Rock for Food [Import]

1. Rainfrogs

2. This Living Kills

3. Rock For Foods

4. Loveless Curse

5. Safe And Sound

6. Ocean's Overflowed

7. You've Got A Long Frun

8. No Father Should Bury His Son

9. Elevenem

10. Topographic Report

11. Windmills Not Giants

Rock for Food,Unfinished Sympathy,Bcore Disc,Rock

Average customer rating: Dedicated to experts? Zappa Attempts Stockhausen The Yello Shark, performed by the Modern Music Ensemble ZAP! A Frank Zappa Treasure. Better than many of his CDs

The Yellow Shark Manufacturer: Zappa Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Progressive | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Jazz From Hell Make a Jazz Noise Here The Grand Wazoo Burnt Weeny Sandwich The Perfect Stranger ASIN: B0000009VU Release Date: 1995-05-30

Tracks:

1. Intro
2. Dog Breath Variations
3. Uncle Meat
4. Outrage At Valdez
5. Times Beach II
6. III Revised
7. The Girl In The Magnesium Dress
8. Be-Bop Tango
9. Ruth Is Sleeping
10. None Of The Above
11. Pentagon Afternoon
12. Questi Cazzi Di Piccione
13. Times Beach III
14. Food Gathering In Post-Industrial America, 1992
15. Welcome To The United States
16. Pound For A Brown
17. Exercise #4
18. Get Whitey
19. G-Spot Tornado

Amazon.com

Released shortly after his death in 1993, The Yellow Shark represents one of the only accurate performances of Frank Zappa's "serious" orchestral music--at least as far as the composer was concerned. Assembled from a series of sold-out performances in Germany by the Ensemble Moderne, the set includes re-workings of old favorites like "The Dog Breath Variations" and "Uncle Meat," live arrangements of some of his hairiest computer music like "The Girl in the Magnesium Dress" and "G-Spot Tornado" and new works by Zappa composed specifically for the event. The performances are astonishing and the music? Pure Zappa. --Andrew Boscardin

Album Description

The 26-member Ensemble Modern performs FZ's 'most-humanly-impossible-to-play' compositions. Piano duets, string quintets & small ballets. Simply exquisite, with a 60-page booklet to explain it all. Originally released in 1993, it stayed on the classical chart for most of `94. Includes the tracks 'Outrage At Valdez,' 'None Of The Above,' & 'Welcome To The United States', plus arrangements of some of the most fiendishly difficult pieces from FZ's back catalogue & even a 'greatest hit' or two (some would pick this as the definitive version of 'Dog Breath Variations'). Sadly, this was the last album released by FZ during his lifetime. The didipak and the booklet are housed in a slipcase. Rykodisc.

Customer Reviews:

Dedicated to experts?.......2007-06-25

Frank Zappa was very proud of this great and difficult work done at the end of his (too short) life.
It requires also great concentation and a capability that probably I don't have to well understand this kind of experimental classic music.
It goes beyond the experimental rock that is typical of many of his works, leading him to the level of great contemporary experimental classic composers.
Given such a level of difficulty I don't know how much I can suggest to buy it. You just should try to hear at this music and decide if it does fit with your soul (how could I believe just a few years ago that today I would like so much 'Your funeral my trial' of Nick Cave?)

Zappa Attempts Stockhausen.......2007-02-13

FZ goes to Germany to upstage Karlheinz and tries an avant garde stage performance which is an elegant and popular form of expression in Germany. The Germans have perfected this type of marriage between romanticism and neoclassicism. In this case it's an overly technical performance, a display. The orchestra all sound good yet Zappa has given the music to another conductor, Peter Rundel. There is no rhythm section and without a background the result is too intellectual.

The Yello Shark, performed by the Modern Music Ensemble.......2007-01-19

This CD addresses the more serious, compositional aspect of Frank Zappa's career, and it could not be addressed in a more suitable manner. It includes some of FZ's more difficult works, such as "Bee Bop Tango", "Uncle Meat", and "G-Spot Tornado". The conductor is Peter Rundel, and as Zappa says himself, he is a fine conductor. This is highly recommended for anyone who has already developed a taste for Zappa's complex and imaginative arrangements.

