Bummed

Baggy (or "madchester") was England's sort of return to form after the post-punk and synthpop of the 80's. This was a result of the sound developed by New Order, which blended neo-psych style, alternative dance rhythms, and jangle pop riffs. Returning to traditional rock instruments with an increased focus on production and tone lead to a very rich-sounded genre. Bummed embodies much of that sound. Unfortunately, most of Bummed is uninteresting. Just doesn't do anything for me.

Meh. I had it on the in the background and immediately could tell that this wasn't something that I would enjoy. It wasn't awful enough for me to have to fast forward or skip songs, but this music is just not for me.

I guess it's music.. 3/10

It’s not TERRIBLE but it’s also not GOOD. The vast majority of songs sound exactly the same. This is a forgettable album, definitely not something one must listen to before they die. Worst songs: Country Song, Mad Cyril 2 stars

Yeah hmm not sure

Chaotic fun, perfect soundtrack to my late 80s life

Bum! ha ha! It's rude.

Meh.

Meh

Strong 6

oh i get it, it's like punk but without the appeal

Humdrum. 2.5

upbeat rock. sounded a bit like inxs to me. i didn’t like it, i didn’t hate it… it was just there. twas just ok.

Makes me bummed

Probably the only album themed around the movie Performance

Just semmone albumi jolle ei saatana anneta kahta tähteä enempää vittu perkele,,, hörhöilyä!!!! Poika.. kannapis laiton huume.. lopeta semmoset... LAITON!! Kuitenkinkin musisointisqueque albumisque wibe taitavastu koottu albumi. LAITON HUUME!! Collectors edition paskalta näytti heti ÄLLÖTTÄVÄ BIISI 0/5 eli 2/5 heh

Fat lady wrestlers an ok song. Wouldn't listen again though.

Sorry mensen, maar de jaren tachtig? Doet u mij Toto, U2, The Police, Bowie, Jackson, of Springsteen maar, of desnoods Europe of A-ha, of zelfs Rick Astley en Glen Medeiros. Maar wat moet ik in vredesnaam met het zoveelste jarentachtig jengelbandje waarvoor het woord 'overbodig' lijkt te zijn uitgevonden?

Internet vermeldt over dit album vooral dat het een ecstasy-fuelled album is. Maar goed dat Mike Boddé zulke recensies niet heeft gelezen. Het schreeuwt om de vraag: 'Hoe klínkt een ecstasy-fuelled album?' Ik had in elk geval een ander idee bij de klank toen ik de term las. Vervolgens meldt wiki dat het album gezien wordt als 'defining releases of the acid house'. Ook bij acid house heb ik een heel ander klankidee. Via internet kom ik er dus vooral achter wat dit album niet is. En dat ben ik wel eens met Big-Brother-internet. Want ook ik heb geen idee wat dit wél is...

Eerste deel vh album doet me denken aan the Cure. En dat vind ik best wel goed te doen. Tweede gedeelte gaat meer de kant op van die acid house, al blijft het gewoon britpop. En daar wringt de schoen, want ook deze band heeft weer zo'n typerende verveelde Britse zanger met een zeikerige kutstem. Die zanger lijdt duidelijk aan lazyitis. Voor de Cure-achtige nummers wil ik een dikke 3 geven, al blijft het wel huismerk Cure. De luie zanger haalt het wat naar beneden. Maar ik ben in een milde bui, dus hou ik het bij 3 sterren.

Gonna need to hear this again to see if I can get beyond my first impression of postparty swampcore

Great time. In some ways a warm up to pills n thrills but I can't get enough of the sound this band had. A great record.

Excesso de teclados, vocal irritante, o tecno dos anos 80 numa forma bastante irritante.

Hyvin tylsä levy, tasapaksua massaa, en pidä vaikka teoriassa voisin olla ihanneyleisöä

Kuulin aluksi puolella korvalla olkkarin kajarista, ja ihan piruuttani kokeilin uudelleen, oliko tämä näin käsittämättömän tylsää. Ekan biisin puolikas oli.

Very forgettable.

Really enjoyed this. Kind of hard pop punk definitely from the 80s

Total revelation. Never heard of these guys before. Why????

This album was okay. I didn't mind it playing in the background while I worked on other stuff.

Var bra bakgrunnsmusikk når jeg leste

Meh

Really enjoyed this, got me into exploring the Madchester genre. Close to a 5-star..

Very fun album. Favorite track: Mad Cyril

The singer’s voice is grating

Bummed I had to hear this.

That first track was a vibe. Absolutely fat kick. Overall this was a fun vibe album with not much behind it but there are other albums in that category that I would much rather listen to. Still solid and that was a fun ticket to ride interpolation on the last track. I feel like this would go hard live in fairness.

unhappy. English industrial . the cover looks like they just want to poss you off. the music does the same.

Made by people on drugs for people on drugs. Shaun can't sing, period. Lazy Itis is only interesting for the Fab lift. Brain dead indeed, unbelievably boring. Can I be serious for a moment and point out this is what drugs can do to people's critical faculties.

I can see how an eccy or two might improve this. It begins well - I enjoyed the opening 3 tracks - they are loud & quirky & well-produced, but once the Fat (or should I say “enormous”) Lady starts wrestling, it really is downhill - except for Wrote For Lunch, probably the standout track here. Side 2 is a real disappointment - I think somebody left the drugs at home.

