Walking Wounded
Artificial Hearts

catalog-no. tx 2069
rock - 2002

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• Jerry Giddens - vocals
• Michael Packard - guitars, vocals
• Luis Ruiz - bass, backing vocals
  
  
• Chalo Quintana - drums
• Jerry Angel - drums
• Dave “Hawk” Lopez - drums
• Ethan James - hurdy gurdy, harmonium, other various exotic instruments
• Victor Bisetti - percussion
• Cisco de Luna - mandolin, lap steel, dobro
• Sam Avila - B3 Hammond organ

Walking Wounded

Some laugh it off
Some won't back down
Some just pretend not to care
Then there are those who aren't long for this world
They just give you the thousand mile stare

It's a bit of a surprise to have them back, but these days Jerry Giddens and his band Walking Wounded are quite a distance away from their own "thousand mile stare". Listening to the band's new material on ARTIFICIAL HEART, one gets the feeling that here a man is striking back against the empire. It's a passionate musical statement against the onslaught of corporate society against individual freedom and a state-ment against the stupidity of plastic pop culture. It's also a positive statement for musical intelligence and artistic integrity. There hasn't been better music from this L.A. band since their legendary "Raging Winds Of Time" album.

Today, Walking Wounded are Jerry Giddens (lead vocals), Michael Packard (Walking Wounded's original guitar player and singer) and Luis Ruiz (bass, vocals). The drum seat is occupied by either Chalo Quintana (Cruzados, Tito & Tarantula), Jerry Angel (Dave Alvin)or Dave "Hawk" Lopez.

Just one listen to the album's opening track "A Thousand Mile Stare" is enough to be convinced by the qualities of the band today. Their energy and passion are palpable and Giddens has not lost one iota of strength as a frontman. All of the songs are classic Giddens. It's one man looking into the world and not liking what he sees - from globalisation to the shallowness of pop culture, religious bigotry to personal isolation in the face of ever-growing corporate structures of society. But next to the social criticism there's always a sense of rebellion and it's transported by the music's relentless power and directness. Wounded they may be, but resigned they ain't.

Jerry Giddens has dedicated the new record to "the Wounded, wherever they may be" and his own credo can be found in two small lines of the song "He Must Have Forgot": You Should Never Lie When You Write A Song/You Should Never Sing Untrue. This has certainly been true for the past and present music of Walking Wounded and ARTIFICAL HEART is no exception. It's a great album!

More music by Walking Wounded...