Reviews (page 3 of 8)
First time listening to a Happy Mondays album in full and I'm wondering why there are two whole albums from them on the list. Well you could say I'm "bummed" that the quality of songs here is so bad. They're so unremarkable I couldn't tell you what the album sounded like once it finished 2/5
It wasn't bad or unpleasant but it didn't do anything to stand out as better than any other 80's English rock.
This is some kind of British Dance Rock. It's pretty good but I feel like they only have one mode and all the songs kind of sound the same.
This was fun to listen to loud. I enjoyed it but also kept wanting more. It was a bit too fuzzy overall, which made it hard to get completely immersed in. Good music though!
Another Happy Mondays album, and an earlier one. This one shows the Baggy/Madchester sound in its embryonic stage. I don't think needed this piece of "history" to fully grasp the movement. A great as it was, Baggy was already a pretty short-lived scene. There's nothing here the band wouldn't do much better later. Definitely not essential. Key tracks: Mad Cyril Fat Lady Wrestlers
Woahhh
Favorite Tracks: Mad Cyril / Wrote for Luck / Lazyitis Rating: 2.2 Thought this might be a fun 4/20 listen, but found it pretty tedious overall. Lots of echo-y gated drum hits, superfluous synths, bleary half-shouted or whined vocals. A few fun moments, but not one I'll be going back to anytime soon.
Not sure i got it.
I was always kinda meh on Happy Mondays, but I feel like it clicked on this listen. It sounds like a synthesis of all the best Manchester music of the late 70s/80s. And Martin Hannett has a magic ability to find the right echo box.
1 1/2 Stars: Has that Wall-of-Sound-pushed-through-heavy-reverb sound that I hate. Starts to sound like a bunch of unmelodic noise by track 2. Orally and culturally I find it hard to understand why this never heard from band made it into this project.
Did not enjoy.
"Bummed" is the second studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays. Madchester and psychedelic funk are the Wiki-listed genres. The music was heavily influenced by the band discovering house music and ecstasy. Oh, yeah! The album was produced by Martin Hannett. The bandmembers included Shaun Ryder (vocals), Mark Day (guitar), Paul Davis (keyboards, programming, sampling), Paul Ryder (bass, keyboards), Gary Whelan (drums) and Mark "Bez" Berry (dancing, percussion). The album had generally positive reviews and, commercially, reached #59 on the UK Album Charts. Side one opens with "Country Song." A Caribbean sort of beat with piano/keyboards and a piercing guitar. Distant vocals that get louder eventually ending up with Ryder screaming as he describes his band's chaotic style. A dreamy song that sounded like Style Council to me. "Mad Cyril" does not sound like the Style Council. A bouncy and pronounced bass and funky groove. A hooky melody with a very 80's sounding synth. Ryder begins side two with a sinister whisper in "Brain Dead." Eerie keys, an echoing, wah-wah, Niles Rodgers-esque guitar and a hypnotic beat. A very interesting song and about self-harm. The first single was "Wrote for Luck." A charging beat, a bouncy keyboard melody and they get the jangly guitar going. It's song that really foreshadows where they would go on their next album. The album closes with another jangly guitar song "Lazy Itis." More pop with Ryder's vocals on the rougher edge. Not too many songs I can think of about laziness. The music and sound on this album started off really muffled to me which I grew to replace with a "raw" descriptor and liked quite a bit. A groovy beat, 80's sounding keyboard, jangly and changing guitar and a pronounced bass. A really nice job on the mix too. There's a psychedelic edge too. The album really takes off on side two. They settle in with good, hooky melodies and solid grooves. You start to hear where they would go on the their next album and reminded of the Stone Roses, a band around the same time and Manchester area. Overall, this is a very good album and recommended for pretty much any music fan.
I liked this more than I expected. Really great production. Guitar sound was awesome with all sorts of soul funk and country-ish vibes. Way more interesting than I expected. Must be a UK thing as I never heard of them in the 80s.
Nothing to write home about. Very British. Kinda boring.
Bummed I listened to this. Middle of road alternative. Needs a couple of listens, but his link is like a double album... so...
Spot on with the title.
Some fine tunes, and some really bad ones (Rave on? really?) Maybe I didn't get it, because today is Friday, not Monday? 5/10
Wow shitty anglo new wave album no3918301? Groundbreaking
Her har vi en lyd jeg liker godt. Musikk fra Madchester-scenen, hvor legendariske The Stone Roses også hører hjemme. Lekne melodier og “deadpan” vokaler. Råkule greier. Mad Cyril er fantastisk. Top 3: Mad Cyril, Wrote For Luck, Country Song
Between the style, country of origin, album title, etc.. this is like a perfect representation of this list.
Never before listened to a happy mondays albums only know the singles.
Late 80s party
Have to admit, I saw the 2 hour run time and listened to half of the first song and thought “nope, can’t do this”.
Not bad—not great—just so so. ★★★
I have always found the Happy Mondays fairly average, and Bummed did not really change that opinion. I can completely understand why Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches made the list. That album has the big, undeniable hits like Step On and Kinky Afro. Bummed, on the other hand, feels like a much less focused version of the band and lacks those standout moments. There are flashes of the groove and attitude that would define the Madchester sound, but across the album it feels inconsistent. At times it drifts into fairly ordinary pop rock territory, and the occasional country twang in the arrangements feels strange rather than interesting. Instead of sounding experimental, it often just feels unfocused and a bit dull. Ironically, some of the tracks I enjoyed most were on the later collector’s edition rather than the original album itself. Favourite songs: Mad Cyril and Fat Lady Wrestlers Least favourite song: Country Song Album artwork: A cool cover that captures the late 80s Madchester aesthetic
It was alright. A little alternative album, I guess? Kinda reminds me of 80s bands.
