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Pere Ubu albums |
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| Pere Ubu is an a band that exists in its own little world. They operate outside of the normal world of music, like all good bands do I guess, but this one's completely devoid of any standard. So they made a new one: A kind of rock n' roll that was fast, out of control, and very urgent. It was the sound of rhythm, but it sure wasn't disco. After evolving from Rocket from the Tombs (whose other half formed The Dead Boys), the band coined their own language of rock music that blended just about every oddball and freak that had come before in the 60's with a more normal sound, that evolved and took different shapes as time moved on. Though their peak was definitely around the late 70's, the "flaws" in some of the records were still interesting, and the band hardly ever tried to do anything other than what they believed in. The leader of the band is definatly David Thomas, the wailing madman who is one of the best rock n' roll singers ever, but does insist you meet him on his own terms. If you want pop music that is easy to put in the background, find some other band. Pere Ubu are for the ones among us who love experimental music. Band Members: David Thomas - Vocals (classic line up) Scott Krauss - Drums Allen Ravinstine - Keyboards Tom Herman - Guitar Tony Maimone - Bass (the band had many more members as time went on, and they changed about every record, so look somewhere else if you care that much.) Best Albums: The Modern Dance Biggest Influences: The Stooges, Captain Beefheart, The Velvet Underground |
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1978 The Modern Dance - 9/8 This album was like nothing before it, and nothing since really. Free experimentation of noise on two tracks, and blinding punk on the other eight. An album this perfect seems like it might have taken years to perfect, and it probably did. The years between 1975-1978 were just the band reforming and finding a label that would release their, "difficult", record. In truth, maybe it could not have happened any other way, The Modern Dance is a monumental album that brings together many challenging elements of rock n' roll. The album itself opens with blaring feedback/high pitched squeal of "Non-Alignment Pact", before the song itself reveals its true form and classic riff. Through the insane rants of "Life Stinks" and "Street Waves" to the folkiness of "Chinese Radiation", and leading to the paranoia of "Real World" and summary of "Humor Me", there really never is a dull moment. There are some truly experimental tracks, and without "Over my Head" and "Sentimental Journey", this would just be some weird fast music, but with them the band shows that they are trying to really create something different. "Over my Head" works a little better than "Sentimental Journey", but they are both a challenge. Don't get me wrong, all of Modern Dance roars with experiments, but for the first seven songs and the last, it is one of the most intense albums around. Don't fret though, it is all somehow accessible because the band finds a unique balance in Krauss's rhythms and Thomas's wailing that coins a whole new kind of music. "Non-Alignment Pact", "Street Waves" and "Humor Me" (with one of the best guitar solos of all time) are some of the best songs ever written by anyone. In all, Pere Ubu showed the world that it was still possible to try new things and succeed in rock music. Everyone needs a copy of Pere Ubu's first record, or at least should give it a listen. - Trevor e.y. 1.non-alignment pact- 4 2.the modern dance- 4 3.laughing- 4 4.street waves- 4* 5.chinese radiation- 4 6.life stinks- 4 7.real world- 4 8.over my head- 4 9.sentemental journey- 3 10.humor me- 4* 1979 Dub Housing - 8/8 Opening this record up you would almost think the band became a pop group of some sorts. The happy synthesizers and more structured songs do point to that, but any review saying that would still have to take into account that this is still the band that made the last album, and it is anything but traditional music. Uniquely their own, Pere Ubu continues on this journey that tries to refine the "modern dance" sound for the masses. I'm not talking about moms and dads here, but the kind of people that are reading this review that actively go out and like to hear good albums. The "singles" or standouts are easily recognizable, with "Dub Housing", "Drinking Wine Spodyody", "Callagari's Mirror", and "Ubu Dance Party" being the most traditional structurally. The album is built around the strength of these songs, but not in such a way that the majority sounds like b-sides or anything. The sound pieces with few words ("Blow Daddy O" and "Thriller!") add to the albums increased paranoia. "Thriller" is an experiment and it truly does not work that well, and along with "I Will Wait" harks back to Modern Dance's tunes and basically, remakes them ("Life Stinks" and "Sentimental Journey", respectively). I could see how someone would give this even a 7/8 because of some of these facts, but honestly the album, though not as monumental as its predecessor, proves the band had staying power and the songs are consistently good all the way though, "Thriller" being the exception. If your up for a odd, paranoid dance party, I can't think of an album more suited to entertain, and each song is filled with great moments. Examples: the background vocals on almost every track, the insane rant 2:15 into ""Drinking Wine Spodyody". It's Dub Housing; dance bitches! - Trevor e.y. 1.navvy- 4 2.on the surface- 4 3.dub housing- 4* 4.callagari's mirror- 4 5.thriller!