Bummed

by

Happy Mondays

Edit

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.

'Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches' is the most recognized Happy Mondays album, but I still say that 'Bummed' is the better of the two. 'Pills 'n' Thrills' with it's smoother production carried the torch of Madchester, but IMO still doesn't compare to 'Bummed' with it's raw crackling energy, and alot of it has to do with underrated guitarist Mark 'Moose' Day, who trips the light fantastic with his brand of bone-shattering psychadelic funk, an echoing guitar wall of sound. Shaun Ryder is responsible for the lyrics, and is a figurehead as most lead singers are, but musically this is Mark Day's album. 'Bummed' is reckless energy, uninhibited, and yes perhaps E induced...but also owes a debt to the classic riffs of rock, funk, and psychadelia. The sound is like letting wild-dogs run loose from your speakers, and hey, you might actually find yourself dancing around like a wild-dog yourself to this music, afterall, isn't Bez one on E? Let the party begin.