In the immortal words of David St Hubbins, it's such a fine line between stupid and clever. And this band is right on that line. Were the Happy Mondays a bunch of ham-fisted, untalented, drug-addled chancers who stumbled into a music career as a cover for their ecstasy dealing, or were they the outsider poet geniuses of a new musical scene that melded indie and dance? Well, kind of both... I find Sean Ryder's loose and impressionistic lyrics both infuriatingly stupid and also full of fresh and surprising imagery. He can't really sing, but he can get the point across. The band are technically limited (and that's being a bit generous), and Martin Hammet's (final) production slathers everything in reverb and delays, which suits the dance-clubby vibe. Apparently, the band tried to manage Hammet's alcoholism by keeping him loaded on ecstasy. They didn't really have their own musical ideas: they pilfer and grab musical snippets from wherever, most notably the lift of Taxman for Lazy-Itis. But when they play back their magpie gleanings, they emerge in an idiosyncratic and unfiltered way that actually is something fresh. This accidental innovation is a mixture of lack of musical knowledge, carelessness, low inhibitions, and heavy drug use. I suspect this sounds great if you are off your head on acid. Some of the songs here are really rubbish (Lazy-Itis for example, which, believe it or not, is actually worse in the One Armed Boxer Remix, which is featured in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6otmccrb2c ). The Mondays really hit their straps just after the release of this album when they start teaming up with proper dance remixers like Paul Oakenfold, Vince Clark and Andy Weatherall to start producing really great dance versions, like the W.F.L. 12" or the Hallelujah Club Mix which came out shortly after this record. The dance production really highlights their strengths and covers up their weaknesses as a band (particularly the inept drumming). So, this album may be a musical turning point, but frankly, not the best representation of the curious and specific pleasures of the Mondays at their peak. I'm sure this was great in the Hacienda in 1989, but at the end of the day, all I can really hear is the drugs. So many drugs.

Neither here nor there on this one.

You know what, I saw this and thought who the heck needs over two hours of Happy Mondays? Turns out 2 hours didn’t feel like 2 hours so I shall eat my words. I enjoyed.

Kinda bland psych rock album, I don't really see the appeal

Slurred indie dance.

brilliant artwork, fantastic album name, mediocre album. you could say its got me a bit bummed.

Bummed

I really like Fat Lady Wrestlers.

Such an original and interesting piece of alternative. Mixes ‘70s punk with hint of ‘80s electronic. It feels like a precursor to something like Le Tigre. I’d never heard of this but enjoyed it quite a bit.

I can understand how some people would like that. But man what a drag.

Meh, I really don't see what's special here

Nothing drew me in here. Sorry Bez.

Sounds like a mash-up between Falco and The Cure, with none of the good parts.

Bummer

Quit your bawling and go back to work.

Better than I thought, still worst than most post punk I heard

Generic post-punk, dance-punk exist and that's a great example of it. I can't see why it's here on the 1001. A few great songs and moments, tho.

À réécouter

PREFS : Country Song, Performance, Brain Dead, Wrote For Luck, Bring a Friend, Do It Better, Lazy Itis MOINS PREF : Mad Cyril

Surprised I've never heard of them.

Never grabbed me

Listened to this twice today. But I never got into it. Maybe because I listened on a Thursday? It's not bad. Just not for me. Not even enough to write a real review. Bummer.

I had this album as a teen. This was loooong after Madchester, but I was working my way through the classic British indie bands. I'd pretty much forgotten all about this album which probably says a lot. It gets a three because they influenced a lot of the stuff I like and it's not bad enough to be a two.

Not a bad album, but most of the tracks sound the same. 3/5

Слушала его вчера фоном, как фоновая музыка он офигенный. Че-то бодренькое, слова повторяются, мелодии повторяются, нет никакого надрыва. Лайк.

Прикольный для прослушивания альбом, но никак не для переслушивания(

Ну что сказать, тот случай, когда история создания альбома впечталила сильнее, чем сам альбом. Если не в курсе — чекните википедию; вкратце — альбом записан целиком в наркотическом угаре. Вероятно, его и слушать стоит в таком же состоянии... Не, ну по звуку прикольно, это более слушабельный авангард и отчасти тяжеляк, чем Smashing Pumpkins, но чего вообще стоит серьёзно ожидать от такой пластинки?) Круто, что пацаны кайфанули, собрались и каааак бахнули по инструментам. Аж 10 треков записали. И кучу бонусов, которые мне кстати больше зашли, чем из основного треклиста. 3/5, поскольку альбом достоин быть в списке 1001 альбома, но переслушивать я его не очень хочу. Madchester — крутая тусовка, но почему-то ни одного по-настоящему культового имени оттуда не вышло... или я плохо искал)

Ну звучит в целом норм. Не особо цепляющий психоделический поп-рок с даже приятными уху элементами хауса. Но в целом хзхз, послушать точно стоит, переслушать -- скорее нет. Вообще, если будете пробовать писать альбом под наркотиками, не используйте экстази

idk, just not feeling it I guess.

3.5/5

Never really got this band, determined to give them a good chance and this is just awful. music for "Mad lads"

Dated.

Decent-ish new wave stuff. I found it to be pretty same-y over the play, so it was just ok. 3/5

Pretty nice and groovy as heck, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to it. Worth a spin though! C

Pretty good, did enjoy was a nice background soundtrack to my life for that moment. 7/10

Just for name 2*

Country Song- 3 (Lots going on none of which make any sense) Moving In With- 4 Mad Cyril- 6 Fat Lady Wrestlers- 5 Performance- 5 Brain Dead- 7 Wrote for Luck- 6 Bring a Friend- 6 Do It Better- 2 Lazyitis- 3 Hallelujah- 4 Holy Ghost- 4 Clap Your Hands- 5 Rave On- 2 Boom- 7

Solid 3. Interesting and original and still sounds fun but lots of songs samey.

boring. i find them boring.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Do it better

Moving in With: Drum nya keren, rima kata di liriknya jga lucu. Aransemen lagunya juga trippy, mungkin krna dri penggunaan ekstasi & obat2an yg banyak waktu rekaman albumnya. Mad cyril: itu hammond organ kah? Boleh lah utk efeknya di lagu. Bring a friend: di saat tertentu, vokalnya out of time, tpi instrumental album nya ttp bikin formula nya bekerja, jdi ga kacau bgt. Lazyitis: Lgu yg ditulis jga dngan bantuan lirik dri Beatles - Ticket to Ride. Unik jga krna kyk dnger lgu Beatles tpi dimodif sama Happy Mondays

