lambchops's Full Review: The Real Thing by Faith No More
What resonates about Faith No More? I'd have to say the fish. Yeah, you know the one flopping around and grasping at life at the end of the spastic video for the epic song, um, "Epic".
Faith No More hit their stride in 1989 with the release of The Real Thing. Released on Slash, the album was embraced initially by metal fans and then by mainstream audiences everywhere. But, as with most bands, this was not their first album. Released in 1985, We Care A Lot debuted to a mixed reception. The band had just settled on lead singer Chuck Mosely in addition to Jim Martin (guitar), Roddy Bottum (keyboards), Bill Gould (bass), and Mike Bordin (drums). Before releasing their debut, the band struggled with lead singers, with Cortney Love even briefly leading Faith No More.
The band’s sound was finally sealed with their 1987 release of Introduce Yourself. It was with this release that for the first time rap and metal blended together to make music rather than in contrast to one another. But Faith No More still didn’t find success until they fired singer Mosely and hired vocalist Mike Patton. In 1989, they released their paramount album The Real Thing. Patton was a great boost to the band. He was able to easily rap and screech like the metal singer he was yet still infuse punk attitude and elements. The album proved to be a crossover hit for the previously ignored band.
After the success of the 1989 album, Faith No More tried to keep their popularity going. But, it was not meant to be. Subsequent albums weren’t as popular and the band broke up officially in April 1998 after a string of moderate failures. But, what we as rock lovers are left with is a pioneering album. The Real Thing manages to cross boundaries and blend genres. In fact, it was a direct inspiration to today’s rock-rappers like Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit, among other less successful, copycat acts.
As I’ve already mentioned, the main track people recognize as belonging to Faith No More is ”Epic”. This is what I like to refer to as real rock music. It’s angry, excited, emotional and makes you want to just get up and scream at nothing in particular. This is the kind of music that actually primed me as a music lover today. I still recall the video (as you figured out above) with the piano, the fish, Patton’s bright clothing and crazy hair, and the entire feel of the song as combined with the visual elements of the video. ”Epic" nears perfection. The beat is very much a hip hop rhythm. Patton’s voice is a punk-rap combination from the beginning. While the chorus is a metal chorus with great guitars and a great hook. As you can easily tell, I love this track. Period. It’s classic and is much more timeless in comparison with many of the hair band hits of the same era. You can’t deny the band’s talent.
”From Out of Nowhere” is the appropriate first track to the appropriately titled The Real Thing. This is less a rap-punk album than a rock and roll song. It’s fast and fun and furious. The sound in this track (aside from Patton’s vocals) remind me of what I like most about my favorite band Stone Temple Pilots. The track varies from fast to a plodding, pleading chorus. It’s a great track. It’s a great rock track.
Another song that deserves a bit of attention is ”Falling to Pieces”. It begins with keyboards that are strangely reminiscent of 80’s pop. Although, it becomes very apparent very quickly that this is Faith No More. This is more of the band’s signature rap-rock. This track reminds me of the later Ugly Kid Joe and the bass line is reminiscent of Flea’s slap bass from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Patton also sounds a bit like Anthony Kiedis from RHCP during the rap sections. You can’t go wrong with sounds like that. This is a super track, definitely one of the best of the album. It’s not quite as catchy and mainstream as the most popular track, but I love it nonetheless.
”Surprise, You’re Dead! is a rock track akin to the best metal tracks of all time. The guitars and grinding and angry. Patton growls his rap-rock lyrics with the best of ‘em. You can’t help but feel the emotion and anger with this fast rocking track. This track actually resembles something more from Megadeth than the bands I’ve already compared to them. It’s a devilish track all in good fun. This is the kind of track that is indicative of Faith No More’s range.
Other great tracks include the slow-tempo ballad rocker strangely called ”Zombie Eaters”. This track is much like slower Metallica rockers like the twisted ”The Unforgiven”. I actually really enjoy when the song breaks from singing into angry rapping with great guitars and great emotion. ”Woodpecker From Mars” is a strange instrumental track that is somehow reminiscent of old-fashioned horror soundtracks at times. It’s got Arabic melodies blended with Faith No More’s speed metal guitars and the slap bass I so enjoy.
The band pays homage to Black Sabbath with a remake of their classic ”War Pigs”. Of course, Patton sounds nothing like Ozzy Osborne, but the band seems to feel the emotion that their predecessors put into the original. I would say that a track as good as this is quite an honor. I love this version, and I don’t want to offend anybody, but this is nearly as good as the original. Just trust me about that one.
Other tracks on this album include: ”The Real Thing”, ”Underwater Love”, ”The Morning After”, and ”Edge of the World”. This album is for both metal lover and rock lovers alike. It’s one of the best in my opinion. The one thing that’s too bad is that they couldn’t reproduce the success of this album. What we are left with is a great rock album.
I suggest that anybody who likes rock, strong guitars, rap-rock (to appeal to the kiddies, of course), slap bass, or any of the band mentioned above, this is a great album to own and to cherish. I will only give it 4 ½ stars and 4 stars on the Epinions chart. I feel honored to own this one.
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