Customer Reviews

Electriclarryland

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Before I picked up this CD, people told me the Surfers sucked. I beg to differ. The Butthole Surfers infuse Rock/pop, industrial, blues, alt-country to make very dynamic music. From the first song to the last, the Surfers rarely fail to please my ears. A couple songs on the album ("my brothers wife", "lets talk about cars") are just plain strange, but it adds to the uniqueness of the band. Heavy punk riffs over bluesy bass and great lyrics; what's not to enjoy?

Indepedent Worm Saloon is a must-have also.

I love the Surfers. The first album I ever heard of theirs was "Brown Reason To Live" going on 20 years ago (egad), and as it so often is with enduring favorites, I hated it at first. After a few weeks of repeated listenings I began to see the light (like a neon sign in hell) and became hooked. My brain, and the ears to either side of it, will never be the same, and I am...glad.

I have overheard those who consider themselves purists and staunch fans from their first recordings lament that this album is too commercial. It simply isn't so. "Pepper" was radio friendly, but these guys dabble as well in pop as they do in anything else. Besides, if you're still singing the same tune at 38 as you were at 18, you're just not paying attention.

WARNING: Do not listen to "Ulcer Breakout" while driving a vehicle. Even in my acceleration-challenged Mazda I have cheated death while pushing it to it's acceleration and cornering limits. White knuckles, death-grin, eyes watering...you just can't help it, and you wish for something faster and more dangerous.

-"Ever felt the torque of a hemi?"
-"Ever gone so fast you could die?"

I think too many people take this CD seriously. It was a crazy experiment from the Butthole Surfers, as is all their work. Though most of these songs could be considered "pop rock" songs, there is a wide variety throughout the CD. You got your almost country-like tunes such as TV star, the hard rock song The Lord is a Monkey, the Punk Rock Birds, the French almost instrumental Let's Talk About Cars, and rockers like Ulcer Breakout and Thermador and you have the accidental hit Pepper with its awesome one minute guitar solo at the end. The success of ElectricLarryLand was a complete accident and I think people just need to chill out about it.

I think that the main reason I enjoy this CD is because it was the second one I bought from them (the first being the Weird Revolution), now I own all their CDs (including their Double Live limited to 4750 copies), several albums on Vinyl and a copy of their rare Family BBQ Video. I know now that their songs from the 80's are better hands down, but that doesn't mean I can relax from time to time with this album. I think if the Butthole Surfers had been continuing their Acid Streak into the late 90's it would have ultimately destroyed them. This album too destroyed them in some way, they weren't able to release another official album until 2001 and that one was sub par.

Why do you think that the band members were doing all those side projects? There was P., Paul Leary, Drain, Jackofficers, etc. And who said pop-type songs should be banned from the Butthole Surfers Catalog? Remember the song Hey off A Brown Reason to Live? Their first record? We have to remember that that was a pop song too. This album is a partial mistake but it's not a sell out. Many of the lyrics and songs still have a slight dumbed down edge that you wouldn't see in other bands. The weird trance/comedy song My Brother's Wife comes to mind, and lets not forget about the lyrics to The Lord is a Monkey, or the randomness of Cough Syrup. The presence of the Gibbytronix on a few songs like Space makes it feels like a short sleepy grateful dead jam. This is a nice Butthole Surfers album to fall asleep to (in a good way).

I recommend getting this album first because it's an easier access to their later material; it sucks you into their world. It's the "gateway drug". It prepares you for the hard Acid of Locust Abortion technician, the alcohol of Independent Worm Saloon, the Meth of Hairway to Steven, the cocaine behavior of Psychic...Powerless... and so forth. Please do not let the negative reviews deter you from this album, it can only help in making you a Butthole Surfers Junkie, and believe it or not, that is actually a good thing.

Pretty forgettable outing from the Surfers is almost totally comprised of conventional songs. A sad drop from the Latino Buggerveil glory days that true Surfer fans (such as myself) know and cherish. Some of the songs even sound like rip-offs of earlier Surfer tunes: "Cough Syrup" sounds distressingly similar to "I Saw an X-Ray of a Girl Passing Gas".

Pretty sad, in all. The Butthole Surfers remain one of the great experimental rock bands of all time. Their first four albums are towering acheivements, but "Electric Larryland" isn't even close to being in the same class. Gone is the psychotic menace and disorienting fever of "Psychic Powerless", "Rembrandt Pussyhorse" and "Locust Abortion...". Even the freak-out songs on the album ("My Brother's Wife") are a little tired and sound more like someone trying (in vain) to imitate early surfers.

I will always respect and love and follow this great band, but this is not one of their best albums, nor is it an album for a prospective fan to start with. Pick up one of their first four releases or "Humpty Dumpty" instead.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

Okay all you f'n BHS snobs... Hairway to Steven is great and all... Groundbreaking when it was released... But so is Electric Larry Land... This is great loud ca-razy in your face psycho acid punk rock from Texas...

This CD has some of BHS best songs like Cough Syrup, The Lord is a Monkey, etc... c'mon every song from start to finish is great on this CD... No duds.

