 Fine Young Cannibals Here's another one where I'll probably lose all my credibility points. That is, if the hundreds of reviews I've written that feature excessive scatology and deeply interior monologuing haven't already done the job. But when I get into discussions about great albums from the '80s, know what keeps cropping up? Not The Joshua Tree. Not Little Creatures. Not Blood & Chocolate. Not Born in the USA. Not Murmur. Not any of those tried and true rock critic faves, actually. The one that always comes to mind is The Raw & the Cooked by Fine Young Cannibals. I didn't think that much of the album at the time, I just lumped it together with my Top 40 music—didn't consider it alongside my "serious music" (Jethro Tull, ZZ Top, Mannheim Steamroller, and other lamentable high school pursuits). I wonder, though, if this is not actually one of my favorite albums. Surely there must be a reason that I still have it, more than 10 years later, making it one of the longest-lasting CDs still in my collection. I've sold so many discs like this back that I always wondered why I didn't sell this one. For years it was in my sell-back box until I finally had to just acknowledge it needed to go back into the collection. And while it's not an album I get the urge to play more than maybe once a year (usually while cleaning house or organizing my CDs), I must say that I like every song on it, and have listened to it all the way through many more times than I'd want to admit to if I wound up in conversation with, like Paul Westerberg. Of course, my principal critical approach is "you like what you like." There are no guilty pleasures or important albums, just what you like. And yet I still have trouble arguing for this album's greatness. I don't know if it's pure nostalgia, either—listening now, I get the same fresh feeling about it I had in '88—certainly I have no specific emotional connection to "She Drives Me Crazy," other than just liking it as a pop song. And there are so many great pop songs on here! "Tell Me What" is easily one of my favorite songs, a song I love to listen to time and again. "As Hard As it Is" (it's not about that, you pervert) is a searing ballad, deeply moving. "Don't Look Back," as good a driving song as can be. "I'm Not the Man I Used to Be," very cool, very unique electro-soul thing. FYC's sound was so original, yet it's all ripped off of Motown – but they knew how to rip stuff off in really striking and fresh ways. The biggest problem the album has is the dated synth and drum machine sounds on several of the weaker songs—or is it that they're weaker songs because of those sounds? What sounded edgy and cool in '88 now sounds like it's trying too hard. So "Don't Let it Get You Down" and "It's OK (It's Alright)" don't always make the cut when I throw this disc on. But I must say, I truly enjoy the songs and performances—Roland Gift's voice is utterly unmistakable, and perfect for these '80s '60s-throwback songs. Imbued with soul, but informed by '80s club music—makes songs like "Good Thing" and "I'm Not Satisfied" much better than they ought to be. This is a real underdog of an album. I guess I need to come to grips with my incipient FYC fandom. Doctor, I'm starting to remember things—yes, it's flooding back! I was delighted when Roland Gift had a cameo in "Scandal." And—and—yes, I remember now, "Tell Me What" was on several of my first mixtapes! And—yes, I remember my ambivalent feelings about FYC, and how guilty I felt listening to them when the Eagles were more "important." Egad, that was a level of sarcasm that even started to choke me! At any rate, I'm glad to have brought this hot-button issue to the public—ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Fine Young Cannibals kinda rock!
Review by Pola Poolioo |