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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Madchester rave on..., April 25, 2000
This album has to be the best by the Mondays. Squirrel is good- although a little raw sounding and thrills a little to commercial. Bummed captures the heady days of the late 80's when the hacienda used to really rock. You would find the band sitting under the balcony (beneath the gay traitor) usually stoned or on some form of harder stuff. Listening to this album really brings it all back. Performance has to be the best track on the album. Anyone remember the ep's before squirrel? Long live the Hac. Hallelooooyaaa
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a blast!, May 21, 2003
Two things to admit. First, I did not really like this album when it came out. Second, my renewed interest in the Mondays has almost everything to do with the recent movie 24 Hour Party people. First things first: My initial interest with this album was primarily due to its being on Factory records. Thus, having been a long time fan of New Order, Joy Division, Section 25, Durutti Column, and the like, I was expecting something in a similar vein. Needless to say it was quite a shock to hear Shaun Ryder crooning against a seeming barrage of guitar, keys, and beats. However, not long after that I took a great liking to Bummed, and liked it even more after the Mondays third installment, Pills, Thrills, and Bellyaches. Until 24 Hour Party People came out, I hadn't listened to this album in probably eight years, but that film brought back so many memories. So, I found my old cassette in a box in the closet and have been listening to Bummed now for straight over a month or so. Strangly, it sounds so much better now and, perhaps even stranger, it sounds much more in line with other Factory/Manchester bands. It is, in a word, groovy. It's got it all: beats, funky grooves, goofy yet oft-imressive lyrics. Wrote for Luck is probably the highlight of the album but the other tracks are not far behing at all. (And had I been listening to it current to my writing this I might have another opinion.) Oh, and it is produced by Martin Hannett, the famed producer of Joy Division and nearly every Manchester band subsequent--at least to some degree. I believe it is because of Hannett that the sound of Bummed is quite unlike other Mondays albums. It is crisp yet hazy if that makes sense. It is like listening to great groovy dance music the morning after partying all night. And, in a way, this is exactly what it is: Dance music with a hang-over. A totally cool hang-over that is, where you don't regret any of the goofy things you did the night before.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
this was the better album of the two..., October 8, 2005
Not like there is too much commotion over the Mondays stateside, but the reviewer that said "perhaps the best Happy Mondays album" and only gave the record three stars is an idiot. Pills & Thrills is at least four stars in my book (amg gave it five which is a rare thing). Bummed is raw, and less produced - just the way I like my music to sound. More importantly, Ryder sings as if he is mocking himself at times - sometimes he sounds out of tune....it's really all brilliant. The music is what made Madchester what it is. This is a definitive record, one of Factory's best.
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by Happy Mondays 
