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:: Jr. Sasnett - The Savior's Hand Holdin' Mine No. 2 ::

I picked up this homemade record from 1977 over the summer, as I simply couldn’t resist Jr. Sasnett’s ugly mug gracing the front cover, as well as the equally unappealing visages of the backing band, credited as The Tennessee Ramblers, lined up on the back. The photos are creepy - each of these fellas look as if they might have lived in the town that Texas Chainsaw Massacre was filmed in. Perhaps anticipating that I and others like me might think this, each of the Ramblers’ has their hometown printed underneath their headshot. Underneath Sasnett’s name on both the front and back, it reads, “Just a Country Boy / Born on a Farm / Now Residing in / Las Vegas, Nevada / Born in Brent, Florida.” That’s just a small portion of the weirdness that this album encompasses.



I had given this record a brief listen when I first picked it up, but hadn’t really listened to it attentively, pretty much labeling it in my mind as a slab of suck. I put it on this weekend and gave it a proper listen, and my first impression pretty much holds. Most of the songs are Hank Williams religious-themed covers – played at a slow-pace, and somewhat depressing, with titles like, “Wealth Won’t Save Your Soul” and “Angels of Death.” It doesn’t feel like anyone was having fun recording this. It’s all filler for the one shiny nugget, the album opener and sole Jr. Sasnett-penned song, “The Savior’s Hand Holdin’ Mine No. 2.” I’m not sure what happened to Number 1. In playing this song, I jumped in my seat when I heard Sasnett sing, “When I crothed many mountain, with my Jethuth by my side.” Oh, shit, the guy’s got a lisp! Phrases come out stunted and strange when he slices off the “s” at the end of some words to avoid the lisping. Brilliant! And the song is pretty decent anyway, kind of haunting the way Sasnett howls throughout. The speech impediment isn’t as prevalent on the rest of the record, which is unfortunate. Not to come off as a prick, but this is the type of find that makes my day.


Phil

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