Take It from the Man! is the third studio album by American psychedelic rock band the Brian Jonestown Massacre. After recording their shoegaze-influenced debut album Methodrone (1995) and releasing a collection of early recordings, Spacegirl & Other Favorites, the band took influence from 1960s British psychedelic garage rock and recorded Take it from the Man! from November 1995–February 1996. After recording the entire album with an unnamed producer who scrapped the recordings, the band re-recorded the album on a minimal budget, mostly at Lifesource Studios in Emeryville, California with production from Psychic TV's Larry Thrasher, whose usual "studio" approach was vetoed out by the band's back-to-basics approach.
The album's psychedelic garage rock has often been compared to the Rolling Stones. Released by Bomp! Records on May 28, 1996, it is the first of three full-length albums released by the band in 1996, preceding Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request and Thank God for Mental Illness. The album was released to critical acclaim, with journalists praising the exuding of its influences and spirit. Frontman Anton Newcombe has since named the album as one of his favorites by the band. The album has featured in several "best of" lists and has been cited by several musicians as an influence. "Straight Up and Down", which is featured in two alternate versions on the album, later became the theme music for Boardwalk Empire.
I wish I enjoyed Rolling Stones records as much as I enjoy the mid-90’s BJM records - which are pretty clearly and heavily indebted to the Stones, but, imo, end up being much more than mere facsimiles of the Rolling Stones.
Take It From the Man is a great garage/psych record. I also would recommend “Their Satanic Majesties Second Request” (also from 1996), if this one piqued your interest.
Yeah, Anton Newcombe has always been a dick, but this record (just like two or three other LPs within BJM's long discography) is iconic enough to justify its presence in a list such as this one. I unfortunately don't have the time to elaborate today, but "take it from the man": this one's most probably a keeper.
4/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums..
9/10 for more general purposes (5 + 4)
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Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465
Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288
Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336
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Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 54 (including this one)
Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 72
Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 129
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Émile. Ça y est, j'ai *enfin* répondu (en deux temps). Tu trouveras ça sous les reviews des disques de Blackalicious et Alexisonfire au dessus.
Excellent submission. This is what user submissions are about. Does this deserve to be on the original list? Probably not. But highly listenable. The Bowie song made it, and kept it a 4.
Eh. Mopey, maundering, Brit-influenced pop with a front man overly enamored of his own (mostly self-inflicted) suffering. I also dislike the Dandy Warhols, so. At its core exceedingly average.
I already knew "Methodrone (1995)" and "...And This Is Our Music (2003)" from this band and I was not surprised that this album was also not my cup of tea. Most of the songs are in an early Rolling Stones style (psychedelic and garage rock). This would not be a problem if the songs were really outstanding or if the band was from the same period. Now they are just an echo fading out of another band that once was great.
Not quite sure why you’d want to impersonate one of the greatest bands and fall short of their quality. This band wants to be British so bad. From the album cover to the singing accent it’s all kind of sad. I love the stones but listening to this was weird. I don’t know maybe I’m missing something. 5.5/10
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