ZAP!.......2006-01-20

Trying to define this album to my good friend was hard. "Well it's Zappa's songs done with an orechestra, but's not really classical sounding . . . it's just Zappa." And my friend just simply nodded and said "Sounds awesome." and i realized that if any reviewer would've just said 'It's Zappa!' it wouldn't take much more to sway me. so - It's Zappa! And it's damn near perfect it's so good! Riveting!!!

Be warned! You may like nobody (musically or real life) or anything (musically or real life) ever again after listening to this album, but it's not that big of a deal!

A Frank Zappa Treasure. Better than many of his CDs.......2005-07-29

`The Yellow Shark', with words and music by Frank Zappa is a collection of `chamber music' pieces recorded in 1993 in Germany, performed by a German orchestra, `Ensemble Modern', which, I believe, commissioned Herr Zappa to assemble these pieces for their concerts. In the accompanying booklet, Frank is pictured with a baton in hand, but the credits only have him conducting three pieces, those with a very significant spoken word aspect (all spoken in English). He also makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the CD where he introduces the Ensemble Modern conductor, Peter Rundel.

This recording is probably one of the very last to be done by Zappa himself, before his unexpected death due to illness. Of all the musical figures of the 1960s lost to us over the years, I miss Zappa almost as much as I miss John Lennon, and I am very happy that if we had to lose them, it was not to drugs or any other kind of self abuse.

There are fourteen musical pieces and three `spoken word' pieces on the recording. I confess that the spoken word pieces may actually be a bit dated, especially the `Welcome to the United States' track on a questionnaire for immigrants which makes a reference to terrorism which may seem entirely too glib in our current environment.

Two of the earliest tracks `Dog Breath Variations' and `Uncle Meat' are instantly recognizable from their music and titles as `quotes' from earlier albums, with very little `classical' varnish over their strongly jazzy sound. Most of the other musical pieces have more subtle quotes from earlier Zappa works, and demonstrate influences from George Gershwin, Kurt Weill, the movie music from `Spartacus', and his old mentor, Edgar Varese.

I noticed that the applause on these tracks was louder than the music and I was wondering whether the audience was appreciating the music itself or the presence of that formidable 1960's icon, Frank Zappa. I'm sure it was a little bit of both, but Zappa and audience couldn't resist quoting from one of his best albums, `The Mothers Fillmore East - June 1971'.

I think this quote was entirely appropriate, in that we owe so much musical innovation to the popular musical performers who were nutured by 1960's, producing such wonders as Zappa and the great bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Who, who are still scoring our artistic perceptions on both commercials and dramatic themes on TV.

This may not be Zappa's greatest album, but it is one of his cleanest. Like `Hot Rats', there is very little `throw away' material. And, it is one of the very few pop or classical recordings by a major musical figure where you will hear the performance of a didgeridoo (Australian aborigonal flute).

Highly recommended for Zappa fans and fans of 1960s music in general.

Average customer rating: "I was born the day that music died..." Eh... A-OK Made me want to think and eat Triangulating this sound

Thought for Food Books Manufacturer: Tomlab ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Sung Tongs Feels In Case We Die Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is OK You, You're a History in the Rust ASIN: B00006RAKZ Release Date: 2002-10-29

Customer Reviews:

"I was born the day that music died...".......2006-09-25

I'm not really sure why I love this CD so much. As far as I remember, I wasn't particularly amazed or blown away by it when I got it over a year ago, hence I let it collect dust in the back seat of my car with countless other forgotten disks within a week. A few days ago, however, I was lying awake late at night skimming through my iPod looking for something interesting, and happened once again upon The Books. I hit `play,' and never looked back.

What first greets your ear when you start this album is what can only be described as a swirling, brooding guitar pluck. The tune slowly but surely picks up urgency as the song progresses before it altogether disappears around the 3 minute mark amidst an all-out instrumental freak-out. Soon you realize that the guitar and other conventional instruments are just the beginning for this album. What The Books manage to create is a sprawling musical landscape of deep electronic beats and blips, string instruments, and some of the most unique samples you've ever heard.

The samples themselves are what really decorate the musical landscapes, dotting the rolling hills and sloping deserts with all sorts of colors and interesting objects. They range from what sounds like a grainy radio recording from WWII Great Britain to what may be a shopping cart rolling out of an elevator and crashing into a wall. Some samples are so monumental they cast their shadow across the entire song, as is the case with "Contempt," a song that slowly builds around a sample of two men talking. What makes the samples so great is that they not only sound like nothing else produced today, but they also simultaneously provoke feeling and nostalgia in a way samples almost never do; just listen to the little girl in "Motherless Bastard" and you'll know what I mean. They are also so wide in variety that you can listen to a song one time and hear a completely different song the next time.