So forgettable that I actually forgot I already listened to it when I went to review it lol. But I had some songs liked, so it must not have been thaaaaat bad

Honestly? Glad to see that my initial response to Happy Mondays was consistent with my second attempt. Quite dull and repetitive.

ei oikeun sano mitäaän tämä tas kerran. kuulostaa että muutama englanti ukko kasariluvulla päätti tehdä bändin kirjottaa muutama biisi ja äänittää jossain autotallissa. ei erityisen hyvä eikä erityisen huono. mielummin ottaisin paskan albumin kun tämän. näissä menee moti tähän albumi juttuun ku pistetään näitä täysin samankuuloisia ok bändejä tänne listalle... tylysä pylysä wrote for luck

Just another long, tired, and overdone 80s Brit synthpop album. I understand the conveners of the list lean largely British, but man am I tired of hearing the same repetitive synth/bass-line + wacky male vocals track over and over again. There were so many experimental and interesting ideas to be had in the 80s - is this really the best we can come up with as a representative of the era?

This was hard to listen too, maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

Only has the bloody 2h collectors addition. Gonna listen to 4 songs, if it sucks it goes off, if its good it stays on. Welcum to the gaunlet. It didn't do enough, but also wasn't asss bad as some reviews suggested. Solid 2 from the first 4 tracks....

Love a bit of mondys

I don't understand how this was ever popular.

Does the list include every single "Madchester" record? Although I really don't like Sean Ryder as a vocalist, he's not quite so annoying on this album. However, the music is less exciting than on "Pills n Thrills" with its fusion of house and indie rock. "Bummed" still sits more squarely on the rock side, but with lots of funk and psychedelia. It's got a zany energy all the way through. However, I'd be happy to never listen to it again, and I expect 90% of repeat listeners are just nostalgic for taking ecstasy in a field before they got an office job and the internet was invented. 3*

Big part of my youth but some of its shite.

Taas melkoinen ohilevy. Parhaimmillaankin keskinkertaista.

Ihan hauska. Potentiaalinen useemmalla kuuntelulla, mut ei niin hyvä, että sen tekis

You know just by seeing a name or an album you don't recognize that it's going to be 80s / 90s UK Britpop and the Happy Mondays Bummed continues that streak. I could go on my usual rant about the biases of the author(s) but I'll just check out with my usual, not a must listen to, but a decent album of the time. 2.5/5.

2 hours is excessive when the songs all sound very similar… next time lads cherry pick your best tunes…

Maybe this is good if you’re pilled up and insensible? I’m not though, I’m processing study abroad applications.

I don’t get it with this band. The music goes between bog standard blues-rooted rock and a slack pastiche of new wave, dance and funk that doesn’t add anything I can discern to any of them. But the vocals particularly do nothing for me, this sustained monotone Northern British yawp. The playing is too competent to get into 2 star territory, but it’s a bare 3 for me.

Ayyy Bez was on Pimp My Ride UK, cool guy

I wasn't expecting to dislike listening to this album, but I did. It picks up a bit around the second half of the album, but it's still not great. It's just slightly better than the first few songs. The songs are pretty boring and unsatisfying to listen to. They don't really change that much over the course of their duration. Some songs have something going for them, but, again, they don't develop. I actually didn't mind the singer's voice that much, but it doesn't do anything all that notable in any of these songs. My favourite song was Bring A Friend.

Solid 80s jammy jams

Relatively enjoyable. First time listening to them

Sounds like The Smiths, Killing Joke, New Order and The Beatles put in a blender with a generous helping of coke and ecstasy sprinkled in

Fucking Weird. I don't hate it. 3/5

C’est weird mais c’est pa smauvais, j’ai eu du rock, electro? Je sais pas trop quoi en pkenser mais c’est tres originale. 3.75

The musical equivalent of licking doorknobs.

Britpop oder Britrock, der mich leider überhaupt nicht abholt...

Marcado estilo pop/electrónico de los 80, sin nada por lo que destaque especialmente. Pasable, sin más. Variedad de estilos para la misma canción también.

There’s nothing good about this.

I want to like this.

Not bad

Never heard this album before. Pretty great all round

Just don't get it.

meh

It’s fine

I was expecting something more similar to Stone Roses so at first I wasn’t too impressed with this. But then, after 4 or 5 listens it grew on me. It’s definitely a more chaotic and nonsensical side of the genre - especially lyrics are a mess. But this kind of chaos is addictive. I enjoyed the jangly guitars in the background building the atmosphere throughout the entire record. The bass lines were also distinctively groovy at times. My favourite tracks are Moving In With, Mad Cyril, Performance, Bring a Friend and Lazyitis (ticket to ride + a great guitar outro to the entire album). Overall, I think I enjoyed more the vibe the entire album gives off rather then particular songs. You can feel this very particular era of madchester on this album. But I’d still choose Stone Roses over this anytime. 3.5/5 down to 3 for the lack of any particular song that really grabbed my attention

Wicked!

meh

This album has very little going for it. It's pretty simple stuff, the singer has a grating voice (and isn't a great singer), the songs are weird for the sake of being weird without doing anything interesting musically, and none of them are all that catchy. And it's slow to boot. "Lazyitis" is the closer and one of the singles, but it's the same damn 2 chords repeated over and over in a sleepy trance for 3 minutes. None of the others are much better ("Wrote for Luck" is a little catchy, but no less simple). I could see how this might be considered the seminal influence for the 90s Britpop wave, but the most important fact is that all those other guys made way better music.

