Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches - Happy Mondays

...harass you, I want your pills and your grass you
You don't look first class you
Let me look up your ass you
I smell dope, I smell dope, I smell dope, I am smelling dope"

Some might feel that the drug use that is constantly referred to in the lyrics detracts from the songs and belittles the album but we have to remember this album was of its time, the use of E, the massive raves were not simply down to pleasure ...
...executives it came from the ground up it was a reflection of what was happening in the UK. If you were under 30 for good or bad The Happy Mondays were just telling as it was. The rest of the songs on the album fit nicely with each other and carry on the groove and attitude that I've described already. The album works as a whole and can be played through and grooved to without interruption.

'Pills and Thrills…' represents the band at ... more

Love them or hate them the happy Mondays were one of the most important bands to have come out of Manchester in the musical resurgence that the 'Madchester' scene experienced in the late 80's

The Happy Mondays were never courted by the trendy music press as much as their rivals such as that other exponent of Manchester proto Brit pop 'The Stone Roses' they were probably a little too dangerous to fully endorse and there was always an unpredictability in their output that made championing them a risky business.

Formed in 1984 by brothers Shaun and Paul Ryder soon to be joined by mark 'Bez' Berry. The band went on to make a string of records in the 80's and 90's. 'Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches' was produced in 1990 and remains their best album. By this time they had signed up with Tony Wilson who decided to introduce them to the DJ/producers Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne. 'Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches' was due to their influence infused with dance and funk threads and more than any other album exemplified the arrival of the rave scene in to the mainstream.

THE ALBUM

1. Kinky Afro
2. God's cop
3. Donovan
4. Grandbag's funeral
5. Loose Fit
6. Dennis and Lois
7. Bob's yer Uncle
8. Step on
9. Holiday
10. Harmony

This was the album that really broke the band and the Manchester sound in to the musical mainstream. It success was not only a reflection of the bands talent but showed the popularity of the dance scene and heralded a seismic shift in youth culture.

Trying to analyse the roots of the music and the general popularity of the Happy Mondays is not easy, on the album we can hear influences ranging from Funk/disco, the Indie post punk movement of the early 80's mixed with a neo-psychedelia that had arisen out of the association between the up and coming alternative dance scene and the widely used drug of choice Ecstasy. This was a heady mix of trance like rhythm, hypnotic lyrics infused with frenetic up-tempo hooks. It seemed to capture the imagination of the hooded green/orange day-glow loose-fit wearing generation.

The album contains two massive hits 'Kinky Afro' and 'Step On'.

'Step On' came first a single and was the first big chart success that the band experienced it's based on a John Kongo's hit from the early 70's called "He's Gonna Step On You Again". What was a 70's soul rhythm was subverted in to a dance vibe by introducing a slow funk beat and Shaun Ryder's lazy almost droning vocal delivery.

The success of 'Step On' was followed a few months later with the second single release from the album and their biggest hit in both the UK and the US 'Kinky Afro'. This track can be justifiably called the anthem of the 'Madchester' dance and drug scene and on the album occupies pride of place as the opening track. As soon as you hear the opening rhythm you are carried in to the fell of the music and this in itself sets you up for the groove of that follows through all the songs.

The Happy Mondays were dominated by the presence of lead singer and main songwriter Shaun Ryder sometimes his legendary drug taking and bizarre exploits detracted from the achievements of the band and certainly became responsible for a music press backlash in the early 90's but the band was made up of many disparate elements and this is reflected in the music which was very complex indeed. 'Kinky Afro' is typical of the Mondays sound. Overlaying everything is the slow funk rhythm of Paul Ryder's bass and Gary "Gaz" Whelan's drums but cutting through the steady beat is Mark Day's indie guitar riffs. This is what connect their sound to earlier exponents of Manchester music like 'The Smiths'. To add a further layer to the sound we got Paul Davis's keyboards all topped off with Shaun menacing street gang vocals…what about Bez?….well his input is restricted to a visual impact that he made on live appearances. He could always be seen at the front of the stage manically swaying and dancing to the beat a shaman like figure that seems to lead the audience into a dance trance. His contribution is rather lost on the album but if you listen carefully you might hear his maracas!

Despite his devotion to getting off his head Shaun Ryder still had a talent for writing great quirky lyrics very much rooted in his own Manchester background and just as rooted in Englishness as 'The Kinks' or 'The Jam' had ever been British in their outlook. On 'Kinky Afro' we get the classic…

"Son, I'm 30
I only went with your mother 'cause she's dirty"

And the catchy chorus

"Yippee-ippee-ey-ey-ay-yey-yey
I had too crucify some brother today
And I don't dig what you gotta say
So come on and say it
Come on and tell me twice"

Another standout tracks on the album include God's Cop a subversive ode to drugs and the police!

"Coz me and the chief got soul to soul
Me and the chief got slowly stoned"

"God rains it E's
God rains it E's all on me
God made it E's all on me"

Another track 'Donovan' and is a send up of (the Britsh Bob Dylan!) Donovan's hippy hit 'Sunshine Superman'

"Sunshine shone brightly through my asshole today
Could have tripped out quite easy but I decided to stay
To stay a while
Come up and see me make me smile
Come up and see me make me smile"

All the song have a feeling on angst about them, they are after all about life on the streets, and all the associated dangers drugs, gangs, shootings and crime. The members of the band came from this background but despite this the songs don't preach they in fact poke fun at the attitudes of the authorities, the liberal chattering classes the 'up their own asshole' music journalists and to anyone over 30 in general. This was very much in tune with the time and was similar to the punk nihilism of the late 70's infused with some great funk sounds. The Happy Mondays could be said to be the 'Sex Pistols' of the 90's

'Loose Fit' makes a further connection between the music of the time and the youth culture of Manchester. With the music of the Happy Mondays went a fashion too. For better or for worse flairs were back in. Loose fit describes the break with previous generations, the straight bottom trousers that were the trademark of the indie guitar bands were out, this also symbolised a break with the guitar-based music to a more dance orientated sound. The clothes worn by the Madchester crowd were more than a mere fashion statement they were a break with the recent past which was a prelude for the Brit pop of the 90's.

"Don't need no skin tights in my wardrobe today
Fold them all up and put them all away
Won't be no misfit in my household today
Pick them all out and send them on their way
Do what you're doing, say what you're saying
Go where you're going, think what you're thinking
Sounds good to me"

The dangers of drugs or at least the dangers of getting caught are further in evidence in another track 'Holiday'…

"I'm here to harass you, I want your pills and your grass you
You don't look first class you
Let me look up your ass you
I smell dope, I smell dope, I smell dope, I am smelling dope"

Some might feel that the drug use that is constantly referred to in the lyrics detracts from the songs and belittles the album but we have to remember this album was of its time, the use of E, the massive raves were not simply down to pleasure seeking the Manchester music scene was not produced by music executives it came from the ground up it was a reflection of what was happening in the UK. If you were under 30 for good or bad The Happy Mondays were just telling as it was. The rest of the songs on the album fit nicely with each other and carry on the groove and attitude that I've described already. The album works as a whole and can be played through and grooved to without interruption.

'Pills and Thrills…' represents the band at the peak of their powers. The band did more than advocate the party lifestyle they lived it and soon after the success of this album their phenomenal drug abuse caught up with them and Shaun in particular their future output although some still worth listening too never quite reached the height of 'Pills and Thrills' I guess the bellyaches had finally arrived.

Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches can be bought from Amazon.co.uk for £7.99 (+p&p)

Thanks for reading and rating this opinion.

© Mauri 2004

 

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