Start the Machine

Fu Manchu | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Drt
• ASIN: B0002VERBK
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,970 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Written In Stone

2. I Can't Hear You

3. Understand

4. Make Them Believe

5. Hey

6. I'm Gettin' Away

7. Out To Sea

8. Open Your Eyes

9. Today's Too Soon

10. It's All The Same

11. Tunnel Vision

12. I Wanna Be

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Heavy. Fast. These are the only two adjectives that matter to Fu Manchu. Finding the natural connection between Black Flag and Black Sabbath, the Southern California band was turning out its own personal soundtrack for '70s skateboard flick a Dogtown and Z-Boys several times over long before the actual movie was made. It's not about to let up on its seventh studio album, Start The Machine. No, it's not quite as heavy as the classic In Search Of. Yes, it does include the closest the band has ever come to a power-ballad in "Out To Sea." But, overall, it's an album that reaffirms everything--or, rather the two main things--that make Fu Manchu great. --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

Key in the ignition. Foot on the gas. It's time to Start the Machine. SoCal rock legends Fu Manchu crank things up again after a nearly three-year gap between studio albums with their most aggressive & pissed-off release to date. Start the Machine, their ninth studio album in 14 years, not only reflects the frustration the band went through following their previous label's demise, it represents a bold step forward in the evolution of its sound. You've never heard a Fu Manchu album that sounds like this before. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tone & Vibe Just Not "Hear", November 21, 2004

By 

"The Woj" (Downers Grove, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Start the Machine (Audio CD)

If you're reading this, chances are you're already a Fu Manchu fan. If you have yet to purchase any of Fu Manchu's albums, they are an unbelievably great band and you definitely need several of their albums in your collection. So skip the rest of this review and enter "Fu Manchu" & "Go For It Live", "King Of The Road" or "Daredevil" in the search box now; buy all three ablums if you've got the extra cash. For my other Fu Manchu brothers & sisters out there, I'm really disappointed in this album. Coming off the heels of a Marshall Stack, Tube Tone drenched, sonic powerhouse live album, this cd is very disappointing. The first listen reminded me of the line from the song 'Ojo Rojo', "She wanted nothing & I delivered". The songs, melodies, song structures and lyrics are classic Fu Manchu, but there is something in the overall sound & vibe of this record that just doesn't make it. The term "over-produced" sounds cliche, but it seems to apply here. The earlier Fu Manchu albums which were technically under-produced really serve the band's sound so much better. Anyone familiar with guitar amps knows the debate & preference of warmer, smoothing sounding "tube" amps over the somewhat lifeless, electronic, transistor ones. "Start The Machine" sounds very transistorized and compressed with very little "warmth & tone". I bought this after listening to the live album for a few weeks in my car. An album where the sounds of Balch's lead guitar in the left channel and Scott's rhythm guitar in the right channel are so friggin' powerful and in your face. Balch still plays some wicked leads here; but often the guitar sounds are just meshed & blended together sounding like a mono recording at times.
Reeder's drums are very powerful (rather than groove orientated) and up front in the mix, almost too upfront (the guitars should be louder). Reeder is a excellent drummer (his drumming on the live album reminds me a lot of Bill Ward's drumming on Paranoid"); but on this album, it seems he's trying to be David Grohl. On several songs here, the Nirvana fixation is quite evident; in some instances, the album sounds more like Nirvana than late 90's Fu Manchu. Brant Bjork's grooving, bass drum heavy sound (ala "King OF The Road") seems much more complimentary to the bands overall sound. Still this is still a good hard rock album (very little, if any "stoner" present here). I'm hoping this was just an unfortunate production job and not the start of a trend (dare I say more commmercialized trend). So longtime fans would be best served to hit eBay or zShops for this one. Wait a few months & I'm sure the price will tank somewhat.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fu Manchu can do no wrong., October 1, 2004

By 

D. L. Thompson (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Start the Machine (Audio CD)

I'm not sure what chip the first reviewer had on his shoulder, but basically the best review I can give is to say "ignore that review". Fu Manchu have flown under the mainstream radar long enough. Their time has come. Thier skills are honed. Their truly unique approach to Rock 'n' Roll is so refreshing in a time when bands start to sound the same. Fu Manchu stands out even in the genre they have most often been lumped into (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, etc.), but the scope of thier talent is more diverse and enjoyable to more people than that genre can hold. This album reminds me of hearing Van Halen for the first time by the way it hits you as so much better than the rest! I give this one 4 stars because it is on par with King of the Road, and California Crossing, both great albums in thier own rite, but I reserve 5 stars for legendary status albums such as the Beatles Sgt. Pepper, or Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. The more people hear and agree that Start the Machine is as I say, the more likely I'd give it 5.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good album, September 17, 2004

By 

Jack Knife (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Start the Machine (Audio CD)

Basically, what you would expect from Fu Manchu. Heavy riffs and laid back grooves. Has a pretty cool laid back, dreamy instrumental on it. No real curveballs on this record. Just straight up Fu Manchu the way we like it. Kind of reminds me of King of the Road in sound. The reason I give it 3 stars is because it didn't blow me away but I have no regrets about buying it. The Fu machine just keeps chuggin' along!