If 6 Was 5

Beatnik Punk by The Mal Thursday Quintet

I have been Facebook friends with Mal Thursday for a few years. I also enjoy listening to his podcast/online radio show and occasional songs spun on specialty radio shows.

This past week, I received a copy of “If 6 Was 5” by The Mal Thursday Quintet. It took a couple of listens to get the vibe, but once I did, I loved it.

Essentially, it is snarky and misanthropic beat poetry sung to raw and visceral Garage Rock. Thursday snarls in a snotty punk voice that falls somewhere between Iggy Pop and Warren Zevon. It artfully projects an “I don’t give a fuck” vibe that is perfectly relatable for this aging Punk.

Choice songs include “Hey, Caffeina,” where Thursday spouts nonsense verse that rhymes with the titular name. “Joke’s On Me” is that moment of clarity when one owns up to being selfish. “Lady in a Cage” is a Baroque Rock “poperetta,” re-telling the 1964 Olivia De Havilland movie of the same name. The lush vocal harmony on the chorus evokes The Marmalade, circa 1969.

Covers include Fred Neil’s “The Other Side of This Life” and Alan Price’s “O Lucky Man.” Both finally receive the aggressive arrangements they deserve. Plenty of slashing guitars, thumping drums, and slinky Farfisa organ.

Two tracks feature the keyboard work of Texas stalwart Augie Myers. Pushing eighty at the time of recording, his fingers still produced the heavenly Farfisa sounds of sixty years ago.

I do recommend “If 6 Was 5” by The Mal Thursday Quintet, but warn it is “savory, but for special tastes.” If one expects sensitivity, musical complexity, and deep poetry, it is not for you. If one loves no-bullshit Rock ‘n’ Roll with a Punk attitude, buy it.