A vs. Monkey Kong

A

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2000)
• Original Release Date: September 26, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hollywood Records
• ASIN: B00004YLKZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,523 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Make way for the first great brother band of the 21st century. A, an economically titled Brit band featuring siblings Jason, Adam, and Giles Perry, combine the harmonic splendor of the Beach Boys with the sonic onslaught of the Buzzcocks. The band doesn't hide its influences on this, their U.S. debut: Jason's upper-register vocals evoke a more tuneful Perry Farrell on "Jason's Addiction," while "Old Folks" is the best early Police song Sting never wrote. There are even moments where A sounds like a punk rock Yes (they covered "Owner of a Lonely Heart" on an early B-side). Yet they get away with all this and more, thanks to deft craftsmanship, killer chops, and striking arrangements. Moogs, muted trumpets, and the learning toy Speak & Spells sneak into the traditional rock mix, and virtually every track comes with an intoxicating anthemic chorus. And with lyrics like, "Yeah, the trees are pretty wide / That's where Sonny Bono died / All is quiet on New Year's Day," what's not to love? --Bill Forman

Product Description
UK pressing features a total of 14 tracks. Warner. 2004. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wow, July 19, 2002

By	drew m (maryland United States) - See all my reviews

Listen to Monkey Kong, A's second release, and you'll become convinced that there really is a conspiracy by record companies to prevent good music from being popular. I mean, how was this album so completely ignored? Taken with the new (and outstanding) Hi Fi Serious, it becomes clear that not only is A the most criminally underrated band in rock, but that they're the best band in rock. Period. They're like the Foo Fighters without boring ballads. Or Blink-182 with chest hair. However you want to describe it, nobody today is making music this melodic, this downright ALIVE. Not the nu-metallers, not the rap-rockers, not the garage rockers. This is what the next step in rock should be - a orgiastic fusion of balls out rock and California pop. Listen to the title track while driving and you'll floor it. "Down on the Floor," "Miles Away," and bonus track "She Said" are all so good, you'll spend half your time wondering how this band was ignored by audiences, the media, everybody. Hi Fi Serious should change that, but if A doesn't end being global rock superstars, then the music industry is beyond salvation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A is the greatest, October 17, 2000

By A Customer

A is the greatest band no one has heard of. My friend and I saw them last may in Minneapolis, and we were blown away. We liked them so much that we drove all the way from minneapolis to Lawrence, Kansas just to see them, a 9 hour each way trip. This album has everything from the in your face hard rock of "Monkey Kong", to the slow mellow "Hopper Jonnus Fang", to the upbeat pop-sounding "Here We Go Again (I Love Lake Tahoe)." This album has it all. If you ever get the chance to see them live I would Highly reccomend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A savage flurry of hooks!, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Vs Monkey Kong (+1 Bonus Track) (Audio CD)

Unrelentingly catchy and energetic, songs like "Old Folks" compare favourably with the efforts of weaker American bands, such as the Offspring, to keep power pop and punk vital. This record has been unfairly savaged by some UK music press writers, who prefer emasculated and melodramatic orchestral rock to this sort of lively fare, but they have missed the boat entirely on this band. With fast pacing, ace musicianship and a Sting-reminiscent vocalist who hollers good-natured but on-target barbs over one hook after another, A is not supposed to be the New Bomb Turks, but rather sounds as a young Police would today. Easily as good, if not as rude, as Blink 182, A should have a much larger following, but that is not likely if the CD is not released domestically. It is bizarre that this record is only available as an import, but it is not the first time that record companies have dropped the ball in giving kick-ass English bands access to a North American audience, as any fan of Swervedriver will know. Silly bastards!