Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches [Extra tracks] [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
Japanese Re-Release Featuring 4 Bonus Tracks.

Tracks:

Kinky Afro
God's Cop
Donovan
Grandbag's Funeral
Loose Fit
Dennis And Lois
Bob's Yer Uncle
Step On
Holiday
Harmony

Amazon.com

Although this band is largely responsible for defining the circa 1990 rave culture, their music is far removed from the bass-heavy electronica usually associated with dance clubs. Ten songs on this album are characterized by lazy tempos, groovy bass hooks, and artfully simple percussion tracks which interact perfectly to form smooth, danceable beats. The rhythmic foundation is further accented by tasteful guitar licks and restrained keyboard parts. Their lyrical content tends to be a little dark, even seedy for exstacy fueled dance parties. The flat, nearly spoken vocal arrangements mesh with the rest of the musical stew. --Michael A. Massa

Customer Reviews:

Bloody Wonderful.......2006-11-14

I'd heard great things about this band, and they were always lumped together with New Order as being one of the great groups to hang around The Hacienda club. They were also tied to the Stone Roses when it came to that whole Madchester fad. Naturally, I had great expectations for them. I bought the CD for a buck, ripped the it and tuned in. The first track, "Kinky Afro" didn't really do it for me. Was this band all hype? Guess what, they weren't! "God's Cop" came on and suddenly, we've got a nice effects-pedal driven guitar and some really nice dance beats going along with it. Who the heck cares about what the vocals are talking about. I don't even see the relationship between them and the title. All I know is that the music is great. And this friendly collission of nonsense keeps on going for the rest of album. The rest of the CD is, for the most part, nothing but grooves and gee-tars getting it in order to create some fantastic music.

Hightlights include: "God's Cop," "Grandbag's Funeral" and "Step On."

I'd suggest you invest in this album; it's fantastic dance music... or is it rock music... hey, that blurryness is part of the magic of late 80s/early 90s Madchester stuff!

Groovy Manchester eccentric funk with soulful backup.......2006-07-30

This album will always be near and dear to me. It came out during my identity-forming teens and it hooked me immediately. Sean Ryder is not a great singer but he's a great lyricist and with the awesome music and backup vocals, it *works*. I love the play on Donovan - "sun shines brightly from my arsehole, today" and "Bob's Yer Uncle" has to be the sexiest song I've ever heard. It reminds me of Pan in that painting with all the maidens. It's funny that expression has little to do with the song - makes me wonder if it's an inside joke. Just about everyone I've met likes this album. I would give definitely give it a try!

Thrift store corner of the world.......2006-07-10

I picked this record up secondhand for next to nothing in the basement of The United Methodist Church over there on Verbena Avenue. God's benison go with you Pastor Gainus Sikes, your gaff's a goldmine. There it was in any case in a plastic basin with, of all things, a Kenny Rogers cassette. Just the tape too, no cover. Those Salford scallywags leapt right into my hands out of sheer terror. That's half off today, said a perfectly dressed little old lady, we're having a sale. Half off in a thrift shop, I said. Sold, I said. I very nearly galloped back to my hut. I'd heard only good things about, but had never actually listened to, Pills & Thrills and while I was gearing up to be suitably impressed I don't believe I was in any way prepared for the frankly colossal dose of high-grade wang dang doodle delivered by this trippy little disk. I even managed somehow to listen to it out of order the first time, starting off with Holiday which is I think the second last song but what did I care, I was already on the trolley by the time I'd noticed. Ever since then I can't hear Holiday without experiencing an irresistible urge to drift off to sleep in a shrubbery for a week or two. Papatacci Fever if I know me. And would you just look at Mister Intergalactic Laxative himself in there too! I haven't thought about old Cosmic Bananas since I can't exactly remember. You hardly lose with this album. I would complain that it's on the short side if it wasn't such a sure sharkey to play on repeat--I've had this sucker on for literally days at a stretch. But eventually I had to get up and go to work. Happy Mondays everybody.

Still twistin' our melons, 15 years on, man.......2005-10-16

Let me start off by saying that Happy Mondays' "Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches" is one of best dance records of the last 25 years. With that said, it is also one of the most defining of its period. The Madchester genre and is one of the most well documented, so I won't go into much on the subject, but out of all the excess and drug fueled controversy that came out of that era, this was the album that showed the best of the time. Those looking for more serious stuff from "The Stone Roses" or "The Charlatans", you are barking up the wrong tree. The guys of Happy Mondays' only know how to party, and they do it twenty four hours a day.

While Shaun and gang are hardly consistent on album, when the band are on, they are on. And when they are most on, is on this album. The record starts with the unbelievably catchy "Kinky Afro", which features jangly acoustic guitars, sleazy Ryder rhymes, and a bite of LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade".

The album is quite diverse and focused (which previous albums lacked), switching from the thumping beat funk of "God's Cop" to the smooth rhythm section of "Donovan", which has a fascinating second half burst of insanity. Ryder pens some of his funniest lines on the rambling "Grandbag's Funeral", and the drug anthem "Holiday".

Let it be said, you do not need to be on drugs to enjoy this album, but I can imagine it helps. In addition, you don't have to be British or familiar with the Madchester scene, as the grooves on this record transcend anything as simple as country boundaries.

The pinnacle of the album (and arguably, the scene), is "Step On", which is one of the finest singles of the decade. The sound produced here is the band's style at best, shuffling beats, thumbing bass, jagged guitars, and unforgettable melodies. The more slow tempoed stuff like "Bob's yer uncle" and "Harmony" still keep the flow going so you are still nodding your head when the beats have stopped.

Many will find this album to be out of date, or disjointed, but don't listen to them, they have no soul! This is a funky album with songs that you'll be jamming to for a long while. 15 years on, the grooves of Shaun Ryder, Bez, and the rest of the gang, remain as relevant as ever.

the bricks for britpop.......2005-09-23

i bought this c.d. thinking it was my own guilty pleasure knowing most of my friends didn't have patience for anything "dance" related.i own a tattoo shop and we constantly have music on in the background.well come to find out the most unlikely characters have a soft spot for this band.this album has just enough "outlaw" to keep the grit intact.if you love bands like the stone roses and such, the mondays are a part of understanding what shaped the manchester scene of the 90's.turns out my plesures arnt so guilty.just classic.

Average customer rating:

Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Happy Mondays
Manufacturer: Import [Generic]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Britpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Dance | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

House | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music

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Pop | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000DMQI
Release Date: 1999-02-23

Tracks:

Kinky Afro
God's Cop
Donovan
Grandbag's Funeral
Loose Fit
Dennis and Lois
Bob's Yer Uncle
Step On
Holiday
Harmony
Hallelujah
Clap Your Hands
Holy Ghost
Rave On

Album Details

Japanese Re-Release Featuring 4 Bonus Tracks.

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