Did You Expect? - Home Recording 1994
24. Home = Hang - Home Recording 1994
25. Kick Myself - Home Recording 1994
26. Tell Me Something Good - Live
27. Forty Minutes - Home Recording 1994
28. Zero Blues - Home Recording 1993
29. Without Her - Home Recording 1994
30. Man of Constant Sorrow - Home Recording 1994
