Rock N Roll McDonalds by The Shut-Ins

I’ll give you two hints about this week’s review:

1. If you take it to heart, it just might save your life.

2. It’s certainly one of the most interesting songs I’ve reviewed yet.

Though I’m completely unsure as to how I stumbled upon this musical masterpiece, I did. It’s rare to find a work that’s both educational and intended to pay tribute to an artist taken long before his time (oh yeah, and don’t forget the S&M references).

“Rock N Roll McDonalds” is a track off of Loved Like a Milkshake: A Tribute to Wesley Willis, an utterly unique and creatively organized collection of cover songs recorded in honor of Wesley Willis, a Chicago based musician and artist who until 2003 had released hundreds of songs with his own unique sense of humor. Willis’s work, frequently considered to be a stone’s throw from both the bizarre and obscene, can be described as “simultaneously disturbing, hilarious, blunt, and intoxicating.” Willis’s “excitement and unaffected honesty about every cultural phenomenon, defined his music as truly individual, and truly punk rock.” And for this, he received both wide acclaim and a cult following.

In late 2002, however, Willis was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, ultimately succumbing to the disease only a few months later. Producer, musician and friend Hiji, a.k.a. M-Halo, immediately set out to organize a tribute album, the result of which I’m now reviewing.

“Rock N Roll McDonalds,” as performed and recorded by the Shut-Ins, is an up-beat and driving blues and country western that warns of the health dangers in eating from fast food restaurants (specifically McDonalds). The Shut-Ins’s interpretation of Willis’s fabled recording presents an interesting contrast to the original version. While Willis’s arrangement appears to have been recorded using only an electronic keyboard (with the addition of some cheesy built in drum beats) and a relatively low quality microphone, the Shut-Ins’s version features  a small ensemble consisting of guitar, bass, drums/percussion, vocals, and banjo, a musical combination that immediately peaked my interests.

Ultimately, I was impressed with The Shut-Ins; they were an extremely tight sounding group. Minus one noticeable rhythmic hiccup, the group sounded very solid. Whereas Willis’s composition was relatively simple, the Shut-Ins interpretation added harmonic complexity in the form of both harmonized vocals and the addition of a completely original spoken word interlude. I’d give “Rock N Roll McDonalds” a “yes, you should listen to this” and “maybe you should download this.” The lack of additional tracks for the Shut-Ins is disappointing, but their cover of “Rock N Roll McDonalds” is certainly worth listening to for a couple good laughs.

Download and/or listen to the album here.

This song is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDervs 3.0 License.

You’re free to share this work (that means no money) as long as you give the author credit. You cannot modify (remix) the work or use it for any commercial purposes (again, no money).

To read the full license, click here.