-- Fu Manchu - The Action Is Go | (Audio CD) MSRP $ 9.98 Amazon Price $ 9.98 Savings $ 0.00 | |  Release Date: 07 October, 1997, Fontana Mammoth
TRACK LISTING - Evil Eye
- Urethane
- The Action is Go
- Burning Road
- Guardrail
- Anodizer
- Trackside Hoax
- Unkown World
- Laserbl`ast
- Hogwash
- Grendel, Snowman
- Strolling Astronomer
- Saturn III
- Nothing Done
Usually ships in 24 hours | | | "UN-I-DENTI-FIED !!! UN-I-DENTI-FIED !!!" | If you read the entire Editorial Review (above) by Adem Tepedelen, you may come away thinking this CD pales in comparison to "In Search Of..." Well, I say it blows it away, and here`s why:
First of all, he states Fu Manchu`s line-up change has brought about a blandness to their music when Eddie and Ruben split for good. Look at their replacements, though--Brant Bjork (drums) of Kyuss and Mondo Gen., and Bob Balch (who I must admit, I`ve never heard of this guitar player) who, compared to Eddie Glass, is like comparing sticky krypto to skunky krypto: they`re both REAL good...so do you really care? Then, he goes on to say that Fu cannot compete with Monster Magnet anymore. What? It`s 2006, and I`m surely not going to put on a Monster Magnet CD anymore...but I listen to Fu nearly everyday. Their sound stands the test of time!
The music changed a little. The utter grunge and sludge was altered, incorporating a real 70`s rock aspect. There`s been a huge revival in our culture I believe--a renewed love affair with classic rock. You didn`t see this in the late late 80`s or the 90`s. But now, you hear it everywhere, and I believe Fu Manchu is one of a handful of bands to help this process along in the mid to late 90`s.
Every song on this CD is good. There are a few tracks which reak of the "In Search Of..." sound. The first song, "Evil Eye," reminds you of the past. The next track, "Urethane" (Fu`s best song ever) introduces you to the new sound. It sounds like Fu Manchu, Black Sabbath and AC/DC all jamming together at once. It`s musical perfection.Then, song 3 (title track) thrust you backward with a very Eddie Glass-esque, fast-paced, hard core style rock song. "Burning Road" then presents a mix of old and new--quiet, slow, rythmic; then, you`re hit with a tidal wave of distorted guitars.
"Laserb`last," "Grendel, Snowman" and "Saturn III" are influenced greatly by Bjork`s presence, and are very remniscent of Kyuss. Grendel sounds like a song from "Red Sun" while Saturn sounds and feels like it belongs on "Sky Valley." These songs are both THAT GOOD.
"Anodizer" is awesome. Sounds just like what they hit us with on "In search Of" (think Strato-Streak). It has a low, grungy, dark riff and tone to it.
"Guardrail" and "Unkown World" are so Eddie Glass-heavy, you`d pleasantly think they were NEBULA songs...really. They both sound like something from "To The Center" or "Charged."
The other songs are all good as well. But for me, Evil Eye, Urethane, Anodizer and Grendel are the reasons I think this CD is the best of it`s kind. They blow away many of their contemporaries, and even much of their own music with these four legendary tracks.
In my opinion, "The Action is Go" tops all of Fu Manchu`s other recordings. They never put anything together again that was quite this perfectly good from start to finish. I believe they made their very best music between `96 and `99, where we got "In Search," this CD, "(Godzilla`s) Eatin` Dust" and "King of the Road." This was `Chu at their very best. | | | | Their Best Stoner CD | | Slower, fuzzier, searing guitars and layered sustained solos, Fu Manchu take their time providing the anti-dote to "In Search Off". Gone is the frantic, solo fast and furiously approach, replaced by mood and groove and mining it for all it`s worth. Brandt Bjork provides his last create drum performance, locking on to Bob Blach`s restrained yet emotive guitar solos, creating instrumental passages that build momentum and power. Totally different than ISO, but equally essential, TAIG, is Fu Manchu`s most "stoner" cd. | | | | Not Stoner Enough , Not Modern Rock Enough, mmmmhhhh!! | I have read many good reviews of this band and i ignore if i did a bad choice with this particular release but Fu Manchu seems to be in the middle of everything, not quite heavy, not quite pop, not quite indye, not quite alternative, not quite stoner and sometimes this is maybe refreshing, after all that made of Faith No More what they were for instance, but that is not for everyone and certainly it doesnt seem to work for Fu Manchu , and im not a purist at all i have to remark, guitars sound dense and that is cool , but vocals are so clean and kinda happy that you can imagine a group of nice kids playing in their parents garage in their free time and after finishing their homework, that is so against the philosophy of the sound they (perhaps im not so sure at this pont) are looking for, a little of suffering would be nice or maybe a little of existencial issues or complains about whatever, i dont know, something is missing here, neither having in this album to ex kyuss drummer Brant Bjork included, it provides some good element, this is an album very hard to rate, neither i can decide if they deserve less that the three stars im giving here because that would be unfair too , as i said before, in the middle of everything.
HM | | |
-- zzzz
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