"She comes from out west on a nickles worth gas
She's got her mind on her money and her dope up her @ss..."

That is just classic Gibby Haynes Butthole Surfers brilliance!

If you trully dig what the surfers are about then this CD will rock your F'n socks off... give 'em a taste KG

Even though this release by the Butthole Surfers is MY personal favorite of their entire repertoire,I've heard some older fans comment they didn't care for it much.'Electric...' is less perverse,than say the likes of their 'Locust Abortion Technician' effort.Cuts I seem to remember carrying more than their own weight were "Pepper","Ulcer Breakout","The Lord Is A Monkey","TV Star" and the CD closer,the unforgetable "Space".Saw the band on this very tour and I was blown away.Have a strong feeling their tours that followed were a bit scaled down.Straight to the point:just great heavy alternative rock.Recommended.Might appeal to some fans of Flaming Lips,The Cramps,Sonic Youth and Jesus Lizard.

Hey, everybody. That Californian who wrote the last review is back. I just thought I'd let you guys know that I've listened to many more albums since I wrote my last review of "Electriclarryland" (written soon after I purchased it) and I must say that this is still the only album that I play on a regular basis. Why? It has it all. Butthole Surfers combine every element of rock possible and then further interest the listener by never losing their sense of humor. Whether it's punk, country, or just plain alternative, these guys are stocked on everything in rock. Anybody who thinks Butthole Surfers "sold-out" with this album can kiss my "butt." Does "Birds" sound very commercial to you? They are not sell-outs. They are the one-hit wonders who wrote "Pepper." Ask any of your friends who are not real big fans of this band to name a few more songs by them and they will not be able to do it. I have listened to the old stuff and I still like this trip better. If they sound different now it is only because they are experimenting. Any true fan would be aware that these guys are known to experiment like crazy. As far as albums go, this is the only one by anybody that I can truly consider a masterpiece. If you read above, you will see that Option calls this "a great album." I have listened to people go on and on about other albums by other bands that they consider a classic. This is the only album that fits into that category for me. Listen to how much ground Butthole Surfers have covered on this album and by the time "Space" is almost over, you will be likely to agree as you laugh along into the sunset.

After spending many minutes Googling and reading reviews of this great CD, I couldn't remember what the song "Jingle of a Dog's Collar" reminded me of. I know it was a tribute to someone (so much of the music they make is and their album titles). I was stumped. I have 10k songs on my iPod but it couldn't resolve itself. Nobody compared it which made me question myself.

Alas I was sitting here doing taxes, and it hit me and I knew it instantly!

Can anyone disagree that this song was modeled after "I'm Waiting for the Man" by The Velvet Underground? (It could probably be compared to several Velvet/Lou Reed songs)

That is it! What a great song that is! Both of them...

Anyway people can criticize "Electriclarryland" if they would like. I was a Surfers fan since 1989 when I was 14. Finally an album came out that I could get people in the door with. The older stuff was harder to turn people onto. Before this album I had to tell them that the singer from the Surfers did the vocals on Ministry's "Jesus Built My Hotrod" and that usually worked...

Anyway it does seem to be a tribute to some early drug influenced psychedelic rock. Hendrix for sure (hence the name), and Velvet, and even some Beatles.

Do the liner notes still have the odd-photos? I'd appreciate if someone would explain the alternate covers (mine's got the groundhog). As must have happened umpteen times, I bought this off my then teenybopper brother, who'd sprung for "Pepper" & loafed the rest, for $5 and was impressed if not tickled pink. While I thought P was downright ingenious the first hundred times, radio overplay ruined it for me forever. Fortunately one can move on to novelties and mini-anthems, which round out the album nicely. Above all, the songs are a lot of fun and unlike anything you'll hear otherwise. Pure ecclectic bliss, I tell you! The caustic punky stuff can be hard to sit through, but it complements the rest very well. "Jingle of a Dog's Collar" is neat, the orchestral outro to "Cough Syrup" gives me goosebumps (and is a darn fine, if random, song in itself), and the album goes out with an enjoyable wimper. "Let's Talk about Cars" and "Space" take some getting used to for their stark contrast, but they grew on me like a chartreuse mold--weird and disgusting but too interesting to get rid of. Those who give this five stars must be rather interesting themselves.

To me, the Butthole Surfers represent a concoction of harsh tones and subtle grooves. Birds provides the perfect question for this album with "Alright, what are we doing here? Ha, ha, ha" whatever it is they're doing, it rocks. Cough Syrup mixes alternative rock ramblings with a pseudo country vibe, bot TV star is the most countryesque tune with a decidedly Lou Reedian lyrcism. Let's talk about cars still befuddles me (any got a translation? e-mail it to me, pleace). The Lord is a Monkey rocks out with an outta-my-way wah-wah riff. Jingle Of A Dog's Collar, though repeitive, still grooves. Currently Space has caught my attention with it's literaly trippy guitar vibe and Gilby"s echo laced laugh, which segues into a harsh punked up vibe, much like something crashing to earth, only to return to space to conclude the journey.