How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Value for Money
Advantages:
Heavy yet melodic guitars, great lyrics
Disadvantages:
None that I can think of
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
“What do you mean you haven’t heard of them?” A phrase commonly cried out by a disgruntled rock fan to so-called rock fans when you mention great underground acts like Ween, Fugazi, The Rockitts (shameless self-plug!) or Haddaway. For every 10 fans of the Backyard Babies there’s one who will say “Who are the Wildhearts?” Well, maybe not – 75% of all statistics are made up after all, but the fact remains that The Wildhearts are one of the most under-recognised talents in UK rock. I feel this way because I’ve been there (so pretentious...) from their first single “Caffeine Bomb” up to the latest solo experiments from frontman Ginger, and the latest reformation (the ‘Hearts tend to break up and reform more times than a piece of reformed ham in a store-bought pasta salad).
This release (first out in 1993) was the first real long-player from the band, who had released a couple of EPs - “Mondo Akimbo A Go Go” and “Don’t Be Happy…Just Worry” (the latter amalgamated the former into a double-CD EP – phew!) the previous year. “Don’t Be Happy…” was later re-issued as an album. In fact, this release was also re-issued after Caffeine Bomb got some good airplay and charted in the Top 40 – the first edition of this CD is easily identified by a different back cover.
The original features a giant “9” and “3” with the band standing next to ‘em. The newer release (my copy) had an excerpt from the booklet, which has a fold out cartoon of a city populated by a myriad of freaky monsters & angry people (they’re VERSUS the Wildhearts, y’see!) – with the band walking over the mess in both photo and cartoon form. Much fun can be had by spotting all the weird crud going on in the background, like a bongo with arms & legs playing itself or a goat on a unicycle made of a cog. The front is the same for both releases – Ginger’s face emerging from a pool of black liquid, gaffa tape over his eyes, a live scorpion (!!!) over the left eye, a cockroach on his mouth and barbed wire wrapped around his face. The things people do for art…
Why’d I buy the CD? Like I said – I’ve been a fan for a long time.
How much was it? £13.99 in HMV though www.changesone.co.uk is your best bet for Wildhearts related goodness (this CD is currently £12.99 – possibly cheaper elsewhere). Because Ian who runs it is friends with ‘em! And they have free UK postage & packing!
Anyhoo…
**THE TRACKS**
#1 – Greetings From Sh*tsville The songs on this CD fall into two distinct camps – those about a girl, and those that aren’t. And this aren’t. ;-p It’s a perfect summing-up of the Wildhearts sound – heavy & melodic with a sarcastic lyrical bent on life. This is especially great when heard live; the rising chorus has a great shout-a-long last line of “London!” A tale of misery in a squalid London flat, it’s as depressing as an ice-cream sundae. Brilliant opener, not too fast and not plodding. A perfectly paced mid-tempo tempter with a crushingly heavy guitar break and a very “Aerosmith” solo.
#2 – TV Tan Another tale of semi-despair with a duelling-guitar opening salvo and a similar pace to the previous offering. “I’m living on a landmine/My body’s ticking away…” warbles Ginger in the introduction to this story of an extreme couch potato. Superb vocal melodies on the chorus and an infectious shouty bit to follow. Take two of these and if you’re not jigging round the living room by morning, call a doctor. A COMPETENT doctor!
#3 – Everlone 6 and a half minutes of goodness. Another heavy guitar intro (you love ‘em really!) into a verse melody with more hooks in it than Pinhead’s bedside cabinet. The sound of a band completely on top of their game, with extremely tight playing and minimal production – and the great vocal harmonies between Ginger and second guitarist CJ. And THEN there’s the last 2 minutes which lapse into an extended jam, the pace slowing down slightly with a great heavy riff ending the whole shebang.
#4 – Shame On Me This is a track I always forget about, but the hook at the start/pre-verse is an absolute belter, fast paced and worming its way into the brain and down into the foot. To resist a foot-tap during the intro is futile. Lyrically, I don’t think this is as strong as the other tracks – probably why I never remember it – but it’s not like a filler song by any means. More like one of the much-loved B-side offerings (the ‘Hearts always put out superb B-sides, sometimes stronger than the single they’re packaged with).
#5 – Caffeine Bomb Ah, the song that started it all – the reason I dig this band. Super-fast heart attack of a ‘choon’ which is an ode to the titular concoction. Sugar, whiskey and coffee all in one drink. The lyrics are sung so quickly it’s hard to make out the verse, but that’s kinda appropriate isn’t it? Famous amongst those in the know for being the first song on Top Of The Pops to dodge the censors with the line “baby can’t you see I’m sh*tting black water?” Pogo-tastic! See? I could be a music journo, I make up crap terms! If you can get to see the video of this, do so – if only for the scene in which Ginger proclaims “Oh no! I think I’m going to throw!”