2.5
3.5
The kind of over echoy pop rock sound that U2 had the "Desire" to do just stretched out over a 40 min album left me *Bummed*. I'm not really crazy about his voice... A cross between punk and the dude from EMF. (4.6) ★★
This didn't really hit. I disiiked the production and gound the album boring. 2 stars
I thought this album was pretty good, and it kind of kickstarted the Baggy sound of the late 80s and early 90s. Highlights for me were "Country Song", "Wrote for Luck", and "Lazyitis". 3.5 stars.
You’re twistin’ my melon man! Two Happy Mondays albums in the list? You’re twistin’ my melon man! Pills ‘N Thrills And Bellyaches is an obvious 90s classic and fair enough contender for 1001 - a sloppy grand touchstone of the Madchester scene where indie boozes up and barrel-rolls into rave and produces a clutch of hella iconic singles to boot. This here album which came before it? Not so much. It has that bleary baggy sound but songwise is so primordial. Frontman Shaun Ryder hollers stuff out throughout like some leary atonal ogre demon. There clearly was some sculpting of actual tunes on their next one but basically there is none here. And the one main melody that stands out here via closer Lazyitis does so because it completely rips off Beatles Ticket To Ride. On their debut they originally included a song called Desmond which was deemed such a rip-off of Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da that legally they were instructed to destroy all 3000 copies of it. It’s a shame the same didn’t happen with this album. What a bummer.
I had not heard of this 80’s band and for good reason. This was not good. The lyrics were horrible and vocals were annoying.
I was glad I was already home (track 10) because this was a bit frustrating and would not have been fun to listen to in a car
Meh. Totally mid
late 80's brit pop/rock. there ya go. I'll forget it by tomorrow
Some club mixes are alr
Overall, not necessarily a bad album. Given when it came out, this was probably pretty cool, although nowadays it's a little bit meh. Overall, leaving this in the background is pretty chill.
Surprised how much I enjoyed this
it’s kinda cute, very 80s, but i didn’t wanna keep listening.
Side note: this is the 20th album I’m reviewing and still no female artist! I liked the first half of this album, it was more melodic in a way. Second half not my vibe. Their overall sound feels nostalgic but also not my thing. 2 stars!
Buenas vibras, no los conocía. Algunos temas me hicieron acordar a Talking Heads por alguna razón. Igual lo escuché mientras estudiaba así que no fue ideal, pero le volvería a dar otra oportunidad de escucha más ((profunda)).
Fun album. Nothing to write home about but I enjoyed it.
An interesting sound with decent songs. I didn't absolutely love it, but it's not bad.
Bummer
Nice album
Not bad, not great.
Yeah, this was not it. “Lazyitis” was the best song, but even that’s a stretch. Nothing on here stood out, and overall it was fairly boring. There’s a lot of this type of music on the list already, and I don’t think this needed to be here.
I hate to say I’ve liked this one less each time I’ve heard it. It’s interesting in the context of the band’s growth and the emergence of Madchester, but only Pills N Thrills should be on the list where they really perfect their style. I can’t listen to Happy Mondays anymore without hearing Alan Partidge asking “Are you on an E?” Their follow up is a 5 star but this one sadly is between 2 and 3. Rating: 2.8
Sorry, it's trash.
Bummed es la banda sonora de una peli clase B, de aquellas en las que lo turbio y lo festivo se unen en comunión, casi sin poder prescindir uno del otro. Me siento descender a un boliche/bar bien marginal, con gente aún más marginal, bailando, colocados y muy en la suya. Todo y nada puede pasar, y la música ocupa un rol fundamental. Canciones con guitarras que se unen perfectamente con el sonido dance de fines de los 80. Se baila como quieras, eufórico o tranquilo; te lleva a vivir ese momento y a olvidarte del resto del mundo. La propuesta acá es flotar con la música, este presente de un mundo inquietantemente atractivo.
this album is one of the most ridiculous things i have ever heard in my life but i loved every single second of it. i am surprised the happy mondays have any living members
easily one of the funniest albums of all time. nobody has vocals like shaun ryder. whitney houston wishes.
this is the funniest album of all time
I had never listened to this band before. It's funny how the other big Manchester band from this scene is The Stone Roses, who are amazing and their first album has like 10 perfect songs on it at least. Meanwhile this has like 0.75 songs on it in general. At the same time I kind of get why this needed to happen and there is something about it that has an allure. Martin Hannett great dense production even though it is rather uhhhh late 80s sounding.
Rien à dire juste mid en ce moment les albums
Meh
Au début j’aimais bien puis bon c’est bon c’est une copie de ce qui marchait bien 15 ans plus tôt en moins bien quoi
If you put on your hater hat here, there's a LOT to hate. The vocals...are not good. The mix on the remaster...is not good. Sometimes the instruments seem like they were given to the wrong band member. Sometimes it sounds so painfully 80s that it feels like it came from a different album. And yet...all these things add up to a (drug-addled) earnestness that makes it easy to connect with. It's shockingly original in its melding of sounds of the times, for better or for worse, and I have to admit I've always been a sucker for shitty vocalists. I don't love madchester stuff, but this really seems like something made by and for the people. A great discovery.
80's alternative/electronic/dance is my kind of 80s music. Entire albums by the same band can get a little boring sometimes though. I liked the music and the vocals. Don't think I had ever heard of this group before.
"E" has been around this long? Huh?
I don't know if I would listen to it again, but I think I liked it?
I feel like the drum patterns/grooves are cool enough to keep me engaged. Gave it a 2nd playthrough just to make sure I'm not missing anything more interesting.
It’s fine, I like liked their earlier album better back in the day. Not sure why this was included in the list.
I wanted to like it more, I felt like I should have.
Late 80s acid psychedelic funk/rock fueled by mdma. I don’t mind their sound, feels very colourful, decent voice, but no standout songs
This is just plain bad. It's like if Wesley Willis was a white british guy at the bar drinking and making up babbling lyrics over mediocre backing instruments.
Don't do drugs
there are 2 Happy Mondays albums in this list, 2! I just don't understand it, Wrote For Luck is decent enough but that's about it
Some good stuff here but nothing that grabbed me. High 3.
