Behind the Magnolia Curtain

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The Boston Phoenix	[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[10]
The Great Indie Discography	5/10[11]
Houston Chronicle	[12]
Omaha World-Herald	[13]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[14]

The Lansing State Journal opined that the album "sounds like it was recorded in a Transylvania sewer with a $1.58 microphone."^[15] The Omaha World-Herald noted that, like the band's live show, the album "occasionally hit[s] the raw rockabilly feel."^[13] The Widnes Weekly News likened it to "the Stray Cats with more grease, guts and gusto."^[16] Likewise, the Swindon Advertiser said that "the Cramps seems positively polished in comparison."^[17]

The Detroit Free Press called Behind the Magnolia Curtain "a sensuously hideous masterpiece similar to the psychedelic blues-rock of the 1960s."^[18] Dave Marsh labeled it "the most eccentric rockabilly revival item of the year."^[19] The Houston Chronicle considered it "the sloppiest, laziest, more slovenly recording to come down the trail since the advent of multi-tracking."^[12]

AllMusic called Behind the Magnolia Curtain "one of the great recordings to emerge from the post-punk era and remains the essential Panther Burns document."^[8] In 2026, Pitchfork noted that "Panther Burns weaponized their amateurism, but never condescended to the source material".^[14]

Side A

1. "Come On Little Mama"
2. "She's the One That Got It"
3. "Hey High School Baby"
4. "Brazil"
5. "You're Undecided"
6. "OoooEE Baby"
7. "St. Louis Blues"

Side B

1. "Snake Drive"
2. "Blind Man"
3. "Where the Rio de Rosa Flows"
4. "Snatch It Back"
5. "Bourgeois Blues"
6. "On Down the Line"