Customer Reviews

Fluke

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

 

 

Rusty's the unpolished, gravelly punk band that Nirvana wanted to be if commercial success hadn't gotten in the way. From the first crunching riff of 'Groovy Dead', you can hear the gleeful inattention to detail that only great garage punk bands can achieve. The drums are punchy and loud; the guitars are ragged and energetic; Ken McNeil's singing voice recalls Johnny Rotten at his all-night-drinking-binge best. And yet Rusty can find beauty in the rough, with a pseudo-ballad called 'California' that fools you into thinking it'll settle into a pop formula, before McNeil unleashes his rage-filled wailing chorus. A marvelous debut album that demonstrates the great promise of this Canadian band.

Hold the mustard, these guys are hot enough. I was fortunate enough to see Rusty play in the late 90's and man, they could really fly. This recording does do them justice, they had a sort of "Replacements meets hard drugs and they don't care" approach to music. To quote cliches, melodic yet rockin, I tip my hat to Rusty, one of the best late 90's rock bands.

This record hits the post Nirvana wave of rock that took me by storm. It is a rare record with Integrity that came out at that time. It has Beatle like hooks but gets my aggression out every time. The four members of Rusty were the best live band I have ever seen. I love all three of the albums they released(Sophmoric and Out of Their Heads) but this the first one really changed me.

This band was huge in Toronto for about six months in 1995. "Groovy Dead", "Wake Me", and "Misogyny" were all over the radio here. They're not the best written songs you'll ever hear, and the recording quality is unbelievably bad, but there's something about the growl of the guitars and the voice that will really appeal to anyone fond of bands like Failure, Nirvana, or early Foo Fighters. Few albums manage to capture the energy of a live show as well as "Fluke".

Rusty also released two other albums; "Sophormoric" (how clever) in 1997, and "Out Of Their Heads" in 1998. Each of the three albums sound like different bands, but all are worth a listen. "Fluke", though, is easily the best, simply for its raw emotional honesty and grittiness.

Give this album a try; for me, it really acts as the marker for the end of the "grunge" era.

I found out about these guys not too long ago and after I downloaded the album, I decided I had to buy the CD because it was that good (and I like good sound quality). There are a few songs on it that aren't great, but the rest of them easily make up for it. The good songs on this album are most definitely some of the best songs I've ever heard. They have great hooks, great vocals. It all goes together so well. I wish Rusty's following albums were more similar to this one because it's so good.

The good tracks:
Groovy Dead
Wake Me
Warning
California
Misogyny
Billy Boy
Ceiling

Not so great tracks:
Punk
K.D. Lang
Tar Water


If you like alternative/90's rock, you will love this album.

After I saw the video for "Misogyny" I went out and got Fluke. Rusty sounds like Soundgarden with the guitar playing and melodically metal tunes ("Billy Boy"/"KD Laing"). If you liked "Superunknown" you would probably like this CD. Too bad this one got lost in the shuffle.

despite the poorer sound quality than most cd's, this album works in every way. from the quick paced wailing of "punk", to the slower dark-humored "california". Scott McCullough raspy voice keeps u listening, and wanting more. take a chance on this cd.