Customer Reviews

Construction for the Modern Idiot

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Popular opinion has it that this fourth and final Wonder Stuff record is supbar and easily ranks as the group's worst effort. I've always disagreed with this sentiment - and never moreso than I do now, some seven-plus years after its release. I think the lyrics are among the best that Miles penned while fronting The Wonder Suff, and the music is self-assured and confident. True, it's not as "fun" an album as some of their earlier work, but that was never the intent. It serves as the last will and testament of a truly great band. It commands respect and should be listened to with reverence. As Miles writes on "Sing the Absurd" - "I can reflect on the days when respect had nothing to do with behavior, and I can recall a day when we'd all laugh in the face of our failure." CFTMI is anything but a failure.

While digging through my cd collection I found this old gem. Put it on the cd player and it blew my mind! "Change Every Light Bulb" still gets the feet tapping. Underrated disc. The Stuffies were superb.

If you're going to go out, try to go out on a high. They managed to do this with great aplomb. This is by far the most memorable of all their albums.Every song screams to be listened to again and again, from the anger of Change Every Light Bulb to the heart rending violin and guitar at the end of Sing the Absurd. If you're only buying one album to see you through the rest of your life - then this should be it!

This, the last of their albums, before the "best of" (which is also worth getting for the unavailable singles) CD, is as essential as "Hup" or the "ELGM" if you love this music. The band spoke before the album Never Loved Elvis of splitting and this can be heard in that album's music. In Construction, this feeling is more stronger but with a positive and fighting feel to it. They were changing as a band but more as people, and this development is good to hear, if sad that it ended the band. I saw them 3 months before their last gig, and Miles Hunt made a point of showing the members of the group that had cut their hair - symbolic of the personal and professional changes afoot. All in all, a reflection with energy, worth it 100%. Oh, and if anyone knows where to buy it, an ex of mine has run away with my copy!

This is the last of several albums by The Wonder Stuff ... They also released "Eight Legged Groove Machine," "Hup," and "Nobody Loves Elvis" ... While "Construction" is the worst of the four, since it is the only one the record companies will produce now, it is a must-buy ... I recommend buying this, then going to the used CD place every day to find the others (listed in chronological order and order of merit) An unrecognized band that deserves place above REM and U2