Customer Reviews

Pandemonium (Jewl)

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

 

 

I got this album in college because I had this thing for Jesse Johnson's screeching funk guitar and the Lewis and Jam wall of rhythm. What the first 6 tracks of the Time's 1990 PANDEMONIUM album did to a bunch of post-high school, pre-bar aged alternative rock kids when played through a couple of 500-watt Kenwood speakers was nothing less than a God spell. After PANDEMONIUM no party had officially started until we heard Morris Day shout out his famous "What is time is it?"

What makes PANDEMONIUM such a buried classic is that everyone from fans to critics to passive listeners want to prop it up against other unrelated distractions. The album was released nearly simultaneously with Prince's GRAFFITI BRIDGE (1990), a great album that contained a couple of Time song itself. The backbone of the Time, Terry Lewis & Jimmy Jam, were starting the 90s as the hardest working R&B producer team in the world. But worst of all, the best selling Time album was the watered-down and rushed produced ICE CREAM CASTLES (1984), that had two legit songs by the Time and a whole bunch of filler.

In a way the Time couldn't turn around in 1990 without bumping into categories or comparisons. It is obvious that when the band went into the studio for PANDEMONIUM, they had one thing in mind: make the album that defined what Time it was.

PANDEMONIUM was sexist swagger slapped down time and again by disinterested or disgusted girls. Listen to track 3, "Jerk Out" and you'll hear Morris Day walk the fine line between over-the-top chauvinist and a man afflicted with insecurities. It was funk ("Pandemonium", "Sexy Socialists") with no other-worldly aspirations or regret. It was rock ("Blondie", "Skillet") without the cruelness of that era's white-boy sex- anthems. Best of all PANDEMONIUM was a driving, well executed jam, "My Summertime Thang" is the jam overture to end all jams. The band throws everything they have to keep your body moving throughout the album.

There are some missteps, of course. "Chocolate," "Donald Trump [Black Version]," and "Data Bank" are nowhere near as intriguing as their titles. But "Cooking Class/Skillet," "Dreamland/Pandemonium", and "Summertime Thang" are enough to make this album stand the test of time, no pun really intended.

Day finishes off the album with his car breaking down, he abandons it with some mild expletives, and sets of down the road singing "Kansas City, Here I Come." It is an incredible moment knowing he is leaving the greatest band and party in the world yet there are still knows that greener pastures lay ahead.

(Rest in Peace, Jesse)

I hadn't listened to this LP for a year or two and decided to give it a spin, wow! Jesse Johnson's guitar work is the main reason I've placed this back in heavy rotation in my car. His tone is crystal clear and razor sharp on "Jerk Out", "Skillet" and the LP highlight, "Blondie" whose harmonies on the chorus and extended coda will have you hitting rewind several times! The entire band seems happy just to be playing together again and though his pimp schtick gets a little tired over the course of the album, Morris Day proves to be a good focal point, an electrifying frontman who plays his character to the hilt. Even when he plays it straight (the lovely "Sometimes I Get Lonely") you still feel a sense of cartoonish fun lurking just beneath the surface. Solid, Funky, Hard Rocking and Fun from start to finish, "Pandemonium" was a fitting farewell one one the finest bands on the planet.

When The Time reunited in 1990-I like many Time fans was ecstatic. I had dreamed about it for years-so for it to actually come to fruition was like a dream come true. Jesse Johnson, Morris Day, Monte Moir, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jellybean Johnson and yes even Jerome-what more could you ask for? Unfortunately, the reality did not quite live up to the fantasy. I know, I know the album was critically acclaimed and Rolling Stone magazine gave it 4 out of 5 stars but...the problem with this album is that it tries to be new jack swing-which is not in line with The Time's musical roots-and then there is Morris Day.

I love Morris Day, however on this album he is no longer COOL. His pimp bravado gets old after a while. It gets to the point where it is overkill and not before long-it becomes kind of corny. I just wish he would have done some channeling to reconnect with his inner coolness-or done something to cause him to remember what made him cool in the first place-and just stuck to that.

The album begins with the self-aggrandizing but appropriate-Dreamland sequence where we hear a person (Morris) snoring, and in his dream a crowd can be heard cheering as The Time are brought back to the stage by former BET host Donnie Simpson. There are some good songs on this album, the top ten hit Jerk Out, the song Chocolate. But even Chocolate in some ways misses the mark because of Morris Day's antics. Jesse Johnson, who is probably one of the best guitar players there is, displays his exceptional guitar skills on songs "Skillet" and "Blondie" which are straight up and down rock songs. Fans are given the opportunity to hear those masterful guitar skills of Jesse's that were so intimidating to Prince. These songs would have fit in very well on any rock station. The title track Pandemonium is good, while the song Data Bank has a good sound-but I am not overwhelmed by it. It sounds like it would have been very at ease on any Alexander O'Neal album. As for the rest of the album, (which is quite a bit) it is relatively undistinguished. The skits/segues/fillers (or whatever you want to call them) Sexy Socialites, Yount, Cooking Class and Pretty Little Women are unnecessary and in some cases in poor taste and don't really make sense. The songs Sometimes I get Lonely, Donald Trump (Black Version), It's Your World and My Summertime Thang are mediocre at best.

