Viva Dead Ponies [IMPORT]

Fatima Mansions

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 20, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony/Bmg Int'l
• ASIN: B000UTOQLU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,454 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
2007 digitally remastered and expanded two edition of the 1990 sophomore album from former Microdisney vocalist Cathal Coughlan and his mates. Includes a bonus CD featuring 15 tracks for a grand total of 33 cuts. The uncompromising sound of the Fatimas was hard to pigeonhole and they were one of the few bands during the early '90s who actually took chances with their music, not concerned with any restrictions thrown at them by their label. Sony/BMG.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Black Seamus cried, my shamrock died . . . ", April 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Viva Dead Ponies (Audio CD)

I bought this recording on cassette when it first came out (more than 10 years ago) after hearing a aboutthe Irish band Fatima Mansions on NPR. It has continued to be one of my favorite recordings of all time. Fatima Mansions music is a strange clever mix of loud/angry/cynical/bitterness and exquisite sweetness. The singer (Cathal Coughlan?) has one of the greatest voices of all time. In a way, the album is prophetic: Jesus as portrayed in the title song, Viva Dead Ponies, is very much like the South Park Jesus! FM's other CD, Lost in the Former West, is also wonderful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars impressive oddity lost to the sands of time, February 14, 2007

By	Dr. Philgood (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viva Dead Ponies (Audio CD)

I picked up this album after reading a rave review in Rolling Stone magazine, not being familiar with any of Microdisney's output. I was struck by the strange juxtaposition of '80s pop and punk-rock attitude. Some of the tracks are amazingly catchy. "Broken Radio #1" could be mistaken for a lost Spandau Ballet song until a death-metal break comes out of nowhere and knocks you out of your chair. "Angel's Delight" goes from dreamy synth-pop to thrash in an instant, as Cathal Coughlan screams "Burn, motherf****er burn!" like an Irish Zack de la Rocha. "You're A Rose," "Thursday," "The Door-to-Door Inspector," and the motown groove of "Mr. Baby" are incredibly catchy, and its only the vitriolic lyrics that betray the fact that you're listening to a very angry man that would love to murder various members of the establishment such as police officers and the pope. The music is a mix of synth-pop and rock, and it often conflicts strongly with the angry, sometimes absurd, lyrics. There are a few too many short interlude tracks for the CD age, but other that this there's not much filler here. With its rather unsettling mixture of pop and sarcastic, angry, Britain-centric lyrics I can understand why this album wasn't a hit. However, the fact that it has almost been forgotten completely is a travesty of musical justice. My recommendation to music lovers is to get your hands on a copy of this album, if just to hear how effectively pop can be twisted into a tool of subversion.