I disagree that I am just "happy knowing that this music exists," as the last reviewer commented. I absolutely can listen to this CD over and over. Unfortunately, it kind of loses steam near the last few songs and loses some of its ambient charm. Still, there is no shame in hitting the `Restart' button; the first 9 songs are nothing short of amazing.

Many reviewers have noted that this CD might not be for everyone, and I completely agree, however I also would wholeheartedly recommend Thought For Food to someone looking for truly interesting and unique new music far outside the typical indie music spectrum. You will be pleasantly surprised, believe me.

Eh..........2006-08-27

This is the kind of "music" that you are happy enough knowing exists but really don't want to listen to very much. They are too interested in being clever and wind up sounding like John Cage's stepchildren. The ones he adopted and Merce threw out of the loft.

A-OK.......2005-01-18

It is only appropriate to start out this review with my first experience with The Books since everyone will probably remember theirs as well. After a long, or not so long [its irrelevant] day my two friends and I decided it was time for a little cool down. We went into my friend's room while she turned out all the lights and left only the TV muted on static to light the room. Then she turned on this album and we all lay there and listened. I had heard The Books before but this, for some reason, felt like the first time I was really hearing them in their avant-garde entirety. The semi-random sounds and snapshot vocal samples seared the air in a summation of life and music. `Twas grand, to say the least.
This album is really difficult to break down or sectionalize. As you listen to it, there are obvious changes of pace following the different songs, but somehow, the vein of the music always seems to remain in tact. From the first quasi-notes of "Enjoy Your Worries, You May Never Have Them Again" The Books seem to be reaching for a lifelike quality for their music that can really only be described by that same word: Life. This song has a straight beat that is surrounded by samples of people sort of talking through their problems. Mid-way through the song you hear an elderly lady discussing her problem with her heart conditions and some bad checks she was accused of writing. As this monologue goes on, you get drawn in until finally her voice seems to explode into nothingness and the song goes on. This type of forget-what-you-know attitude prevails with this band and particularly this album.
The record continues regardless with "All Our Base Are Belong To Them" where the listener is welcomed to the human race (ironically by an unfamiliar voice) and the band softly croons "I was born on the day that music died," a vocal testament to the sheer originality of this record. At times it does make one question what is music.
On "Motherless Bastard" a small boy is heard yelling for his mommy or daddy only to be met by a male voice informing him he has neither in a less than comforting manner. The song then continues serenely on in a fashion that almost makes one forget about the tragedy that opens the track. Fear not, though, we are quickly reminded of this terribly awkward and disheartening situation with a reprise of the clip. The pure emotion tugging power of this track is almost unnerving considering that this is probably the most up-front, straightforward track on the record.
The rest of the record continues on in a similar fashion, by the end, anointing the listener with The Books' amazing version of human experience.

9.2/10

Made me want to think and eat.......2004-07-28

I recently discovered The Books via a sampler CD from a magazine. I was immediately drawn by this fascinating stuff, best enjoyed, in my opinion, through headphones by a focused listener. I suppose it could be considered ambient in the Brian Eno sense that one can invest as little or as much attention to it as one wants. But I found myself fully attentive and working at hearing every little snippet. I heartily recommend this disc to those who are interested in experimental music and it's no-drone zone, y'all.

Triangulating this sound.......2004-03-29

Okay, silly exercise of triangulating between reference points nearly as obscure.

The Books is somewhere between the raw acoustic two-guys strings and percussion of Supergenerous, the eerie two-guys sampled vocals and electronics of Boards of Canada, and, um...

The vocal samples are rarely reduced to repeated snips like so many, including Boards of Canada and say Moby, do. Warmer. Doing very interesting things with recorded vocals is often the basis of a track. And the musical style has a home in a folksey sound, but ranges wider than Supergenerous's does.

Maybe that third point would be the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. The sound walks a rope bridge between composition and just stuff happening. Aleatoric.

Really nice.

