Is It Man Or Astro Man?

Man Or Astro-Man? | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 1994)
• Original Release Date: July 13, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Estrus Records
• ASIN: B000002RE4
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,719 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #50 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists > Surf Guitar

Track Listings

1. Taxidermist Surf

2. Invasion of the Dragonmen

3. Nitrous Burn Out

4. Clean up on Aisle #9 (Turn up the Monitors)

5. Journey to the Stars

6. Cowboy Playing Dead

7. Sadie Hawkins Atom Bomb

8. The Human Calculator

9. Organ Smash

10. Cattle Drive

11. Escape Through the Air Vent

12. Mermaid Love

13. Eric Estrotica

14. Alien Visitors

Editorial Reviews

Vinyl LP pressing of the 1993 debut album from the Alt-Rock surf/instrumental outfit Includes two vinyl-only bonus tracks not on the CD! The debut from MOAM stands as a distinct floats point & time for one of the most prolific, hardest working bands of the '90s and beyond. Developing an instrumental sound that was equal parts love and irreverence for a long standing tradition of surf music, the record marks the starting point for a young band embarking on a quest to inflect new life in the genre of guitar based music. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Born of Woman... Re-Created By OUTER SPACE!!, November 10, 2001

By 

"los_bomboras" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is It Man Or Astro Man? (Audio CD)

Man... or Astroman? came out with an impresive debut album when this was released back in 1993. This self titled album was a precedent to the music they would release later in their many albums to follow this one. This is were it all started, when Man... or Astroman? started with its humor and talent with the mixture of b-movie samples and amazing songs. The songs presented on this album are deemed classic Man... or Astroman? songs. Them being the first songs released for the whole audience of the world to hear. These songs are just incredible to listen to.

It all starts with Taxidermist Surf, a song that shows what is to come in the following songs and albums. Then as a follow up song is Invasion of the Dragonmen, a song that captures the listeners attention with the b-movie sample and then holds that attention with a great song. Nitrous Burn Out and Clean Up on Aisle #9 are just what is meant by classic songs by Man... or Astroman? And then Man... or Astroman? show how well they can cover a song by doing a cover song of one of the original innovators of surf, The Ventures, with a cover of their classic song 'Journey to the Stars'. All the songs that follow up until the last song, cheerfully named 'Alien Visitors', are a bundle of listening pleasure.

All these songs are played by the original recording members of Man... or Astroman? Starcrunch who plays lead guitar. Birdstuff who plays drums. Coco, The Electronic Monkey Wizard who plays the occasional bass, percussion, and is responsible for the sound bites. Finally there is Dr. Delecto & His Invisible Vaportron, who is refered to in the following album as Dr. Deleto, who plays bass, and rhythm guitar.

This foursome has come a long way, and through many changes in so many different regions of their attire and music genre, from this first album all the way up until their latest full length release, Spectrum of Infinite Scale. Man... or Astroman? have been releasing albums at an impressive rate and for this to be the first of their many, it is a prophecy proven true that they were destine to be great from the beginning.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must own for man or astro-man? fans, December 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Is It Man Or Astro Man? (Audio CD)

coco,birdstuff,starcrunch and deleto combine cheesy B sci fi movies with instrumental surf to create a very impressive debut. This cd contains a cover of the ventures' song Journey to the stars, this is a must own for anyone who loves Man or Astro-man? or any instrumental surf band.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Personal Favorite, Since They All Sound the Same, Might As Well Be This One!, October 9, 2005

By 

Bryan E. Leed "Jesus says, 'Go and Sin No More!" (Dayton, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Is It Man Or Astro Man? (Audio CD)

I really enjoy Man or Astro-man, the band. I really like their fun attitude and love of old-fashioned sci-fi and sound bites.

If they have a weakness, it is that the lack of lyrics and singing forces the music to rely on the surfer sounds of their retro rock style. You basically get consistent surfer rock instrumentals with humorous sound bites tossed in. The sound bites become more memorable and identifiable than the songs.

I enjoy the music, but I am hard pressed to be able to identify any distinctive melody or tune between one song and all their others.

I like this CD better than their DESTROY ALL ASTRO MEN (LIVE) (which does NOT sound live at all, BTW), simply because the sound bites on IS IT...MAN OR ASTRO-MAN are mixed closer to the same volume as the music, where as on DESTROY ALL ASTRO MEN the sound bites are quieter in volume and you have to strain to hear them unless you have the volume cranked up loud, which I can't do when I'm at work. Otherwise, I can't tell the difference between the two CDs, so you might as well buy this one, which is a little better.