In a radical move (for those who know him, at least), Scott McCaughey was dead set on keeping the tambourine to a minimum on Oar On, Penelope! (Yep Roc), the Minus 5’s first album in six years. Little did he know that he had an ally in esteemed producer Ed Stasium (Replacements, Ramones), who mixed the LP.
“Ed didn’t care and threw it on wherever it begged,” says McCaughey.
A stroke survivor and a veteran of various bands huge, medium and small—including R.E.M., Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Young Fresh Fellows, Baseball Project and Filthy Friends—McCaughey has earned his major music-industry connections with more blood, sweat and tears than most. There’s also the sheer joy he gets out of making music, which infects everyone he’s played with. And that list is robust. Jeff Tweedy, the Decemberists, Kelly Hogan, M. Ward, Chuck Prophet, Ben Gibbard, Robert Pollard, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, the Posies and Alejandro Escovedo (among others) have all fallen in with the Minus 5 over the past quarter century.
And, of course, there are the regulars, most prominently R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, who’s back on bass for this one. (“He played superbly throughout, in-the-pocket Musicmaster style,” raves McCaughey.) Also on board: Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood, the Bangles’ Debbi Peterson and the Fastbacks Kurt Bloch, along with Linda Pitmon (Baseball Project, Filthy Friends) and Spencer Tweedy (Waxahatchee).
McCaughey walks us through Oar On, Penelope! track by track.
—Hobart Rowland
1) “Words & Birds”
“‘It’s all too beautiful, man!’ If not original, that sentiment seems important to me, to this record, to my world. This came together after a few passes in the studio, and it sounds like we played it forever. That’s what can happen when you play music with good pals. We didn’t need to add anything except Debbi shouting along: ‘Those impossible wings, messenger that bring, inexplicable songs, purple twilight and dawn.’”
2) “Death The Bludgeoner”
“I was reading and writing a lot of poetry during the shut-in years—pretentious, that’s me. Sonnets are a challenge, but sometimes they turn into something else. This was kind of a slow blues when I tried to drag it into my musical world. Linda said, ‘Nah, this should sound like Rockpile.’ She was so right. This was cut live, with only me and Debbi adding vocals. It’s not about Marianne Faithfull, but I do like to shout out to people I love. Anyway, she’s the opposite of whatever this may be about.”
3) “Let The Rope Hold, Cassie Lee”
“Sort of a sideways (the Nightcrawlers’) ‘Little Black Egg,’ this song came in handy at the end of a long day’s recording. When mutiny was threatened, I gave my assurance that if the gang could last just one more song, it would be a ‘one-take wonder.’ It had to be … It was. We’re all hanging on to our memories by a thread, but the thread can be pretty strong.”
4) “I Don’t Want To Hate Anyone”
“This one was tracked with upright piano in the room to assure the blessed glue of bleed. Sounds of the early ’70s are very special to me. Thank you to (British folk/rock band) Lindisfarne and Linda for understanding exactly what the song needed. Her rockin’ spirit shines through this dang album. I love the way this take falls apart—like the sloshed, sing-along ball of fire we live on.”
5) “The Garden Of Arden”
“I’ve always loved (actress) Eve Arden. So did Bucks Burnett (1958-2023). We couldn’t resist inviting her over. Killer solo, Kurt!”
6) “Last Hotel”
“The last hotel is beckoning. There’s a festival going on, sirens sing gospel rave-ups, Dallas Good is passing a joint, and the neon vacancy sign is always on. Big thanks to Debbi for singing my strange words so beautifully.”
7) “Bison Queen”
“Recorded the same session as ‘Boxcar’ from (2023’s) Neil (Vol. 2): Welcome To My Dream World, this one could’ve gone to one of my Neil Young tributes. But it felt at home right here. Playing with Spencer makes everything easy.”
8) “Falling Like Jets”
“This song came at me one night, and I knew it belonged here. Spencer rocked it. Sadly, my right hand is no longer downstroke worthy, so I got Ed to pay tribute to his buddy Johnny Ramone. I’m going on record as saying this has nothing to do with the character Juliette from the series Nashville.”
9) “Burgundy Suit”
“I saw somebody on TV, maybe a guest of Trevor Noah … I can’t remember. But it was suggested that a burgundy suit was a sure bet to banish the blues—or something like that. I agreed. Ed said, ‘I had a burgundy suit at the height of fashion when I was 16. I’ve been waiting decades to mix this song.’”
10) “Blow In My Bag”
“I had an idea to do a Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood duet. Of course, I only mention that because I typically don’t manage to get close enough to elicit comparisons. That being said, I’m not sure what the song is about, but Patterson’s vocals at the end convince me that he knows.”
11) “Sharktooth”
“Ed says this has a Procol Harum-meets-Eno vibe. I’ll take that. I wasn’t sure how this would fit on the record, but it does somehow. It seems like a tour nightmare—but a fun one? This tune had Kurt Bloch written all over it.”
12) We Shall Not Be Released”
“It sounds negative, but it’s not at all—more a call to arms of sorts. Who needs to be released, and by whom? I asked Debbi to sing the whole thing with me, and Peter added the patented folk/rock sheen. Seemed like a fitting close to this latest chapter in thee olde Minus 5.”
