Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Full of Life and Energy, May 10, 2002
Back in '96, I heard "Banditos" on the radio and immediately went out and bought this disc. On first listen, I liked it all. Since then, it's become an essential part of my collection. A true desert island selection. I have my favorites, including Down Together, Mekong, Girly, Banditos and Nada, but the beauty of this album is the flow. The whole album works together beautifully, conjuring up very realistic images - images of the southwest, of Mexico, of real people living their lives during the good times and the harsh. You can almost smell the dust in the air while listening to Nada, feel the pain of lost love in Girly and taste the beer in Mekong. This was an incredible rock band and I'm still bummed out that they are gone. Great recorded sound, excellent, cohesive musicianship, the whole nine yards. Essential stuff.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hidden Treasure, February 22, 2005
This is actually one of my favorite albums. Once it gets into my car stereo, it tends to stay there for weeks. I bought it for the well-known "Banditos" and the rest just grew on me. Some of the songs should be on b-movie soundtracks (and would help you like the movie). Some are just poignant - "Mekong" reminds me of all the business travel I've done where the hotel bar was the only place to go and meet your new best friend who is doing the same thing. I've always considered this one of my desert island CDs because it's solid cover to cover and no matter how many times I play it, I still really love it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most Unerrated Album EVER?, August 5, 2006
I think it's certainly possible that FFBB (as we in the "know" like to call it) is, at the very least, the most underrated album of the 90s. The songs on FFBB sound as fresh and real and often brilliant as they did a decade ago.
Much is made in some of the Amazon reviews about the "humor" of the Refreshments' lyrics, and while it's true that there are some laugh out loud moments if you really listen to the words ("European Swallow" surely has its moments), the Refreshments are more genuinely clever than just "funny" when they keep it light, and downright contemplative when they dig a little deeper, as they do with "Nada."
FFBB also contains what I consider one of the best love songs ever. "Down Together" is another of those clever songs, but its so much more than that. It's truly a rare example of a pop song that actually gets love right. It's not sappy, and the sentimental turns ("Your breath, it smells like wine, I like that a lot, especially when I kiss you") feel so genuine that it seems almost like eavesdropping on a slightly tipsy conversation between to people who are deeply in love. Honestly, I could deconstruct this one song for hours, and never begin to touch the heart of it.
Just buy this album, go out and see Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers (pretty much The Refreshments V2.0) if they come to your town, and consider that this is what rock and roll should always feel like.
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~ Clyne & the Peacemakers, Roger
~ Clyne & the Peacemakers, Roger
~ Roger Clyne
~ Roger Clyne
~ Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers
by The Refreshments 
