Greg Ginn's fondness for jazz (or something close to it) showed through when SST released albums by
Universal Congress Of,
Hotel X, and
the Sort of Quartet. But probably not many would have expected him to restart SST by releasing jazz albums under his own name. Well, sort of jazz.
Greg Ginn & the Taylor Texas Corrugators (
Ginn on guitars, bass, piano, and organ with a drummer) play the kind of "fake jazz" offered up by early
Universal Congress Of and
Lounge Lizards (when
Arto Lindsay was still in the group). His guitar style here is somewhere along the
Joe Baiza/
James Blood Ulmer/
Joe Morris axis but the rhythms lean more toward rock.
Ginn is clearly not a keyboard virtuoso, but his playing gets the job done. The tunes are upbeat and rollicking with just a bit of skronk now and then. "Milam" adds a slight
Beefhearty flavor, while sections of "Beached Nut" even manage to evoke
Hot Rats. The title says it all:
Goof Off Experts. No pretense here, and the album doesn't aspire to be anything it isn't. It's just good fun, like goofing off ought to be.