This World Is Not My Home

This World Is Not My Home

<i>This World Is Not My Home</i> weds seven songs from Lone Justice's two albums (issued in 1985 and 1986) with 10 previously unreleased tracks. Of these 10, eight predate the 1985 breakup in which guitarist Ryan Hedgecock, bassist Marvin Etzioni, and drummer Don Heffington split from lead vocalist Maria McKee. That's a good thing, because the initial lineup easily outshone the too-smooth studio pros who replaced them. Souped-up covers of the traditional "Rattlesnake Mama" and Merle Haggard's "Working Man Blues," both recorded in 1983, lay bare the band's roots in the then-raging Los Angeles punkabilly scene. Etzioni's energetic riffs ricochet off the bedrock rhythm section and McKee's tremulous trill cuts with a gritty edge. But the last third of the disc, including three songs from the lackluster second album and a gimmicky cover of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" (with guest vocalist Bono) is noticeably weaker. <i>--Anders Smith-Lindall</i>