Electric Sweat

Mooney Suzuki | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 9, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Gammon
• ASIN: B000063DHQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,761 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Electric Sweat

2. In a Young Man's Mind

3. Oh Sweet Susanna

4. A Little Bit of Love

5. It's Not Easy

6. Natural Fact

7. It's Showtime Pt. II

8. I Woke Up This Mornin'

9. The Broken Heart

10. Electrocuted Blues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars unpretentious, blistering rock'n'roll, August 8, 2002

By 

Atlas Groaned (CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electric Sweat (Audio CD)

I don't care what anybody says, these guys sound like the Flamin' Groovies: guitar driven, R&B-based garage rock slightly out of step with the times. And yeah, the Mooney Suzuki showed up alongside a spate of other garage revivalists, but there's something I can't quite identify that sets them apart (not above, just apart) from bands like the White Stripes and the Strokes. The whole affair sounds very unselfconscious; even the stuff that should sound forced, like the chorus from "Young Man's Mind," comes off naturally. Even the really corny material, the ballad "Oh Sweet Susanna" and "Natural Fact," don't make me cringe -- obviously, the band's grimy garage band pose is studied, but it fits like a glove. I still think the Flamin' Groovies analogy comes closest to describing these guys: the Groovies rocked like it was 1967, in 1971, blissfully ignoring the fact that popular culture had passed them by. I guess I can see the Mooney Suzuki generating a considerable buzz for a year or two, then dropping more or less out of sight while continuing to make strong records. In summation, then, this album sounds like a foundational recording from an also-ran with a well-deserved cult following.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Real Winner!, May 1, 2002

By 

Todd Lucas (Southern Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Electric Sweat (Audio CD)

... Perhaps garage rock is continuing to make inroads but what makes it especially nice is that Electric Sweat is such a good disc and far better than many of the heavily hyped garage CD's of the day. I've owned it for less than a week and listened to it at least a half-dozen times, which certainly isn't the norm. It's easily my favorite disc of 2002 so far.

..., I like Electric Sweat better than People Get Ready. The songs are tighter and more consistent here. "In A Young Man's Mind" is as good a rocker as you're likely to hear..., I really enjoy "A Little Bit of Love", which may have the best hook on the entire disc.

The 70's influences are undeniable but "Natural Fact", for example, sounds quite a bit like a Sean Bonniwell composition. The early Who also seems to figure into the mix. Yet, the Mooney Suzuki manage to whip all of this into a sound they make their own. They aren't your average garage band. In fact, calling these guys garage rockers seems to be selling them short. This is great rock and roll, period.

Everything here, including the pair of instros, is compelling, with the exception of "The Broken Heart", which is too slow and almost twice as long as most of the rest of the songs on the disc. Luckily, it's towards the end and I reckon 9 for 10 is a pretty good batting average.

A strong recommendation.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not their best, but way better than the Strokes, April 12, 2002

By 

daibhidh "daibhidh" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electric Sweat (Audio CD)

This is their latest album, and while it's not as good, track for track, as their EP and "People Get Ready", it still has some fantastic cuts on it, coyly split into "Side One" and "Side Two" on the CD.

The title track opens nicely, with the shriek of feedback, before they take off. "In A Young Man's Mind" is a lot of fun ("It's a simple world/there's a little room for music and the rest is girls"), and "Oh Sweet Susanna" is a nice change of pace, with wailing guitars. Other tracks I really liked are "It's Not Easy", the instrumental jam session "It's Showtime Pt. II", and the rocking "I Woke Up This Mornin'", which has the stomp-stomp-stomp driving rhythm that makes them so much fun. All of these cuts are more than worth your time.

Not so fond of the slow dance number, "The Broken Heart", and didn't like "A Little Bit of Love" (although Graham Tyler's guitarwork is incendiary), and "Natural Fact" (good retro sound, but overshadowed by the others) as much as the others. "Electrocuted Blues" is another instrumental, and Tyler's guitar is impressively fuzzy and wild, but I liked the "Showtime" jam better, lick for lick.

You NEED to see these guys play live, to fully appreciate their work, because they absolutely rock the hell out of their material; I saw them play at the Empty Bottle in Chicago and they blew the roof off of the place; their stage presence is fantastic, their energy undeniable, and they are TIGHT, never missing a beat or a note while diving into the crowd and jumping all over the place.

This CD adds some welcome material to their catalogue, and anybody who wants to enjoy serious R&B should get it.