The Sadies

I haven't seen Tales of the Rat Fink, the documentary film about 1960s cult cartoonist and custom car builder Ed "Big Daddy" Roth set for DVD release on October 31. But after listening to the soundtrack album by Toronto alt-country stalwarts the Sadies, I definitely want to. Or more specifically, I want to be in the movie; I want to hop into a monstrous custom-built hot rod of my own, pop this bad boy into the stereo (preferably eight-track format) and tear off down the open road. It's that kind of music: easy, breezy and dripping with retro kitsch, as perfect for soundtracking your own cruises and car chases as it is for achieving similar feats on celluloid.

It also happens to be an almost overwhelming musical experience. Like the Sadies' other 2006 release, In Concert, Vol. 1, Rat Fink finds the brothers Good and their musical partners in crime trying their damndest to unload their entire musical arsenal: hotwired rockabilly, '60s garage, electrified Big Pink Americana, and especially surf rock straight out of the Dick Dale songbook are all spotlighted here. Unlike the two-disc, two-hour In Concert, however, this record packs its 26 tracks into just over 30 minutes, and that's where I'm bound to lose at least some of you. You see, Tales of the Rat Fink is a soundtrack album first and an album second; its "songs" are all instrumental and, frankly, incidental, rarely making it to a second reprise of the theme and often falling short even of the minute and a half mark.

So with that in mind, what I'm supposed to do at this point is tell you that this isn't a "real" Sadies album, but a souveneir of the film, certainly nothing to stack up against "proper" releases like Favourite Colours or Stories Often Told. And in a way, it's true; you probably won't hear anybody shouting requests for "The Borderline" next time the Sadies roll into your town. But the music is so well-performed that it's tough not to recommend, especially not to fans of the genre, or even to anyone who's ever caught themselves eying those one-dollar Ventures records in their local record shop; and when the roaring climax of closing track "The Double Wide" (basically the only song that one could call "complete," with its three minute, 50 second running time) comes along, just see if you don't want to hit the repeat button and start the whole experience over again. Especially if your "stereo" comes with four wheels and fins.

- Zach Hoskins

Official Site (The Sadies)
Official Site (Tales of the Rat Fink)
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See Also: The perfect companion for Tales of the Rat Fink.