Customer Reviews

General Patton Vs the X-Ecutioners

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This one is really intriguing-- vocal acrobat Mike Patton goes to war, sometimes literally, with turntable army The X-ecutioners. I'm a big proponent of turntablism, and I enjoy the fusion of Patton's avant-garde and rock sensibilities with the the X-ecutioners.

Much of this is scratches, screams, yelps, effects, noises, etc. interspersed with bizarre commentary about war, there's precious little in the way of songs. Its more often genre bending/blending, "Precision Guided Needle-Dropping and Larynx Mutations" in less than two minutes manages to bounce between California-esque pop music, organ drones, swing, and scratches before fading into a bizarre banjo piece that ends with a hip hop take on a marching drill. All this is followed up with "Battle Hymn of the Technics Republic", which is roughly what its title sounds like, scratches over a dark march. Some of the jump-cut pieces also bring Patton's singing (rather than vocalizing) to the forefront, including the rather familiar rhythms of "Take a Piece of Me", it never ceases to amaze how he can sing in the most pop-oriented styles over the most dense hip hop and somehow make it work, and we even get a straight lounge style croon (if only for 20 seconds before it cuts styles again) in "We'll Paint This Town". In many ways, its like Zorn's Naked City filtered through Patton and hip hop, some tracks, like "Modified Combined Obsticle Overlay", bounce through half a dozen genres in the first 45 seconds before settling into a funky groove, only to switch gears altogether and start bouncing through genres again. It can be frustrating at times, because just as you start to really enjoy something, it switches gears, but somehow in the end, it all fits together.

The structured songs that are there are of remarkable quality-- "Get Up, Punk!" is a good example of this early on in the record, with a droning synth line, hip-hop beats, and Patton's growled vocals, its superb. Perhaps even better is the mighty "Fire in the Hole", more turntablism and hip hop beats, with a crooned vocal courtesy of Patton. Also a more concrete song form is the near-alternative/industrial "Loser on Line", probably the closest thing to a commercial song on the record (which is to say its only moderately bizarre).

I suspect this is a first listen thing for most people, either you get what they're trying to do and you think it works, or you think its a mess. I personally loved it.

This is an incredible, and a very underrated Cd. It is important to bear in mind that there are very little stand alone tracks on this cd. There are only three or so tracks that are listenable apart from the rest of the cd, those being Get Up Punk, Fire in the Hole, and L.O.L. The three songs are all great in their own respect, but what really makes this album shine is everything put together as a cohesive whole.

The tracks flow from one track to the next so smoothly it is almost difficult to distinguish the change in tracks. In it's utter chaos, there is always, even if difficult to pinpoint, order. It is orchestrated chaos, and it sounds and works phenomenally. The cd will jump from one genre to another, almost before you can take notice. I can listen to this cd over and over again, and it never gets tired. Each time I relisten, I hear something new. To get the most out of this cd you should listen to it with headphones or with surround sound. The album loses a lot of glory if done otherwise, and will be much more difficult to appreciate.

I am familiar with some of Pattons other works (faith no more, mr.bungle, his collaboration with Dillenger Escape Plan), and this is my first exposure to the X-ecutioners. Both artists put alot of the muscle into the album, and I don't think either one of the artists carries the other. Regardless of your past knowledge of either artist, I don't think any pre-exposure is neccesary for someone to enjoy this album. Anyone with an interest in unorthodox and seemingly crazy, at times "trippy", music will enjoy this album.

Man, Pinch my nipples and turn them counter clockwise I love Mike Patton. This cd is totally awesome. He is a brilliant brilliant man. I was scared because im not a hip hopster kina nutsac, but this is the best album ive bought in a long time. Hes got good noises.

I have been waiting for this album for a long time...but i didnt expect something this awesome. I am a huge fan of Patton, and a huge fan of the Executioners. I wasnt sure what it would sound like, but they have really created a unique, amazing sound here. One of my favorite albums already. It's fast paced and hectic at times, yet very melodic and smoothe at othertimes. The more i listen to it, the better it gets! This is a great album for any Patton follower, or any music lover in general.

This album clearly illustrates to unafflicted-world what it feels like to have ADD. Unfortunately I was diagnosed with it, but I feel right at home every time I pop this cd in. "Fire in the Hole" is one of the coolest songs to come out in 2005. This cd sounds like you threw the first Fantomas album, and select tracks from Beastie Boys "Check Your Head" into a blender, pressed puree, fed it to Patton, then made him puke it up onto a turntable and start spinnin' out some tracks. I highly recommend this one!

Simply amazing. Those are the two words that went through my mind after I listened to this album two times through. Being a fan of both sides of this collaboration, I had very high hopes. The entire 3 months before this arrived on the shelves I had contemplated and considered the idea that my hopes may be too high, that I was only setting myself up for disappointment. Not only did this meet my expectations, it managed to exceed them. The X-ecutioners are as sharp as ever, reminding me of their absolutely stellar preformance and Bonnaroo last year. No other ensemble can work those turntables quite like DJ Rob Swift, Grandmaster Roc Raida, and DJ Total Eclipse. Their albums most always involve guests, but they always outshine said guests. Not here, but then again, this is no ordinary guest. Mike Patton has always pushed the envelope, challenged us to question what we know as music, and brought us what is truly music. From absolutely stellar groups such as Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, and Fantomas, Mr. Patton has very rarely let me down. If you enjoy Fantomas's first album or Mr. Bungle's "Disco Volante" you should enjoy this. If you are an X-ecutioners guy, give this a shot. If you dig it, and you are open to experience truly challenging music, I'd give the two afformentioned albums a good listen. If this is your first time with both sides, I'd recommend the X-Men's "Genocide in Sudan" and Faith No More's "Angel Dust" as starter albums.

The story behind this cd is that mike patton gave the x-ecutioners a box of his old records and said do something with it. He didnt intend to add vocals, instead wanted it to be an album of turntable quick switching and noise. The resulting album sees patton adding a lot of mood throughout the album and in doing so making yet another genreless masterpiece.

The reason i call this a masterpiece is because if you listen to it, it is flawlerss down to the finest detail. When i listen to it i just cant help myself but appreciate how incredible the x-ecutioners are for putting an album like this together. Because although at times it sounds left field and all over the place, there is very much an underlying theme and the randomness rarely gets completely out of control. If you are part of the patton cult, you need this album... if you are looking for something fresh and somewhat chaotically soothing, then this album is for you!

I totally agree with the last review. the album is awsome. Def the best thing Patton has one since 2003's Mit Gas by Tomahawk.

Dude! It's Mike Patton! Why are you even reading this? If you're into Peeping Tom but you've worn out that cd, I'd say you need to pick this one up.

From the smooth, hollow-point scratchings of the X-Men to the stopping power of .44 rounds of Patton - your speakers will be set aflame from this incendiary package.