Average customer rating: A wonderfully quirky album

Angel Food for Thought Meryn Cadell Manufacturer: Bongo Beat Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Theology ASIN: B000M2E3EK Release Date: 2007-01-09

Tracks:

1. Secret
2. Bumble Bee
3. Flight Attendant
4. Being in Love
5. Inventory
6. Deep Sixin'
7. Knitting
8. I Say
9. The Wait
10. I Been Redeemed
11. Spelling Bee
12. The Sweater
13. Job Application
14. The Pope
15. Sharkhead
16. Martina
17. Maidenform
18. Confide
19. Clothes
20. Barbie
21. Violet (previously unreleased)
22. Simone (previously unreleased)
23. The Pope (alternate take/previously unreleased)
24. BONUS VIDEO for "The Sweater"

Album Description

Originally released in 1991 and out of print for the last several years. Propelled by the Top 40 Modern Rock hit, "The Sweater", this album is a ground-breaking tour de force of retro 60s mod grooves, torch songs, comedic vignettes, and indie rock eclecticism.

Featuring a who's who of Canadian indie (at the time) musicians; Bob Wiseman (Blue Rodeo), Jim Creeggan (Barenaked Ladies), Tim Vesely & Dave Clark (Rheostatics), John Tucker (Land Of Giants), and the electronic grooves of Tom Third; this was a highly influential debut and a mainstay of early 90s college radio. This re-issue includes 3 bonus tracks, the complete lyrics, and the video for "The Sweater".

Customer Reviews:

A wonderfully quirky album.......2007-07-09

I always loved "The Sweater," but the rest of the album showcases Meryn's unique, off-beat style just as well. She is quirky and hilarious.

Average customer rating: ah, the good old days i'd recommend this.

Angel Food for Thought Meryn Cadell Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Bombazine F.U. Don't Take It Personal ASIN: B000002LT1 Release Date: 1992-04-14

Tracks:

1. Secret
2. Bumble Bee
3. Flight Attendant
4. Being in Love
5. Inventory
6. Deep Sixin'
7. Knitting
8. I Say
9. Wait
10. I Been Redeemed
11. Spelling Bee
12. Sweater
13. Job Application
14. Pope
15. Sharkhead
16. Martina
17. Maidenform
18. Confide
19. Clothes
20. Barbie

Customer Reviews:

ah, the good old days.......2004-05-12

if i remember it correctly, i was in the 6th grade when i first heard this album. i was listening to a program called channel z on a local college rock station and they played knitting. i was hooked from the word go. it is such a shame that this album is so difficult to find. on second thought, perhaps it is for the best. that way, it never finds its way into over exposure, and it remains one of my personal music secrets for all eternity.

i'd recommend this........1998-05-12

not mainstream, but incredible talent! the intelligence and wit, sincerity and sarcasm made this album an immediate favorite of mine. "bumble bee" is still my favorite, but i enjoy listening to the whole thing start to finish. in addition to her content and writing, i enjoy listening (and singing along) with meryn cadell's pleasant voice.

Average customer rating: .....Speedy Thrash Metal..... how could they have thought it would be so easy?

Will Work for Food Uncle Slam Manufacturer: Restless Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Similar Items: When God Dies Scorched Earth Obscure Master Plan Symbol of Triumph Verdict of Posterity ASIN: B000008LVN Release Date: 1993-07-01

Tracks:

1. Back from Beyond
2. Left for Dead
3. Roadkill
4. Hangin' in the Hood
5. Dominant Submission
6. Face the Fight
7. Will Work for Food
8. Cold Fire
9. Dazed and Confused
10. Finger First
11. It Can Happen

Customer Reviews:

.....Speedy Thrash Metal............2006-08-09

An LA band that sounds like Suicidal Tendencies.They play straight-forward 80's speed/thrash type metal. Amery Smith who beat the drums on this album also drummed for Suicidal Tendencies.
I have always enjoyed this album although I bought it years after it came out.
The album is just a fun listen {funny cover too I, Love this cover art.}, not one thing is original here except the cover art but a thrash metal fan should enjoy.
I still love to put this cd in and play it.
They do a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused" here as well.
Can't beat the price here, so give it a Try.

how could they have thought it would be so easy?.......2005-01-08

there doesn't seem to have been much thought put into this one. while musicaly tight w/ the occassional guitar moment lyricaly it sucks .song after song of everyone yelling the name of the song 3 to 5 times & that was the chorus .all the way up to track 9,"dazed & confused"cover. very nice ,worth the 50 or whatever cents i payed (plus s&h)fer it.& whats this? track 10s a jammin'original ,can't say that i know what its about but oh well .if you wanted to know what happened to suicidal tendencies ex drummer amery smith ,here he is.wow......i wanna know what happened to grant estes.anyway this album is only a penny now so why not?

