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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Buy the Full Digital Album

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    14 years' hard labor by a cast of dozens went into Milwaukee's first triple album, Quality Items by Eric Blowtorch and the Inflammables.
    "Like Sandinista!, the longer you live with it, the more you discover, and deeper you find your love for it." -Steve Shafer, The Duff Guide to Ska

    Includes unlimited streaming of Quality Items via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    27
    releases

    Get all 27 Eric Blowtorch releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Been So Down, Bluegrass Kas, Too Many Dues, Quality Items, Groping in the Dark, Straight to Hell, Most Dangerous Man, Salt Water, and 19 more. , and , .

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lyrics

Best of the West (Belsha/Beaumont)

“Is this all there is?” you ask
as you look down at your cracked old crown,
consumed by lavish spreads,
your heart worn down to threads

No matter how hard you try,
you always wake up alive in the morning,
singing that song to make me cry
My sympathy turns to public scorning

Is this the best of the West?
Where is your beauty?
Is this the best of the West?
Where is your dignity?

Same thing day after day
How much can you take?
Bus, train, work, hit the hay
How much can you take?

No long tortured at school,
you learned to nurture self-ridicule

No matter how hard you try,
you always wake up alive in the morning,
singing that song to make men cry
My sympathy turns to public scorning

Is this the best of the West?
Where is your beauty?
Is this the best of the West?
Where is your dignity?

Is this the best of the West?
Is this the best of the West?
Is this the best of the West,
of the Midwest? The best of the West?

credits

from Quality Items, released May 21, 2022
E.B.: vocal
Renato G. Umali: piano, vocal
Ben Foldy: bass
Dave Cusma: trumpet
Jay Tollefson: trombone
Don Turner: baritone saxophone
Michael Koch: drumkit, vocal
John Ricco: congas

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Eric Blowtorch image

Eric Blowtorch Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Singer/guitarist/songwriter Eric Blowtorch sings, plays, and writes reggae, ska, rocksteady, soul, rock 'n' roll, funk, Latin, disco, hip-hop, Anglo-Afropop, and jazz songs with rhythm, melody, passion, and original comic timing. E. B. plays solo, in small combos, and with a band, Eric Blowtorch and the Bodyguards. ... more

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