Tominson - 2004 - Village Gorilla Head

Tommy Stinson - 2004 - Village Gorilla Head



"If you have a large check waiting for me or I won some sweepstakes, you can contact my manager . . . " Despite this wisecracking liner note, with his current band Guns N' Roses stalled, former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson just gets on with it. Village Gorilla Head is his first nominal solo album after records with post-Mats outfits Bash & Pop and Perfect, and fits the modest mold of a guy who's always seemed happy just to be in the band: no worries about escaping the Replacements' shadow for him. Just as well, as Gorilla leans heavily on a conversational bar-band rock that'll ring familiar with All Shook Down fans. They'll delight in Stinson's pointed observations: "I heard about the things you done/From the dry cleaner's girlfriend's son.", "I couldn't wait to miss you, but I couldn't wait to kiss you.", "You took a turn at Silverlake and now you're calling it your home." Maybe not a sweepstakes winner, but Stinson remains a one-of-a-kind. --Rickey Wright