Slightly better than average new wave
The "Ticket To Ride" homage in "Lazyitis" was a fun surprise.
I'm a huge fan of some elements of the Manchester scene - the Stone Roses debut is one of my favorite albums of all time. I remembered the Happy Mondays from that period, but had never heard this album and frankly couldn't recall their sound. This record is sort of proto-Madchester. It includes some of the psychedelic touches but is a bit funkier and has more of a post-punk than pop feel. It sounds dated - the production puts it solidly in the 80s. And while there are moments ("Mad Cyril", "Performance", "Wrote For Luck"), on the whole this is fine but forgettable stuff.
Nice
Some awesome and totally psyched-out British indie rock. I didn’t think all of the songs were great, but there definitely some incredible highlights. I really liked Mad Cyril with its awesome trippy guitars and super chipper synths. Wrote for Luck is also really nice and groovy, and you don’t really feel how long it is by the way it just ropes you in. Some of the guitar effects here are just totally out of this world, but it all sounds tight and funky. Very cool album indeed
Pleasant enough but totally forgettable.
This all just became a roaring blur to me - bummer. If no track catches and sticks, how good is the album?
Forgettable madchester garbage.
Ugh
Fav: clap your hands
Ehh?
Man, MDMA-fuelled Madchester is manure.
Ok. Nothing really stood out though.
Produced by Martin Hannett, Bummed sounds like the opposite of a classic Hannett production – it’s loose, spacy and a tad sloppy – even the vocals are a bit fudgy. It takes a few spins to get into a sympathetic groove, but it’s worth making the effort. Its allure eventually surfacing through the gloop. The lack of shiny is the opposite to radio friendly, so no hits to speak of - but the singles “Wrote For Luck” and “Lazyitis” sound pretty good. The former, a sprawling 6-minutes long and written specifically for the Hacienda dancefloor - the lyrics cryptically referring to a drug deal gone to shit. This isn’t the chart worrying Happy Mondays of Pills ‘n’ Thrills, but if you’re inclined to wear your jeans baggy, it’s still a lot of fun. I’m liking it more each time I play it. 7/10
Every song is drowning in filters, effects, and reverb. All this work was put in to making an album where every track sounds the same as the last. Not being able discern the lyrics I looked them up and discovered further disappointment. When there's a narrative it's juvenile at best. Most of the lyrics are nonsensical. I can look past that when an artist creates imagery, but there was none to be found. The rhyme scheme, when one is even attempted, is banal. To make up for a lack in the writing the songs are a collage of repeated phrases and words in one line followed by a lyric so crammed with syllables that the words mush together in the next. I was pleasantly surprised when halfway through the album I checked on the track listing and realized I'd already made it through the original album release and could put this one away.
I didn't have enough drugs to get through this album.
Where was I when this came out in 1988? Oh yeah, I was working at a record store in Detroit, unaware of what was going on in Manchester, England. Or Madchester, come to think of it. Bummed I missed it. So much from the 80s disappoints, but this has an interesting, captivating sound. I admit I prefer their next album (Pills 'n' Thrills, 1990) which just came up on the list for me also. But glad to learn about the Happy Mondays.
A really fun late 80's entry that redeemed some of the more commercial, over produced albums of the time. This album is full sounding, with lots of instrumentation, alternative media elements, and sound, but it still sounds and feels like music being played live. I don't know much about the band, but I like the energy and the overall vide. They found a great way to weave bigger, almost funky vibe to the alternative, post punk scene.
yea i kinda am a sucker for these 80's sounds. But this album felt like one song.
Slurred Madchester album with a bit of heart but monotone production that lets it down a bit. The Mondays seem happy on this one in a leery kind of way.
I quit this challenge for a few days bcs it actually pisses me off a bit. Sometimes it feels repetive. I knew it wasnt going to be all enjoyable the full time but rn it feels like such an annoying task to finish my album of the day. Anyway I didnt like this album what is it funk? Techno? Funky techno? Nah leave me be I didnt like it Pray to the lord I continue the challenge anyway Now pls no more repetetive jazz and techno its enough
So mediocre when I tried to remember if I’d listened the evening before I honestly couldn’t remember.
This album has wild, manic party energy and I’m sure the drugs made it sound great but it doesn’t hold up now that the party is over. The sound is warbled and chaotic, and it all feels like an incoherent mess.
I'm pretty sure these guys were on drugs that clouded their judgement while making this. Probably between recording sessions as well.
Klimaty idące w pidżame, ale kurde to audio tak głośne jak wokal i to boli.
No
peak
No redeeming qualities
I did not like this record at all.
19
Really like lazyitis but honestly way too long of an album, didn’t have the motivation to finish it so was it that great….
After a stream of great or at least decent albums, I was due for a dud. Did they have a look or something that got them signed? I can't see how they got out of the bar band stage. It's an album filled with bad English 80s pop filler. Was there even a single here? This album came complete with a singer that the mix engineer had to completely bury in the mix with reverb and low gain.
What’s up with all these albums with singers who can’t sing? Couldn’t get through the whole thing
maybe this is the best Happy Mondays. some shreds of Shitty New Order in here. you definitely don't need to listen to two Happy Mondays albums. it's not bad enough to truly hate and that itself is kind of offensive. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
Here I was thinking my distaste for English electronic music was 80% Genre, 20% Ecstasy. I’m wondering now if maybe those numbers should be flipped. Nothing good can come from giving English guys drugs.
revisitar escutando de uma vez, muito bom
It felt like an intersecting of bands I like but not the parts of the bands that I care for. It wasn't bad. It just never made its way to a really memorable moment for me.
I'm definitely missing something because I didn't find this remarkable in the slightest.
The songs sounded very similar to eachother and I didn’t really like the talk-singing. The overall sound was decent but I got bored very quickly
Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches is a fantastic album. Bummed however, is a long way behind. There's a couple of decent moments, but Wrote for Luck is the only genuinely good song on the album. A shame, as I like quite a bit of Happy Mondays and Black Grape.
