Small Minds is a studio album by Austin-based bluegrass band Austin Lounge Lizards.[1][5][6] It continues the Lizards' tradition of social and political satire.

Small Minds
Studio album by
Released1995
GenreBluegrass, Newgrass, satire
Length40:27
LabelWatermelon[1]
ProducerConrad Deisler
Austin Lounge Lizards chronology
Paint Me on Velvet
(1993)
Small Minds
(1995)
Employee of the Month
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Austin Chronicle[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]

Critical reception edit

The Austin Chronicle called the opening track a "drunk, horn-seasoned version of Emily Kaitz's Kerrville fave 'Shallow End of the Gene Pool.'"[3]

AllMusic called Small Minds "a finely played and sung album that's a pleasure to listen to and gets a definite recommendation."[2] "Gingrich the Newt" postulates politician Newt Gingrich has given "the humble newt species a bad name) to the intelligentsia of the art world."[2] The song begins: "We'd like to set the record straight by singing of the newt." It then implies Gingrich has none of these values. Instead, "Gingrich the Newt is puffed up like a toad / So full of himself that he's bound to explode."[7]

Track listing edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalLength
1."Shallow End of the Gene Pool"Emily KaitzKirk Williams4:43
2."Half a Man"Hank Card, Conrad DeislerHank Card3:03
3."Old Blevins"Conrad Deisler, Hank CardConrad Deisler4:47
4."Big Tex's Girl"Hank Card, Kristen NelsonHank Card5:33
5."Do Not Go to Tennessee"Hank CardHank Card2:46
6."Truckload of Art"Terry AllenRichard Bowden3:55
7."Gingrich the Newt"Hank CardHank Card1:56
8."Irving"Hank CardHank Card3:56
9."Life Is Hard, But Life Is Hardest When You're Dumb"Hank CardTom Pittman3:01
10."Bonfire of the Inanities"Hank CardHank Card3:17
11."Mourning Edition" (excerpts the Morning Edition Theme by B. J. Leiderman)Hank CardHank Card3:30
Total length:40:27

Personnel edit

Additional Personnel edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Call, JOHN TERLESKY (A free-lance story for The Morning. "LOUNGE LIZARDS LIKE TO SATIRIZE 'SMALL MINDS'". mcall.com.
  2. ^ a b c McDonald, Steven (1995), The Austin Lounge Lizards: Small Minds, AllMusic, retrieved November 12, 2013
  3. ^ a b Lynch, David (September 22, 2000), Music Feature, The Austin Chronicle, retrieved November 12, 2013
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 306.
  5. ^ Critic, ROGER CATLIN; Courant Rock. "LIZARDS' CLEVER LYRICS OUTDO MUSIC". courant.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Austin Lounge Lizards | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Card, Hank (1995), "Gingrich the Newt", Small Minds, Austin, Texas: Watermelon Records