Dan Sartain - Walk Among The Cobras (Redux) 7"

One Little Indian (2015)

Dan Sartain is one of my absolute favorites.  I've really loved just about everything he's released over the years, but I tend to dig the first four or five of his albums the most.  Whether it's a rockabilly sound or a Ramones-y punk offering, I can usually get behind whatever he's doing.  Until he put out that electronic album Century Plaza.  I didn't buy that one because I didn't like it.  Felt weird to miss out on a record, but it didn't make sense for me to buy something I would literally never listen to.

I also ended up with a hole in my Dan Sartain 7" collection as the redone, electronic version of "Walk Among The Cobras" was put out as a 7" with the original on the B side.  Again, it didn't make sense to import a 7" and pay the shipping costs for a record I didn't plan on playing much.  I didn't really think about it a whole lot over the past couple of years until I was digging around on Discogs one day and found someone in the US selling the 7" for one dollar.  For a buck and US shipping, I can justify picking this up to keep the 7" collection complete.

I still don't like the new version of "Walk Among The Cobras."  It's slow, it's dark and there's no emotion in the vocal delivery.  I realize that's the point, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.  Just because this sort of thing works as a soundtrack to Stranger Things doesn't mean it works as a Dan Sartain song.  It's especially jarring when you flip the record over and play the original, bursting with energy and hooks.  This is just a weird record.  I hope Dan got this electro-thing out of his system as I'd really like to see a return to the style of music he pretty much perfected on records like Join Dan Sartain.

Dan Sartain - "Walk Among The Cobras (Redux)":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KIyCC_3fss

Dan Sartain - "Walk Among The Cobras (Original)":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByLeoDScJxw