Album Notes

“Holdin’ Onto Trouble’s Hand is an Exile on Mainstreet for a post-Ramones world.”
-Stiles White
Writer/Producer

Just one year after their double disc debut, “The Outskirts of Your Heart”, Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders return with yet another testament to the enduring spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll with “Holding Onto Trouble’s Hand”. This release marks the welcome return of original Lazy Cowgirls’ bassist, Keith Telligman as well as the debut of Defendant’s front man, Rob Bolger on rhythm guitar and vox. Guest musicians include: Rick Shae (Dave Alvin), Earle Mankey (Sparks), Michael Leigh (Lazy Cowgirls), and Paul Mejias.

And back in the fold once again is sonic-svengali and former Sparks guitarist, Earle Mankey (producer of The Cramps, Concrete Blonde, The Beach Boys, Possum Dixon). “Holdin’ Onto Trouble’s Hand” was recorded over a period of six months at his home studio, “Earle’s Rankoutsider Wreckroom” (a.k.a. the “modern Sun studios”) much to the pleasure of his neighbors and family...

*Praise for Pat Todd’s “Outskirts of Your Heart”:

“ONE SUPERB MOTHERHUMPER OF A RECORD… another double-scoop of hard-nosed, soft-at-the-center rock ‘n’ roll from a guy who’s always known that the Ramones and Hank Williams and the Stones aren’t really all that far apart… one of the best frontmen in rock ‘n’ roll (and I’ve seen most of ‘em).”
- Jud Cost
Magnet Magazine

“Not only is “The Outskirts of Your Heart” one of the best rock & roll records this year, but it’s one of the greatest of the decade
- Michael Toland
High Bias Magazine

“(Outskirts) is a superior work from an estimable and underappreciated talent, and if you love rock ‘n’ roll that comes from the heart, the soul, and the gut, you owe it to yourself to hear this album.”
- Mark Deming
All Music Guide

“In (Pat Todd’s) music I hear all the same musical reference points that have fueled my dreams and imagination since I was a teenager- The Stones, Ronnie Lane and the Faces, Johnny Cash, New York Dolls, Dylan, the Ramones, and more.”
-Fred Mills
Magnet Magazine Associate Ed.

“Pat Todd is the most sincere Rock ‘n’ Roll singer/songwriter on the planet. He makes the rest of us look like a bunch of fakers.”
-Blaine Cartwright
Nashville Pussy / Nine Pound Hammer

REVIEWS:

ALL MUSIC GUIDE-
Pat Todd is not a man who believes in wasting time, and a year after he and his band the Rank Outsiders made their recording debut with the roaring double-disc set The Outskirts Of Your Heart (and with a full slate of live shows under their belt) Todd and company are back in the saddle with their second post-Lazy Cowgirls effort, Holdin' Onto Trouble's Hand.

This album feels a shade less ambitious than The Outskirts Of Your Heart, since it's only one disc and mixes up the electric and acoustic material rather than presenting them in two separate chapters, but with twenty songs and clocking in at nearly eighty minutes, no one in their right mind would accuse Todd of slacking off, and for a songwriter this prolific it's remarkable that he's able to keep his game on point with such consistency.

From the opening firestorm of "Where The Sidewalk Ends," this album proves Pat Todd is still one of the most powerful and fiercely passionate performers in rock and roll, and though full blown Marshall-powered bombast sits side by side with campfire-quiet acoustic tunes (including "King Of Drugs," with Pat accompanying himself on banjo), it's all of a piece in its honest and sense of emotional commitment. The Outskirts Of Your Heart was said to have been largely inspired by a busted romance, and though there are some tales of love gone sour on Holdin' Onto Trouble's Hand, most of the songs here deal more with the nuts and bolts of living in the modern world -- the lure of danger versus the pull of responsibility, the challenge of living life on your own terms, and figuring how to separate the many lies from the rare flashes of truth. Todd sings of this stuff with the conviction of a man whose seen too much not to share his street smarts with us, and while the Rank Outsiders have gone through a few personnel changes since their first album, this edition of the band sounds like twelve months of gigging has done them a world of good. Few people can rock so hard for so long while getting so little recognition as Pat Todd, and Holdin' On To Trouble's Hand shows he isn't close to being done -- God help us all when this font of inspiration finally hangs it up.
Mark Deming - All Music Guide (Jun 3, 2008)




SONIC RUIN
Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders - Holdin’ Onto Trouble’s Hand

