Electric Sweat (2002)

8

Electric Sweat / In a Young Man’s Mind / Oh Sweet Susanna / A Little Bit of Love / It’s Not Easy / Natural Fact / It’s Showtime Pt. II / I Woke up This Mornin’ / The Broken Heart / Electrocuted Blues

The past few years have witnessed the emergence of countless new garage bands (that led me to believe that owning a leather jacket, being an American and owning a Marshall-amplifier could guarantee a record deal) that dabbled in the fuzz-drenched Nuggets box sets and the back catalogues of The Stooges, The Seeds and the MC5. Of all those retro-bands, The Mooney Suzuki are in my opinion one of the most convincing, although they’re probably even more traditional than, say, The Hives (more punk-oriented) or The Strokes (New York cool, baby!). The Dirtbombs may be a better reference (it’s no coincidence The Bombs’ Jim Diamond produced this album). Like the latter, The Mooney Suzuki (who actually have nothing in common with Can) not only sound as if they just trashed their parents’ album collections, they even sound as if they’re playing and having fun in 1970. That suggests they’re aren’t innovative in the slightest and while that’s basically true, it’s also a fact that straightforward rock 'n' soul never hurt anyone and Electric Sweat should be enjoyed as a great tribute to the kind of music and spirit that made thousands of kids start their own bands, and a time when you weren’t supposed to have mastered 78 chords or able to integrate classical composers in your refined and multi-layered art opera.

The Suzuki are clearly a product of their influences. The incendiary title track, that immediately makes sure the band doesn’t take any prisoners, reminded me of Flamingo/Teenage Head-era Flamin’ Groovies because if its forceful attack, the Loney-styled vocalizing and the simple yet effective lyrics (“Get ready, get set, what you get is electric sweat”). Because of the two-guitar attack- even clearer in the album’s magnificent single “In a Young Man’s Mind” - the band also more than once refers to the Detroit’s own MC5. “Oh Susanna” succeeds in capturing the classic Stonesy swagger to which it adds a healthy dose of soul (Mitch Ryder, where are you?) and consequently sounds like a lost gem from the era. I think the soul-aspect is exactly one of the things I like most about this album and also Ultraglide in Black by The Dirtbombs. Of course Detroit is worldwide known as “Garage Town,” but its importance to soul music (and ‘Black’ music in general) is equally important, and a successful combination of both, like in the instrumental “It’s Showtime Pt. II” is party music by definition. Also the other instrumental track, “Electrocuted Blues” works well, boasts fuzz galore and fits its title well. Less wild, but nearly as good are “A Little Bit of Love” and “Natural Fact,” both of which wouldn’t be anomalies among Nuggets tracks by bands such as the 13th Floor Elevators or The Remains. The intro (especially the drums) and the energetic riff of “It’s Not easy” also suggest the band has played quite a few albums by The Who, one of the essential “teenage bands,” while Keith Moon would’ve enjoyed himself immensely during the giant kick under the butt that “I Woke up This Mornin’ ” is. The album also contains the obligatory yearning ballad (“The Broken Heart”) that sounds frighteningly sincere, but make no mistake: Electric Sweat is about crashing drums, fuzz-soaked rave-ups and litres of sweaty excitement. I don’t care whether a band is considered innovative or not. The Mooney Suzuki certainly aren’t, but they’re aware of their limits, they capture the essence of their influences very well and wisely turned in an album so short (34 minutes – the ideal album length if you ask me) there’s no room for filler. Hell, here’s another half point for consistency:

8.5!

Note: the 2003 edition, which has a pink cover instead of the red one, includes six tracks of live concert video, and it proves The Mooney Suzuki are a terrific live band as well.

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Alive & Amplified (2004)

6

Primitive Condition / Alive & Amplified / Legal High / New York Girls / Shake That Bush Again / Sometimes Somethin' / Loose 'n' Juicy / Hot Sugar / Messin' in the Dressin' Room / Naked Lady

WHY? WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY? C'MON, YOU'RE KIDDING, RIGHT? First, Electric Sweat had me start my own raucous retro- rock 'n' roll party, because it's one hell of an album oozing out energy, soul and sweat, and now… they follow it up with a slick parody of themselves that lacks the spark in all departments. Alive & Amplified received some scathingly hateful reviews when it was released last year and while some of the comments were obviously cheap shots that undoubtedly sounded cool, the album is not the complete disaster they made it out to be. But it's not good either, as the gritty sound and loose atmosphere of the band has been replaced with too much studio trickery and a more compact, layered sound that probably sounds pretty nifty when you have $1000 speakers, but doesn't pack the raw sonic punch of Electric Sweat. When you keep in mind that that album was recorded in three days and this one in four months, you know enough. It's NOT always necessary to keep on polishing and refining, it's NOT necessary to keep on looking for the little details that you think might impress more people. What this kind of music needs is urgency, guts and a live-feel, but the band and The Matrix - one of the hottest producing teams of this era and responsible for thoroughly life-changing releases by Avril Lavigne, Ricky Martin & The Backstreet Boys - have forgotten just that. I don't know what those executives at Sony were thinking (The Mooney Suzuki will never appeal to a mega audience - unless they make a U-turn and explore new directions), but they were wrong, wrong, wrong. All the fancy effects, static, superficial backing vocals, overdubs; perhaps they would've worked if the band had come up with a batch of songs that could rival those on Electric Sweat (a band like AC/DC proved that it could also deliver the goods when trading in a dirty sound for an Americanised sound on Back in Black), but unfortunately, there's not that much going on in the songwriting-department either. "Primitive Condition" comes close to the vibe of the previous album, but is hampered by overly inane lyrics ("Let's get in a primitive position / we're just fancy animals with hands / and animal glands"), "Legal High" and "Loosy 'n' Juicy" are limp when compared to earlier songs like "In a Young Man's Mind" or the instrumental "Electrocuted Blues." It's not all that bad, though, as the super-polished title track is so hysterical and over the top (those backing vocals always remind me of Rob Halford's vocal histrionics) it gets a certain, uhm, appeal, and some of the more straightforward rock songs ("New York Girls," the rumbling "Shake That Bush Again") are decent, by-the-book efforts. Perhaps songs like "Hot Sugar," "Messin' in the Dressin' Room" (I never realized their lyrics were so juvenile) and "Naked Lady" ("You're beautiful and free" - WOW) come off as tough, hard rockin' tracks if this is the first guitar album you hear, which is not the scenario in my case and lemme tell you… that" Naked Lady" is one bombastic turd of a song. Sammy James Jr.'s vocals sound fine and Graham Tyler delivers some juicy solos, but it can't prevent the fact that Alive & Amplified sounds, feels and smells wrong. This is NOT what this band is supposed to do. Suggestion: get rid of that major label deal, write and rehearse a couple of songs, give Jim Diamond a call and ask him when he's available and then record another kick-ass rock 'n' soul album in a half a week. And what's with the silly design?

Read album reviews of similar or related artists: The Dirtbombs

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