An enjoyable trip back in time.
Decent.
Was like my ears were being bummed
Not baaaad bad, was just kinda ready for it to end....
if i put a drunk rant to music, i would get this.
Hard one to rate for me as I didn’t enjoy certain parts but others seemed quite intriguing. They seemed to try too much all at once, so the production was sometimes muddy and often overcomplicated (but this also added interest when it did work). The fact that I could only find the collectors edition that was bloated and overlong didn’t help my enjoyment, I feel I need to round down rather than up. Overall 2.5/5
Good album. I’ve been not paying attention to it but it’s not offensive to my ears.
Trash
I like that, turn it up.
1 great song and lots of Shaun Ryder being wasted trying to hold a tune. I know it was influential but the Mondays always grated on me.
I mean what is this album? It's totally fine but not sure it belongs on this list. Nothing too exciting just basic stuff really. Never heard of this band and they don't really move the dial for me - solid 3 stars for making a decent album but nothing really of note.
I DON'T READ, I JUST GUESSSSSSS 4/5
Not as strong as the album that follows it, and lacks the anthems of Thrills 'n' Pills, but still a pretty fun time. I'm feeling that this a 4.
Booooo
Zmęczyła mnie ta płyta
Incredibly bad. Unbelievably bad
More Brit pop, more Happy Mondays. More 1 star ratings.
Definitely not my type of music but i get it!
Bright and bristling but typical of Madchester, so happy with where it's at, it doesn't feel the need to go anywhere
kind of a slog. 2.5 rounded up
There was some great music in the 80s. This is not it.
Lots of the same.. won’t be going back to this soon. Had a great hit with “Step On?” I think it was called
Good listen, would be more f less repetitive. Has lots of energy & fun instrumentation
it was supposed to be cool until this bitch's runtime is 2 hours
This seems to get bad reviews but I quite liked it. A bit stone roses esque. Pretty fun listen
The only interesting aspect about this album is that the producer, Martin Hannet, was also responsible of producing to Joy Division, which makes this album not sound too bad. Yes, that's right, that was the only thing I got out of this record. The music here I found to be incredibly uninteresting, expressionless and not even catchy baggy music from the 80's. The only moment I could 'appreciate' is the song 'Brain Dead' due to the singer stopping singing with the same forced voice and same melodies that he does through almost the whole runtime, and instead, his vocals become raspy, whispered and low. However, doesn't make it more appealable. The worst track here is 'Wrote for Luck', a six minutes piece that repeats the same boring guitar riff over and over again. As much as I dislike it, it is inoffensive enough to me not hating it, although the vocals sometimes push my patience a little bit. In conclusion, an incredibly forgettable baggy project.
For me this is their best album. Some great tracks here. The production might be a bit swampy at times but it doesn’t detract from the great lyrics and music
I totally get it why most people hate it, like it's a hot MESS and hasn’t aged well, but honestly I thought this was kindof a jam lol. & the happy mondays are hilarious, man, twats, but hilarious. Thank you for giving us rave culture 7 / 10 Best track/s: Wrote For Luck, Mad Cyril
More familiar with Pills 'N' Thrills, but nice to get maybe a better sense of their ethos here, less polished, more primal, more their roots. More fun. Mix seems to try to duplicate a live sound--not always a good idea maybe.
The Happy Mondays were great if you were part of the cultural zeitgeist. I found them very funny at the time - I still do. Bez and his distinctive dancing snd occasional tambourine, Shaun Ryder off his face and belting out that monotone. Better in small doses but if you ever see them now they’re still hilarious.
I'm hanging onto a 3 for dear life. I had to bail at the 12th track (I was only going to go for the original 15). But, dude on the mic is a hard pill after 40 something minutes. It managed to stay interesting enough to make up for the seeming deliberate annoyance the band was conjuring with the jangly sharp guitars and repetitive bass and drums and vocal shoutitude.
I've never understood the fascination with this band. Nothing sticks out to me. Every song vanishes the moment it's done. The sound is all a wash. The singer can't sing. People rave about his lyrics, but I don't get it.
this was fine 50 years later. i can get the cultural influence at the time. it’s just funny that genre blending has become so normal now
Alternative dancing Manc's. That's not that bad actually.
I'm never going to remember having listened to this one. Favorite track: "Mad Cyril," I guess?
Not their best but enjoyable
The vibey late 80s instrumentals were ruined by the singers annoying, barking vocals for me.
Total Cure-like 80s vibe band. Very basic songs but ok. I don’t recall them or any of their songs
Surprisingly into this! Not gonna say it was super impressive or exciting, but I would’ve gotten down to this in the 80s
Not for me. I guess I liked the one Beatles song lol
This is an exact depiction of what the 80s sound like to me (Paul can you please confirm or deny)
Happy Mondays when Rain on Fridays walks in :0
Ikke helt for meg.
Eh mid unntatt rave on
Sloppy, obnoxious, strangely charming. The guys in this band all seem dodgy as hell but they can find a cool and unique groove. If I was 20 and on drugs when this came out it would've blown my mind.
Fun, but good GOD it didn't need to be that long.
Music in the background: fantastic. Singing: oh, man, if it were a different singer this could be my new favorite band.
This production is so weird! I think these songs are probably straightforward rock songs, but I can't actually be sure about that because my brain keeps sliding off any attempt to figure anything about it out. Is it good? Is it bad? I literally cannot tell! One thing's for sure, it's not really like anything else I've ever heard.
I guess between a 2 and 3, but the shady lyrics made the call. not painful to listen to at all, but also not something i would actively put on, or at least a song that caught my attention in particular.
I liked it. lol that Beatles cover- Lazyitis was cool. The end of Rave On caught me by surprise. Haha. Had to rewind it a little to see if I heard it correctly lol
This is an over-produced mess. Having not heard the album before, I'm "bummed" that Lazyitis (AKA Ticket To Ride) is the best song on it. Either of the first two Black Grape albums would've been a better addition to the list than the first two Happy Mondays albums. Liked Songs Added: Lazyitis
Nothing for me here.
