1999 Sonic Unyon
On any given day, this is my favorite album of all time. If every band in existence had the sheer energy, conviction and sense of reckless abandon contained on this disc, the world would be a better place. Everything Jet, Wolfmother and all the other hip retro bands are doing was done better and done first by Tricky Woo right here on this collection of chaos disguised as songs.
The best way I know of to describe the sound is the energy and intensity of Jimi Hendrix’s classic “Fire” juiced up with crisp modern production values and undoubtedly a whole lotta beer. Seriously…this is the kind of insane racket your parents were afraid you would create when they bought you your first guitar or drum set.
Yep, the whole thing just explodes out of your sorry woofers (thank you Martin Popov) with a relentless drunken conviction that is absolutely infectious on opening instrumental kicker “Altamont Raven” and doesn’t let up for even a second. The whole thing clocks in at about a half hour and leaves you absolutely exhausted in the best way possible.
If you’ve had a bad day or are dreading your drive to work in the morning, put this on the ol’ car stereo and it’ll put a smile on your face…guaranteed. You’ll find yourself singing along to some of the dumbest (and I mean that with the utmost respect!) lyrics you’ve ever heard…and loving every minute of it!
To wit: “Fly the Orient” (‘I’m not a man, I’m a coastline.’), “Let the Good Times Roll” (‘And I know where I’m goin’, I’m gonna let the good times roll.’), “Born Due” (‘I get up in the morning just to get down.’), and the immortal chorus of “Sad Eyed Woman” (‘I’m gonna save you with rock and roll, rock and roll, rock and roll.’).
All of this could be cause for eye rolls if not for the fact that the energy and conviction are off the charts and the songs themselves are so damn good and full of hooks. The opening riff of “Born Due” has to be one of the coolest riffs EVER, and the aforementioned chorus of “Sad Eyed Woman” just stomps relentlessly with a crazed confidence.
Do yourself a favor and order it online, as it was never released in the US. This disc is Fun with a great, big, fat capital ‘F’.
Rating: 5 out of 5