1. Jaywalkin' 2. The Break 3. Need Some Air 4. Somebody Else's Body 5. Honesty Files 6. This Is No Place 7. The Mistake 8. Take Me 9. View Of The Rain 10. Last Night/Tomorrow 11. Tin Foil 12. Monopoly 13. And You'll Say 14. Digital Black Epilogue
Exit the Dragon is a somber, brooding effort fueled by more than a touch of "woe is me." There is no larger-than-life FM-rock anthem on this album; no Paul Shaffer favorite like Saturation's "Sister Havana." Produced once again by Philadelphia's Butcher Brothers, Joe and Phil Nicolo, the 15 songs are almost all mid-tempo groovers. In place of the last album's shimmering guitars and thunderous drums are groaning synthesizers, heavy Hammond organs, distant horns, and clattering congas. Over this late-night juke-joint backdrop, singers Nash Kato and Ed Roeser ruminate about how they hate walking in sunshine, can't get a break, never learned anything in school, made more than their share of mistakes, and don't pray anymore "because too many of God's children die." Such whining sentimentality would be unbearable coming from, say, sanctimonious folkies Soul Asylum or generic grungemeisters Bush. But the members of Urge Overkill are post-modern pranksters who are well versed in every aspect of rock history and '70s pop culture. They're having the time of their lives being this miserable, and the dark night of their souls is illuminated by sign posts pointing out the connections to legendary end-of-the-line classics such as Big Star III, the Rolling Stones' Exile On Main St., and Sly and the Family Stone's There's A Riot Goin' On. --Jim DeRogatis