Give Too Much

World Entertainment War

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 1, 2000)
• Original Release Date: August 1, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B00004YA7O
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,106 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Relax

2. Dark Ages

3. Apathy and Ignorance

4. Pagan Jake's Dream Girl

5. Telepathics Anonymous

6. Marlboro Man Jr.

7. Kick Your Own Ass

8. We Have Ways

9. Garbageland

10. Yaya Gaga

11. Prayer Wars

12. For Your Ears Only

13. Kick In

14. Snake Dance

15. Break the Law

16. Televisionary

17. Purity Test

18. Get Outta My Head

19. Furnace of Nuclear Love

20. In a Crisis

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle

"Calling this music 'smart rock' . . . does a disservice to the emotional sweep of the music. . . "

Product Description

A tribal funk soundtrack for the entertainment guerilla in all of us, "Give Too Much" celebrates the radical doctrine of PRONOIA. The opposite of paranoia, PRONOIA dares you to believe that the whole world is conspiring to shower you with blessings.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, leftist, white funk-rock for the thinking person, September 16, 2004

By	R. Josef (New Haven, CT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a re-release of the band's one and only album, orginally put out by MCA in 1991 as a self-titled CD. Here, the tracks have been resequenced, a couple re-titled and two songs added. I came to the album sort of backwards -- a year after its release, Paul Kantner recruited the female lead vocalist, Darby Gould, to replace Grace Slick in a re-launched Jefferson Starship. Gould brought one of these songs, "Dark Ages", to the Starship's live shows. It can also be heard it on the JS live album "Deep Space/Virgin Sky"

Gould's powerful voice is indeed all over WEW, but the lyrics and artistic vision are provided by the band's other vocalist, Rob Brezsny. It can easily be seen why Kantner might have been attracted to WEW, because Brezsny traffics in the same sort of ideas in his lyrics -- rants against media manipulation ("Dark Ages") and its attempts to anesthetize the individual ("Get Out of My Head", "Control Yourself"); the shallowness of corporate culture ("Marlboro Man, Jr."); the rape of the planet ("Garbageman"); the virtues of noncommittal sex ("Furnace of Nuclear Love"); a vague sort of pagan metaphysics ("Prayer Wars"); and exhortations to get up and do something about all of this ("Kick", "Break the Law").

All of this would be pretty insufferable, except for two things. One, Rob doesn't take himself too seriously. The surrealistic storylines in "Kick Your Own Ass" and "Pagan Jake's Dream Girl" are quite funny. And a few of the tracks ("Relax", "Telepathics Anonymous") are actually short "commercials" for the WEW concept, and prove that he has a sense of humor.

More importantly, he surrounded himself with some really good musicians. The band backs him with a tough, muscular funk-rock (INXS comes to mind as a comparison point)and very catchy melodies. The pace is almost unrelentingly fast -- the slowest songs are midtempo at best! Rob also has a strong, powerful voice that isn't overbearing and harmonizes with Darby well. On the basis of the playing and singing, the album should have been a big hit.

But it was, unfortunately, an utter disaster commercially. I'm sure the lyrical point of view did not go down well in the aftermath of the first Gulf War (never mind today). After this, Rob went back to writing his hilarious astrology column, as well as novels. So, while some may find the album too strident, it's recommended for people who might like challenging lyrics along with hard-rocking, yet, catchy music.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A polished gem - one for the desert island, October 22, 2001

By A Customer

This CD is a shining star for those who enjoy a funky groove and artistic expression with ABSOLUTELY no filler. Each and every track is polished. The lyrics are original, distilled, meaningful, life affirming and dangerous. The musicianship and production outstanding. As if each element of the project implicitly understood the artistic intention.

The CD is a one-off sensation (the Televisionary Oracle by Rob Brezsny has more information). I first heard of WEW through the original release of 'give to much', available in the early 90's as a self titled CD. A friend correctly predicted that this would be something that I would enjoy. How perceptive of him. This was the big question about WEW for me. Where did they come from, who are they, and most importantly, where did they go? I spent years then trying to find if there was any more of this magic (greedy sod that I am) only to discover, on a recent trip to the USA, that Brezsny (the creative nexus) writes a horoscope column and has done so for many years.

At this stage, much of the puzzle was able to come together.

The title of this triumph is a worry, though. 'Give too much' is what this collection of talented people probably did. There's a 10+ album career (maybe more) worth of ideas, invention, wickedness and compassion compressed onto a single CD. It is a work of art that I hope will be discovered and embraced by the majority. This is my prayer for what it's worth.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WEW's new assault, October 14, 2001

By A Customer

I agree with much of what the reviewer from New Berlin had to say.

WEW's CD, "Give to much" is an instant classic - though possibly 20 years in the making. The original form of this CD was sent to me by a friend in the USA (again, thanks!!!). At the time, it bamboozled me that such extremes of talent seemingly had never been to the places where everyone at least had the opportunity to reject what was being offered. There was too much quality for it to have been a throw away by artists without some profile, too much invested into the production for it to have been a backyard job. Having recently finished the "novel" (!?!) "Televisionary Oracle" by Rob Brezsny, many of these questions have been explained, or at least a story has been offered.

What truly distinguishes this CD is that it's brazen without being preachy, it's not depressive, but rather, it celebrates life and living and encourages the listener to maximise her experience. At times, I'm lulled into the notion that a cook book for changing one's reality is being presented (we are controlled only as much as we wish to be).

The music is sensational. It rocks. But it has to be loud. Otherwise, the impact has to be partly gained with reference to previous listenings. Some songs are produced in a fashion that multiplies the desired message ('Get Outta My Head' kicks in with a production fiddle that is almost unbearable... almost seizure inducing).

My major quibble is the title, "Give to much". Lame - seemingly another attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of (sales) victory. Why not 'Media Apocalypse' or 'Sign up...' or 'Now recruiting'. Again, after reading the yeah-sure-novel a clue seems to emerge. Perhaps, given that the concentration of talent, ideas, invention, insight, etc within this one small expression of artistry, those associated with it realised that in one CD was an entire career - focused, beautiful, perfect. Nothing left to say.

It is in this spirit that I hope that WEW don't even think about tarnishing their genius status (at least with this fan) with another release until they are pretty sure that they, again, have something worth saying or doing.

I could rave on and on about this CD. Buy it. Then beg, borrow or steal a copy of the original release.