Average customer rating: Good get down music! I love it!!!!

Delta Low ~ Mountain High Blue Mother Tupelo Manufacturer: Sho'nuff ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music Southern Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Daltry Calhoun ASIN: B00005LVTB Release Date: 2001-06-01

Tracks:

1. I Feel So Glad
2. You'll Be Mine
3. Appalachian Sunshine
4. For The Love Of You
5. Without You
6. Workin' Man
7. Como Dust
8. What A Shame
9. Afraid To Fall
10. I Feel Like A Dog
11. Boogie Blues
12. What She's Doin' To Me
13. Home

Album Description

This is an eclectic mix of music -- at times, blues, jazz, southern rock, country, funk & even folk. Often times it's a mixture of all these styles which makes up the sound of the music of Blue Mother Tupelo. There's something on this disc for everyone who loves music with soul. Great female/male vocal interplay and harmonies as well as outstanding guitar which all intermingles with sharp production. The musical journey on this disc will take you through the sounds and vibes of the American South while capturing life's experiences in its songs. This is truly a solid, wonderful album from beginning to end.

Customer Reviews:

Good get down music!.......2002-03-08

This is a great CD! I'm so happy that I ran across it here. The jams are tight & loose at the same time. Good swampy stuff and downright soulfull. I'll be keeping my eyes out for anything else Blue Mother Tupelo comes out with. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves music that jams with a southern Mississippi/swampy Louisiana/high lonesome Appalachian mountain combination. And their other CD rocks too ... I've got them both! What a band! 5 stars!!!!

I love it!!!!.......2001-10-04

What a refreshing CD! I really love the down & dirty grooves throughout this CD. All of the songs are powerful and full of emotion from beginning to end. This is a must-have CD for anyone who loves real downhome tunes from the blues to bluegrass - it makes you want to boogie as well as reflect on life itself. 5 stars indeed!!!!!

Average customer rating:

Food for Other Fish The Mermen Manufacturer: M.B ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Surf Rock | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B00004TGL8 Release Date: 1999-10-06

Tracks:

1. Be My Noir
2. Silly Elephant Who Stomped to Tea
3. Raglan
4. My Black Bag
5. Honeybomb
6. Bondage of the Sea
7. Ocean Beach
8. Madagasgar
9. Into the West
10. Drift
11. Pull of the Moon
12. Dancing in Her Sleep

Average customer rating: It's rather pleasant and fun but not outstanding lynch rules classic covers and b sides

Will Play for Food George Lynch Manufacturer: Perris Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock Guitarists | Rock | Styles | Music Shred | Rock Guitarists | Rock | Styles | Music General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Rock Guitarists | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Furious George Lynch Mob REvolution The Lost Anthology Wicked Sensation ASIN: B00005O7XS Release Date: 2001-08-28

Tracks:

1. Mr. Crowley
2. He's A Woman, She's A Man
3. Rollin And Tumblin
4. Billion Dollar Babies
5. Anthem
6. Panama
7. Goin Down
8. Tears Of Sahara
9. Flying High Again
10. Paranoid
11. Satan's Shorts
12. Train Kept A Rollin
13. Your Darkest Hour
14. People Get Ready
15. Love In Your Eyes
16. Love Finds A Way

Customer Reviews:

It's rather pleasant and fun but not outstanding.......2003-10-03

This album is a collection of covers, guest appearances and left over material. I have the opinion that most of the time (but not always) the original version of a song is the better one, and that the value of a cover can be highly questionable. My curiosity made me buy this album and I quite like it. Some of the covers are rather unexpected like Scorpions "He's a woman, she's a man", Alice Cooper's "Billion dollar babies" and Ozzy Osbourne's "Flying high", but to hear another version of "Rolling and tumbling" is just boring to say the least. If you're a big fan of George Lynch I believe you consider this a must have, but others (more casual fans) might not think this album is essential. Anyway, it's rather fun and enjoyable to hear these songs, but aren't the original versions better?

