The Crybaby

[Buick GN]

 

[Buick GN]

       

[Buick GN]

Chilled to this todaaaaaayy.

*thumbs up*

[Buick GN]

and again this early morn.

G.I. Joe

[(((O)))]

Just listened to this for the first time in ages and my oh my is it a mixed bag. Some fantastic songs yet painfully some dire ones. Its a nice idea to involve lots of collaborators but for us that love the sound of the band these other elements push the songs into areas that i (at least for me) really dislike. Wish it looked more like this:

1. Blockbuster
2. Mine Is No Disgrace
3. Divorced
4. The Man With The Laughing Hand Is Dead
5. Moon Pie

[jules]

Just listened to this for the first time in ages and my oh my is it a mixed bag. Some fantastic songs yet painfully some dire ones. Its a nice idea to involve lots of collaborators but for us that love the sound of the band these other elements push the songs into areas that i (at least for me) really dislike. Wish it looked more like this:

1. Blockbuster
2. Mine Is No Disgrace
3. Divorced
4. Dry Drunk
5. Moon Pie

Hmmm, I love all the songs on this except Mine Is No Disgrace. For some reason his voice annoys the hell out of me! I don't skip it, though. Everything in moderation!

[(((O)))]

Hmmm, I love all the songs on this except Mine Is No Disgrace. For some reason his voice annoys the hell out of me!

Yeah i know what you mean, especially during the "..and i feel i could rape a nun" bit. Love the chorus and everything tho. As cool as that song is i always imagine that had Buzzo sang it instead it would be one of THE upmost greatest Melvins tunes ever. They should play it live me thinks.

[Justafilthylurker]

It's all about the country tunes, boy.

[GrimReaper]

Hmmm, I love all the songs on this except Mine Is No Disgrace. For some reason his voice annoys the hell out of me!

Yeah i know what you mean, especially during the "..and i feel i could rape a nun" bit. Love the chorus and everything tho. As cool as that song is i always imagine that had Buzzo sang it instead it would be one of THE upmost greatest Melvins tunes ever. They should play it live me thinks.

[andy the angry bald man]

It's all about the country tunes, boy.

THIS.

i revisited this album after a loooong time of not listening to it..  i'd forgotten how good it is.  but man, those hank III tunes, fucking hell are they great!

[black stallion]

yeah,GI Joe sucks though,the song with Foetus is amazing as for the man with laughing hand is dead.amen

[kdools]

I never gave this album much of a chance, so I just gave Divorced a proper listen for the first time......

What else have I been missing in my life? That song is fucking awesome.

[(((O)))]

I never gave this album much of a chance, so I just gave Divorced a proper listen for the first time......

What else have I been missing in my life? That song is fucking awesome.

That IS the most fantastic song on there. One of the Melvins very, very best too i think. Im not too keen on the rest of the album on the whole tho.

[Metalhead Cow]

Divorced is the clear highlight of the album. It's REALLY good. And the title comes from what Dale was going through at the time.

From skimming through this thread, it seems most people don't like GI Joe, but I really like that one and it's one of my favorites. I really like Mine Is No Disgrace, Moon Pie, and The Man With The Laughing Hand Is Dead (it's pointed out every once in awhile, but for those who don't know, the bass line is the exact same bass line from A History Of Bad Men). Spineless has some interesting percussion sounds and a cool solo from Buzz. I just don't dig the country tunes.

[amazonAMAZON]

THOUGHTS:

Great album, if you don't get it I feel bad for you. It is not going to scratch the Melvin itch too much, but I wonder if people who warmed up to "Sausages" might come back and revisit this. I love the Trilogy in its entirety and i bought this at release and was really into most of it right off the bat.

First three songs are all covers... not just covers... tributes. One of the hardest things for me to get over was Teen Spirit. As a Nirvana fan I thought this was a poor choice for a long time. (You can't improve on that original mix/recording! The melody is simplified and not in a good way. Are they taking the piss out? Or is this sincere? They have access to Kurt legacy no one else does... Why not do a rare tune or a fecal matter tune?) But then I listened to it as Dale's tribute to Dave's drumming and it all makes sense. Dale slays here.

"Ramblin' Man" might be one of the best recordings in the Melvins catalog for me. The vocal tone, the clarity of the instruments, it feels so alive and intimate. It impresses me every time I hear it. It is not very melvinsy - except that it challenges your definition of melvinsy.

"Mine Is No Disgrace" and "Divorced" are the endless listening gems of the record. Thirwell's voice took a bit of getting used to, but the lyrics are perfectly disturbing and the music is outstanding. "Divorced" taps into that 'terrifying' quality of the album Honky and focuses it through a creative arrangement and mix.

"GI Joe" and "Spineless" seem to be the two tracks that live on their own, completely dependent on whether you're a fan of the guest artist or not. In this case I own the skeleton key and patton catalogs so I am pleased, but I can see how someone who dislikes these artists would be displeased. You can hear plenty of Dale on "Spineless" although it's the garbage sounds that own this one's percussion. GI Joe on the other hand is basically a Mike Patton original. I'd love to hear the seven minute Kevin bass vomit with Buzz/Dale noise on top that the Melvins originally gave to patton. Maybe this will surface some day on an amrep linocut single...

And that is the album... If you go by the Trilogy vinyl track listing. Seven songs. So thinking about the four additional songs on the CD as a bonus EP is my preferred approach. Maggot + Yow vs Prick = "Dry Drunk". "Okie" a bonus Hank tribute. "Man With" a ten minute dirge that also taps into some of the Honky type terror, which maybe drags on a little too long but is forgiven.

And finally "Moon Pie" possibly the track that takes the longest time to grow on you. I probably heard this album ten times through before I even really noticed this track was here. Took a long time but I love it. The start/ stop of noises is addictive. The redneck performance is mixed a little distant but that makes it fun once you know to tune into this.

Anyway... I hope this helps anyone struggling to enjoy this album. There's no Buzz vocal through most of it... but I think we are all learning that the melvins is not about who is on the mic. It does play off a bit like a mix tape at first but all in all the sequencing is perfect and the recording is excellent and the songs are all essential to the whole experience.