fine young cannibals: underrated

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Remember the ILC Crystal Waters and Milli Vanilli video parodies?

"Yabba-dabba-DEE/yabba-dabba-DOO/ha-ha-HEE/ha-ha-HO..."

Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 8 May 2005 14:54 (eighteen years ago) link

I remember Roland Gift being compared to Otis Redding quite frequently. Maybe; but no lie, the way he sang from the top of his throat reminded me more of KC, of the Sunshine Band! Those '89 hits were OK but got too much airplay for my taste. I liked "Johnny Come Home" a lot more, and also "Suspicious Minds", a song which I HATED when Elvis did it. (I swear, I'll never understand why this is considered one of the alltime great Presley songs. Vegas horns + Nashville strings + Sweet Inspirations = an Elvis vocal that's virtually inaudible - even with his own harmonies overdubbed - and could be anybody.)

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:05 (eighteen years ago) link

There should've been more Two Men, A Drum Machine And A Trumpet singles.

$V£N! (blueski), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:18 (eighteen years ago) link

They played "Suspicious Minds" on VH1 a bit during the Raw & The Cooked era, but I never heard "Johnny Come Home" till years later on VH1 Classic. It is a terrific track.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:19 (eighteen years ago) link

I like how they disappeared when they did, leaving fond memories of two ok albums, rather than carried on stinking up the 90's. I could never understand the Otis Redding comparison, he sounded like some lost Trojan records act (Tony Tribe?) rather than a classic soul vocalist.

They did that 2 Men With a Drum Machine and a Trumpet house single which was rather good iirc, if anyone can to do a ysi I'd be happy.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:56 (eighteen years ago) link

Amateurist: The Sherriff song is a classic. I'm sure you'd recognize it if you heard it. It centres on the word "baby" with vowels drawn out to at least eight extra syllables. "Baaaa-baa-y-aa-y-aa-y-yaa-y-aa-y/I get chills when I'm with you/Oh baaabaa-y-aa-y-aa-y-aa-y-aa/My world stands still when I'm with you-ooh-ooh-woah-oh-oh-oh" is an approximation of hte chorus.

That chart really touches something. Jeez, I haven't heard that Rod Stewart song in ages. Paula Abdul will always have a place in my heart (if maybe not on my stereo).

Sundar (sundar), Sunday, 8 May 2005 16:20 (eighteen years ago) link

"the chorus"

Sundar (sundar), Sunday, 8 May 2005 16:20 (eighteen years ago) link

IIRC Sherrif was led by Arnold Lanni, later of Frozen Ghost 'fame'.

I actually still kind of don't mind some songs from White Lion's Pride, although "When the Children Cry" isn't a favourite. Vito Bratta (the one who was probably Amateurist's roommate's neighbour) was possibly one of the more capable lead guitarists in that 'genre', I think. Search: "Hungry", "Wait".

Sundar (sundar), Sunday, 8 May 2005 16:26 (eighteen years ago) link

There should've been more Two Men, A Drum Machine And A Trumpet singles.

$V£N! completely OTM.

(I had to scrounge up both UK and US versions of the 12" to get as much as I can out that side project.)

donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 8 May 2005 17:12 (eighteen years ago) link

"She Drives Me Crazy" has two histories for me.. it was that song that I couldn't escape from Top 40 during the last months of my high school years... and then, when I would join college radio the second half of the year and discovery, essentially, underground rock.. Sub Pop, Amrep, Boner records bands.. sludgly, grungey, great stuff.. and then in 1990, The Raw And The Cooked was voted Best Alternative Album of 1989 according to CMJ, i knew the term "alternative" was dead dead DEAD!

donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 8 May 2005 17:21 (eighteen years ago) link

was it ever truly alive?

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 8 May 2005 17:36 (eighteen years ago) link

i sort of feel like "alternative" was a slightly corporatized euphemism for what had previously been considered "college rock" or "underground" or whathaveyou.

