Customer Reviews

Give A Monkey A Brain And He'll Swear He's The Center Of The Universe

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My fave Fishbone album. This one has it all- a seamless, and I mean seamless, blend of styles. I'm not talking Mr. Bungle mix of styles (not that it's a bad thing- far from it, long live the cult of Patton) I'm talking each song sounds like the pinacle of whatever genre Fishbone happen to inhabitting/shredding at that given moment.

Take your pick- maelstrom-metal, funk, ska, reggae, psychedelia, and even a hint at Gospel (No Fear- stylisticaly- is a gospel song... well, the organ just makes it sound like Gospel, or in this case Gospel-funk rock without the odious 'oh-please-breathe-on-me-oh-God lyrics and afro-american yodeling that passes for gospel singing... militant atheist that I am...)

On ONE FREAKIN ALBUM!!!! They manage to summon the mothership, send out the best mosh-anthem I have EVER heard, Channel the ghosts of Eddie Hazel and Sid Vicious (in one song no less), crank out one of the few reggae tunes I can stomach, skank-their way to paradise in a way that most 3rd wave skasters can only drool at, Out Kool both Kool AND The Gang and invent a cure for sanity and the drab pabulum that chokes media of all species.

I mean, it's just impossible to take any of the 'hard' bands out there seriously after putting their albums next to this. They seem flat, monochromatic, lifeless, dull. Unfunky. Lyricallly Fishbone may not be the most original but they play to their strengths, are inventive and funny and certainly capable of stuff as poignant/eloquent as anything that 'Dear Charlotte' have ever penned.

And yet, this album kinda tanked (despite their prominent Lollapalooza placement... I don't get it- that was the first year that People bitched about Lollapalooza- year 3... but Primus? Dinosaur Jr? and Fishbone? It was one of the best shows I'd ever seen, ah but I digress...)

These guys couldn't fail even if they were drop-kicked into the studio with Avril, baby Spice, Nick carter, the result wold still leave you wondering what the hell assulted you and left you wanting more...

Oh, I'm 25 years old and have been to more concerts than I can recall and still will unhesitatingly state that Fishbone put on THE BEST live show I have ever seen- I don't care what your bag is, The Bone will stuff it for you. And they play for hours. You will leave the venue sore and deaf and maybe (as I have been known to do) you will drive a couple hours to see them again the next night in a different town or state.

This album has aged amazingly well - whenever I'm in the mood for Fishbone, I put this one on. Although "Truth & Soul" is probably their best, it sounds a bit dated today. "Monkey" is simply amazing in its breadth, from the crunching metal of "Servitude" (which at first I didn't like but might now be my favorite track) to the more melodic rock of "Black Flowers" and "No Fear", to the straight-up P-Funk style "Lemon Meringue", to the fantastic sunny ska of "Unyielding Conditioning", quite possibly one of the happiest-sounding tunes ever recorded (though with somber lyrics). This is the last album recorded before the weirdness with Kendall caused the band to turn into the "speed metal with horns" incarnation. This album captures that ferocity balanced with the melodic hooks of their previous works. You gotta love it.

Fishbone is one of those bands that refuses to be painted into a corner. Primus would be the other band that comes to my mind that fights categorization like a frightened cat. Fishbone's music spans the musical spectrum, tossing in funk, ska, punk, metal, rock, folk, blues, reggae... the list could go on and on. GAMABAHSHTCOTU is not only the longest album title I know, but also one of the finest representations of a band and what they're about, like Moving Pictures for Rush. It's also damn good. The opening track, "Swim," gets little press, but immediately tells you that you are in for an experience("The pool is now open!"). "Black Flowers," "They All Have Abandoned Their Hopes," and "End The Reign," are wonderful highlights. "Drunk Skitzo" is a paranoid, anxiety-ridden track that keeps the listener on edge, a true artistic venture. Another reviewer brought up the fact that most music today is easy to consume, served up hot on a plate for its customers. Sure, it's nice to be waited on like that sometimes, but most of the time, I find it far more rewarding to work a bit for your meal. Listening to an album like GAMABAHSHTCOTU is more like hunting for your food, processing it, preparing it, and eating it. It takes a little more effort, but it just seems to taste better due to the work you put into it. A great album.

Album sells have never been FISHBONE's forte. Because their albums are ahead of our time. This 1993 rockfest of 'GIVE A MONKEY A BRAIN AND HE'LL SWEAR HE'S THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE',whew, is the hardest FISHBONE has ever been. 'THE REALITY OF MY SURROUNDINGS', their best album, was close. If you just wanna rock hard there is "Swim","Servitude","Black Flowers","Warmth Of Your Breath","End The Reign","Drunk Skitzo" and "No Fear". The funk and reggae/ska songs are here but this is more of a rock album than a FISHBONE album, which is cool, but the fun out of FISHBONE albums, the humor,is not in this one. Too much of serious KENDALL? (the first member to leave the band). The album is good, but it's just NOT a FISHBONE album.