Average

Kinda interesting, kinda loud and abrasive

When I reviewed Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches a while back, I think I used the word "scuzzy" to describe the sound of Happy Mondays. I've got a say, that's about as spot-on a descriptor that I have ever applied to a band, so I'm going to use it here as well. I'll add that I mean it in the most complimentary way. It's hard to put my finger on what it is exactly about them, but these guys are really entertaining. This is not Happy Mondays' best album, but it's a lot of fun. The band have yet to refine their funky, ramshackle sound (inasmuch as they ever do), resulting in a bit of a loose, musically untethered group of songs with a great groove. Interestingly enough, I think the looseness is really is part of its charm. They really own this genre. Fave Songs: Lazy Itis, Mad Cyril, Wrote for Luck, Country Song, Performance, Brain Dead

3/4. Dug it. Would listen again

2.8 - Decent for what it is, but still kind of overproduced 80s, vocal heavy house music. “Wrote for Luck” want half bad.

1/10, 10%

A great listen

This is a sold meh from me.

Hey man, I'm glad you had fun jamming out while zooted, but this isn't good.

Couldn't make it through it, really not for me.

This album goes nowhere. Unintelligible singing with instrumentals that remain flat from beginning to end. Nothing must hear here.

Nothing worthwhile really, no song stood out, singing voice was close to being annoying.... Next please

I thought I would enjoy this album a bit more than I did, Happy Mondays are obviously a significant band in the scope of 90s indie, but I didn't really get into this album

I mean, it was okay. I just didn't hear anything groundbreaking in this. It sounded like your average alternative rock from the 80s. How was this different from what others were doing? I don't get it. The opening in particular kinda bothered me. Th scratching or whatever was grating. It just didn't hit me at all. I mean, I guess it was... ok? Low 3 AT BEST.

Seems like more of that sound 80's UK bands (The The, Primal Scream, etc.) were going after. I don't know so much about the psychedelic angle (except for the final track Lazy Itis), or what separates the sound of these guys from the other UK bands. I did not like it at all initially but by the end of the album I wasn't sure if I'd call it terrible. Still, I'm not going back for more, and I don't really know why it belongs on this list. Might be worth a 3 but I went the other way.

I like the music, but the lyrics are generally awful. For example, Bring a Friend really caught my ear and I was prepared to list it as a favorite track, until I saw the crass lyrics. Tons of stoner lyrics in other songs. Wrote for Luck is a good song and the lyrics aren't terrible. They occasionally reminded me of the band James who are not on the 1001 albums list but should be (damn, I even just saw that Happy Mondays opened for James. That makes the omission even worse). I'll give it a 3 because the songs sounded good, but no higher because of the lyrics.

It's basically a parody of 80's music. Every cliché in one album. I'm glad I'll never have to listen to it again. 1/5

Mostly inoffensive. Best track: Lazyitis

4/5

Drug-induced Duran Duran vibes. No big ebbs and flows through the album, essentially a unidimensional album in which any single track gives you the gist of the rest of the album.

Not sure what it was about this album, but it annoyed me. Could be the annoying vocalist, could be the annoyingly loud mixing of the instruments, could just be that the album was far too long. I sat through it, but it left me wishing I was listening to anything else.

The Wikipedia article states that this album was made under the influence of lots and lots of drugs. The thing about drugs is that they make things seem better than they are. This was not good. Not good. There is a genre of British rock in which the lead singer just shouts/moans in place of singing. It sometimes works, but here it just filled me with rage and resentment. Although it is usually my practice, I was unable to bring myself to listen to this more than once, and mind you I stopped immediately at the end of track 10 on the super-extended Apple Music version available to me. Maybe I missed out. If I did, please let me know.

I did not enjoy this much. On first listen, I found it unpleasant. On second it wasn’t as bad, but there was something about it that irritated me…maybe it was the way it sounded…

I had to keep starting this one over because I kept forgetting to listen. By the third time through, I sort of liked most of the songs but only sorta. I won't remember it.

I wasn't sure an ecstasy-fueled psychedelic album from the 80s would be my cup of tea. But I enjoyed this more than I expected. Witty lyrics and a great 80s dance vibe made me think this might have been just the ticket for an ecstasy-fueled evening at the hottest club in 1989. Interesting and fun!

Se nota mucho el sonido que influirá a bandas como Kasabian en el futuro sin soltar la parte ochentera. Sin embargo es música con la que no logré conectar. No es necesariamente mala pero tampoco pasa nada si no los vuelvo a escuchar. 2.5 que subo a 3 porque no creo que sean terribles ni nada, sólo no hubo conexión pero puedo reconocer su importancia. Wrote For Luck es la mejor.

Siento que esta es de esa música que tenías que haber estado ahí (lugar o al menos la época) para realmente apreciarla. A distancia suena como lo que describe su artículo en wiki: drug-fueled álbum. De las muchas cosas ochenteras que hemos oído esta no es de las malas, pero tampoco me vuelve loco para investigar más.

Felt like I was high in the first parts of the song traveling across the country and then decided to take acid when it wore off through the rest of it. Really good stuff.

Longggggg. Not bad, solid background music I guess.

Skilled musicians and performers, no doubt, but overall for me this album suffers from the same element that tends to turn me off from psychedelic music from any era. I still can't describe quite so accurately, but it's rooted in that sense I get from music like this that the band is trying a bit too hard to be trippy. It's kind of like that sense of discomfort I get when I watch a comedian who is just so evidently, at least to me, really trying hard to be funny. Anyway, you get the idea. Not something I'll come back to, I don't think.

This was way better than I expected, despite the shitty prod and mix.

Album chiant + pochette dégueulasse

ça passe pour un album qui commence par une "Country Song"

Rock on, sister.

What is mediocrity?

Some interesting sounds with this one.

Pleasantly surprised.

