Customer Reviews

Munki

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yet another instance where Rock and Roll brothers just can't stay together. After only six studio albums (I'm not counting "B-Sides"), William and Jim Reid came to the conclusion that they couldn't stand being in the same room (or on the same stage) together. What a shame.

What's so interesting about "Munki" concerns the authorship of the songs. No longer could I be confident in identifying a song as Jim's or William's. William especially, can apparently write in his brother's style. For instance, my favorite song on the album, "Degenerate" sounds like Jim at his grungy best, but no! It's brother William's composition.

In my opinion, "Munki" is somewhat of a mess. By far, JMC's most adventurous and experimental album, the whole thing seems to heavily depend upon the three songs in the center of the album, namely "Virtually Unreal," the aforementioned "Degenerate," and "Cracking Up." Honestly, I could skip the others, a few of which are laced with pointless obscenities, almost as if the Reids wanted that parental advisory sticker.

Anyway, I still thoroughly enjoy listening to The Jesus and Mary Chain. After "Stoned and Dethroned," I saw them in concert at a small NYC venue, which was great (although my date didn't quite get it and wanted to leave after "Reverence" -- the one that starts off with "I want to die just like Jesus Christ"). Mazzy Star opened, and, you guessed it, the adorable Hope Sandoval came out to duet with Jim on "Sometimes Always."

Hey, if the original members of "Cream" can reunite, there must be hope for the Reid brothers too!

Listening to the torrential feedback and deliberately raw production of Psychocandy, it is amazing to see how far brothers Jim and William Reid have come as musicians and songwriters. It has been fascinating to see their development , and the place that white noise has held throughout their blistering career. "Munki" their latest sonic excursion, melds their affinity for walls of sound with a mature, refined songwriting approach. The results are spectacular. Lyrically, musically, and emotionally, this is the most gratifying Mary Chain album in years. On "Munki", the Reids put their entire career into perspective without seeming maudlin or self-important. "Munki" gives more answers than it asks questions, yet the mystique is ever-present. The humorous, cynical "Birthday" and the retrospective "Never Understood" contain some of the most personal, ingenious lyrics the Reids have produced to date. "Perfume" swoons in a sexual haze, while "Virtuallyunreal" and "I Can't Find the Time for Times" are pure rock grooves that prove complexity isn't synonymous with brilliance (or even necessary, in this case). More than anything, "Munki" is an overview of a brilliant catalogue of music that precipitated the band's subsequent demise at the now-infamous House of Blues show in Los Angeles. Quite simply, one of the most witty, substantial albums in years. Rock and roll should always be this good.

I've had this CD for a couple of years now and it is
still one of my favorite JAMC disks. I think time will
tell whether the critics of this CD were listening
open-mindedly. To my ears, it is a maturing and progression
of the JAMC sound: the production, instrumentation, and
subject matter are all more sophisticated than previous,
yet the cathartic threat of losing control is still there.
While some of the tracks are a bit plodding (it's a long
album!), there are several that are pure sugar. Just to warn
you, my other favorite JAMC albums are Honey's Dead and
(dare I say it?) Automatic.

After hearing albums like Stoned & Dethroned, Speed Of Sound and I Hate Rock N Roll it seemed that the Chain were running on fumes until they gave it one last hoorah in Munki. The album is great, I do think that they could have cut off about 3-4 songs that were filler in this album. Black is a beautiful song, Commercial brings back that noise from early days, Cracking Up sounds like something out of Psychocandy. This is their best album since Honey's Dead and should have been the proper follow up to it. Fizzy, Moetucker, Birthday, I Hate Rock N Roll and I Love Rock N Roll brims with humor and sarcasm, something you're not used to with the Reid brothers. Virtually Unreal and Degenerate are also excellent tunes that obviously rely on distortion. I could pick out at least 10 really good to magnificent songs on Munki. I'd proudly put it with Psychocandy, Darklands and Honey's Dead. I wished they could've gone out with another Psychocandy style album with raw production and crazy loud feedback but this will do just fine. A quite underrated album.

It's ironic that this was the last album for The Jesus and Mary Chain because it was a real return to form of sorts. After the stripped down beauty and simplicity of Stoned and Dethroned, they turned up the fuzz and the feedback for this one and created one of their catchiest and noisest albums since Honey's Dead.

This album really does get better with age and many listenings. Pay close attention to the lyrics (esp. a song like "Black") and it becomes apparent that they were foreshadowing the eventual disintegration of the band.

It's a shame that they spent so long trying to crack the US market... with the ill-fated Lollapalooza tour and then hooking up with SubPop for their last album... and yet were never able to make it really big here. It's a tad mystifying too because they had such an American sound -- the pinnacle of which was Automatic which was the Beach Boys with a drum machine.

Munki is a fitting conclusion for the Mary Chain because it really does bring them back full circle and reminds us that they were always produced bitter-sweet songs with insanely catchy hooks and lots of feedback. Definitely worth a listen.

JAMC delivered their last album with little fanfare in 1998 and everyone said "well, it's no Psychocandy..." but the truth is Munki is a really solid Mary Chain record. It's got a little of everything the band had done up til that point: the vitriol, the noise, the subdued acoustic-based numbers, the druggy psychedelic bits, the baggy beats, even a Hope Sandoval cameo. It is in fact a perfect career summation. I heartily recommend Munki, even as an introduction to the band. Who wants another Psychocandy, anyway? One is enough.

I remember not particularly liking Psychocandy although relistening to the debut many years later provided a whole new perspective and more acquiesence than expected. Munki is an archetypical view to Lou Reed's best input circa Velvet Underground pale blue eyes and waiting for my man etc. Add the feroucious turbo energy of the brothers Reid (misspelled Reed) and you've got something to last a while and win people over with. Like myself.

Im a huge fan,I saw them at the Filmore in San Francisco last summer and it was a great show.This album sounds like a lot of left over b sides,and production is not as good as their other albums.The album does have some really amazing high points and is a complete turn around from s&dt.Honeys dead will always be my favorite record,this one sounds like pyschocandy meets honeys dead with some guest stars.All and all buy it so they can make more.

Munki takes everything that what great about their last 2 albums Stoned and Dethroned, and Honeys Dead and combines them to make one of their strongest releases yet. I'm always amazed how these guys get better and better with each album. A lot of people may argue that the Reids are not the most gifted musicians on Earth, but few could deny that they are the damn coolest!!! Get this album!

This album quite simply is a masterpiece.