One more thing: I wish there were more information regarding the songs, personal (i. e. singers) and where the songs appear in the first place.

lynch rules.......2002-03-20

this is unbelievable lynch needs to release more cd's

classic covers and b sides.......2001-10-14

guitar hero from the 80s is back with a cd of classic covers and originals from his lynch mob days. some of the best cuts are "paranoid" & "mr crowley" and "flying high again" and there are also covers by aerosmith and scorpions and and some blues.

Average customer rating: I heard this and bought them all! Ranks with "Sgt Pepper" & "Getz/Gilberto", 1 of the greatest Classic! 5 Stars? How about 5 squared?

Food for Other Fish The Mermen Manufacturer: M.B.(Burnside) ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Surf Rock | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music Surf Guitar | Rock Guitarists | Rock | Styles | Music Rock Guitarists | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Oldies & Retro | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Rock Guitarists | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Krill Slippin' Live at the Haunted House Nomad Chumming Sway ASIN: B00005K29K Release Date: 2001-07-03

Tracks:

1. Be My Noir
2. Silly Elephant Who Stomped to Tea
3. Raglan
4. My Black Bag
5. Honeybomb
6. Bondage of the Sea
7. Ocean Beach
8. Madagasgar
9. Into the West
10. Drift
11. Pull of the Moon
12. Dancing in Her Sleep

Customer Reviews:

I heard this and bought them all!.......2002-11-21

The Mermen play the music I've waited my whole life to hear. Before hearing them I never knew it could exist so beatifully. The endorphins of a first orgasm, but for 42 minutes

Ranks with "Sgt Pepper" & "Getz/Gilberto", 1 of the greatest.......2001-07-27

I bought this disc when it came out and it was stunning then and remains stunning now. "My Black Bag" and "Honey Bomb" have a raging delerium that instantly differentiates them from anything you've heard before. "Ocean Beach" is a lyrical portrait that should have been a hit single, "The Drift" a surf workout that subverts classic surf while paying homage (If The Mermen can find so much delight and surprise in this genre, why can't others?) "Raglan" is a sweet, Celtic-spiced tune that fits completely, but shows the band's amazing breadth, placed between the ambient chamber music of, "Be My Noir" and the up-tempo rocker, "The Silly Elephant That Stomped to Tea".

There's not a bad tune or a wasted bar on this whole CD. I'm serious about the headline- its like "Sgt. Pepper" or "Getz/Gilberto" or Brubeck's "Take Five", Bela Fleck and the Flecktones "Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo", Ormandy and Fox's recording of Saint-Saens' Symphony Number 3, Martha Argerich playing Rachmaninoff's Concerto for Piano number 3, Jai Uttal's "Monkey", Strunz & Farah "Live", or David Grisman's "Mondo Mando"- however you define intense, expressive, timeless music, this is more. In spades.

The Mermen blend the technique of psychedlic rock with the intensity of classical and jazz composition. No boogie-ing on, no solos over vamps. On this, their first CD, composer/guitarist Jim Thomas, bassist Allen Whitman and drummer Martyn Jones captured their live sound in a set of songs that they had been playing for the previous decade. Most of this disc was played live into a 2 track DAT recorder. I saw them then, and they really were that good. Perfect in one take.

Thomas' devotion to clean sound was at its height, whether playing sweetly and gently or juggling raw electricity like Jimi Hendrix or Duane Allman. He sounds like an angel who learned to play surf but couldn't quite forget the heavenly choir. Even as he pulls you into a curling feedback tube and lets it collapse in a million droplets of howling noise around you. Thomas's music is, without question, *about* the sea, about surfing. No band has been better named. This disc is the great surf novel, expressing in music a range of emotions and images that might be impossible to find words for.

Whitman's bass playing is a brilliant foil for Thomas here- carrying some or all of the melody some times, providing counterpoint. The way bass and guitar trade melodic lines, the way all three instruments take turns supporting rhythm or melody is miles and miles beyond anyone else playing 'surf music'. "Ocean Beach" is a case in point- the song is essentially a bass solo supported by guitar solos. Forget Dick Dale, Laika and the Cosmonauts, etc, etc. Whitman was the best bassist working in this field in those days and resets your expectations forever after.