I've never been able to "get" The Happy Mondays. The vocals are painful, whiny like shoegaze but with added Mancunian sly arrogance tinting it. The beats are poppy, but honestly I can't pick through it to reach any value. Weirdly, I quite enjoy some of Black Grape's stuff, however Shaun Ryder very much ditched the whininess for that. Bez is Bez, and his contribution to the actual recorded work is so close to non-existent that it might as well be called non-existent.

It's alright, sort of generic Brit-pop. I don't care for the way the lead singer was yelling at me in many of the songs. 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3.

Un d'aquells discos que són més banda sonora de l'època i el lloc que obres amb un valor intrínsec. Interessant i depén de l'edat amb un toc nostàlgic important, pero incomparable amb altres discos realment seminals com el debut d'Stone Roses, del qual es troba a anys llum musicalment

This is not exactly my scene, I'm not into this sound or kind of shout/singing. I do enjoy the Bowie vibes of synth sounds and the drums are cool. Not bad music to have on while working and it hasn't put me in a terrible mood.

I think Luke would break up with me if I rated this less than 4... but luckily I did really enjoy this and recognised a good few off here. It's so much of things I love about 80s rock - synths, the way the vocals are mixed, the drums. again, another album which makes me reminiscent of the 80s even though I wasn't there

I like Happy Mondays generally and appreciate them but can't say I often listen to them. This was fine but didn't think it was anything special.

I don't think this makes sense, but this music is dreamy and heavy at the same time. The rhythm guitar playing is strong - Wrote For Luck being the highlight. Playing it really loud on the dance floor  would be a blast I'm sure.  Any consideration to give a 4 evaporated as soon as I read they made a song that sounded like Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da. If you're going to rip off a Beatles song, at least rip off one that isn't lame. Something like Ticket To Ride for example. lol

Ugh, I’m Not a fan of this type of Britpop

Funk psicodélico. Ni fu ni fa.

And it's UK pub rock. What a surprise. Singer's voice has that annoying working-class English drunk quality to it. According to wiki they were high as kites so close enough I guess. Musically it isn't really truly bad, just dated, boring and its target demographic is far away from coastal Australia. But it's avoided rock bottom because a couple of these tunes could've had potential with an actual singer. 2/5.

While I get their significance in the Madchester Legend, thirty years on all I can hear is Special Brew INXS.

I really liked Brain Dead and Do It Better. The album was pleasant to listen to, and not much "bothered me" but not too much stood out. A 3.5 is really more accurate than a 3 or a 4 here, but since that isn't an option and I'm having a good day, it's a 4.

Really cool alternative rock album from the late 80s. It presages a lot of musical ideas that will come to fruition in the 90s. Well worth a listen 4/5

2.5 maybe? Someone needs to turn down the "80's special effects" knob here.

This album doesn't grab me as much as Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches did but I can hear the start of the sound that I associate with Happy Mondays. Fave: Wrote for Luck

A mixed bag

Classic British lower middle class 80´s rock. Not my cup of coffee.

OK. Never exactly been a big Mondays fan. The behind-the-scenes story (whereby the band were doing a roaring trade in ecstasy pills, including selling them to soldiers at a barracks near the studio) interests me more than the end result. Still, worth getting in its 2 CD which also has the Madchester Rave On EP plus other single versions and remixes etc.

-The singer in "Fat Lady Wrestlers" sounds a bit like Ace Frehley -Overall a pretty nice funk/dance/rock-ish album. Generally nice. Nothing was mind-blowing, but the energy was good. Probably a soft 4 star album.

It’s alright. I think it has a vibe of weird radio music in that it has some components that feel easy to listen to, such as the guitars, but the voice and overall feel of each song comes together in a way that makes it memorable but odd. Each song feels like the instruments are distant or ethereal in a sense, while the lyrics seem to be screamed at me. It makes an odd dichotomy that comes together in an album that seems rough around the edges. Favorite track: Mad Cyril

I feel like I had this idea years ago where you could mix punk and new wave styles with a psychedelic flow, but I never found something that hit its mark quite like this. Magazine by Magazine was pretty good, but it was more gothic than what I had in mind. This is a perfect blend of new wave and psychedelia. The lyrics are on point for a new wave album, but they are heavily based in psychedelic music in their tone. The cadence is very new wave, but the subjects range in a more psychedelic style than most new wave projects which I think is pretty daring. The instrumentation has a lot of contemporary aesthetics in the drums and guitars. The addition of the keys to be that 60s style is a choice that I really love since I can't get enough of that sound. Definitely a stranger album, but I think I will only like it more and more with age. Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Takes a while to click but once the fug clears it's great, love the grooves and just the general vibe. 3.5 rounded up

Nothing popped out. It was fine, but I'm not sure it's quite up my alley.

old school

Meh

2.5

I like the Happy Mondays. This was a little moody Tuesdays though

Pretty much as Happy and Monday as expected.

Madchester!!! De todos estos grupos (The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans, James y 808 State) es de los que menos me interesó junto con 808 State, pero aún así tienen su interés. Este disco tampoco tiene ninguna gran canción así que no veo un interés especial más allá de formar parte de una época y movimiento.

Meh.. boring plata. Alls ekki þeirra besta verk.

this album is in the "not bad" category! really, considering the variety and amount of drugs happy mondays was on during this album's creation, it is quite good. the vocals leave something to be desired, but the guitar, drums, keyboard definitely deliver. i could hear happy mondays' experimenting with this album and touching on so many genres. an enjoyable, intriguing listen.

When the first track started, I figured I was in for a disaster. But, as the album progressed, I actually found myself liking this album a lot more than I thought I was going to! It is very reminiscent of some 80s alternative and new wave which I love. It's also saturated with some of the most defining sounds and effects from the 80s. That said, it still somehow defies being pinned into any genre from that time (thanks, it's the ecstasy). While I really loved the music on this album, the singing and vocalization is what I found to be lackluster. The vocals are usually incoherent and the lyrics (when understandable) are often nonsensical. While this goes along well with much of the 80s, something about the vocals just seemed worse than that. This album may be a hot mess, but damn if I can't help but find it to be an intriguing, cool mess.

