Artist: Fu Manchu
Label:Mammoth Records
Release Date: 1997
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Title: The Action is Go Artist: Fu Manchu Label:Mammoth Records Release Date: 1997 Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Redwolff:
I have three Fu Manchu albums but this one is my favorite, and the only one that still gets played consistently. Not to say that Fu's other albums are not noteworthy, but this one is exceptional. With one detractor, every song on this album kicks serious butt (I'm speaking of "Trackside Hoax" with its irritating stop/start rhythm). Fu Manchu is usually considered a stoner band, and stoner bands are not usually the "kicks butt" type, but as the cover of this album, and the title itself, attest to, this is not just music for sitting around on your ass in a house in the woods smoking pot and playing RPGs. Hell no, this is almost 'extreme sport' music. Almost. I'm not going to go quite that far. I'd dance to it, but you won't see me on a skateboard. Frankly, the closest I'll ever get to a skateboard is blowing Tony Hawk, no disrespect to his wife.When I first got this album at Newbury Comics in Boston (pause for applause from Boston-area people) I kept playing the infectious first song, "Evil Eye," over and over. With its great guitar intro and a quick tempo, it really gets your head bobbing and just begs to be turned up louder. And since the bodega downstairs got a new stereo system last weekend I gotta drown out the salsa music anyway - this is the perfect antidote. Most of the songs on this album are up-tempo and shorter than a lot of bands in the stoner genre (for example, Sleep's gargantuan Dopesmoker) and the production is crisper. Fu is probably one of the more radio-friendly, but they stop short of mainstream, and they are able to retain the stoner rock feel even with the quicker, shorter songs.
What is the stoner rock feel? I think it's a little bit of a Zen thing. I use "Zen thing" in that cheap catchphrase kind of way, but it's really not that far off. Stoner rock has an aura about it that seems to encourage the listener to relax, enjoy, smile, play nice with others, just be. Stoner rock is by far the most positive and friendly kind of heavy music, at least when compared to death and black metal. But for the most part, stoner bands come off as a bunch of doped-up feebs like Tommy Chong's character in That 70's Show. Fu Manchu are the more athletic type of stoners. I think if you stole their pot they'd try to talk you into giving it back, and if you didn't comply, they'd good-naturedly knock you down, take their stash back and apologize for breaking your nose.
I think, all in all, this is one of the strongest straight-up rock albums in my collection and would be a desert island choice. While a simply styled album, the songs are written creatively enough, and played with such feeling and talent, that I think it would be difficult to tire of even with repeat listens. In seven years The Action is Go hasn't aged a day.
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