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 8 May 2005 17:36 (eighteen years ago) link

but then i didn't start college radio until well after "alternative" had been almost completely gutted as a signifier. (i.e., mid-late 1990s)

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 8 May 2005 17:37 (eighteen years ago) link

yup, vito bratta! gene pitney apparently grew up in the same neighborhood, albeit like 30 years before.

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 8 May 2005 17:41 (eighteen years ago) link

i sort of feel like "alternative" was a slightly corporatized euphemism for what had previously been considered "college rock" or "underground" or whathaveyou.

DING DING DING DING DING!

Yeah, it was a very much mid to late 80s corporate term... it unfortunately got de-flatlined for a bit when Nirvana became popular but went back to the grave just as quickly... the nails in the coffin were Steve of 90210's positive comment about the Flaming Lips' "She Don't Use Jelly" on that episode.

donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 8 May 2005 17:46 (eighteen years ago) link

If the Billboard "Modern Rock Chart" pre-Nirvana is supposed to be believed, stuff like FYC, Peter Gabriel, Crowded House, Richard Thompson, and Michael Penn was what college students were listening to. Maybe they were.

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 8 May 2005 20:19 (eighteen years ago) link

That's sort of what I remember 'older people' listening to when I was a kid at that time. Midnight Oil! Timbuk 3! Johnny Clegg!

Sundar (sundar), Sunday, 8 May 2005 20:41 (eighteen years ago) link

What college students listen to and what underground radio stations play are two VERY differnt things.

Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Sunday, 8 May 2005 21:45 (eighteen years ago) link

two years pass...

revive!

"don't let it get you down" is such a jam! i second barry bruner's advice upthread. shoulda been a single.

andrew m., Monday, 31 December 2007 20:05 (sixteen years ago) link

I still love the first album. timeless classic.

nicky lo-fi, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:20 (sixteen years ago) link

any views on the 'raw and the remix' versions?

Bob Six, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:57 (sixteen years ago) link

one month passes...

I love this thread.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 01:54 (sixteen years ago) link

Timely revive...good Dolly Parton cover version here.

dabug, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 02:10 (sixteen years ago) link

one month passes...

Revive again.

I heard "Good Thing" on my way to Citarella yesterday, and it made the clouds part. Great stuff.

Alex in NYC, Sunday, 23 March 2008 22:37 (sixteen years ago) link

did they do anything better than that?

El Tomboto, Sunday, 23 March 2008 22:42 (sixteen years ago) link

I like "the Flame" as well. And "Tell Me What". And "Johnny Come Home" is flawless.

Alex in NYC, Sunday, 23 March 2008 22:47 (sixteen years ago) link

WEIRD. I've been listening to "Blue," "Johnny Come Home," and the glorious "Don't Look Back" all week, "Don't Look Back" is a 12-string cousin to the Beat's "Best Friend."

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 23 March 2008 23:33 (sixteen years ago) link

'blue' is amazing

electricsound, Sunday, 23 March 2008 23:51 (sixteen years ago) link

The Raw & The Cooked was being advertised, on pink & grey posters, on bus stops in February 1989. It is for the memory of those days, and the prominence they had then in British life, that I have what fondness I have for the band. And 'She Drives Me Crazy', surely a #1 45 back then, will do as the musical emblem.

the pinefox, Sunday, 23 March 2008 23:54 (sixteen years ago) link

As I said upthread, it's still remarkable that they scored two #1 hits and adlbum stateside.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 23 March 2008 23:58 (sixteen years ago) link

They are rated quite highly on amg

Now I can groove to FYC when the mood strikes and all, d then there's this: Then, and I actually really respect Jo-Ann Greene as a critic, but there are bold, unqualified proclamations, anof course, there's "She Drives Me Crazy," which features the most unique, and instantly identifiable, beat/riff combination of the decade.

Pillbox, Monday, 24 March 2008 00:54 (sixteen years ago) link

Whoa - that post got all sorts of fucked up. I'll try again

They are quite highly rated on amg

Now I can groove to FYC when the mood strikes and all, and I actually really respect Jo-Ann Greene as a critic, but there are bold, unqualified proclamations, and then there's this: Then, of course, there's "She Drives Me Crazy," which features the most unique, and instantly identifiable, beat/riff combination of the decade.