I had never heard of Happy Mondays and had zero expectations going in, but I really liked this album. It definitely sounds of a time, but in many ways sounds relevant today as well. Fat White Family seems like the closest modern contemporary. An unusual but catchy blend of dance and '80s pop rock, Bummed is great for repeat listens.

Solid 3, does make me feel like being lazy

Meh 4/10

Gaaahh… vittu taas tätä brittipaskaa jolla ei koko maailman mittakaavassa oo mitään todellista merkitystä. Saatanan puuduttavaa. Ei lähe yhtään, en saa mitään otetta. Pitäs kuunnella ehkä eri aikana eri paikassa. 1/5

Olipas pettymys. Odotin psykempää versiota Stone Rosesista, mut tää olikin vaan ihan paska.

Luokassa miellyttävää surinaa. Ei mikään biisi taas lävistänyt erinomaisuuden kalvoa, mutta tykkään kyllä soundista. 3/5

Wow I didn't know what to think but I really, really liked this. Heavy Cure like sound but nothing wrong with that.

Eh, I'm not harsh enough. This probably deserves a two but I had too many moments where I wanted to be listening to ANYTHING ELSE, so fuck it.

Nothing stood out for me in this album. The songs blended into each other one after another into the background with nothing that captured my interest

I have to give the album credit for having a good variety of sound to it. However I only think a couple of the songs I would choose to listen to again. There’s a lot of psychedelic funk sounds in the album that are unnerving to listen to.

Too much discordance, reverb, ambient noise, repetition... but since I had no expectation, can't say I was bummed. Missed getting the dreaded 1 star based on a couple of the songs being decent.

Normally I try to listen to each of these albums at least twice. But this was long and pretty sketchy, so only once.

Didn’t start too bad but it drags for so looong!

I really liked this.

I’d heard the Happy Mondays but never really paid attention. And I liked it more than I assumed I would. It’s not my flavor of synth, but generally pretty ok.

At least not dislike

Une très belle bouillie des années 80.

Pendant 38mn, les membres du groupe Happy Mondays vont tenter d'utiliser absolument tous les codes des années 80 pour essayer d'obtenir un semblant de succès. Malheureusement, ils resteront tout du long à côté de la plaque, ne parvenant jamais à toucher dans le mille.

Dnf. Uskoisin, jos joku väittäis tätä the Smithiksi. En osais sanoo, miten yksikään biisi menee, vaikka yhdenkin kuuntelu vielä kesken.

spacey 80s brit pop. Noooope.

Not quite what I thought it would be. Some bangers from back in the day, but not as groovy and not quite as much fun as later albums would be

Kamalt El Hadra Ethenya M 3l Bouheli Mte3 Dostoevsky. I'm Better, Ahmed Still Needs Help. I'm Still Waiting For Calls

Very the cure!

The album has an 80s sound and the lyrics aren't that great. The songs are a little eccentric. Thankfully the album was relatively short. It is better than some of other 2s on this list. No need to listen to it again.

p592, 1988. 2.5 stars, not a 2 but definitely not strong enough for a 3. Suspect this is highly rated by people who were there at the time and are re-listening with psychedelic tinted headphones. For the rest of us... nothing to like or dislike. There are better Happy Mondays albums.

happy Monday but bummed?? really makes you think

Good moments here and there, overall the energy of it was a bit much for me. "Ecstasy fueled" is not something I necessarily seek out in the music I choose to listen to.

This sounds like The Cure trying to overcome a horrible hangover by taking a bunch of speed and ecstasy to power through it. I find the whole thing pretty grating but the worst element is definitely the singer's voice. He makes every song annoying with his strained wailing. So jaded it's dull.

Unfortunately plagued by the 80s sound. It's okay and I can see why someone would like it, but all sounds very 80s cheesy beyond the vocals.

I found this album to be a little long and overindulgent. While the music represents a specific scene it comes across as a bit to spot on, but lesser than. There is nothing that separates them from other bands of that scene (there were a few standout bands). I am not a big fan of the overuse of reverb and echo. The lyrics are also pretty dark. I did enjoy Lazyitis but mostly because it had me singing "Ticket to Ride" to a pretty good groove. All-in-all it is an okay album with a few good dance grooves and early Liverpool and Manchester influences. Favorite song: Wrote for Luck. 2 1/2 out of 5.

Starts out super post-punky and a bit Cure-lite, and then turns into a bit of a psychedelic acid trip. Really enjoyed the production and atmosphere, but the songwriting wasn't my favourite. Mixed bag for me, but the carefree Manchester sound was fun.

I enjoyed this well-marbled slice of Madchester. I feel like scene records like this are difficult to fully appreciate out of context. Which reminds me of a general challenge with the randomly generated album approach of this project. I feel like a chronological order and slightly slower pace would allow more time to listen to contemporary albums or the artist’s broader discography. I try to this a little bit anyway, but feel a little pressured to move forward. Anyway, most of that doesn’t have anything to do with this record in particular, which after a somewhat rocky start, finds a fairly unique groove. The Stone Roses are my favourite band of this era, which might have led to a somewhat unfair comparison. The songwriting and vocals here aren’t quite as strong, though the unique arrangements and production are pretty compelling. What I appreciate most is the sense of playfulness and discovery that animates Happy Mondays’ work here. There feels like an insatiable desire to integrate such a range of psychedelia, funk, and dance music. That interpolation of “Ticket to Ride” on “Lazyitis” was cool and unexpected. Favourite tracks: Performance, Wrote for Luck

Sounds very much of its time - the line between dated and nostalgic is thin! Not a band I knew well, due to my age, and my parents' ages, when they were big. Lazyitis (too short) and Wrote for Luck (too long) were my favourites, along with hallelujah

Pretty good sound here, but no songs that really stuck out.

