Customer Reviews

Money

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before I get to the review, I'd like to give some background info on this album and why it's a very important album in the history of the band. When KMFDM started working on this album, it was called Splits, because half of the album was being made by Sascha Konietzko, and the other half was being made by En Esch and Gunter Shulz. Wax Trax(their record company at the time) liked Sascha's half, but rejected the other half, saying it sounded nothing like KMFDM. This explains why there's really only 6 completely new songs on this album. En Esch and Gunter were pretty angry, but their work was eventually released as the En Esch solo album, "Cheesy". This event is also what caused all of the tensions between the two sides, and it eventually led to the break up of the band in 1999.

Now for the review. This album is a huge departure from Naive and it almost feels like a side project from KMFDM. Unlike most of their albums around this time, it's mostly keyboards with little guitar. It's still pretty good, though, and the first six songs are all classics and some of the best songs the band has released.

Money(one of the album's singles) is a very catchy song, and it's one of my favorite songs by them. It opens with an orchestration, but then switches to a more Godlike track. Vogue(the other single), Help Us Save Us Take Us Away, Bargeld(which is German for Cash), and Spiritual House are dance/house tracks which don't sound much like KMFDM, but are still very solid. The remix of Sex on the Flag is a bit more guitar oriented, though, and with it's catchy chorus, it could be the best song on the album.

I'm not particularly fond of the rest of the album. I guess Sascha didn't have any more new material, because the rest of the songs are either remixes or sample-fests. I Will Pray is a remix of Godlike which doesn't hold a candle to any of the other versions. We Must Awaken is a religious satire which features many samples. Under Satan is just recycled KMFDM lyrics(there's even some that were already used on this album) which are resung over a remix of More and Faster. The Vogue remix is actually pretty good, but I'd rather see a new song, and the same goes for the instrumental version of Money. These songs aren't necessarily bad, but they feel out of place here, and probably would've been better off on the singles for the album.

So overall, I'd say you should get this if you want some Techno-ish KMFDM or if you just want anything by the band. You'll probably be disappointed by the second half, but the first half makes it worth buying. It's also getting to be kind of rare, so if you see it for very cheap you should definitely get it.

This is one of KMFDM's best albums, next to Naive and Angst. Money finds the band having a lot of fun while making a point, namely on the song "Money," with dancy beats, metal-slick guitars (but not the fast death metal types found on NIHIL or ATTAK), and Sascha rapping about "selling drugs on the street/cause that's what pays/I make a coupla hundred/in just one day." The band had really honed its synth/electronic capabilities at this point, which is also evident on their previous album Naive. Songs like "Vogue" and the classic club fave "Sex on the Flag" rely heavily on synth-driven structures, pulling from both Techno and House-dance influences. And the wonderful "Help Us, Save Us, Take Us Away," which takes a slide guitar over a slow funky beat, makes industrial blues a reality. The other songs are good as well, but some of the remixes are a little much. Also, "I Will Pray" and "Under Satan" are decent remixes or revamps of "Godlike" and "Die Now, Live Later" from Naive.

On Money, the band did what it still does very well: Taking current styles and blending them into the KMFDM sound. This would be their last real dance-friendly album, as Angst would lead the charge for the more aggressive sounds we know today. Not that this is a bad thing (or that you still can't dance to it). Fans of Naive or UAIOE will definitely get a kick out of Money. But if you're a fan of the heavy sounds of NIHIL, Angst or XTORT, you might want to approach this release with caution.

this album seems to be the most underrated kmfdm album by most of the fans of kmfdm. i think the main misconception people have about kmfdm is that they are a "heavy metal" band. i mean i can understand if you have only heard WWIII, Nihil, Angst, Xtort, and Hau Ruck, but they are soo much more! me, i would consider kmfdm a whole genre by themselves. i mean maybe "hardcore techno" will do, but they cover so much ground that it is nearly impossible to consider them one.

anyways, money is a great addition to any collection. this is a grand follow-up to Naive, but i wish they would have replaced the second half with the songs that en esch made(Cheesy) instead of those boring remixes. the remixes are the reason why they release a whole bunch of Ep's with their albums!

also, they could still have en esch and gunter schulz in the band. the story is that this is the album that started the whole downfall between the sascha, en esch, and schulz.

still, i say this ig good, but make sure you get en esch's cheesy with it to see what it should have been.

