Customer Reviews

Max Webster

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

 

 

This album was originally released in Canada in 1975 and then it was released two years later in the U.S. and elsewhere with a different cover and a different album title, " Max Webster/ Hangover ". I had the U.S. version on vinyl for years before finally buying this on CD, which has the original album title, " Max Webster " and the the original cover. My LP version had a lyric sheet, while the CD does not....at least the version I BOUGHT doesn't have it.

ANYHOW.....in either format, I still think this is the best album that Max Webster had ever done. It may not be their most mature album from a musical or lyrical standpoint, but it IS their most hard rocking. Of the nine tracks here, I don't think there is even one dud....I like or love all of these songs! The album gets off to a whiz banger of a start with '" Hangover ", which begins with Kim Mitchell making some intentionally headache inducing noises on his electric guitar, after which the drums come in and Kim lays into a mighty catchy guitar riff (which I taught myself how to play). A terrific song with many good things going for it, particularly Pye Dubois' lyrics, which do an unusual, but accurate job in describing a typical hangover, especially the lines " cold morning and the drums, blue eyes and the window sun ", " double vision when the bars close down " and " I can't feel you but I know you're around, I can feel you cuz I feel the sound ". This wonderful song is followed by another good hard rocker , " Here Among The Cats", on which Mitchell gets in some mighty fast lead guitar work.

Terry Watkinson's sole writing contribution, " Blowing The Blues Away ", is a laid back and catchy hard rock number which contains, like many other songs here, a very singalongable refrain. It also showed that Watkinson was a very capable lyric writer himself. " Summer Turning Blue " is the most mellow song here...very pretty and melodic, with a surprisingly sensitive vocal from Mitchell. This is followed by....

......" Toronto Tontos ", which is my favorite Max Webster song of all time and one of the funniest tunes I have ever heard. I love everything about this song, from the silly voices that sing the opening line " Bonjour aux amis des malheur, nous sommes fous " (which translates into something like ' Good day my friends of misfortune, we are foolish '....or at least that's what my high school French teacher thought it said), to the mock dangerous guitar riff, to the drumming, to Watkinson's organ playing, to Mitchell's bass/baritone vocal, to the silly tin whistle and percussion that comes before the verses, to the delivery of the lines " I got no fire on me...no cigarettes, no matches ", etc.... I do not know WHAT this song is about and I don't think I want to know. What I DO know is that Max Webster never did anything remotely like it again..and that's a shame.

The second half is mighty good as well (though not as strong as the first half ) and starts off with two very satisfying hard rockers in a row, " Coming Off The Moon " and " Only Your Nose Knows ". Both of them feature outstanding playing from all four band members, though once again, Mitchell's lead guitar playing particularly shines on " Only Your Nose Knows ". I think I may have heard that tune on the radio a few times.

" Summers Up " is an odd little piece. It's a bit mellow, with some cocktail jazz like piano playing from Watkinson. Mitchell hits some very LOW, LOW notes during one part. A weird, but enjoyable song. The album ends on an unexpected serious note with the seven and a half minute progressive rock number " Lily ". The musical star of this one is Watkinson. Several different musical sections,some complicated time signatures, not a very heavy song. Though it may be my least favorite tune here, it does get better after a few listens.

Some very good albums would come afterwards, but overall, I would have to say this album is the best one Max Webster did. Terry Brown helped produce it and the album really sounds great, especially when played VERY LOUD! I really think you should buy this album...really!

THE COOLEST hard rocking lp released in 75/76.Makes other rock bands of that time and today sound so un-cool and square,and is FAR FAR FAR more better and cooler then anything released by Kim Mitchell's solo material. Hangover,Here Among the Cats,Coming Off the Moon,Only Your Nose Knows and Toronto Tontos are the coolest and heaviest songs on this cd,especially if you turn the bass volume way up for best effect.And may I add that the drumming and symbol playing are so-ultra cool and biker-beer-like....just check out that track Here Among the Cats(and others)to hear what I mean.

This album really rocks! For not being familiar with Max Webster I was impressed!!!

my father worked at a radio station in the 70's and would bring home piles of records at any given time.

he handed me an original cover lp and told me to listen to it and critique it.

i had never heard of them so i put it on the turntable and was blown away by the first cut,"hangover",so i listened to the whole thing,and had mixed emotions.i listened again later,then again when a friend came over.

that wa when it started growing on me,never hearing such strange mixes,and (pye dubois) lyrics.

the guitar work was anything but average,the drummer was killing the skins on some of the heavy stuff,and the mellow stuff you really had to understand.

it had just a paper jacket as an insert and not much info.

so a week later i told my father my opinion.he said the reason he asked me was because his station was sponsoring an all day rock event at harbour island in toronto the following weekend and we ,as a family were going.

max was headlining,and took the stage at around 8 pm.

i never saw such a strange looking band in my life....unconventional is an understatement,but when they started playing it was magic.kim mitchell was a long haired teen,and owned his strat.the original drummer was outstanding,as was the bassist,and keyboardist.(names escape me at the present time)

i still have that lp,and take great care of it.

my faves are toronto tontos and lily,but that is not to say the rest of the album doesn't stack up equally.

i have seen max at least 8 times,and the theatrics just kept getting better.

after kim and boys recorded their last album together,and announced their breakup,i was shocked,but kim and his creativity were ready for the next challenge.

years later i was in a rock club and was introduced to a guy,we chatted and he asked me who some of my fave bands were,and through about 10 i mentioned max webster.the guy said really?and proceeded to tell me about how he was kim mitchells roomate,and how kim was ready to quit music if his next album did not do well.whether this is truth or fiction i could not tell you,but i am happy he is still rockin'!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this CD would have been much better. I saw Kim Mitchell in Buffalo at a place called Melody Fair in 1996 with an American Indian playing bass & a drummer. They were freakin' phenomenal!!! I was a little disappointed with this CD, especially considering some of the rave reviews it got. At that concert I saw them at (I was in a band at that time that had Shanghai'd me - we opened for Kim Mitchell at that show!) Kim reminded me of a cross between Allan Holdsworth & Frank Zappa on guitar - phenomenal. This CD is not even close to that live performance. Maybe I need to listen to it some more (perhaps in time it will grow on me) but for now I can only give it 3 stars.

Like all Max Webster CDs, the re-mastering makes the CD sound much better than the original LP version.

While some other Max Webster LPs had a lyric sheet, this recording did not, thus you are not missing out on anything with the exclusion of lyrics on this CD.

The CD is about 36 minutes long, same as the LP.

Of all Max Webster recordings, this is the most experimental. It is much like Frank Zappa, especially with regard to the lyrics.

Right now, the best bet for the money as the original LP contained no lyrics.

By the way, why does Amazon include a 'NO' in 'was this review helpful to you?'. People are only human and don't like opinions that differ from themselves, thus the 'NO' makes it too easy express such displeasure.

Are they trying to discourage negative reviews, hence not purchase the CD. Such reviews only help a person in not being dissatisfied a product that received positive reviews

used to goto the gasworks and the piccadilly tube (both on yonge street) to see max webster. bought this album when it first came out. it sadly wasn't representative of the live band. mitchell's choices of tunes were dubious at best. plus i didn't particularly like mitchell. i liked the band's rhythm section, mike tilka and paul kersey, and terry watkinson was an enjoyably insane keyboard player.

"toronto tontos" was my favourite track then and still is now.