I ll recall an old verse by 60 s troubadour DONOVAN to define how difficult is to review a FAITH NO MORE album:
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
You may expect unpredictability, sudden changes, moods varying between the very smoothness and the crude thickness. Highly probable it is that you ll miss some elements during the journey, multiple as they are. But the task is always a rewarding one - if you musical tastes are not THAT conservative. Are you ready for this?
After the triple brilliance of 1987 s Introduce Yourself (the record that virtually forged Funk-O-Metal), MTV-incensed 1989 s Real Thing and the weird masterpiece 1992 s Angel Dust, FAITH NO MORE did the most obvious thing for even the most unpredictable of bands - an eclectic record.
Still suffering from the loss of one almost member whose guitars were since mid-80 s an integral part of band s complex chemistry (Jim Martin, fired via phone in 1993), they re-grouped in 1994 with guitar master Trey Spruance (from MR.BUNGLE, Mike Patton s weird - even for his patterns - side project) and recorded King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime. The title could be interpteted either as an attempt to turn backs to MTV and their hypes or as just something addressed to departured Martin and his well-known arrogance.
Whatever, what anyone could expect from a successful band s new record with a new guitar player? Some elements from the past, of course. Specially, predictable radio-friendly singles. And, maybe, two or three really weird tracks among layers and layers of filler (to say the least - because you know, transition records are dangerous and bands have to keep their tradition immaculate for the fans etc.). In the end, the new guitar duties would never impress THAT MUCH compared to golden years and listeners could expect a conservative effort. End of the review?
Fortunately... we are dealing with FAITH NO MORE.
As ever, FAITH NO MORE subverted rules and roles. And, even this said, they crafted an album that is somehow conservative. Their new guitar man sounded as adequate as Martin did previously, to the point that newcomers would hardly imagine that he was not a founding member! Nothing could be said about similarities between the new tracks and thing like Epic or...RV. And they also managed to re-create several sound ambiences from previous eras, ranging from the 60 s to early 90 s...
Of course, Mike Patton’s prowess runs through several vocal styles with the blink of an eye. Roddy Bottum distills his fondness for keyboard contributions to spy movie scores. Mike Puff Bordin knocks like mad and effortlessly opens room for the many grooves to breathe. And Billy Gould...His versatile bass work is as astonishing, technical and creative as ever, like good vodkas (not wines, which start bad and then better with time). These guys could do no wrong and, once again, they showed they are bulletproof.
Things start with the ferocious Get Out. Again, this may be addressed to former friend Martin ( what if there s no more fun to have? ) but, after all, who cares? Spruance seems to have incorporated every bit of 70 s Hard Rock guitar here. The band is prone to go even further, into thrash metal. They would have got there if the track was longer!
Then, Ricochet. Composed the day Kurt Cobain passed away, this song is a hangover one and expresses the point of view of someone that you would call dumb (got the message?). The intro is slow like BLACK SABBATH and pretty much like Killing In The Name from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. Then, dead-ringing ends and carefree rhythm rules. Patton seems in the verge of exploding and the band progressively freaks, like possessed. Uncontrolled end: On the ricochet...it’s going to get you...it s always funny until someone gets hurt and then is just hilarious . Smells Like Teen Spirit rip-off? Not exactly. This is sedated Hard Rock. In that, it shared the ambience of early 90’s but expressed in different manners.
The following track is THE ONE. Evidence. Simultaneously their most delicate and accessible moment, they successfully re-create that last 70 s ‘other dimension’ (apart from Punk), soulful smooth funk (but man, this is no BARRY WHITE please!). More accomplished than pioneers STEELY DAN, as difficult as this may be! Not a single note here is out of place. And Billy Gould truly rules! RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS’s Flea fans will never forgive me...
They were increasingly building a conventional rock album, so they followed Evidence with the disturbing The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies. Bile spitting hate in carefully controlled music fashion. That is to say, Patton’s brainchild! This time they resemble anyone – this is pure FAITH NO MORE. Maybe the riffs belonged to ANTHRAX, but OK...the guys started before ANTHRAX.
You may be thinking now: What would they do next? JAZZ? YES! Exactly. They spawn the Jazz experiment known as Star AD. Which is pretty funny, indeed! The guys seem not THAT out of place and somehow they gel into a bettered 5-piece BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA. A good intermezzo before the hard side of the moon .
Then, Cuckoo For Caca. I don t know what these awkward title means, but this track definitely has its enchantments. Funk-O-Metal to the bone, we would see KORN doing something similar in a few years – just not that good. Spruence seems to be well integrated in FAITH NO MORE here, better than ever. Lyrics of their best ( being good to people brings you stuff...take it from our drummer, Puff ).
So, Caralho Voador (which in Portuguese means flying dick ). Such a name would spawn expectations of something like 2 LIVE CREW, EMINEM or even PRINCE. Here, as they are FAITH NO MORE, that turns into...BOSSA NOVA. God, they really know how to impress someone. A good song, after all. And one of the most bizarre and hermetic lyrics the band ever wrote (even if considering that Gould defined the lyrics as simply describing the dick flying).
Following Bossa Nova with Stoner Metal is that kind of thing that you would normally expect from artists like PRIMUS, FRANK ZAPPA and FAITH NO MORE. And that ‘cliché’ comes to full effect here, as the next track is the really thick and menacing Ugly In The Morning, a Patton showcase of vulgarity and paranoid freakout as effective as any bizarre part of his canon!
Then the band delivers its inclusion in the pantheon of Best Hard Rock Songs of All Time (side by side with Epic) - Digging The Grave! This track is amazingly powerful and yet controlled, not like your favorite SLAYER track - you can clearly distinguish every instrument. Digging, flawless as it is, even renders Patton’s barely decipherable howl in the end positively transcendent. The video for this one is one of my favorites and when I remember 1995, I remember thrashing like mad before TV!
Then, suddenly...the fall. And once again, alcohol. Take This Bottle, one of the most depressing and (surprisingly) touching ballads I have ever known. The whole band is under control and they play with lots of earnestness. Patton seems comfortable within the lyrics, maybe autobiographic ones, maybe it’s just the case of him as a great actor. Hey! Are they starting to be taken too much seriously?
At least, they tried, because next track is a PROGRESSIVE one (something quite logical within the framework of an eclectic album). King For A Day conjures everything, from acoustic guitar intros to epic RUSH-like sections, including psychedelic incursions and drug-stated lyrics. Music mastery in its highest and earnest. And they did not collapse under all these elements, which is really praiseworthy.
Not really used to be serious at all, FAITH NO MORE follows with the no-holds-barred What A Day and, fortunately, nonsense lyrics are once again in the agenda. Try out. One of the best tracks on this pack, by far! Kill the body and the head will die!’
Then, they slow the rushing pace of the record a bit (exhausted?) finishing with two minor moody tracks. The first one is (ironically) called The Last To Know and is pretty simple. Just like Ashes To Ashes from their next record (1997’s Album of The Year - regrettably, their last), the band seems quite bored on this one. And conformed, too. Patton doesn’t care that much in being the first to go and the last to know . Nor is he as cynical as he is in next track, the strange soul score named Just A Man, which ends with him leading a gospel chorus! After all, this is a relaxing way to end the album, after several stylistic changes and emotional (many) ups and (few) downs.
In the end, this is a great record, a double album somehow able to be kept in a single record (yes, better than THE BEATLES!). Most complex, a creative and crazy record with lots of tradition and tons of influences thrown in the mix, a transitional album that never sounds forced, under-produced or out of place. A good way to follow the previous great efforts! Even if we know that these formation would never record again and have never performed together!