Pillbox, Monday, 24 March 2008 00:58 (sixteen years ago) link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfdIAbHzxmg

lol awesome dancing

gff, Monday, 24 March 2008 01:06 (sixteen years ago) link

ten months pass...

god, "Don't Look Back"

The Screaming Lobster of Challops (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 00:58 (fifteen years ago) link

ten months pass...

"I'm Not The Man I Used To Be" is absolutely killer.

Euler, Monday, 21 December 2009 17:40 (fourteen years ago) link

Can't argue with that.

when i was your age i was thinking about how to kill people (Noodle Vague), Monday, 21 December 2009 18:19 (fourteen years ago) link

one year passes...

good thread, good band

Cunga, Wednesday, 4 May 2011 23:13 (twelve years ago) link

one of the first tapes i ever owned

cop a cute abdomen (gbx), Wednesday, 4 May 2011 23:24 (twelve years ago) link

checked.
i do have the finest on my hard disc (so i can drop various tracks onto my wifes mp3 player as she loves'em). so, thats today sorted.
i actually got the 2 cd edition of the finest that came with an extra disc of time stampled remixes.
one track i seem to recall featuring the cookie crew !?!
classics : the flame, good thing, blue, don't look back, i'm not the man i used to be, funny how love is (the echo'd trumpet opening is very sweet), etc.

mark e, Thursday, 5 May 2011 07:19 (twelve years ago) link

one year passes...

It's a tragedy that this song has more or less fallen into obscurity when it should've been, like, the biggest single of that year and on the radio for years to come:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THD_vY2-AXA

Also:

i wonder if i will always be obsessed with pop music from 1987-1992

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, April 6, 2004 2:53 PM (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Cosigning as hard as I can. The only era that's any competition for '70s AM gold in my heart.

You Don't Throw Oranges On An Escalator (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 7 May 2012 05:25 (eleven years ago) link

I remember making my dad listen to The Raw and The Cooked when we were driving somewhere and that's when he explained to me what falsetto was. Good album, but also educational.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 7 May 2012 05:41 (eleven years ago) link

And the videos were super instructive on the Kubrick stare. Educational band all 'round.

You Don't Throw Oranges On An Escalator (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 7 May 2012 13:01 (eleven years ago) link

god, "Don't Look Back"

― The Screaming Lobster of Challops (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 7 May 2012 13:20 (eleven years ago) link

It peaked at #11 in the States but it's better than "Good Thing." Not many bands stapling 12-string Beat guitar and sequencers in 1989's top 40.

Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 7 May 2012 13:21 (eleven years ago) link

So I just went ahead and made this happen:

Forgotten late-'80s/early-'90s pop singles

You Don't Throw Oranges On An Escalator (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 7 May 2012 13:44 (eleven years ago) link

two years pass...

god, "Don't Look Back"

― The Screaming Lobster of Challops (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, February 10, 2009

― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, May 7, 2012 1:20 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Toni Braxton-Hicks (Turrican), Monday, 12 May 2014 23:48 (nine years ago) link

seven years pass...

I wonder why this band hasn't gone on reunion tour like so many other acts of the era. They were really popular! People would show up! Maybe they all put their earnings in index funds and are comfortably retired and don't need the money, who knows.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 20 April 2022 19:44 (one year ago) link

Yeah, it looks like they're all still alive and pretty much toiling in obscurity. Surely they couldn't hate each other that much.

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 20 April 2022 19:48 (one year ago) link

Here's a Guardian interview with Roland Gift in 2020. Sounds like he just pulled the plug.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/03/fine-young-cannibal-roland-gift-i-went-back-to-where-being-pretty-didnt-matter

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 20 April 2022 19:54 (one year ago) link

I kind of wished FYC would tour as an opener for the (English) Beat, similar to how Camper Van Beethoven would usually open for Cracker on their recent tours. (FWIW, I'm a bigger fan of the Beat than FYC, but I like them both. Also a big fan of CVB but not so much with Cracker.)

birdistheword, Wednesday, 20 April 2022 21:45 (one year ago) link


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