Martyn Jones' drumming combines relaxed competence with a cymbal sound that is so close to crashing surf that the effect cannot be accidental. As much as the 'surf' flavor of the melody and playing, Jones' spare and dynamic drumming conveys the feel of the sea. He starts some songs, ends some songs and adds that one extra touch that makes a good song great- the ska-like rim-shots at the end of "Ocean Beach" for example. The shimmering AND ticking cymbals, and dramatic rolls, that make "Be My Noir" such a delight.

Listen to this record. Buy this record. Find something you love as much as these men loved this music, and maybe you'll be lucky enough to create something a fraction as beautiful.

Classic!.......2001-06-21

The Mermen are an original. Jim Thomas should be credited as one of the great innovators on the guitar. Their music is unique. It is powerful, visceral, yet lyrical, and sweet. It is music to charm the gods! I always think of the painting Bacchus and Ariadne, by Titian--Ariadne arising from her sleep to discover the White Sails of Perseus disappearing over the horizon--while Bacchus and his troupe of merry satyrs is pulling up in a chariot drawn by a leopards, while half naked revellers leap about. Anyway--the Mermen seem to occupy the same mythological space.

5 Stars? How about 5 squared?.......2001-06-14

I love this album. love, love, love, love,love. Did I say I love it? Well--I do.

Why? Cause its just so profound! This is the real SOUL music. Its Ravel on steroids. Its the Pacific Ocean rushing up to greet you, grabbing you, flinging you under, and holding you down, until you can't get your breath, and a white light in a tunnel dawns in your brain.

Its music that conveys a sense of the awesome, solemn, beauty of a natural world that is sometimes tender, sometimes cruel, changable, and dangerous--like Ramakrishnas vision of Kali rising from the waters, giving birth, then biting the head of the newborn infant before slipping beneath the waves. Its music that expresses all of the power of the Collective Unconscious.

Average customer rating: this rocks! Save the aluminum for something else all about that bass

Fast Food for Thought Wartime Manufacturer: Capitol ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B000008M4F Release Date: 1994-07-26

Tracks:

1. Mind Field
2. Wartime
3. Right to Life
4. Whole Truth
5. Franklin's Tower

Customer Reviews:

this rocks!.......2006-07-19

if you really like rollins type of music you will like this. poseurs go home!
even after what..12..14 years? it still rocks!

Save the aluminum for something else.......2004-05-11

A complete and utter waste of packaging. When I bought this originally, I was on a Henry Rollins binge--we're talking about 13 years ago, and the store in question advertised this as a 'Rollins Band' release. What a crock.

This EP has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I mean, it's not hardcore industral a la Neubauten, it's not spoken word, it's not ambient noise/orchestration like Xenakis, or even an experiment in spacial tonalities--the John Cage nod. It's just a bunch of rambling basslines and TV soundbites, conducted as some kind of throwaway with both Rollins and his then-bass guitarist Andrew Weiss (who he never got along with; I can't figure it out either).

It makes a great coaster, or it might be useful as a Christmas tree ornament, but not much else.

all about that bass.......2004-02-16

This is a very strange item. Basically, it's funky grooves done almost entirely with only bass and drum machines, courtesy of Andrew Weiss, with Rollins being ... well, being Rollins. That means if you can't handle Henry's angry rants, then you will find this to be a boring listen. BUT if you either ignore or enjoy Rollins' style, then the music truly stands on its own. Andrew Weiss is a powerful bassist who really knows how to groove, and these songs are funky, loud, and in your face. He gets so many different sounds from his bass that the recordings sound full; some excellent sampling completes the package (examples: Ted Nugent's live stage banter, and the guitar solo from More Than A Feeling).

I still can't believe this was released on Chysalis. What that major label thought it could do with this very unusual set of recordings is beyond me. It probably only sold a few thousand copies. I got mine in a used bin for 2 bucks! But it would have been worth it for a lot more than that. This ep KICKS A$$.

Rock Music:

1. Rock & Roll Favourites: Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay [Import]
2. Shakin' With the Money Man [DualDisc] [Enhanced]
3. Stare Into The Sun
4. Start from the Dark [Import]
5. State of Alert [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]
6. Superficies De Placer [Import]
7. Switchback Ride
8. The Half Life EP [EP]
9. The Libertines [Import]
10. The Long Haul

Rock Music