Well i would like to defend this unique album from my fave band.

Whats with the bashing for no apparent reason. Openmindedness is surely lacking these days in listeners who demand their music easy to consume and ready on a plate.

To begin with saying that this is eclectic recording doesnt do the band justice, i sincerely hope they'll make more albums like Reality of my surroundings, Monkey and NOT Psychotic Friends Networx..which is an OK album.

The sheer rawness of sound on this album and the emotion these guys put into their music is evident from 1st listen. Of course some songs aren't everyone's cup of tea. But call me crazy i love Drunk Schitzo and Properties of propaghanda. Black Flowers and Lemon Meringue are some of the best Fishbone songs i've heard. No Fear is wonderful and on the whole the album is just one of Fishbone's greatest.

This is hands down the most versitile album I have ever heard in my life. At first you think your gonna have a metal album on your hands and the next thing you know you have, smooth R&B,ska,punk,funk,acoustic, need I say more? This band, and I would agree with mistermaxxx has the same problem Mandrill had in the 70's. They don't fit into any radio category though they always blow the competion out of the water. listen to this and decide. Gosh that makes me want to write a Mandrill review!

i bought this cd because one of my 'new waver' friends said they were close to the Chili Peppers but rocked even harder. I heard "swim" and I was hooked. these guys are masters of metal and funk. No one else sounds like Fishbone or ever will. I know they will never acheive mass commercial success, there too funky for the headbangers and too heavy for the funkmeisters. They've created their own niche in music history.

Three stars doesn't really say it properly; I'd like to give GAMABAHSHTCOTU both five stars and zero stars, as it careens between orgasmic heights and embarrassing, question-the-artist's-sanity lows in the hour or so its playing. It's a lovely, sloppy, bewilering mess, but I keep coming back to it more than any other Fishbone release, if that says anything.

Calling this Fishbone's "metal album" is fair enough (though not entirely accurate), as heavy guitars permeate the first few tracks and set the tone. Many don't dig "Swim," but I think it's a hoot; a five-minute sludgy grind extolling the simple-minded enjoyment of a good mosh pit. It's a perfect answer to all the self-conscious, angsty Seattle grunge that was all the rage at the time. "Servitude" is a blistering, precise blast of metal that still sounds as great in 2010 as it did in '93.

My favorite tracks are "Black Flowers," a mournful, lighter-ready power ballad, and "End the Reign," which would have been a major hit if any of the MTV staples (especially Soundgarden) had released it. Simply a crushing rock track about social injustice (though it sounds so good it could have been about gummi bears and it wouldn't matter) with an anthemic chorus you just can get out of your head.

Now to the 1-star stuff . . ahh, "The Warmth of Your Breath." What to say about "The Warmth of Your Breath"? Hey, power to Angelo and the guys for saying "hell with it" and just laying down a track they had to know was going to produce puzzled looks ("What did he just say?") from everyone within earshot. I don't know how you could present the lyric "May your dog's colon be familiar with the warmth of your breath!!" in a more appealing manner, but a better choice would have been to just not present it. It is, however, the best song I've ever heard about the appeal of a dog's junk. Retroactive advice: pull this track from the album and stick it on an eventual "rarities" collection, where it would have had a chance of becoming a cult classic.

The other two offenders would be "Properties of Propaganda," which I just find to be terminally boring, half-arsed funk, and "Drunk Skitzo." Or, to be more precise, the last four minutes of "Drunk Skitzo." From the opening line "M-m-m-my dad's a drunk, and my mom is a skitzo," the first couple of minutes is a whirlwind of inspired metal/funk/punk lunacy that grabs you by the balls . . and immediately collapses into a meandering noodle session devoid of any identifiable musical quality. That's one of the most frustrating things that a band can do, in my book . . take an interesting track and tack on several minutes of detritus that they probably found tons of fun to record, but that sabotages the listening experience completely.

All that said, 'A' for effort and 'WTF' for execution. This is the risk one takes when truly talented eccentrics let their excesses run wild. I'd rather have "Monkey" than a tame, label-advised Fishbone product any day, but inspiration needs to be tempered with good judgement to become all it can be.

Fishbone march to the beat of their own drummer and they are one of America's best live bands. I have high admiration for these brothers . Even though I love Chim Chim's... a lil' more this album has a metallic edge which gives it distinction. They usually begin shows with Swim and I really dig this tune. Lemon Meringue and Unyielding Condition are two well-written and Played tunes as well. Fishbone Rock ON!!!

Most attempts to combine message with music fail miserably, but these are some of the best tunes of the decade. "End the Reign" is simply beautiful in its build up from quiet tension to a killer rock release. "Servitude" stands out as another powerful song. The other hard rock songs are just jam, jam, jam. "Swim," you may remember from the Last Action Hero soundtrack (bad movie but a good soundtrack.) There's also some funk songs, some people don't like the fact that there's so wide a mixture, but I liked it. When this record came out, I played it over and over hundreds of times.