Pretty shit honestly
The experience was rough, uncomfortable and overall unpleasant. Won't be looking to get bummed again.
Ugh disappointed because I liked this for the first half an hour and then... yeah. I hated the stupid ape noises the vocalist kept making, which I think is epitomised in 'do it better'. I genuinely started laughing because it was so awful. For the second half of the album I was seriously struggling to keep going but it wouldn't be a proper rating if I hadn't. 2 hours is way too long for an album anyway...
Madchester. Proto oasis.
More post punk than I thought still happy mondays are eh I prefer shaun rider as a tv personality
Just bad
Bummed
1.32/5
Really didn't do it for me.
Pretty uninteresting in almost every way tbh. Never outright bad or anything, though it borders on a few of the vocals and lyrics, but just one of the least memorable albums yet on this list. I sort of liked the 'Lazyitis' psych riff, but that's all I recall standing out in this listen.
I made myself listen to the full extended version of this album and those 2 hours really did drag by. It's not horrible, but I feel like the vocalist just sort of whines and mumbles his way through each song along with the wooziness of the keyboard so that the album ends up culminating into a rambling and unstructured tangle of noise
Very fun, very groovy listen, Mad Cyril stood out the most
didn't find it very interesting
The band sounds like they might be decent if you could hear them through the huge swathes of muffling reverb. The vocals are annoyingly atonal. All in all, it's an indistinguishable mass of noise to me. I actively dislike this and have no desire to listen to it again.
Fun 80s kinda punky but not my style
This was ok, has a great nostalgic vibe but I didn't think the songs were of the quality of some of their better known singles. Worth a listen.
I think this works better in a throng of sweaty people in a club than in my headphones in the countryside. I like a lot of Happy Mondays, I don't think this album captures my favourite side of them. Martin Hannett's blurry production works well on Joy Division, but not here. Standout track has to be Wrote For Luck (but there's a reason the remix became the hit)
Hallelujah isn't on the original album so I definitely shouldn't be letting the club mix enter my thinking but it is a belting track. Actual album has groove and is danceable pretty much throughout
I love the happy mondays, but this isnt their finest. now bad either.
2.5/5 2 Probably won't listen to again.
Never heard before this, maybe heard the name of the band somewhere. It was sort of interesting.
This album was a cacophony of 80s pop tropes, but in the worst possible way.
Not the greatest thing to come out of the 80s by a long shot.
1. country - 0 2. moving -0 3. mad -1 4. lady - 0 5. performance - 1 6. brain - 1 7. luck - 1 8. Friend - 0 9. Better -0 10. Lazy - 0 11. Hallelujah -0 12. Ghost - 1 13. Clap - 1 14. rave - 0 15. boom- 0
I read “psychedelic funk” and got excited as those are both genres I like. I did not like this. It felt significantly worse than Pills n Thrills. The vocals are just absolutely buried here. Fat Lady Wrestlers and Lazyitis were good enough to save this from a 1.
This album actively annoyed me while I was listening to it, which is a first. Still not my least favorite album and at one or two points I was kind of tapping my foot, but this psychadelic movement was NOT something that birthed music that I like.
Great, another crappy British band I’ve never heard of spewing out unlistenable dreck. Love how consistent this list is.
Never got the appeal
No standouts
8/10 Very nearly a 5. Very indie-funk. Fun, stoned, sludgy. Awesome
Really liked the reverb-soaked dreamy sound of the guitars on this record. Some of the songs felt redundent and kind of fell back on 80's cliches that I'm sick of, but much like the Soft Cell record on this list, the lyrics kept this one interesting enough. I might revisit this album, but probably not the band.
i don't like how this guy sings
It sounds like a band that is having way more fun than the listener. Pretty cool story, I'll give it that. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Wrote for Luck - Lazyitis
GOING IN: Very excited indeed LISTENED WHILE: Relaxing with a wine FAMILIARITY: Know a few songs SKIP RATE: Skipped the odd one REPLAY VALUE: Might come back to it DISCOVERY CURVE: Needed another go ALBUM ARC: Pretty even, consistent VERDICT: Bit disappointing BODY'S VERDICT: Toe tapping situation FAVOURITE TRACK: Wrote For Luck My Rating: 3 I'm going to try this again. I think it's a slow grower, and I need another environment/situation to enjoy it.
So fucking groovy and cool. 7/10
7.5/10 I kinda forget
I was tired of this album by track two, and there were 25 sh*tty tracks still to go.
Bummed indeed. This is just some nothing with instruments and vocals.
I liked the other one better, but these guys have a distinct thing going on
Happy Mondays is one of the most underrated bands that great britain ever made. Another great band from Manchester. So glad to be having this here.
Muito bom Happy Mondays!!! Vou levar to life!!! Madchester!
Almost liked this but I didn't
There is something just inherently boring about this. Maybe if you are raving on a stimulant it’s ok but it’s not for me.
Indie rock with a psychedelic vibe. I don't mind the music but the whiny, slurred, mumbled singing is very off putting. The rhythms have some funk influences that shine best on the track Performance (which is basically the simple 12 bar blues at its core). Overall not particularly interesting or memorable.
ugh
Late 80s - did not enjoy nor finish.
Esenciales para entender la música de finales de los 80´s. MDMA, Extasis, Madchester... Ponga Hallelujah publicada un año después en la versión de Andy Weatherall y pase al siguiente disco, el imprescindible Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches. Bez es otro intangible, mejor ver sus videos. Aquí ya hay himnos como Wrote for Luck, Mad Ciryl, apropiaciones de los Beatles (Lazy Itis con Ticket to Ride, pero ya antes habían hecho lo mismo con Desmond) y mucha química. A falta de habilidades tiraron de desvergüenza y descaradas imitaciones (Kate Bush o Talking Heads) pero el resultado merece la pena. Produce Martin Hannett que usa diáologos de la película Performance y sus cualidades al bajo. Sin él el disco hubiera sido un fiasco. Sin él y sin las igentes cantidades de éxtasis que consumieron durante la grabación. Casi tan importantes son los temas del álbum como sus remezclas: Vince Clarke y Paul Oakenfold para Wrote for luck (WFL) y Lazyitis. No está mal para unos dogradictos, camellos y delincuentes que de no ser por la música sabe dios cómo habrían acabado.
