Customer Reviews

Unfinished Money Business

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

 

 

1997's "Unfinished Monkey Business" is the debut solo album from the former Stone Roses lead vocalist Ian Brown, and man, this is a damn weird album. Others have poked fun at the album title saying it's very appropriate--however, although "unfinished" isn't a bad word to describe this album overall, and even better word is "aimless".

Many of the tracks here are Brown solo 'compositions' that feature him on all instruments, and none of them fail to get you thinking, "What the hell is this?"--his instrumental skills seem rudimentary at best, his keyboard/ programmed drumming is at times hilarious, and you're left wondering what the hell he's trying to get at. The album opening "Intro Under The Paving Stones: The Beach" is a baffling sound collage. "Sunshine" is a sloppy, dull lo-fi acoustic ballad with a brief tacked-on keyboard 'coda'. "Lions" features an annoyingly, endlessly repeated chorus line and overblown "soulful" vocals from Denise Johnson, and it wasn't exactly a great idea to mix her to the far left channel while Brown's vocals are to the far right; thankfully, much of the track is instrumental, and it does have some entertainment value despite all the annoyances. "Deep Pile Dreams" is half-baked and thinly performed. The baffling instrumental title track features hilariously amateurish keyboard playing over programmed drums. My CD copy also contains a 'bonus' track called "Come Again" which is basically 7 more minutes of Brown horsing around and it makes annoying use of sampling.

As for the remaining tracks, a majority of them find Brown co-writing with Aziz Ibrahim who also handles a large chuck of the instrumental work. The Indian-flavored "My Star" has a neat little guitar solo although it's extremely brief, and the song just kinda drags along in a frustratingly aimless and repetitive fashion. The main song portion of the sludgy, hard-rocking "Ice Cold Cube" is strong with ear-catching guitarwork, but it proceeds to beat you over the head with the never-ending instrumental stuff going on, and when it finally does end, it does so in 'sudden death' fashion and annoyingly segues abruptly into "Sunshine". "What Happened To Ya Part 1" is a nice, catchy ditty with acoustic rhythm and acoustic slide guitars; it's followed by "What Happened To Ya Part 2" which is basically a lengthy instrumental jam with some voiceovers, and although it's not unlistenable and does have nice guitarwork, it reeks of filler. "Nah Nah", a Nigel Ippinson solo composition, is an acoustic guitar-based tune with a singalong chorus--it's pleasantly catchy, though it's rather slight.

With all of that out of the way, we are left with a pair of hands-down gems. "Can't See Me" finds Brown reunited with his old Stone Roses mates Mani and Reni for an infectiously funky looping groove tune--slamming beats, great Brown vocals, uncannily note-perfect lead guitar from Brown, and great lead bass guitar licks; it's a clear attempt at creating another gem along the lines of the Stone Roses' "Fools Gold", and it works big time. Then there's the mellow-yet-creepy "Corpses In Their Mouths", written by Brown and Ibrahim, with terrific moody lead guitar work and hushed Brown vocals; it does have some rather out-of-place harmonica work from Brown, but it's a minor quibble.

If you're a diehard Stone Roses fan, "Unfinished Monkey Business" is worth checking out--there are lots of intriguing ideas floating around on here, but it sure is wildly erratic and very tough to listen to all the way through.

This totally unique album has a really excellent low-fi vibe except for the vocals which were done on high end mikes. Its so well recorded and the songs hold up so well. All of Ian's albums are really funky and this is no different. The guitarist Aziz gives it this amazing and unique middle eastern vibe on guitar. This album doesn't quite sound like anything else I can think of. Check it out for yourself rather than listen to the reviews of people who don't get it. "Can't see Me" is particularly funky as it features Mani and Reni but the whole thing stands as a coherent statement. Hey he co-wrote all the songs on the first Stone Roses; He's got a lot of talent. Very modern funk/pop album that sounds unique. I listened over and over when it came out. But its not a Stone Roses album. Its its own thing.

I think it helps alot if you already like indie/brit rock, you will enjoy this album, it became one of my favourites very fast! my favourite tracks are corpses, deep pile dreams, cant see me, nah nah, what happened to you part 2 and my star. fookin cool, catchy, unique sounds...I recommend it.

What can i say. the man who epitomised the word cool from the late eighties onwards and taught liam ALL the moves just got cooler. From the first moment i heard the single "My Star", on TOTP i was hooked.Finally it was clear where the real creation was coming from in the magnificent "Stone Roses". Songs such as Nah Nah, What happened to ya(pt1 & 2), Sunshine etc, just completely brim with the originality and general brilliance that has been missing from the music industry for years!!! If u havent got this album then i advise u quite frankly to stop what u`re listening to now, and start listening to a man who has given the world the coolest music over the last decade, through the stone roses and now through his solo career. The monkey man is most definitely right back up on top of things!!

did this album have anything worthy of review on it? it must have really been a hurried album in the making, because brown can do better than this

About one third of this album is awful. What remains, however, is awfully good. You could call this an experimental work where some stuff came out well, some stuff badly. Overall though what you get from this album is a set of songs that differ from the usual mundane releases so popular with record companies. Efforts such as Corpses, My Star and What Happened to Ye are just fantastic. The overall sound is raw and underproduced- in contrast to a lot of music these days. And also in contrast to The Seahorses album released by the other half (John Squire)of the Stone Roses song writing duo. The debut album by The Seahorses, "Do it Yourself" is quite simply rubbish! Maybe there is something in what Ian Brown said, " the difference between me and John Squire is that I write songs for the people while he writes songs for himself"!! Nice to see that they still get along then!!

This is a great debut solo album, even though it has some flaws. Tracks such as "My Star", "Corpses", "Deep Pile Dreams", and "Can't See Me" are brilliant, with great lyrics and great melodies that compare with the best Stone Roses songs. There are songs such as "Nah Nah" (Not written by Brown) that are nothing but fillers, but overall this is a refreshing listen and it proves that the Stone Roses was not John Squire's band.

It just sounds like the Stone Roses. Vocally, that is. In the aptly titled Unfinished Monkey Business, Mr. Brown gives further creedence to the theory that the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts, and the parts, when parted out, suck. Since we last saw the swaggering Stone Roses front man, we see he may or may not have learned how make use of a Casio keyboard (see track 12), he now practices some form of cool guy martial art (see jacket photos), and probably just put this crap out 'cause he was running low on puss (personal assumption by me). By track six, with some horrid female guest vocalist, any illusion that this record was worth half my 24.85 plus tax was blown. I wonder if they accept opened merchandise for returns.

Ian Browns solo album is a brave step forward in contrast to the seahorses boring routine. Stand out traks include Lions, Ice cold Cube and My Star Which reached number 5 in the UK charts. If your looking for a refreshing mix of new music that carries the traditions of the stone roses into new dimensions then you should get this fantastic album-NOW! If at first some tracks appear a little primative, give them time-Ian is merely returning to his roots as can be witnessed on the title track. This is great and I can't wait for the follow up!

This album is a clunky, ecclectic and lo-fi project that is radically different than any of Ian Brown's previous work with the Stone Roses. Yet, Unfinished Monkey Business still manages to provide a creative breath of fresh air after the overblown antics of the Seahorses. "My Star" and "Can't See Me" are worth the price of admission, the ladder being the album's closest moment to recreating the Stone Roses debut brilliance. There ar plenty of other down to earth tracks worth checking out, they just might take a few listens to get used to. Only die-hard fans will fully appreciate Brownie's solo effort.