Customer Reviews

Bummed

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two things to admit. First, I did not really like this album when it came out. Second, my renewed interest in the Mondays has almost everything to do with the recent movie 24 Hour Party people. First things first: My initial interest with this album was primarily due to its being on Factory records. Thus, having been a long time fan of New Order, Joy Division, Section 25, Durutti Column, and the like, I was expecting something in a similar vein. Needless to say it was quite a shock to hear Shaun Ryder crooning against a seeming barrage of guitar, keys, and beats. However, not long after that I took a great liking to Bummed, and liked it even more after the Mondays third installment, Pills, Thrills, and Bellyaches. Until 24 Hour Party People came out, I hadn't listened to this album in probably eight years, but that film brought back so many memories. So, I found my old cassette in a box in the closet and have been listening to Bummed now for straight over a month or so. Strangly, it sounds so much better now and, perhaps even stranger, it sounds much more in line with other Factory/Manchester bands. It is, in a word, groovy. It's got it all: beats, funky grooves, goofy yet oft-imressive lyrics. Wrote for Luck is probably the highlight of the album but the other tracks are not far behing at all. (And had I been listening to it current to my writing this I might have another opinion.) Oh, and it is produced by Martin Hannett, the famed producer of Joy Division and nearly every Manchester band subsequent--at least to some degree. I believe it is because of Hannett that the sound of Bummed is quite unlike other Mondays albums. It is crisp yet hazy if that makes sense. It is like listening to great groovy dance music the morning after partying all night. And, in a way, this is exactly what it is: Dance music with a hang-over. A totally cool hang-over that is, where you don't regret any of the goofy things you did the night before.

This album has to be the best by the Mondays. Squirrel is good- although a little raw sounding and thrills a little to commercial. Bummed captures the heady days of the late 80's when the hacienda used to really rock. You would find the band sitting under the balcony (beneath the gay traitor) usually stoned or on some form of harder stuff. Listening to this album really brings it all back. Performance has to be the best track on the album. Anyone remember the ep's before squirrel? Long live the Hac. Hallelooooyaaa

Not like there is too much commotion over the Mondays stateside, but the reviewer that said "perhaps the best Happy Mondays album" and only gave the record three stars is an idiot. Pills & Thrills is at least four stars in my book (amg gave it five which is a rare thing). Bummed is raw, and less produced - just the way I like my music to sound. More importantly, Ryder sings as if he is mocking himself at times - sometimes he sounds out of tune....it's really all brilliant. The music is what made Madchester what it is. This is a definitive record, one of Factory's best.

This album reeks of lysergia and E's...it's quite different from its follow-up, Pills n'Thrills n'Bellyaches. This album overall has a more muddy, drugged up feeling which is enhanced by the production. It's all the better for it, and my favorites from this album include Wrote For Luck, Moving In With, and Bring a Friend. If you're into late 1980's baggy British music, check this one out.

Now that the Mondays have reunited, maybe this album will be rediscovered by ravers. This is one of the original rave bands that were on the seen long before Ecstasy was the "In" drug. This is a fantastic album from a great band that fell a part far too quickly. Perhaps they will get their due and be a success with their new album which is expected by the end of 1999. Buy this, it's worth it.

I love it, the slopiness, the irreverance. These guys have it over punk in that they were seriously average musicians but carried no message. They had it over glam rock in that they could'nt take themselves seriously if they tried. Don't think this album is a total novelty however the songs do have hooks and lets face it musical ability will not lift this album in fact on the next album Pills..... a higher level of musicanmanship actually backfires and alienates Ryder who becomes sort of a karaoke nightmare. Here they just sound like a gang, a gang you want to be part of

'Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches' is the most recognized Happy Mondays album, but I still say that 'Bummed' is the better of the two. 'Pills 'n' Thrills' with it's smoother production carried the torch of Madchester, but IMO still doesn't compare to 'Bummed' with it's raw crackling energy, and alot of it has to do with underrated guitarist Mark 'Moose' Day, who trips the light fantastic with his brand of bone-shattering psychadelic funk, an echoing guitar wall of sound. Shaun Ryder is responsible for the lyrics, and is a figurehead as most lead singers are, but musically this is Mark Day's album. 'Bummed' is reckless energy, uninhibited, and yes perhaps E induced...but also owes a debt to the classic riffs of rock, funk, and psychadelia. The sound is like letting wild-dogs run loose from your speakers, and hey, you might actually find yourself dancing around like a wild-dog yourself to this music, afterall, isn't Bez one on E? Let the party begin.

i came to this CD backwards, working my way back from "Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches". i enjoyed that one, but it never became one of my favourites. it just wasn't quite...uh..."there". "Bummed", however, is the real thing. even now, 16 years later, it is still an unparalled recording. it remains a stand alone masterpiece of its time, with a sound that trancends the banal and firmly roots itself in "spectacular". it is what "groovy" means...jangley guitars with an almost "country hip hop" beat. it is pleasantly lacking in an abundance of synthesizer and is a straight up rock and roll recording, interpreted as only Happy Mondays could do. couple that with Shawn Ryders rambling, far away vocals and you have an inspired work that is as fresh, exciting and profoundly satisfying today as ever. it is like a good hearty meal, with far less sugar than their later work. and so very, very groovy.

Such a perfect mix of rude aggression and... ruder aggression. This is one of my favorite albums of all time. "Country Song," "Mad Cyril," and "Wrote For Luck" are all classics, and all the others are great at the very least. Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, Charlatans, Rave On!

In the eighties it didnt get any better than this .Its Elvis,the stones and the clash for the "E" generation.Its what kept the baggy trousered ravers moving in the hasiender.Long live Madchester,but sadly it didnt ,and now it just rains a lot.