Tedious.
good!
Really interesting musical numbers, nostalgic jazz rock vibes on several songs. I dig.
another predictable run from the lovable rouges
hey that’s pretty good
Pretty decent, but nothing really stood out as outstanding or amazing. In fact, I got bored with most songs. Maybe I need to be on drugs to enjoy this more? 3.1 / 5 stars
First listen
Hair
Seems that their most popular songs are the random mixes done after the original album came out.
Aggressively English. This album was like hangover music. Not music that would be good to listen to during a hangover but more it was created while having a hangover. 4/10
This was terrible. We reviewed their third album a while back - they definitely improved from this one that was released 2 years previous. I actually liked the other album over all, gave it a 3. This one though had nothing interesting or original. It all sounds the same - droning on and on with the same stupid beat behind it - for the whole album. I stopped listening when they went into all the remixes on the “bonus edition”. No one needs two hours of that mess.
This album wasn’t the only thing that was bummed when I opened today’s album selection. How did another album from The Happy Mondays make this list?? On multiple tracks the vocals don’t even seem to follow the beat of the songs and, when you are able to understand them, the lyrics are just a bunch of words thrown together. Like Inigo Montoya said, “Let me esplain…no. There is too much to esplain…lemme sum up.” Got a schizophrenic acquaintances no place to go Stuck with his dick in my window. What the actual f*ck does any of that mean?? It’s either over my head or it’s all trash. Simplest explanation is that it’s trash. 0-fer-2, Mondays.
And this, kids, is the real reason why you should say no to drugs …. you’ll end up making a fucking terrible album. Unconscionably bad.
I didn't like bummed quite as much as much as Pills N Thrills and Bellyaches. Different energy on this album, not quite as bright but still a cool unique sound that's fun to listen to.
It was alright. Not for me. Pretty average stuff in my ears
Haven’t played this one for a while, but have in my collection, great tracks, when Shaun was sounding excellent
I shake my head everytime I see a ridiculously long album. Why?? Just divide the album into two parts. Though this album was comically bad. I developed a headache and had to pause before I could finish it.
This album went a lot of places. There was new wave, rock, 80s dance music. The energy was high, but ultimately the songs were not memorable for me. Not bad though.
This album is quirky lurky (see what I did there?), and sometimes I like a quirky album.
Mid, 1980s bollocks
Прошло мимо и нигде не зацепилось
It was an alright listen. Had me nodding my head throughout. 6/10 Favorite tracks-“Mad Cyril” “Wrote For Luck” “Bring a Freind”
I too was bummed that this didn’t make my Monday happy.
I don’t know, I listened to the new De La Soul album. 4 stars. This is probably mid.
Pretty sure this was the 2nd Happy Mondays album I've had on the list and this and this was also a pleasant surprise.
listening when: the next morning thoughts: the UK david bowie inspo is heaaaaaavy. so is the beatles. neutral about this. don’t love don’t hate just music i listened to. rating: 5/10
5/10
The Good: We’re trying to start the week off positively! The Bad: Try as we may, Monday’s tend to not be too happy… The Ugly: Bummed should have given us a clue… I think that bit by bit this list is turning me into a massive music snob, resulting in my instant disdain for anything that hailed from the British Isles and was, predominantly, only known in said isles… Not that this album was bad, just a little late to the party in my opinion. They are trying to be something that was cool in a previous period, while adding something new… that just sounds old. If I were to start a band that tried to sound like Led Zeppelin, I would fail hard… this is evident with all the new bands being hailed as the new Led Zeppelin, who nobody ever listens to, as there is only 1 Led Zeppelin… On a brighter side, so as not to stay bummed, this is the last album of this band I have to listen to! 2*
Dig the dreamy psychedelic influence on the production. The album is very clean sounding, and there's a lot of charming tunes here. The vocals can be a little irritating at times, but didn't bother me as much on a second listen.
Not too remarkable but pleasant enough
Decent, not super interesting
Today is Wednesday and this album definitely did not help with rendering it a "happy" one. Failed on many levels then. Music is pretty annoying. The singer does not even try
If they were going for a shittier version of The Cure, I guess they kind of nailed it.
Terrible
Never fell for all the hype surrounding Happy Mondays then, since and I’m not going to do it now. In other words was never bummed then and no chance now. 1/5 19/11/25
parece minha comida (preferia não ter cozinhado e por isso n tem tempero)
eh bem dançante, até. não eh ruim, só é bem esquecível. num sei se devia tá aqui não, mas não foi uma experiência ruim, então tá valendo
Not bad at all, but i dont know how much im gonna listen ti again
на любителя. (не зашло, полностью не слушал, извините)
I know it’s an important album and helped create a scene that gave birth to a tonne if the music I love but this was just not a fun listen
It's OK 2.5/5.0: Mixed
i was pretty bummed when this popped up. it certainly wasnt a happy monday(mostly cause it was a thursday). pretty boring overall, but it was fine.
Fun listen. Kinda one-note, but upbeat and groove-centric. No real standout tunes, IMO.
Whatever. I don't know. Sounds good, and original, soft approach, not your typical instruments, etc. Do I remember any of the songs? Nope. It is fair to judge because of that? Nope, because I listened only once. Would I like to hear it more? Yeah why not? Adding to the Música para Conducir infamous playlist.
La quintessence des années 80.
not for me
Not for me
Forgot what this sounded like about 30 minutes after I finished listening to it...so blah. Would I listen to again? Nope.