KMFDM is definitely of my favorite bands of all time. I had the immense pleasure of seeing the band live as well as meeting them in person over the past summer. I was first exposed to KMFDM while in college a few years ago and heard "Juke Joint Jezebel" at a house party (of all places). My first KMFDM album was their compilation "Retro". I absolutely loved what I heard, especially songs like "Money" and "Vogue" so I was curious to hear what "Money" sounded like". I really dug the catchy lyrics to "Money". The chorus is just so much fun to sing along to. Granted that I prefer "Nihil", "Symbols", and "Attak" over this album, I still have a soft spot for this album. KMFDM manages to make some of the heaviest music I have ever heard yet they don't take themselves so seriously, especially with songs like "Under Satan" and "Bargeld". The production is [bad] which is why I didn't give this album "5 stars". "Vogue" is an example of how the music suffers under the muddled production by Sasha. My favorite song on the album? I think that honor would have to go to the third track "Help Us/Save Us/Take Us Away", a slow, dirgey industrial track. Despite the flawed production, "Money" is certainly one of my favorite KMFDM albums and overall, industrial album.

Before I begin, I have to say that I'm not sure if alot of people carry my outlook on this album and that KMFDM has other albums for the casual user to plug into. If you want their bigger hits you can check out Nihil or Angst, and if you want later sounds then you can check out Symbols or Adios (or MDFMK - if you want). They offer what KMFDM is known for, but they aren't KMFDM. To me, all of it is KMFDM and hard to distinguish.

That clarified, I have to say that I really like this work. Perhaps growing up on this stuff changes one's views on it and perhaps it has aged with time and the evolution of electronics, but I remember when it dropped and how refreshing it all was. I know the whole Splits story and how it was a Sasha accepted/ En Esch rejected half-and-half album (that would later spawn En Esch's Cheesy), but that doesn't diminish it as a work. It was dropped during a time when KMFDM was still young (and, yes, they'd been around a while but they were still developing) and was still tinkering with their sound, when everyone was still developing their music in Industrial as a sound, and when KMFDM was doing what they wanted to do and still trying to find themselves. That meant that tracks would still have social commentary but they weren't the out-and-out political messages that KMFDM would perfect. And that was interesting.

I'm a fan of specific songs off of this album right off the bat, and when I think of Money I think of Help Us/Save Us/ Take Us Away. It has a catchy theme to it, tasty in its own right, and I like the dichotomy of Sasha to female vocals. Mesh that with lyrics on the good side of great and you have something flavorful. Bargeld is also a great track, with the German vocals I've come to expect from KMFDM, with KMFDM's best stuff arguably always been partially-German. Money has a nice taste to it, catchy in the old-school taste it has, and in the story it tells. Ah, the tale of America and the quest for the dollar. Vogue is actually pretty catchy as well, and has a nice little theme going with the base and the vocals that would become Sasha's mainstay.
And then there are an army of remixes of songs comprising the rest of the album, collecting nice mixes of songs like Godlike.

"We can Govern Your Soul!"

I got this cd not really knowing what to expect. I already had Nihil, Xtort and Symbols so this might of been more of a surprise for me. The guitars are minimal and in the background, and the technology is a bit more dated. But it was made in 1992 so what do you really expect? Nontheless it contains a couple classics "Money" the title track should not be ignored. That is some fine KMFDM. "Vogue" is also a standout. Get it if youre up for the more experimental KMFDM. If youre new to the band get Nihil though.

I like Money because it isn't overdone...-- this is just your basic, good sounding industrial album.

Being a KMFDM fan, it's hard to pick an album to review. Most are fantastic, and many are worthy of praise. But "Money" made me a KMFDM fan. Unbridled craftsmanship emerges from the start. "Vogue" sets the stage for the future of KMFDM, with Sascha's distorted vocals, En Esch's chorus work, and a driving refrain that transforms into a mantra among fans. "Help Us/Save Us/Take Us Away" is raw, very simple (lyrics), and yet a very layered work. With "I Will Pray" (original version of "Godlike") and its unfettered political voicings, and "We Must Awaken", a sample-heavy mosaic of droning televangelism, Sascha K. and KMFDM cement their permanent place in the Industrial Nation.

This is a brilliant CD, there is no other way to describe it. From the moment you hear the first few bars of opener Money, you will be hooked. The first 4 songs on this disc are all classics in their own right, Money is stunning. Vogue is brilliant. help us, save us, take us away is amazing. Bargeld is mind-blowing. I have almost all of KMFDM's albums, and for some reason I think this would have to probably be my favourite. There is just something about it, it is much more groovy and danceable than any of there other cd's. It has the highest rotation of any of my cd's and still I keep coming back for more, U never get bored with this CD.

I would reccomend this to anyone who is just getting into KMFDM, or for more established fans who haven't heard it yet(hell i would recommend it to everyone!!).

This is the album I should have bought first but I was a tool and waited two years and bought Angst. Not to take anything away from Angst mind you. I'm just mad at myself becase Money should have been the first in my huge Kmfdm collection. Oh well I have it now and boy is it good. Bargeld, Help us..., Vouge, and Sex on the Flag are the best tracks in my opinion. This is the first of Kmfdm's full length studio albums that anyone should buy.