Customer Reviews

Uncle Dysfunktional

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

 

 

My initial response to the disc was sadness...poor Shaun does indeed sound too f***ed up to sing on a few tracks. Given the trails he's blazed, not too surprising. But what sits with me after another listen is the beauty of hearing a man and a band at least attempt something different. Yes, this is an extension of the Mondays sound, but it is definately updated and, ultimately, quite strong creatively. Shaun's lyrics skip from quasi-profound to limply sophomoric, again indicating he is at least willing to streatch but not ever take himself, his band or his fans too seriously. For me, the Mondays were always more about the groove and the beats than the lyrical or literal translation of their songs. The album stands well against the Happy Mondays/Black Grape catalogue. Nothing revolutionary, but continuing their own experimental odyssey with a big f-you to whoever might care. Good show, boys.

This is not a "comeback," in a The Who/Rolling Stones/whatever kind of way. The Happy Mondays aren't at all concerned about recapturing their old magic, but are rather moving forward while capturing a completely different kind of magic. Musically, this is the Mondays' most adventurous album to date, and though some might complain that they've lost some of their darker undertones that made Pills 'n Thrills a bit eerie and deeper, you really can't complain with music this good. Mondays revived with a touch of Black Grape. Fantastic fun music, I highly recommend.

So the Happy Mondays are back. OK not everybody from the original group is back on board but given previous dissensions that was probably not possible anyway. And the results are surprisingly good. They have retained their sloppy sense of groove while still being able to sound slightly different: the sound has been adapted and upgraded...which is not bad. Overall I recommend this one.

Who would've thought that Shaun and Bez would still be alive let alone recording under the Happy Mondays moniker in 2007? Yet here they are successfully getting their old groove on. This isn't going to blow anyone away but it's far from disappointing. This is good head-bobbing stuff that does the Happy Mondays name no shame. This is probably not the best place to start for a newbie (I highly recommend the Paul Oakenfold produced "Pills 'n' Thrills 'n' Bellyaches" which may be the best encapsulation of the circa 1990 Manchester sound). However, for the already initiated this is a fun return to good, rude health (and I do mean rude - this isn't for the prudish by any stretch). For those who know what I'm talking about, get your Bez on and dance like a grinning fool!

Let me begin by saying that I am a life-long fan of the Mondays... I purchased Squirrel + G man the week it was available back in 1980 something. I have owned all of their commercial releases... These days, I mostly listen to pills + Thrills, Squirrel and G man and ocassionally the Black Grape stuff...

I love Uncle Dysfunkional. They've taken it to a new level. An even better level... which rarely happens with a "come back" group like the Mondays who had been progressively more boring and mediocre since Pills + Thrills... I thought that they were pretty much done... and then suddenly they come out with Uncle...

This is Ryder at his best. He is cocky, brilliant, crass and garbles his lyrics as good as always... The energy on this album is infectious... the grooves and beats are some of their most memorable...

The style of the music on Uncle is well within the canon of their catalogue... they are not attempting anything new or cheesey... they are playing their music the way that they always have... as far as I am concerned, the style of the music on this album could have easily fit into 1992 -

I think this is a monumental release... I believe that you need to look over to our friends in England and see what they are saying...

This is Ryder at his best...
If you don't like this album - then I would say that your probably would have never liked any of their albums... and face it - many people - never got into this genre in the first place... they never liked Ryder's rough and wasted lyrical style... they never reconciled the competition between the groove and the rock in their music...
Well, I love this album... and I already know that it will not be stripped of it's jewel case and filed in a cold dark cd binder... it will not be auctioned on a website...
No, Uncle will stay on top of my pile for a very long time... amongst the rubies and cherries... considered and remembered for a long time.

Well if you don't like this album you have cement shoes on and tons of ice water in your veins. The music is so sweet and well shaun is so shaun it's scary. Get off your lazy buttocks and get up and live. One of the best albums if not the best album of 2007 hands down. First night i had this album i was drunk walking slash skating and was given a ride home by the cops free of charge saving me a half hour stumble home. This album is magic.

Conventional wisdom has always said that the Happy Mondays were a band that were only ever as good as their producer.
The story goes something like this: "Happy Mondays were a band of marginally talented musicians who could barely play their instruments but happened to be fronted by a charismatic frontman. Bummed was down to Martin Hannett and Pills & Thrills & Bellyaches was Paul Oakenfold's baby. Both look like miracle workers when compared to Mondays live shows."
Or something like that. Hell, even I believed it. But listening to Uncle Dysfunktional, I came to realize just how much the other members of the Mondays really contributed to the sound and what they were about.
Make no mistake. Uncle Dysfunktional is not a Happy Mondays album. Sure, Gary Whelan is still around on drums. And Bez is there uh... contributing uh... vibes. But for all intents and purposes, this is a Shaun Ryder solo album.
Mark Day's eccentric guitar style and Paul Ryder rolling basslines are absent. And the myth that all the Mondays need is Shaun and good producer falls apart. The Mondays were about the chemistry.
OK, having said that, is Uncle Dysfunktional any good?
It's alright, I guess. It's growing on me slightly. It's a more even album than "Yes Please" but without the flashes of brilliance.
I'd list Angels and [...], Rats With Wings, and Dr. Dick as the highlights. Although none of them are as good as Judge Fudge (arguably their weakest pre-Unkle single).
To be honest, I probably would not have bought it if it didn't have the name Happy Mondays on it. Unless they re-united the Pills & Thrill line-up, I really don't think I'll buy any future Mondays albums.

Although I am a huge fan of the Happy MOndays, Black Grape and Shaun Ryder in particular, this sounds like a horrible Happy MOndays cover band

His best days are gone. He can barely get the words out of his mouth as we all know.

Dont pay 22$, wait till its in the bargain bin, at your local repo cd shop. 22 cents is worth the price though, for a nice place to rest your mug of coffee.