So let's recap-7 good tracks and 8 not so good tracks (including the fillers). Overall, Pandemonium is a flawed album, however all of The Time's albums have some flaws. This album offers quite a bit-but whether or not this is a good thing is another matter. The Time were a great band of extremely talented gentleman capable of MUCH, MUCH more-unfortunately they must not have felt that way or decided to take the easy way out by settling for mediocrity. I just believe this album could have easily been better. Maybe this album just wasn't a priority and the guys felt that they would just throw something together just for the sake of it all-which if true, is unfair to their legacy and the fans. When you have such a group of talented individuals-namely Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Jesse Johnson this album should have been a masterpiece. Again there are some good songs (some better than others) on this album as I mentioned above, however for every good song there is a not so hot song or filler which in my opinion detracts from the album. And then there is the Morris Day factor-which also detracts from the album. So this album is unfortunately a mixed bag-I think if some songs and skits/fillers were eliminated and Morris Day was reeled in a bit then this would have been a MUCH better album. I also feel that it was a victim of its time-maybe if they waited a few years it possibly would have been a better album and better received because admittedly, it is a lot better than most of the platinum selling albums these days. But despite its problems Pandemonium is an album that should be in any fan of The Time's music collection.

After regaining contact with The Time by converting my LPs, this CD album was a ray of sunshine. Not only were they the good old gang,they were polished as well. So glad I spotted the buy as Pandemonium was not in my collection!

I put this album in the category of the first two albums by the Time (The Time & What Time is it?). On this album you can tell they had alot of fun as the first two. Ice Cream Castle album didn't have the same feel, although my favorites off that album was "Jungle Love", "My Drawers" and "The Bird". If you are a dedicated Prince fan, you know that some of these songs on this album has a hint of Prince on it, just like the first two albums. It was Prince who actually wrote (and possibly played) on "Jerk Out","Chocolate"(you can hear Prince doing his impression of the waiter sounding like Morris near the end of the album.), "Donald Trump Black Version","Databank"(there's a free for all jam on one of Prince's bootlegs called "Pretty Face", but he sings "Databank",the arrangement is faster, the bass line is the same and lyrics are similar), and "My Summertime Thang"(which is the same as "The Latest Fashion" from the "Graffitti Bridge" album by Prince). But overall, it was the band that actually got to play on this album, unlike the first two, with the exception of Jesse Johnson. I happen to like the funky "Its Your World". Jazz saxophonist Candy Dulfer adds her two cents on this album.

Pandemonium is a strong album from the Time and is arguably their best. The production on this album is awesome as it feels as though the band is playing right in front of you. Excellent job by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who were pretty hot producers at the time with Janet Jackson and New Edition. This album sounds like the band Funkadelic at their best with an updated production. Terry Lewis's bass lines are very funky and memorable and are complimented nicely by Jesse Johnson's wild guitar solos. The keyboards are heavy in the mix but don't dominate the album's overall sound. Morris Day is the perfect frontman for this music bringing a swagger to the proceedings with his charisma and attitude. Lots of killer songs on here including the hit single "Jerk Out", "Blondie", "Chocolate", "Skillet" and the title track. There's also a couple of good ballads here in "Donald Trump (Black Version)" & "Sometimes I Get Lonely." The album loses some steam at the end with the keyboard heavy pop of "Data Bank" and "My Summertime Thang." Very strong album, these guys deserve to have a best-of collection as they had enough great songs to merit one.

I was excited to purchase this disc since the last album of Ice cream castle was alot of fun to listen to and the first time album was creative. I expected a lot of creativity on an album that was years in the making with break ups and finally Jimmy Jam and Lewis back with the group for the album. Morris carried himself well, true highlights were DONALD TRUMP BLACK version and SOMETIMES I GET LONELY, also interesting was Pandamonium itself. It would be helpful to be a Time or even Prince (yes, I mentioned his name!) fan before purchasing this album.

Even though "Pandemonium" isn't among the bands most
consistant records I give it five stars alone for it's pounding
tital song,akin to "Jungle Love" in groove and power and the
classic JB-like Time grooves of "Jerk Out" and the old Prince
chestnut "Chocolate".The funk/rap/metal of "Blondie" and
"Skillet" also stand out but most of what else is here is worth
one's time and a listen,if you can find it.But keep on lookin'!

Reunion? Yeah,I was hype. THE TIME in the 90's i-ight! Not such a good comeback though.

Sure the originals are here. Morris,Jerome,Terry,Jimmy Jam,Jellybean,Jesse and Monte. But the new jack 90's wasn't doin' for THE TIME. Songs like "Chocolate" which is their sound couldn't get them funkateers from the early 80's back in the groove. Not even the so-called rappin' "Jerk Out" jerked them back. Ballads like "Sometimes I Get Lonely" is a "Gigolos Get Lonely Too" part two. "It's Your World",motivating but not moving and the attempt to crossover to rock like "Jungle Love" and "777-9311" did,THE TIME gets JESSE to rock on "Blondie" and "Skillet". Dust off "My Drawers" y'all. Oh,the stoopid skits inbetween the songs like "Sexy Socialites",for example,put an even more stamp on this downhill CD.

It was great to see the 7 of them all together again. The effort was there but I guess it just wasn't their TIME. Oh,that was bad.

The Time are in pretty good shape here, coming together again to record some more fly tunes with the one and only Morris Day.

Highlights include Jerk Out, with Morris smacking his ladies-man lips in anticipation for the funk; Chocolate, with crazy-Prince-styled funk for a main course and a dessert of Prince and Morris talking goofy; Data Bank, a smooth jam with all the elements for a mixed drink; and Sometimes I Get Lonely, about the most introspective dish you'll ever hear Morris Day get.

I purchased the CD for one single song, "Cooking Class," which was sampled to make a great early 1990s .mod file called "Cooking it Up." The lyrics sampled were "Gimme little bit o' that pepper, gimme little bit o' that salt, put it in a skillet and cook it, on that stove I bought!" These lyrics were even hummed by Chef in South Park on one episode near the beginning of the show's run.

Fans of Parliament Funkadelic will find some similarly-flavored funk to sink teeth into here, with not quite as much self-referential, crazy stuff: it's a little more down-to-earth, but still plenty o' fun.