Customer Reviews

Rush Hour

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I am a white man with funk
I like to listen to Wesley
Wesley sings like a gentle summer rain
He makes me smile

I'm a funky white man, I'm a funky white man
I'm a funky white man, I'm a funky white man

I really dig Mr. Willis
He plays his Casio well
I'd like to record with him one day
You can imagine his voice singing these words

I'm a funky white man, I'm a funky white man
I'm a funky white man, I'm a funky white man

Wesley is from Chicago
I'm a funky white man from Tampa
I admire his album covers
I like home made album covers

I'm a funky white man, I'm a funky white man
I'm a funky white man, I'm a funky white man

Roll over London, Rock on Chicago - Chevy like a rock

wesley willis is a true american poet whose writings are a painful summation of the harshness and banality of modern American Life. In undeniable kafka-esque fashion, wesley strips away the artifice through writings which reflect the bureaucratic nature of our destroyed emotions. His songs are brilliant parodies, not only of life, but also of the pop song structure itself. "Rush Hour" is a shining moment for Wes, featuring some his best songs ever, in my opinion. "King of Fire" "Creep Show" "Electric Eel" and "Electra 225" are some of the highlights here. I've had an admiration for this artist for quite awhile. Wes' combination of banality, harsh observation, and completely open honesty is refreshing in the extreme. Escape from over-produced pop fluff, buy Willis, and discover that some artists can rattle off nonsense with sheer brillance, thus making them genius. This also seems to be Willis' most spiritual album...

This is one of Wesley Willis' earliest albums. The songs have the same basic song structure as all his other songs. But the songs have different subject matters than his later songs. For example, most of his later albums have several songs describing concerts he attended. This album doesn't have any songs like that. Most of these songs are based on fantasies out of Wesley's imagination. Wesley describes getting attacked by electric eels, vampires, dragons, Batman and more. To be honest, some of these songs don't make a heck of a lot of sense, even by Wesley's standards. But that is part of their appeal. This is probably Wesley's best album, not counting "Greatest Hits" albums.

O man! Wesley Is the man! This guy is hilarous, pure genius! This guy knows what he's doing. I suggest everyone goes out and gets this cd... NOW!

Wesley Willis. One can say the name, and 90% of the time, people will wonder who you're talking about. Well, some music lovers have been blessed knowing, listening, seeing, or being head-butted by this wonderful man, who lived too short a life. Who is Wesley Willis? The Daddy of Rock and Roll. The Elvis of Chicago. The King of Cult Rock. I can go on.

Rush Hour is different than any other album Wesley made, say, set aside from his Wesley Willis Fiasco albums. The thing I don't always dig on Wesley Willis' albums, is how a good 50% of whatever album revolves around rock shows and rock bands. There's not enough story and not enough classic Wesley. Well Rush Hour may be missing some of classic Wesley, like bestiality, and shooting his joy-ride down, but you're so into Rush Hour you don't care. The album I call it is his definitive album, and the album you should start on if you wish to get into him. It's the only album without his celebrity tribute songs. It's the only album that truly revolves around the true mind of Wesley.

And the fun.....or should I say joy ride...doesn't stop there. With some Casio melodies I have not yet heard on any other album, it is safe to say Rush Hour is a success there. I've known some Wesley Willis albums to depend on just one melody on his Casio, and not that there's anything wrong with that, but sometimes I can't sit through an entire album on one melody in a different key, and I friggin love Wesley. Now that's not to say he doesn't recycle melodies on this album here, but as I stated earlier, you're so drawn into the music, you don't care.

With smash hits like the album's opener Jesus Christ (The only song I've heard where Wesley Willis rhymes), He Goes to Prison, Good News is Rock and Roll, The Wesley Willis Fiasco, Outburst, Vampire Bat, F*** With Me and Find Out, I Whipped Batman's Ass, and The Vultures Ate My Dead Ass Up, true Wesley Willis fans need this in their collection. What some people think to be another nonsense Wesley Willis album, filled with endless tributes, 2 minute Casio melody jams, and commercial slogans, may still have some of this, but the album is to me, a giant book of 3 minute stories. A true gem from Wesley Willis, and just a great album.

Wesley Willis to me was just one of those unappreciated musicians who didn't get the fame he really deserved. Sure his music was nothing at all fancy. But what do people have against Wesley as a person? Wesley Willis to me was the friendliest man Rock and Roll ever knew and ever will know. I wish to God I could have met the man or seen him in life. Wesley Willis once said that if any of us had demons in our head who "talk to you in profanity or whatever," not to let them shoot down our rock music, or to have them keep us off the joy bus. Well, had I not been introduced to Wesley Willis, my love for Rock may have been jeopardized, so I owe Wesley Willis a lot in life. I also look to Wesley as a role model for overcoming any obstacle in life. Wesley may not have been the most successful person in the business, but he was presented with many obstacles and he met each head on. Schizophrenia, the many stories he talked about in his music, it's just a real pity he couldn't be the first one to triumph over leukemia.

I hope one day to meet Wesley on the other side. But until then, all I can do to promote how wonderful a man he was, is to play his music, and this album will always be on the playlist. So what are you waiting for? Take a harmony joy ride with this album, it's Rush Hour, and you got time for music before traffic eases up.