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PILLS
'N' THRILLS AND BELLYACHES
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::REVIEWS:: |
+All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine+
 A
swirling, neo-psychedelic kaleidoscope of hallucinogenic drugs,
trippy beats, borrowed hooks, and veiled threats, Pills 'n'
Thrills & Bellyaches is Happy Mondays' masterpiece and
the peak of the entire Madchester craze. Where the Stone Roses
were pop classicists, Happy Mondays pushed pop into the ecstasy
age. The Mondays' cut-and-paste rhythms and melodies are clearly
influenced by hip-hop and electronic dance music, and their
songs have the same sort of twisted internal logic, subverting
conventional pop song structures while reinterpreting oldies,
occasionally stealing entire songs and claiming them as their
own (John Kongos' "He's Gonna Step on You Again" is transformed
into "Step On," LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade" provides the basis
for "Kinky Afro"). Most of the musical collage is the creation
of producers Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne, but the vision
of Pills 'n' Thrills & Bellyaches belongs to Shaun
Ryder, who reveals himself as a surreally gifted lyricist. Lifting
melodies at will, Ryder paints a bizarre vision of modern urban
life, fueled by sex, drugs, violence, and dead-end jobs — and
instead of lamenting the state of affairs, he celebrates them
in his hoarse, arrhythmic, tuneless holler. His thuggishly surreal
sense of humor and appropriation of hooks became enormously
influential on British rock & roll in the '90s, particularly
on Oasis' sense of style. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine |
+Anonymous Public Reviews+
:: "Can any album beat this? From the absolutely
superb Kinky Afro, right through to the sample mad Harmony,
this album is a must for all indie fans, guitarists and anyone
who appreciates good music. Its mad melodies will be etched
into your memory for weeks to come. Step On, Loose fit, Kinky
Afro and Holiday are the stand-out tracks for me, but this goes
down as a classic album"
:: "I love this album! Groovy, lazy and mad - this album,
along with the Stone Roses self titled album, personifies the
Madchester movement of the late eighties early nineties. Shaun
Ryders vocals (if you can call them that) are not conventional
which is absolutely perfect for this cd."
:: "Shaun Ryder's greatest achievement (along with his
second band, Black Grape's It's Great When You're Straight)
and one of the cornerstones of early 90's psychedelic music
in Manchester. It is kind of surprise to notice how Pills 'n
Thrills and Bellyaches reminds Primal Scream's Screamadelica,
but Happy Mondays were year ahead of them, yet still Primal
Scream got most of the respect and Happy Mondays were left behind.
That is the impression I have, 'cos almost everyone knows Screamadelica,
but not many knows this album/band so well.
:: "Maybe this has something to do with my location or
something like that. Here in Finland Happy Mondays is quite
unknown band and I had some prejudices towards this record,
but while listening to this I have to admit I liked it. The
sound is groovy, druggy and funky that gets you really good
mood and it's not hard to belive that this kind of music worked/still
works in a club where people gather to dance and/or getting
high etc. Even some of the lyrics courage to do sort of things
people tend to do when they're drunk or high, for example "Bob
Yer Uncle" has this line: 'Four fall in a bed, three giving
head, one getting wet'. When I first heard it I had to smile,
something in those phrase was so stupid, yet funny and clever.
I don't mean to preach or anything like that, 'cos I truly enjoyed
this album, it got me in good mood, tapping my fingers in the
rhythm of the music and what's most important: it made me smile
and that was the whole meaning of this album! So no need to
complain. Check tracks "Kinky Afro", "God's Cop"
and "Loose Fit" to make your mind. I have already
made mine."
:: "Shaun Ryder's greatest achievement (along with his
second band, Black Grape's It's Great When You're Straight)
and one of the cornerstones of early 90's psychedelic music
in Manchester. It is kind of surprise to notice how Pills 'n
Thrills and Bellyaches reminds Primal Scream's Screamadelica,
but Happy Mondays were year ahead of them, yet still Primal
Scream got most of the respect and Happy Mondays were left behind.
That is the impression I have, 'cos almost everyone knows Screamadelica,
but not many knows this album/band so well.
Maybe this has something to do with my location or something
like that. Here in Finland Happy Mondays is quite unknown band
and I had some prejudices towards this record, but while listening
to this I have to admit I liked it. The sound is groovy, druggy
and funky that gets you really good mood and it's not hard to
belive that this kind of music worked/still works in a club
where people gather to dance and/or getting high etc. Even some
of the lyrics courage to do sort of things people tend to do
when they're drunk or high, for example "Bob Yer Uncle"
has this line: 'Four fall in a bed, three giving head, one getting
wet'. When I first heard it I had to smile, something in those
phrase was so stupid, yet funny and clever.
I don't mean to preach or anything like that, 'cos I truly
enjoyed this album, it got me in good mood, tapping my fingers
in the rhythm of the music and what's most important: it
made me smile and that was the whole meaning of this album!
So no need to complain. Check tracks "Kinky Afro",
"God's Cop" and "Loose Fit" to make
your mind. I have already made mine." |
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