Happy Pills

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Poor little Candlebox. Not only were they written off as one of a dozen or so Seattle clone bands, but they were also the first of the postgrunge, here-today-gone-tomorrow crop that's grown fertile with the addition of groups such as Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, and Marcy Playground. So how does Candlebox aim to thwart expectations and hurdle obstacles? Simple. They get all sentimental, forsaking alt-rock muscle in favor of slick, overtly melodic rhythms and overly produced arrangements. Even when they threaten to kick out the jams, as on the title track and "Blinders," they resort to lilting vocals and ragged, predictable blues-rock passages because, hey, that's what sells. Probably not this time. --Jon Wiederhorn

Entertainment Weekly
Lacking the invigorated refrains that helped pop the band's '93 debut album, these pills pack all the punch of a placebo.

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Happy Pills

Average customer rating:

Bloody Wonderful
Groovy Manchester eccentric funk with soulful backup
Thrift store corner of the world
Still twistin' our melons, 15 years on, man
the bricks for britpop

Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Happy Mondays
Manufacturer: Elektra / Ada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Stone Roses
Bummed
Screamadelica
Second Coming
The Very Best of the Stone Roses

ASIN: B000005IS7
Release Date: 1990-12-13

Tracks:

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

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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:

Truly Under-rated
Awesome Then and 8 Years Later
Good CD
Amazing Singing
Perfect as usual

Happy Pills
Candlebox
Manufacturer: Maverick
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lucy
Candlebox
The Possibility of Being
Best of Candlebox
Frogstomp

ASIN: B000009D1S
Release Date: 1998-07-21

Tracks:

10,000 Horses
Happy Pills
Blinders
It's Alright
A Stone's Throw Away
So Real
Offerings
Sometimes
Step Back
Belmore Place
Breakaway
Look What You've Done

Amazon.com

Poor little Candlebox. Not only were they written off as one of a dozen or so Seattle clone bands, but they were also the first of the postgrunge, here-today-gone-tomorrow crop that's grown fertile with the addition of groups such as Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, and Marcy Playground. So how does Candlebox aim to thwart expectations and hurdle obstacles? Simple. They get all sentimental, forsaking alt-rock muscle in favor of slick, overtly melodic rhythms and overly produced arrangements. Even when they threaten to kick out the jams, as on the title track and "Blinders," they resort to lilting vocals and ragged, predictable blues-rock passages because, hey, that's what sells. Probably not this time. --Jon Wiederhorn

Customer Reviews:

Truly Under-rated.......2006-07-29

This album was already written-off by critics and most of the public shortly after it came out. Critics accused the band of deliberately recording a safe album because that was what would sell as grunge died.
But I think the band really grew and spread their wings. Maybe it was the production, but I still really love this album and wish it wasn't so under-rated.

Awesome Then and 8 Years Later.......2006-06-20

If you are considering this album feel reassured that your money will go to great music. If you loved the first C'box CD, then you will enjoy this one. There is considerable debate as to which is better. The first is more raw and powerful. This one is more diverse and professional. Martin's vocals don't get any better than this and probably won't with time. "A Stone's Throw Away" is one of the best blues rock songs ever recorded. The vocals and guitar work are unbelievable. While there are numerous top-notch songs like Happy Pills and 10,000 Horses, a sure fire hit was "Sometimes". It was idiosy not to have released this one. One day someone will cover it and make a mint. C'box recently re-formed. I hope they are able to bring to life some of these gems with their new tour. Buy the album and see them in concert. They are very good.

Good CD.......2005-12-04

No, not as good as the first one and maybe not as good as even 2nd, but still good stuff.

The funny thing though, is Kevin Martin's new band the Hiwatts, might be even better. Certainly the Possibility Cd is the equal to better than Candlebox's first CD. I can't believe the Hiwatts are not huge.

Amazing Singing.......2005-06-17

I stumbled on this CD in the reduced price rack, so this isn't a hard-core fan review. Frankly, I'd lumped Candlebox in with Third Eye and Blink, etc. Just had no interest in trying a "pop" band effort.

Incredible! Come on, people -- can you imagine sounding anything like Kevin does on "Belmore place" Or "Happy Pills"? And it's not just one big note either... he hammers them again and again. And not the least hoarseness, when going into the next verse. Simply great.... vocals on par with the best of Journey, or the Scorpions.

The group justs sound like confident playing musicians. On the whole, the CD has a honest "rock" feel to it. Although the techincal recording sounds very clean and pop-like, things do not seem to have been finished up in a glitzy, phony manner.

It might seem a 3 at first, I'll admit, since several of the songs have a soundalike medium-tempo and production. But get to know the CD a bit, after a few close listens. It earns another star.

Perfect as usual.......2004-12-30

"predictable blues-rock passages" - This was from the editorial review! The funny thing about it is that, that is what's so great about them. They shouldn't have tried to hit the looser grunge fad market of listeners who dont know or appreciate the blues and couldn't recognize the great talent candlebox has for a great bluesy back beat.

They remind me of the Black Crowes, a great talent that was marketed wrong!