Customer Reviews

Electric Bird Digest

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

 

 

For long-time Fellows fans, this was sort of a departure. Heavier and harder than anything they released before it, it may not appeal to the "old school" Fellows fans. Kurt Bloch's raging guitar squeals are not exactly "The Men Who Loved Music." But this album is a gem. Packed with grunge and melodies, this is the Fellows' best album next to "This One's For the Ladies." It's unsung next to other 1991 releases, such as "Nevermind." But this is that OTHER side of the Seattle scene. Not a weak song on it. A+

I don't agree that this was YFF's stab at grunge. The guitar sound from Kurt Bloch is,logically, the Fastback's sound. And, I think I heard when it was released, the album also reflects Scott M.'s struggle with personal problems - thus an overall harder sound.
Very different from other YFF albums, but still brillant.

This is the noisiest, "grungiest" album by the Fellows, as can be evidenced by playing the disc and hearing the loud, discordant first track, "The Telephone Tree." Indeed, many of the songs have this sort of feel to them. That's not to say that the normally eclectic Fellows have limited themselves to one style for this album, however. "Sittin' On A Pitchfork," the second and best track, is as "poppy" as much of the band's early work (with hints of a few other styles working their way in). "The Teen Thing," one of the few Fellows songs written by drummer Tad Hutchinson, is an amusing and light-hearted (and very short) send-up of sixties-type songs, with nonsensical lyrics that just sound appropriate together. While this record is not as immediately catchy as most of the group's work, there is still plenty to like. I would agree with the reviewers who said that this is not the best introduction to the Fellows, but it is still an excellent record.

This is certainly a different sounding album compared to their others, and as much as I love their others, I think this is their best album. The production is great. The songwriting is great. The playing is great. The whole album doesn't sound like the same song played over and over, like a lot of "alternative" albums coming out around that time. Sure, it's not as garage-y or poppy or country-fied as their other releases, but it's still a great album from a great band.

Funny that people say this makes a bad intro to YFF, because it was this album that got me hooked on them. I thought it was totally brilliant, obviously, since I went out and bought many more YFF discs after this one. Besides, any record that gives thanks to (now-defunct) Jan's Friendly Bennett's here in Madison where it was recorded can't be all that bad.

Mel from HI really hit the nail on the head with his review below. This, their 6th studio album, is a bad introduction to YFF. Hardcore fans who have the rest of their earlier work will certainly want to pick it up - there's lots to like here; I'd like to single out "Hillbilly Drummer Girl" as a favorite - but there's no reason to get this before you've fully explored their first 5 records. I almost never listen to this.....

I must say i was a bit worried when i first got Electric Bird Digest. As a longtime YFF fan, this just smelled too much like a move to ride the "grunge" gravy train which had recently started running at the time this record came out. Thats not to say it doesnt have good songs on it, such as "Thirsty", "Fear bitterness and hatred" and "The Telephone Tree" (not to mention Tad Hutchison's goofy little interlude, "The teen thing"), but as a YFF album, it is an entirely forgettable and superfluous item in YFF's otherwise impeccable oeuvre. The YFF /themselves/ didn't include /any/ tracks from Electric Bird Digest on thier Spanish 'Best of' CD, "Somos Los Mejores" (although they did use photography taken during the Electric Bird Digest sessions at Butch Vig's Smart Studios in Wisconsin.) Stay away from this CD, until you have fully digested the rest of the YFF catalog first!