- 2 6.i will wait- 4 7.drinking wine spodyody- 4 8.ubu dance party- 4 9.blow daddy o- 4 10.codex- 3 1979 New Picnic Time - 7/8 Each Pere Ubu album keeps getting stranger, but somehow they are all good. This 3rd album by the group does what the band is known for by now, such as the crazy experimental song "A Small Dark Cloud", and the upbeat opener, "The Fabulous Sequel", in which Thomas screams "It's me again!" like he is everybody's favorite singer (and he is, right?). This album expands the Ubu palette with new emphasis on words, with some songs saying in the title what they mean ("Make Hey", "Jehovah's Kingdom Come", and mini-song "The Voice of Sand") and other songs placing an emphasis on feelings, like "Goodbye", that sounds like a true send off. "49 Guitars and one Girl" and "Small was Fast" are new Ubu masterworks of true weirdness, like only this bad could pull off. With lyrics like, "It was a sound he heard, what a funny thing to feel! Well, uh, don't panic!" The band controls nervous energy like no other band before them, the only compitition/comparison being Talking Heads. There are a couple of lulls on this record which make it a tad less consistent then Dub Housing or Modern Dance, like "One Less Worry" where nothing important takes place, or "All the Dogs are Barking" and "A Small Dark Cloud" (unique as it is) which are merely good not great. The band has a purposeful loss of any rhythm at times, which is honestly the way they expand on this record. Such willing to experiment though is surprisingly easy to enjoy, and in its own way, accessible? Maybe accessible is too strong a word for such a challenging record, but if you are into this kind of music, after getting Modern Dance, give this a whirl. - Trevor e.y. 1.the fabulous sequel- 4 2.49 guitars and one girl- 4 3.a small dark cloud- 3 4.small was fast- 4 5.all the dogs are barking- 3 6.one less worry- 2 7.make hay- 4 8.goodbye- 4 9.the voice of sand- gf 10.kingdom come- 4 1980 The Art of Walking - 8/8 Hmmm, ok. After the weirdness of New Picnic Time, Pere Ubu could not have gotten any more paranoid or strange, right? Wrooooong!!!! This is one of the strangest most paranoid records ever made, with random points made all over the place and everything coming in explosive bursts, whether it be a great lyric, vocal track, drum beat, melody, or guitar mix. It is nearly impossible to describe this music in words, about all I can say is it is like their other records, except more strange and disjointed. Somehow though, this is one of the band's best experiments, with "Rounder" and "Misery Goats" being new classics, "Lost in Art and "Birdies" being their most out-there and strangest works yet, and new guitarist Mayo Thompson adding the almost poppy "Horses" to the band's repertoire, not to mention that far out guitar of his (formaly the founder of The Red Crayola, the best 60's Texas based band ever!). All of these sings reduce me to jiberish truly, "Birdies" sounds like some one being pulled down the road by a car, singing about his life "Arabia" takes you away like a mad circus and "Go" makes you excited while "Crush this Horn" has some kind of madness to it and "I've sung my song and I beat my drum and you can't stop me, hey where you going? Where's everyone going?!?!?!?!?! Come Back!!!!!!!!!!!" Awesome except "Young Miles in the Basement" but that is ok its not that bad, and "Loop" makes up for it right away just like "Rhapsody in Pink" does, there is a great snoring sound in that one song every song on here sounds completely different but great. I think that is what I am trying to say, but please listen and see for yourself to one of the best experimental records around.... if you dare! - Trevor e.y. 1.go- 4 2.rhapsody in pink- 4 3.arabia- 3 4.young miles in the basement- 2 5.misery goats- 4 6.loop- 4 7.rounder- 4 8.birdies- 4 9.lost in art- 4 10.horses- 4 11.crush this horn- 4 (12.arabian nights - 4) 1982 Songs of the Bailing Man - 4/8 This album is as weird as the previous one in sound, but not as successful. As Art of Walking was an example of a complete avant guard project gone right, this was the complete opposite. Songs of the Bailing man tries to infuse jazz and surf rock up on a platter to be reconstructed and destroyed, and while destroyed it is, what is put back together is a jumbled mess that for the most part, is unlistenable. There are some songs that work, like the sole great song here "Use of a Dog", with its lovely trumpet solos, and the good experiments "Petrified", "The Vulgar Boatman Bird", and "Stormy Whether". These songs are like Art of Walking in that they are all different, and for the most part, listenable. But the majority of the record is another matter entirely, whether the problem be the length of a song ("A Day Such as This") or just the plain unorganized, incomplete thoughts of "West Side Story", "Horns are a Dilemma", "My Hat", and the worst Pere Ubu song of their original line up, "Big Ed's Used Farms", in which Thomas sings like a rabid three year old and the results are just