Lone Justice - Viva Lone Justice (2024)

Despite their dissolution in 1987, there have recently been several "new" albums from Los Angeles cowpunk band Lone Justice. Now, "through the advent of technology, sweat and tears," as the press release for Viva Lone Justice puts it, the surviving band members (drummer Don Heffington died of leukemia in 2021) have buried their differences and released a genuinely new studio album (with one live track) assembled from unreleased recordings captured in their early 1980s heyday. The results are nothing short of spectacular.

The foursome was led by Maria McKee's powerful voice, which drew admiration from the likes of Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton. When the group's excellent self-titled 1985 debut album failed to connect with an audience, the band splintered. And yet, these potent leftovers, as fresh as the day they were recorded, secures Lone Justice's place as one of the most influential bands in the now vast Americana universe.

Quavering strings and a mandolin back a tour-de-force turn by McKee on opener "You Possess Me," and her formidable vocals are also the centerpiece on a strummy, acoustic version of "Rattlesnake Mama," which Lone Justice usually performed loud and electric. The band's devotion to a thrashier punk edge emerges in a charged cover of The Undertones’ 1978 number "Teenage Kicks." Gospel-tinged "Wade in the Water" precedes a live recording of the country-leaning, "Nothing Can Stop My Loving You," featuring New Orleans legend Jo-El Sonnier on accordion and guitarist Ryan Hedgecock joins McKee in belting out lyrics on their take on early female rockabilly star Sparkle Moore's "Skull & Cross Bones": "You should be labeled with a skull and crossbones/ 'Cause you're a jinx to my soul." Country boogie "Alabama Baby" is followed by a slow, credible cover of Parton's immortal "I Will Always Love You," where McKee is joined by an acoustic guitar, fiddle and guest Greg Leisz on pedal steel. This unexpected bounty from a great band gone entirely too soon is a testament to the wonders of a being ahead of your time.

TRACKLIST

1. Lone Justice - You Possess Me
2. Lone Justice - Jenny Jenkins
3. Lone Justice - Rattlesnake Mama
4. Lone Justice - Teenage Kicks
5. Lone Justice - Wade in the Water
6. Lone Justice - Nothing Can Stop My Loving You (Live at The Palace)
7. Lone Justice - Skull and Cross Bones
8. Lone Justice - Alabama Baby
9. Lone Justice - I Will Always Love You
10. Lone Justice - Sister Anne