Originally released in 2003, Clutch‘s Slow Hole to China was a collection of obscure singles, unreleased material, and cover tunes. They re-released it in 2009 as Slow Hole to China: Rare and Re-released and included three more previously unreleased tracks.
One of those tracks is the first one on this album – “King of Arizona.” It’s a solid blues rocker with harmonica by guest Eric Oblander and vocalist Neil Fallon making allusions to either an Arizona gold mine, a cemetery in Arizona, James Reavis (a con man who was nearly given ownership of most of Arizona and a good chunk of New Mexico), or, quite likely, all three.
The title track has some of Dan Maines’ heaviest bass lines. “Nickel Dime” almost has a fiery gospel feel to it. “Sea of Destruction” hits as hard, if not harder, than a lot of current metal tracks thanks to Jean-Paul Gaster‘s furious drumming and Tim Sult’s fuzzed-to-the-max guitar. Blues swagger comes in heavy on “Oregon,” “Easy Breeze,” “Hale Bopp Blues” (which is sung from the perspective of dinosaurs fearing the arrival of the Hale Bopp comet and the end of their lives on Earth), and “Four Lords.”
“Rising Son” scorches and has one of my favorite lyrics on the album – “Gravity is such a drag, and we will not obey.” I can’t help but wonder if “Guild of Muted Assassins” was inspired by one of Fallon’s old Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, because that title needs to be the name of a D&D game module. “Willie Nelson” is about Fallon’s home being raided by jackbooted figures searching for drugs, secrets, or both. It might be the former when you consider the chorus is, “I don’t know if I’m coming or going, if it’s them or me. But the one thing’s for certain, Willie Nelson only smokes killer weed.”
“Equinox” is an instrumental that has wild Santana-like percussion. “Hoodoo Operator” is a floor-stomper with Maines’ bass taking on angry bee-like quality. “Day of the Jackalope” has Fallon’s vocals distorted as if through a fault megaphone, making him sound like a madman yelling on a street corner. “Ship of Gold (West Virginia)” is an alternate version of the song of the same name that would end up on Clutch’s Elephant Riders album. It’s a bit darker and heavier than that one, and has more extended jams as well.
This is a solid collection and can stand alone as its own album instead of a collection of singles and miscellaneous tracks. It’s worth seeking out if you’re a fan of Clutch, or even if you’re not.
Keep your mind open.
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