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If you're reading this, you already know and love this lp. This review, is to let the vinyl enthusiasts know that the Music on Vinyl edition, is a solid pressing. Great dynamics, low surface noise, and the "secret" last track 'Easy' If you are wanting this vinyl, feel secure knowing it's a great pressing!!
Great pressing! Some might find it hard to believe but after a direct comparison, my friend and I both agree this sounds much better than his MFSL pressing of this same album. It's flawless. Highly recommended!
ok so this album is certainly not for everyone. starting with the brilliant land of sunshine moving through caffeine and midlife crisis this album is one of those rare birds that contains some fantastic rock/nu-metal stylings that contain enough melody to be pop songs. the songs on here are so well written that i fail to see how anyone couldn't like something on here. some folks may not like r.v. being a spoken, unusual song, but it really is a very good song with some good observational lyrics. perhaps crack hitler and jizzlober go too far for some, being probably the most antisocial songs on the album, but again for the typically strange patton themes they are good tunes. if you've ever claimed to like rock, metal, nu-metal and genres along that line, you really should have this gem of an album
First, I still like the following 3 songs the most on this album: Midlife crisis, Everything's Ruined, & A Small Victory. Not only are those just three excellent songs; but they are three songs that everyone should at least listen to once.
As for the rest of the album, like a previous reviewer said, it has taken me over 15 years to even go back to the remainder of the album to give it another chance. I am very surprised by how much I like the ENTIRE album. RV, a song which I thought would constantly skip over, is a tune I play often due to the attitude and actual voice acting done by Patton. Be Aggressive has really grown on me as well. Malpractice is brilliant, Crack Hitler & Jizzlobber are placed perfectly together on this album, & Kindergarten while the most tame song on the album, still holds its own in terms of listening to.
Which leads me to the remaining songs: Land of Sunshine - this is the hardest song for me to get into to, I do like it but I need more time with it - the same exact feelings apply to Caffeine. Smaller & Smaller - another tough one for me to warm up to but again, I just need more time with it. Midnight Cowboy is the ultimate "chill" track - I love it and feel they put a lot of TLC into it.
I'm really glad I ended up buying this one - It really does force you to listen to music in a different way...thought I was just playing tricks with my brain (i.e. forcing myself to like it) because music today is so bad but I really wasn't - the album first comes off as so crazy and weird that you first dismiss it only to find out later how many deep layers there really are to it.
All of my above comments lead to one strong conclusion - this album is worthy of the highest ratings possible whether you like it, love it, or hate it.
For the people that know other songs from Faith No More, besides "epic" will probably agree with me that Faith No More didn't get the credit where credit is due. This is my favorite CD (tied with self-titled Mr. Bungle, of course) I usually like a CD, listen to it until I get sick of it and repeat with another CD. I can say that this has and probably never will happen with this CD. I have all my favorite CDs in my glove compartment, but I seem to always just be like "Um, okay, well I'd rather be listening to Angel Dust" There is only one song that I dislike on the CD, and even then, sometimes I will still just listen to it. If you like versatile music, like rock, or like anything that Mike Patton has ever done you will love this album. Actually, as a huge Mike Patton fan, I ask you to check out anything he is involved with. He doesn't stick to a specific genre.
I recently picked this amazing album up again after over twelve years, and was once again just as infatuated with this album as I was when I first heard it. It really is difficult to express how far ahead of their time this band really was, and how anti-establishment this album was. After winning a grammy and becoming a household name, Mike Patton and co. release a completely bizarre, surrealistic, anti-commerical album that must have made record company execs pull their hair out. Whether intentional or not, this album must have seemed like a big middle finger to people who expected this to be popular. Judging from Mr. Patton's subsequent work (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas), I can only assume that FNM knew exactly what they were doing.
This album plays like an auditory David Lynch-esque journey through a nightmarish post-modern, absurdist American landscape. Crushing near-death metal riffs from oddball guitarist Jim Martin collide sideways into Mike Patton's powerful and melodic vocals, throbbing bass lines and odd sampling and eerie piano and keyboard effects. Lyrically this album reflects Mike Patton's near Da Da-like affectation for the surreal and absurd aspects of life in modern society, as well as being rather dark and anxiety provoking at times. One of the few completely original albums out there, and a real classic. Faith No More were alt before alt, nu-metal before nu-metal, and progressive in their own completely unique way.
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2006
Verified Purchase
Of all the records of the post-punk, grunge or whatever era, this one blends so many things together it's one of the most unique and hard-hitters of the era. The lyrics border on bizarre observations of some of the darker realities of our world, but with enough humour that you really can't take anything too seriously. The music is so hard-hitting in ways that few other people have ever done and, yes, like SO MANY of the other reviews, it has aged nicely. Few bands can touch this, period. Patton's soaring vocals and range are an inspiration for empowerment like few others. All the sounds crashing together so well make me wish I'd have caught these guys live during the tour for this masterpiece. Also, like many of the other reviewers, this is among my all-time favorites.
1.0 out of 5 starsAmazing Album, dreadful production
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
The bad rating is for the godawful production of this release of a real classic, fantastic album. Don't know who produced the remix/ master, but they need firing. It's all too mushy and compressed to hell. Buy the original, not this garbage.