#6 – Lovesh*t From its AC/DC styled intro to the best use of a whistle in a song, this is one of my all-time favourite Wildhearts numbers. “My baby with the sunset eyes/Making moves that can burn my soul” is a damn fin lyric, and this song is full of them – obviously. Jangling piano riffs, stuttering verse vocals and a drifting guitar melody leading into the chorus. If I were an irritatingly over-hyped David Jason character, I’d say “perfick”. But I’m not – so I’ll say, “this rocks my hairy anus”.
#7 – The Miles Away Girl Heavy intro? Check. Killer hook? Yup. Melodic song structure & vocal harmonies? Yes and yes. Must be another Wildhearts song then… Quiet chugging gee-tars behind the verse crash back in to the remainder of the song which tells the tale of a light-headed girl. “Her head’s up in the sky because she knows that’s where she’s headed,” exclaims the ginger one. Excellent solo, which layers an obscene amount of noise into a quiet break, before segueing nicely, back to the glorious chorus.
(Ben takes a break at this point to turn up the stereo as he’s listening to this at work, and is trying to drown out the other worker’s drum & bass music from *their* PCs)
#8 – My Baby Is A Headf**k “Gee mister you’ve got the best answering machine message I ever heard,” exclaims a nameless American woman before the song crashes in. A great counterpart to the previous offering, with the girl featured in the lyrics here being a tad more frustrating. Hence the title! Another live favourite of mine, if only for the childish glee at roaring “head f**k!” repeatedly during the end section.
#9 – Suckerpunch As fast as Caffeine Bomb as just as great – if not better… Ginger’s been punched in the face by a girl. This song bemoans that fact. Again, lyrics are hard to hear but this time thanks to a radio-mic effect during the verse. As with Caffeine Bomb this has a slightly slower section in the middle, but it just adds tot he overall effect of the song rather than being gimmicky. Plus it features the trademark Wildhearts “guitar chug” – you have to hear it to understand it!
#10 – News of the World “We’ve changed/We didn’t even try” muses Ginger on this anti-world song. This has some stunning guitar work on the break – all the way through if you want to get technical. The one key factor in Wildhearts songs is that they may complain about things, but never in a preachy or whiny Nickelback/Staind/Creed way. The songs are complete and you can take as much from them as you want – dance to ‘em or listen to the message – or both! When Ginger sings “take me far away from it all” I get the sense he’s already there – because the music he creates is his vehicle. Sorry kids – pardon my serious moment. “THIS F**KIN’ ROXXX DUUUUDE! TOTALLY!” Better?
#11 – Drinking About Life Short little ditty with a (running out of superlatives – insert your own here) drum intro and a quick pace throughout. Bit of a throwaway song, but there’s nothing wrong with that! Does the trick – mentions self-servitude and self-ambition and gets it all over with in about 2 minutes. Builds anticipation for the genius of…
#12 – Love U Til I Don’t Hee hee hee! Yessss! My bestest track on the whole dang CD. Just over 5 minutes of unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll, beginning with – yes – a heavy guitar intro and lapsing into an ever-so-slightly shifting pace change. Some of the best rock lyrics of the 90s nestle in the depths of this one – “The Frankenstein you tried creating/to give me your trust and I’m still waiting/take me as I am or not at all” cries Ginger as the chorus comes around. Say “hola!” to it, because it’s sticking around in brainsville for a spell. What else is great about the song? The reggae mid-section. The chorus melody. The Beatles-esque “now honey please” break. The perfect melding of guitar stabs and drumming as the song winds down…or at least you think it is, because it keeps going and you don’t want it to end as it builds back into a pogo-worthy bouncy rhythm before crashing out. Then you realise your CD player has a repeat play button and you decide to use it.
I think I just wet ‘em.
* * * * *
Recommended for fans of: AC/DC, Aerosmith, Queen, Cheap Trick, New York Dolls, rock 'n' roll in general.
Not recommended for fans of: wearing a bucket over the face and banging on it with spoons.
www.silverginger.co.uk – official website for Ginger with many a link and tons of information. Fast loading and damn cool. Superb artwork.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jill Murphy asked me to write about one of my favourite things to help her celebrate her fourth anniversary of cancer-free living and to remind ourselves of all the nice things in the world. It takes more muscles to make a frown than a smile you know. If you'd like to join in, whether you've only just joined Ciao, or you've been here ages, you're more than welcome. Just write about one of YOUR favourite things, make your title "A Favourite Thing: [your choice]" and include this paragraph at the foot of your opinion. And post before Friday, 9th August.
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