116/1089 not really vibing with this one (track 2), the chicken-lickin’ etc rhymes are very annoying Overall, I don’t have a lot of specifics to say about this album. It was alright, decent britpop with some moments i liked but nothing that felt outstanding or groundbreaking to me faves: Wrote For Luck, Lazyitis, Mad Cyril 2 stars 48/100
Прикольний альбом. Не хітовий, але непоганий матеріал, є стиль, задає хороший настрій. Звук ніби стоїш в клубі на дальному від сцени барі
Наче й ок гурт і музика непогана, але якось надто фоново для мене пройшло.
Ah, I will never forget the laughter in the pub when I innocently announced to my mates that I'd like to get Bummed by the Happy Mondays. I did though, and I've no regrets.
Off the cuff remark: I was already to go with my prejudice and bin this album with vitriol. But being older, if not wiser, I listened to the whole album. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but it's just so mediocre. Standout track: Wrote For Luck, because it's irritating. Better contemporary Manchester bands: New Fast Automatic Daffodils, King of the Slums, Dub Sex etc etc
No mikä ettei. Tällaista puolibrittiläistä menoa tyyliin Blur tai joku muu. Kyllä tällaista kuuntelee mieluusti!
Solid stuff
I definitely don't think it's as strong as their other record in this book, nor do I think that it's essential in the least, but I'm not as down on it as some other folks here. I dig the bagginess in general. 3.5/5
The only thing I know if this band is their shorts and hats. Skateboarders at the end of the 80s would be in Happy Mondays shirts and those painters hats that became popular in the late 80s. The irony is I never saw a single person in a happy Mondays shirt ever smile. Not once. 😂🤣 So far this album is good. I’m on track two. It sounds like electro Brit pop. I do like this. I don’t know if I would seek it out.
I have nothing good to say. This is slop pumped out during drug trip. This is as artistic as me grabbing a paint bucket and tossing it at a canvas. Nothing at all redeemable about this and should absolutely not be on this list.
If Oasis were mid… but what’s with these sort of bands hiring dudes to just dance on stage.
Good stuff but a little goes a long way. Repetitive. At first I was like “wow! Why weren’t these guys a big deal?” Five songs into the album I had the answer.
I guess I need to be in 24 hr party people mode to appreciate this. I am not there. Good production quality though
This sound like a bunch of 80s bands combined into one chaotic inescapable fever dream. I am skipping the second hour of remixes for my own sanity. This is the music you license when you can’t afford Duran Duran
Meh. Generic. Boring.
Too much monotone yelling, i know it was the style back then, hard to listen to, I guess I am getting old
Boringgg. At this point I can’t tell if I’m being too harsh or if I’m just on a bad streak.
Truly dumb...
It was fine
i dunno
It has all the elements of something I would like but instead I just felt meh about it. 5/10
Not my bag of tea. I do see the appeal
I really like Happy Mondays, and I'm a big fan of the Madchester scene. It was a perfect meld of guitar music and dance beats. And most of the scene's music holds up today, sounding just as good - Stone Roses, Primal Scream and a lot of Happy Mondays stuff still works just as well on a listen in 2025, over 30 years outside of the scene. This album is enjoyable, but it feels quite trapped in The Madchester era. You can really feel that the Mondays were enjoying themselves too much here (mostly due to Bez famously smuggling a load of pills into the studio). The result is music that would be absolutely brilliant craic to experience live in The Hacienda at 2am, but listening to as a standalone album outside of that context, it lacks a little bit. A harsh 3.5 stars from me.
meh
Sounds terrible, doesn't make any sense, rarely in tune, but a jolt of pure party energy and magical guitars.
an absolute wild project, that feels like a never ending drug induced party.
Rubbish.
Who is this artist and why?
Day 76 A great live band in a weirdly chaotic way, seen them several times. 8/10 Highlights Fat Lady Wrestlers Wrote for Luck
I couldn't get into this album even a bit from the first song. It's a bit one-note and not interesting. You could've told me I was listening to the same song for an hour, and I would believe it. It drags on for far too long and the vocals/lyrics were just not there for me. 1 star for good musicianship, and that's the only grace I can provide. I didn't enjoy this in the slightest.
I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this album but it’s brilliant. I love the slightly more chilled out vibe but it’s just so melodic and catchy. Regretting not checking this out sooner.
Clearly not as good as Pills, but a strong foundation for the Manchester scene. Bonus point for the Collectors edition I listened to that had Hallelujah and Rave On.
This is like the musical version of giving monkeys typewriters to recreate Shakespeare. If you give enough pills to a bunch of absolute wasters, one time they might just conjure up some musical gold dust. While I like the Happy Mondays, I’ve always listened to the Pills/Thrills album, and ignored this. I now stand massively corrected, this is way superior as an album. They’ve always been better musicians than perhaps they get credit, the bass and drums really tight and get the funky/dance vibe going, the guitar perhaps more of its time but very fluid. It’s strangely hypnotic on this album. It’s the vocals that really enhance the vibe, utterly ludicrous and nonsensical at times (Fat lady wrestlers, Germans in trenches; Sleaford Mods anyone?) but with such a hook and rhythm it doesn’t matter. It just works, let’s not overthink it, this is loose, shambolic, fun music to smile and have a fun time to; after all they were totally off their tits recording it. Twisting my melon man, in a good way.
This one sent me down a wiki-hole of reading about Madchester. A pretty interesting sound, but sits in between some genres that appeal much more to me.