Not a fan.

Not a lot to like about this album

Not my preferred flavor of synth-pop, but not bad.

I think I like the idea of the Happy Mondays more than I actually like the Happy Mondays if that makes sense. It's fine, some songs are decent, others are completely forgettable.

We Brits have a strange affection for the Mondays dispute out of tune singing! Subsequent albums are much stronger, although I've always really enjoyed the remix of WFL and Hallelujah from the Bummed era. However, I really don't like the messy, over-crowded, distant sounding production. Bring on Step On, Kinky Afro, Loose Fit, Judge Fudge etc.

Couldn't get into them when they were around, and still can't. Just seems like lazy music.

Most songs seemed to blend together

Pretty good album! I’d like to use this time to ask ask the question; why is it that Spotify and Apple Music always put these remastered versions of albums up that double the songs of the original release? It’s always a bunch of B-sides or demos. Really kills the flow of an album or in the case of one like Bummed, I have no idea if this is a double album or just expanded. I have to assume because they're the latest version the studios have put out, so that’s what these services are able to license. I’ve noticed this trend more going through the list of albums and most LPs are usually only 30-45 minutes long, but the version that’s available is 2 hours long. It’s too much! It’s like if the only version of Lord of the Rings that was available was the extended editions. I would never watch them!

idk yet

A mess. Just about every instrument is drenched in reverb whilst being sloppy, too busy and perhaps overproduced. One thing I will say is that it’s consistent. The album has momentum and flows well throughout. But its all a mess. 2/5 - Won’t be listening again.

Ok

Yeah I was pretty bummed when this came up. Terrible.

אלבום גרוע

I don't have enough MDMA in by bloodstream to properly appreciate this. Was thinking this might be a 2 star review on the first listen, but a second listen exposed some of its charm. Still, though, it's a bit of a shambley mess! 😂 Fave track - "Bring A Friend" maybe, or "Do It Better" for the weird grunting at the end!

Happy Mondays at their very best

Not a bad album. You can definitely hear the Martin Hannett production / influence . Is this the direction that Joy Division would have taken had Ian Curtis not died? It's a sound that I naturally gravitate to but the songs lack a certain distinctive quality that keeps them from being me.orale indicates ideally. 3 5 🌟

Patchy swagger

With a potentially generic name like Happy Mondays, I'm not sure if I've heard of the band before. All of the music was new to me, but with hints of other bands that I listen to. I was reminded in part of the band James, and after listening to the album I looked up the Happy Mondays and found out that they are part of the Manchester sound (along with James) from bands that were putting out music in the early 90s. I liked the album, but no tracks stood out for better or worse. If I had to pick one track, it would be "Performance".

This was a strange piece of music, surprisingly. There are many elements which I tend to be a fan of, but under a filter that rather detracted from the listening. That said, the songs grew on me the more of the record I heard.

I didn't know this band but they aren't my style.

I really enjoyed listening to this album and will definitely put a few songs on my running playlist. Kinda like a mash of Talking Heads, Green Day and the Cure, if that's possible. I especially liked the first track and now can't get "lalalala redneck" out of my head. And, who doesn't like a song that ends with a horse neigh? I would advise against selling ecstasy to the army, though!

I will listen to this today!

I like the Happy Monday's weird, psychedelic, surreal, funky and weird approach. it is surprising and funny and fun. This was the album where (apparently) they discovered ecstasy. It think the musical approach really shines through in the remixes (WFL especially) that came out of this album, rather than beign seen ont he album itself. And their subsequent records REALLY show this, and are much more dance-y than this. It's that trance-like dance-like, almost krautrock Madchester thing that I really like, so this album is the first flash of that (but not quiet there)> interestingly, on listening to the deluxe version, I most liked the second disc with all the 12" versions and remixes attracted; they really bring out what I love about the Mondays. The band is loose to the point of (almost) falling apart, which is their real charm.

Some catchy British tunes that worked pretty well as background music. No recognized songs

Sounds like what it is: mediocre, drug-addled, pop rock. Pretty boring, honestly. Ecstasy is not a good drug for making music, apparently.

vella gay

idk

no need for this album to be on this list when Pills n Thrills exists

Let's be honest, the Happy Mondays were fun as a novelty circus, but not particularly good. Maybe this would sound amazing if I were to chug down a load of ecstasy, but that's not something I'm ever going to find out. 2.5/5

Quite enjoyable at a first listen, time will tell how good.

Terrible.

It was fine

OK, bit boring in hindsight

A true trip that instantly fills your head with ideas of "Yeah, these guys where high when they recorded this one." Psychedelic music is hit or miss for me. I dug Moving In With, Fat Lady Wrestlers, Wrote For Luck (which almost feels out of place on this album), but some of the songs like Mad Cyril just didn't click with me. Certainly worth a listen.

Pretty enjoyable, liked the grooves here and Wrote For Luck was my favourite here. After a while the songs become the same which is the only downside here.

madchester baby

Not a fan

A day late with the band name but the album title is spot on for how I felt about this one. It wasn't terrible but that's two unnecessary albums this week.

Another middle of the road project for the week. Pretty nondescript rock. Ever so slightly more enjoyable than yesterday's Joy Division album, but honestly about as forgettable. I can't say much at all here, I don't even know the band. Favorite tracks: Mad Cyril, Performance, Lazyitis. Album art: A cool painting, nice colors. Doesn't do much for me. 3/5

Couldn’t get into the music or vocals.

I know that with the country stats recently tallied that Britain came in second to the US as far as overall albums on the list, but so many British albums stand out simply because they don't stand out. A lot of British bands aren't that distinct from one another so you just wind up with a wash of whatever genre it is, whether it's punk, post-punk, Britpop, or whatever. There are some incredibly vital British albums, but the list needs to be pruned. This is a perfectly average British post-punk album that is a fine 3 and nothing more. It isn't necessary to have this much representation on the list when the music scene isn't that diverse.

