Customer Reviews

Up in It

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

 

 

The Afghan Whigs may not have hit their pinnacle until the release of Gentlemen, but it'd be false to say they didn't have anything going for them before or after that album. Their last few albums before they disbanded found them experimenting a little more, especially with the soulful 1965, but their earlier years were more musically raw than the tracks on Gentlemen. Up In It is a great case in point.

I'd like to think the sound is leaning closer to classic punk and grunge than anything else, but some of the `60s R&B vibe the Whigs were notorious for shine through occasionally.

The album opens with "Retarded," a classic chord-basher with a very Whigs bridge section. "Hated" has a sound I wish would've ended up more on later Whigs album, and is surely one of the best tracks on Up In It (it even has some nice intrumental interplay between guitarist Rick McCollum and singer/guitarist Greg Dulli). Other gems include the melodic "You My Flower," the almost Cheap Trick-ish "Amphetamines and Coffee," and "Hey Cuz," filled with McCollum's neat slide work.

Why three stars, you may ask? Well, while there are some great tracks, some of the tunes are just subpar. Dulli's vocals on "White Trash Party" are more irritating than anything else, "Son of the South" sounds like a bad B-side from Urge Overkill's Americruiser album, and both "Sammy" and "In My Town" sound musically out of place with the rest of the songs. The album is musically a great improvement from the band's debut, Big Top Halloween, a few listens show they still had yet to find themselves.

This is a great album, especially if you're looking to complete your Afghan Whigs collection, but for those looking for an introductory album to the band, this isn't the place to start.

Any fan of the late 80's and 90's American punk scene should appreciate this album. If you were amazed at the raw force of Nirvana's Bleach or fell in love with any of The Replacements early releases, you can't go wrong. The CD contains several bonus tracks from The Afghan Whigs out of print, independent release Big Top Halloween.

`Up In It' (1990) is the Afghan Whigs' second album, the first being 1988's very rare `Big Top Halloween'. In fact, this contains three tracks off BTH.

This is pretty formative stuff for the Whigs, but you can hear both their sense of texture in certain songs (the excellent `Retarded' and also `Son of the South', `I Know Your Little Secret', `In My Town' and `I Am the Sticks') and Greg Dulli's sense of romantic self loathing and inappropriateness in some of the lyrics (`Retarded': Television's gone/ And I'm alone with Lucifer/ What a drag or `Hated': With all your crying I can tell/ That your disease will make me well/ Twist your head so I can witness/ Come and crawl inside my sickness). A number of the songs are pretty much straight forward fast grungy rockers that make it easy to see how they were lumped in with the 90s grunge rock crowd. But it is the afore-mentioned tracks that give you a glimpse of their penchant for soul influences and edgy sexual darkness - the things that would make their future releases brilliant.

If you have `Gentlemen', `Black Love' or `1965' already, this will not assuage your desire for more. It is too immature. But it will give you an insight into their rough and raw beginnings.

Mainly for completists.

If you're reading this it's probably because you're a big Whigs fan already. If this is the case, and you don't already own this cd, I'll recommend you get it. It probably won't blow you away; some songs you'll like, some you won't, but it will satisfy your Whigs craving from time to time. Also be aware the production value is far from outstanding, so if that is a sticking point for you you may want to pass on this one. Now, if you're new to the Afghan Whigs, you should start with a later release like Gentlemen. Whigs rule.

The Afghan Whigs are my all-time favorite band, but they hadn't yet come into their own for "Up In It." I found this album refershing because the band really rocks out with some old-style punk, but it isn't what the band does best. If you are just getting into the Afghan Whigs, check out "Gentlemen" or "Black Love." If you already own those albums and you know you love the Whigs, you'll enjoy this album. If you like this, you should try to find the earlier and very rare "Big Top Halloween." It has different versions of "Big Top Halloween," "Sammy" and "In My Town." Overall, I give this album three stars, but the songs "Son Of The South," "Retarded," "White Trash Party," and "I Know Your Little Secret" are all Whigs classics.

It absolutely isn't their best, but songs like "Hey Cuz", "flowers" are one of my all-time favourite songs. When you know nothing about the "Whigs" you should give "gentlemen" a try. It is one of the 20 best albums this decade.

If you like noisy and grungy stuff--if you don't, why the heck are you nosing around here?--you'll dig UP IN IT.

Sure, every song has that patented Sub Pop love buzz going on. But that's what makes Up in It better than all the other Whigs albums. No slow and soulful ballads here. Just straight ahead blasts of nasty guitars and the totally over-the-top shrieking of Greg Dulli.

Besides, how often do you get to hear words like "Tchoupitoulas" and "Mississippi" in the same song? Not to mention deliberately offensive tracks like Retarded, Hated, and White Trash Party. Gotta love it! Go get it. Unless you're one of those sensitive 4AD types.

The Afghan Whigs issued their second album "Up In It" in 1990 and while quite good, in retrospect the album sounds like an appetizer for the truly great next album, 1991's "Congregation".

"Up In It" (13 tracks, 45 min.) starts with a blast, "Retarted", as sure an arena rocker as you'll find. The album generally sounds quite heavy, with guitars all over, check out "Hated" for example. "You My Flower" is a nice breather in all the heaviness. Other good tunes include "Big Top Halloween" and the closer "I Am the Sticks". Overall, the album drags a bit, and a tighter song selection would have served the album well.

This is a good Whigs album, but not the best. For that, check out "Congregation" and "Gentlemen". Finally, I cannot write this review without mentioning that the Afghan Whigs are one of the very best bands coming out of Cincinnati in the last 15 years (along with Over the Rhine)... Greg Dulli, come on back, all is forgiven!

I bought this album on cassete tape
and you know what, it is great. It has
many songs that may not seem as good as
some of their later work like Gentlemen
or Black Love but if you like the Whigs
buy this album because it also has songs
that sound like they came from later realeses.
If you liked Gentlemen, buy this. If you never
heard of the Whigs, buy Gentlemen, then this.

I'm not much of a writer, so bear with me. Afghan Whigs rock. there's no way around it. Gentlemen is one of the best albums in existence, and black love is ... amazing. I stumbled onto Uptown Avondale first, and i was very intrigued. next i got Black Love, and was completely mesmerized. THEN i had the pleasure of experiencing the mother of all whigs' albums, Gentlemen, and have been completely obsessed ever since. Greg Dulli is the man. If you are a whigs fan, then you probably already own this album, along with all the others. if you are just discovering them, let me say that you MUST BUY GENTLEMEN!!! it's an absolute MUST HAVE!!! (you can work your way backwards to this album, just at least, for God's sake, BUY GENTLEMEN!!!)
if you have yet to experience the Whigs, you don't understand! you have no idea what your music collection is seriously lacking! something is amiss, and it is the whigs! words can not express. i take that back. Greg Dulli's can, and do, just buy the album.