2/10
1/2
Question number one I had to answer listening to this album: why does it sound like that? It's not a question that has anything to do with the songwriting, or the instrumentation, or the vocals. It's just . . . the reverb. The all-encompasing reverb. The reverb that was enough to cause a fellow group member to knock this whole album down to a 3! What **is** the deal with it? From what I've read (from one review on The Guardian), it seems to all come back to the film 'Performance'. The album, so I've gathered, owes a lot to this film, naming a song after one of its characters, and then another song after the film itself. It's a film I've long been aware of for its reputation (it has Mick Jagger and is apparently one of the 500 Greatest Films ever made, so 'Empire'), but it's not one I've ever exactly felt the need to watch. I mean, it's a 70's drama, so even with some crime elements and Mick Jagger hanging around I doubt it'd be able to hold my attention for too long. In other words, besides the 'Guardian' review I've read, I wouldn't be able to tell what this album has to do with it, even if I **had** seen it. But from what the 'Guardian' review says: the song named after one of the characters? It's "Mad Cyril", who's one of the violent gangsters who invades Jagger's character's home. And the song named after the film is told from the perspective of another member of this group. So . . . y'know. The way the 'Guardian' reviews put it, the reverb isn't meant to represent some blissed-out, E-fueled "second summer of love" haze. No, it's more supposed to be "the queasy, disorienting claustrophobia or overindulgence," with the way everything can blur together. And also the fact that the band gave the producer a shitton of ecstasy to take to keep himself from drinking, but that's besides the point. There **is** (at least as that review reads into it, anyway) a reason behind the reverb. And honestly, listening to the album with this additional context . . . it certainly does sound better than if I'd gone in clueless, that's for sure. I think it also helps me like this album just a smidge more than the follow-up? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed 'Pills N' Thrills And Bellyaches' when my group got it. As a first introduction to Madchester (that wasn't EMF's jock jam shit), I enjoyed what I heard. But all the same, thinking back on it, it was maaaaybe a bit chiller than I would've liked? Whole lotta influence from indie rock and acid house and all that. And at the time I was fine appreciating it solely on vibes. Now that I've taken this album in, however, with the edge it gets from an underlying sense of unease . . . yeah, I really dug it. And I'm glad I came to understand the reverb so it wouldn't distract me from these songs. It's an album I can ride on **grooves and energy**, which believe me, both mean a lot more to me than vibes, any day of the week. And I really am surprised I came out of this album liking it as much as I did. From the way that fellow group member talked about this thing, I was truly expecting the reverb to be overwhelming and destroy anything I could've liked about this album — maybe I was thinking it'd be a slightly-more restrained 'Psychocandy'? And I **do** get how it could be a problem, believe me; this album is utterly **drenched** in the stuff. But, I'unno. I mean, I sort of doubt I made a strong argument for this album. It just hit the right spot for me, though — what can I say? And if it left me feeling anything, it sure wasn't bummed. That's for sure. Now, the second question I had to ask myself: I didn't prepare one. Uhm... I mean, "Are you sure that was the best album cover you could've picked?" I guess?
Might not be as famous as their next album, but it's still some damn good Madchester. 4.5 bumped up to 5.
I’m at a 3. Definitely a step down after “Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches” clicked so nicely, but make no mistake; I didn’t hate this album. This is just not as good, plain and simple, and it’s because of one very loud & very obvious decision in the production / recording process. This thing is utterly drenched in reverb. There’s a gag on the SiivaGunner channel (video game music with comedic bait & switch changed melodies / mashups) where a certain subset of uploads of Kingdom Hearts songs are heavy on the reverb, to sell part of the joke, but for this album, it feels like a very defined & intentional choice to center the album around it. It *deeply* makes the album suffer. It’s not in the compositions; these are well composed songs, occasionally bringing to mind bands like Tears for Fears, U2, and to some degree, Joy Division & Talking Heads. It’s not in Shaun Ryder’s vocals; as muffled & buried in the mix as they are, I think he generally tends to bring a decent gravitas to the emotions he’s trying to pull off on the tracks, though there are a few dry vocal structures. It is partially in the writing; you can tell the verses were an afterthought here, given that so many of the second verses are just minor rewrites of the first verse to fit the same syllabic structure, & a lot of the lyrics here are just kinda crass for the sake of it to some degree. It is solely in the mixing / production process where this album buries itself to a totally fine 3 – the synth work gets the most reverb, creating a cavernous effect that acts as almost a reverse wall of sound, opening up far too much. The percussion / guitar are generally more unfazed by it, but the synths overwhelm them, and in turn, Shaun Ryder’s vocals get it the worst, already buried under both the guitar & percussion, before the synths just run them all over. To its credit, the album at least tries to find a balance in the compositions where the synths are played down, to let the other aspects get a bit of shine, but those moments are fleeting. Once the synths come back in, the mild annoyance just resurfaces with them. Overall, it’s a fully competent 3; not a bad album, per se, and I do genuinely hear a sort of appeal for this grittier, Shoegaze-ier, post-punk influenced form of Madchester, before ‘90s house music gave Shaun Ryder the chance to enter a much more commercially appealing soundscape… but it’s not the sort of Madchester that works for my tastes. If someone wants to give this a 4 or even a 5, if they made a compelling enough case, I could maybe understand it. I do think the people giving this a 2 are justified, though. I’m at a 3 just because I found it to be utterly fine, and not much more than that. It probably did leave some type of influence though, so… good on Shaun & friends, I guess. I’ll take “Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches” every time, though.
I'm three songs in and wondering if this album isn't one they put in to verify that people are really listening to each entry. I'm seriously considering skipping to "the famous tracks" because this is not my thing. Holy crap this is bad. This is time I will never get back. Instead of music, package contained bobcat. Would not order again.
It’s not even close to Pills and Thrills and Bellyaches, but I guess there are some bands that only have one good record in them. Have to agree with others that this sounds like one drawn out “stiff funk psychedelic” episode. Happy Mondays did not make for a wonderful Wednesday… 2⭐️
Honestly, a bit better than expected, especially after the first few tracks. Found myself head bopping a few times, but did not have any memorable song or moment. Just a casual 80's sound, with some "experimental" bits here and there, but nothing too out there. I had never heard of the band, and was a simple and quick introduction. Will not search for them in the future, but for sure will remember the name.
If you google Bez from Happy Mondays, you will understand why this album sounds the way it does Funny guys but unfortunately the album was shit. Sorry lads 2 ⭐️