Dull

It was fine. 2.5

I wouldn't call it "english grunge", nevertheless I appreciate the psychedelic features provided by Happy Mondays. Quite nice to listen, however I didn't find anything special for me.

Pretty meh alt brit album. The music doesn’t really work for me but for it being the late 80s, it does sound like it was ahead of its time. Album had more of a 90s alt/grunge album with some punk electro in it. It was ok just not my sound. 4.3/10

It wasn’t as good as ‘Pills n Thrills n Bellyaches’ but this album was useful to hear that blend of New Wave and electronic influences which became the Madchester sound. This album is heavily influenced by the talking heads, the smiths, and Lazyitis was very reminiscent of the Beatles’ Ticket to Ride. Overall a nice coherent transition album.

I wasn't crazy about them before and that hasn't really changed. I think I could tolerate a song of theirs every once in a while, but a whole album was honestly excruciating.

This is the second Happy Mondays album on the list, and I’m not really digging them. I much prefer the heavier version of this as heard in later PWEI

I got tired of this album pretty quickly. The sound wasn't bad but it wasn't interesting either and I was not a fan of the vocals at all. It sounded both unique and completely bland and mediocre at the same time

couldn't finish

Sounds very much of its time - the line between dated and nostalgic is thin! Not a band I knew well, due to my age, and my parents' ages, when they were big. Lazyitis (too short) and Wrote for Luck (too long) were my favourites

Bummed that I had to sit through this boring, unenthusiastic performance art. Ugh.

eh. 2.5. it's new wavy so I thought I'd like it but there was just something off for me, maybe the vocals.

meh. feels uninspired and uninteresting

I love 80's music....but I did not like this very much.

Uninspired

Another one that’s highlighting how British biased this book is (duh author from UK) I just had another happy mondays album a couple of days ago so unlucky RNG from the site. I don’t know that I’ll genuinely give this the shot it might get in a few weeks. The meh is still hard from the last one.

Not my cup of tea

Belanglos, langweilig, überflüssig - mir gehen in Bezug auf die Platten in dieser Liste, die besser nicht aufgenommen worden wären, langsam die Adjektive aus.

Uninteresting, unheard of crap. I'm going to be pissed off if shit like this made the list but something truly remarkable like Flood by They Might Be Giants or Soul Mining by The The didn't.

An average album if ever there was one. Ok.

4/5 - fun!

A little Shaun Ryder goes a long way for me. There's some good stuff here, Wrote For Luck and Lazy Itis are great but I think I like Pills 'n' Thrills better.

If somebody were to take the worst elements of 80's music (cheesy keys, gated drums, a dreadful moaning vocalist, all saturated in reverb and thinned waaaaay-the-fuck-out to a treble-y right hot mess) and mix it together, you'd have this album. Not for me.

I didn't expect this to be good and was pleasantly surprised. Started off strong with a little bit of a lull but most of this album was really good.

Garbled but above average pop-punk rock

I'm uhhh .. really BUMMED this album is something I had to hear before I die

3.4 - I like it well enough, I guess? Sort of sounds like "Unbelievable" by EMF. It's got that British rave MDMA vibe to it. I like the guitar effects and other backing tracks. I'm sure the lyrics are interesting, maybe, if I could understand the vocals? I'm probably not taking the right drugs? I'd say I need to probably give it more time but I don't know that I want to.

A mixture of early U2, the Smiths, and some New Order thrown in just to round things out. I liked the songs well enough.....2 or 3 at a time. Anything beyond that and all the songs started to sound the same.

18th August 2021 Listened in bits and pieces and finished off on the way to meet sav for a pint in Victoria. If at a festival, house party etc then this would be banging. Difficult when you're just listening to it.

Groovy

This psychedelic funk album was pretty groovy. Its genre can also be described as Madchester - which is indie dance music from Manchester during the 80's. The music was mixed well and a few of the songs stood out, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to this album. Fun fact: this album was entirely recorded while every band member & producer were high on ecstasy.

Pills Thrills Bellyaches is far superior but still a solid 3

One album several colours. The album is certainly not monotonous but not everyones taste. (6/10) Favorite Tracks: Lazyitis

For most of this album I couldn't get into it at all... When it doesn't hit it feels derivative, boring, laboured, uninspired. It kind of did win me over in the end though - there's a few tracks in the final third of the album, namely Rave On, which hit hard and really do achieve what I suspect Happy Mondays are trying to do on the record - groovy, hook-oriented dance rock that really grabs your attention and shakes you side to side. It's just a pity it took so long to get there

I'm a sucker for psychedelia and funk. Throw in some electronic soon and I fall for it. Let's be fair. This is no Stone Roses. But it is still one of the defining albums of the short-lived Madchester movement, which became associated with early rave culture in the UK. And indeed you can dance to this. Now, a lot of people think it's dated. I personally don't get that vibe, and I think it holds more than as a product of its time. Did this album remind anyone else of Public Image Ltd? That being said, I do see many of the faults associated with the album. Maybe I have a twisted music taste, but I loved each of the tracks, each with a unique sound that kept things interesting. And that's enough for me to give it 4 stars. I don't have a favorite track, but Lazitis stood out for me (for sampling Ticket to Ride). Other tracks I really liked were Country Song, Mad Cyril, Performance, Brain Dead, Wrote for Luck, Do It Better, Hallelujah, and Rave On. That's half the album...

Inget för mig

My Design Tutor was a part of Grand Central Station and did all the Happy Monday’s Album covers. I also helped Bez carry a 14” TV and PS1 to his car when I worked at Curry’s It’s like being back home. 5/5

English Grunge? Yes please.

Some nice things, but not amazing