Perennial rock & roll trooper Pat Todd led the great Lazy Cowgirls through 20 years of punk rockin’, sons-of-guns (but not Guns, even if Todd hails from the same Midwest dystopia as Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin), straight-shootin’, no-bullshit Americana. The Cowgirls threw in the towel in the ‘aughts, but Todd didn’t. Last year’s stunningly consistent debut Rankoutsiders set The Outskirts of Your Heart picked up right where the ‘Girls left off with 28 tunes of heartbreak, lust, melancholy, anger, disgust and defiance that only passion could inspire and maturity could mold.
Another year, another generous batch of plainspoken, turbocharged gems. Holdin’ Onto Trouble’s Hand is a working man’s rebel manifesto, with dispatches from an America no political party acknowledges exists. And make no mistake, kids, this is American music with a capital C (for culture, and yes, we do have one) – notes, chords and rhythms derived from the blues, country & western, folk music and 50s rock & roll, made by disciples of Chuck Berry, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, Ike Turner and the Ramones. If the Rolling Stones had grown up in the country from which their musical loves came and had never touched supermodels or heroin, their music might still have the power the Rankoutsiders’ does now. Only Jason & the Scorchers have ever danced this rootspunk two-stomp with as much grace.

Todd’s songwriting continues its consistency and variety here, exploring the inner workings of the blue (collar, state, mood, heart) as well as anybody this side of Merle Haggard. “If you find some kind of love,” Todd advises on “One More Tank of Gas,” “Hold onto it/Give me one more tank of gas/And I’ll chase after it” - the Todd philosophy in a nutshell. The band, particularly guitarist Nick Alexander (who joins Cowgirls axmen Michael Leigh and DD Weekday in Todd’s pantheon of great six-string discoveries), confidently follows the leader down any path, taken or not.

You want revved-up C&W? Try “Sometimes Trouble Has a Name.” You like the tear dropping into your beer to be quieter? There’s the mandolin-driven “Tonight I Said Your Name.” Think the Beach Boys needed a punk shot in the ass? Give “Long Love Letter” (written by Todd but sung by Alexander – see, it really is a band) a shot. Prefer folk troubadourism? The calmly sneering “King of Drugs,” performed by Todd solo on a banjo, or the head-shaking-sadly accusation of “Playin’ in the Dirt” are your meat. Like a little spritz of power pop melodicism? You’ll take a trip “All Around the World.” Want a good, empathic wallow? The folk-rocking introspection of “There’s Nothin’ For Me Here” is da man. Looking for a raging roots rock epic? The eight-plus minutes of “The December 12th Blues” will scratch your itch.

Or would you rather just rock the fuck out, while keeping a little class in your air guitar-waving thrills? That’s most of this incendiary album, baby – “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” “Dangerous Times – Dead Ahead,” “Secret Heart,” “Billion Dollars Cash,” “I Won’t Belong” (Todd’s mantra for 25+ years now), “Theda” and the title track will dropkick any Hot Topic sprat’s Avenged Sevenfold-loving ass back to school where he can learn about real rock & roll. With guts, brains and passion to spare, Todd and the Rankoutsiders accomplish it all while acting like adults, not like kids still young, dumb and full of…well, you know. If more albums like this are what Holdin’ Onto Trouble’s Hand gets us, I’m gonna keep my paw out constantly and shake on it every time.

Michael Toland - Sonic Ruin (Jun 3, 2008)


From Gearhead #17, out now:


Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders
Holdin’ Onto Troubles Hand
(Rankoutsider Records)

Our old pal Pat Todd, best known as the guy that fronted The Lazy Cowgirls for more years than many of us could ever hope to remember, is back with a tight band and more importantly, a slew of great new songs, so listen up! Material wise, this is pretty much what you might expect; a few balls-out tunes designed to make the audience break a sweat, some very listenable (and thought provoking) mid-tempo rockers, and a couple of country twinged “cryin-in-my-beer” ballads, but like the last few Cowgirls records, it somehow all works together in perfect harmony. Of course it takes a top-notch songwriter to pull that off, and although fame has pretty much eluded our hero, folks in the know have always held Pat and his music near to their hearts.


I remember a conversation I had with Pat a few years back where he very candidly revealed his musical aspirations to me. As you might imagine, it was a bit heartbreaking, but the main thing I came away with was at sense of awe at his sheer determination. Even as he approached and passed fifty years of age, it was clear that he would never give up on rock and roll, and you’d have to already be dead not to be inspired by that. I recall that at one point Pat said, “Why can’t I be on the Tonight Show?” and honestly I couldn’t think of any reason why he shouldn’t be. OK Mr. Leno, I’ve heard that you read Gearhead, so if you see this, give the brother a break. For once I’d love to see success go to the short, bald and thoroughly enjoyable guy’s address, Christ knows he deserves it, you literally can’t pay any more dues than he already has. This CD has 20 tracks by the way, well worth whatever they’re asking for it at rankoutsiderrecords.com. (Mike LaVella)
Mike LaVella - GEARHEAD #17 (Jun 10, 2008)