Overview

The Urge was a St. Louis-based Rock/Punk/Ska band that started making noise in 1989, but didn’t really hit their big acclaim until the mid ’90s. While their most commercially-successful single was easily “Jump Right In” (man, that video is terrible) from Master of Styles, their most complete and consistent album, at least in my opinion, is Receiving the Gift of Flavor.

Thoughts and Opinions

Not Quite Ska

During the ’90s I had managed to add a significant amount of Ska to my music collection (as did a lot of the country), and I was listening to bands like Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, and Save Ferris. While in many ways the Urge had the aural components of a Ska band (horns, and a lot of guitar muting), they really can’t be categorized that way, and fall under the much more general ‘rock’ umbrella. The music from The Urge thrashes and attacks, as opposed to providing a rock-steady reggae quality of your typical Ska anthem.

Even still, Ska-core isn’t quite edgy enough of a definition - while the individual parts of the formula line out like Ska, the end result is something much harder to explain; but there is definitely one element that prevents the Ska label:

Dark, Brooding Quality

The sound of this album is dark, almost violent in nature. The songs have a very disconcerting blend of smooth, siren-like trombone playing by Matt Kwiatkowski and Todd Painter, with stabbing, assaulting guitar riffs from Jerry Jost. All along the way John Pessoni’s drums dance back and forth behind both sections of the band.

The oddly effective combination of sounds from the instruments are paired with the soulful vocals of Steve Ewing, who has a surprising range between a blues-y timber to a howling hardcore-punk sound. In many ways, Ewing’s sound is what makes this album.

A Couple Notable Moments

• The lead-in guitar on Brainless (video link below) which introduces the album to the listener, leaves no question how the album is going to treat you as you proceed in. Brainless hits hard from the start and never lets go.
• As ‘Where Do We Go (From Here)’ comes to a climax, the refrain is belted out in a synchronized melody by the entire vocal section of the band, with all instruments silenced.
• The brass section play the role of a guitar in much of the verse in ‘Take Away’, with the guitar taking over in the refrain.

Favorite Songs

• Take Away - This song was actually recorded and mastered in Lawrence, KS (home of the Jayhawks) and only appeared on the 2nd release of the album - for me it’s a must have.
• Where Do We Go - One of my two favorite songs on the album.
• Brainless - If you want to feel the vibe of the Urge, you don’t have to go any further than this video.
• Violent Opposition - My other favorite on the album - “A cold chill pressed on the spine. Time to pay a debt on borrowed time. Do we really hate you? No more hope for the color blue.”
• Don’t Ask Why

Songs I Could Do Without

(aka Songs that were fun live, but, yeah, not so much on the album)

• Damn that Shit is Good
• Frying Pan
• Open All Night

Closing Comments

I’m admittedly partial to this band and to this album, although I tried to listen as objectively as possible this last time through the album. I eventually gave up and kicked up the Klipsch RF-62’s to 11.

The Urge has left an imprint in my psyche that I can’t remove. If you can find a copy of this album, it’s definitely worth a listen - just make sure you have a strong set of tweeters if you crank it up.