awful! With Herman and Krauss, the original guitarist and drummer (respectively), gone, the band had kind of put itself in a corner, were weary ideas surfaced and the music had to be "the weirdest thing imaginable". Anton Fier is a great drummer (having worked with The Feelies, Bob Mould, and The Golden Palominos in his career) but he just doesn't do what Scott Krauss can do for the band, and it is not the same without him. As an obvious result, the band produced an album that lacked the greatness of its four predecessors, promoting Pere Ubu to split up for a time. Songs of the Bailing Man was a swan song for a group that had exhausted their ideas and needed a break. - Trevor e.y. 1.the long walk home- 3 2.use of a dog- 4 3.petrified- 3 4.stormy weather- 3 5.west side story- 2 6.thoughts go by steam- 2 7.big ed's used farms- 1 8.a day such as this- 2 9.the vulgar boatman bird- 3 10.my hat- 2 11.horns are a dilemma- 2 |
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2002 St. Arkansas - 7/8 This 12th album by the band is the most like their first four records that they have made since. Going on twenty five years of existence here, David Thomas and whoever is following him take the listener on a journey through that unique band style of rhythmic beats and maniacal singing that as good today as it ever was. This album is more consistent than their last record, Pennsylvania, and shares a similar uniting quality. The theme here is a business man traveling across the country, and his alienation form the rest of the world because of this. Half of the songs set up and tell the story, like "Slow Walking Daddy", "Lisbon", and "333", and the other half tell of how confused, crazy, and bored the man gets in his work, like "Fervered Dream of Hernando Desoto", "Where's the Truth", the 9 minute "Dark", and "Hell". The last song mentioned there is the usual experimental piece, again harking back to the old days where the band tried to do that on one song on each record (though it doesn't work completely here). Considering the band's albums post 1980, the consistency of St. Arkansas comes as a surprise, even if all it does is confirm that Thomas still has what it takes to write a great album. This thing has twists and turns to keep it interesting, makes a good point about the boringness of daily jobs, and does it in a new exciting (though downbeat) way. It seems as long as the albums are named after states, they are good! Seriously though, the record is great, and the band needed this to reaffirm their existence. Long live Pere Ubu, one of the most unique and creative bands ever in rock music. - Trevor e.y. 1.fervered dream of hernando desoto- 3 2.slow walking daddy- 4 3.michele- 3 4.333- 4 5.hell- 2 6.lisbon- 3 7.steve- 4 8.phone home jonah- 4 9.where's the truth- 4 10.dark- 3 Non Album Things An Interuption if you will: I'm glad I opened the case to this next album, I just found my copies of Rhythm of the Saints, Love is Red, and Apologies to the Queen Mary I have been missing! I must have stuffed them all in there when I moved, how stupid was that?!? Thank God I found them though, I thought they were lost for real. 1985 Terminal Tower - 7/8 This collection contains the best Pere Ubu not found on any of their albums and couple of songs that were re worked for The Modern Dance. I'm not gonna go over the specifics, because if you are that interested, it is all there on the album sleeve. The music contained here is great and indispensable though. It starts off difficult with "Heart of Darkness" and "30 Seconds over Tokyo", the oldest Pere Ubu songs there are: it sets the band up correctly, with challenging, slow, and brooding music that is not easy to get into, but is definitely worth the challenge. The next two songs are way more accessible, and "Final Solution" is probably the bands defining song, making Terminal Tower a necessary buy for the Ubu devotee. The song starts off with that great Ubu rhythm, followed by an awesome chorus, "nuclear bomb" halt, then return to the rock. Seriously, up there with "Street Waves" as the bands best song. Little tid bits of fun include "Untitled" (which later became "Modern Dance") and "Humor Me", and seeing the songs in this form is a nice listen, though neither song is as good as their later versions. More to enjoy on here with "Heaven", "My Dark Ages" and "Not Happy", and pretty much everything is worth hearing. Typical Ubu if you are already a fan, but unlike some people will say, this should not be the first purchase to make. Modern Dance is not only the band's best album, it is one of the best of all time, and should be everyone's first exposure to Pere Ubu. If that album is your thing, pick up this, and anything else that you want by the band. This is only one of several compilations, and while the band has many other decent off shoots and singles, this will be the best for the cost and packaging you can get, and the music on here is not on any album. So If you've made it this far in reading allllll of these reviews, Terminal Tower is probably right up your alley music lover! - Trevor e.y. 1.heart of darkness- 4 2.30 seconds over tokyo- 4 3.final solution- 4* 4.cloud 149- 4 5.untitled- 4 6.my dark ages- 3 7.heaven- 4 8.humor me- 4 9.the book on the table- 2 10.not happy- 3 11.lonesome cowboy dave- 3 |
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