Album Review 1: Mondo Akimbo A-Go-Go - The Wildhearts

Why, hello there. What? More pointless reviewing blogs for nobody's satisfaction but my own? What on earth is the problem, young man? Maybe it's the Summer Holidays and it's that feeling where the days fly by, but the clock drags on; all the while you're never quite sure what day of the week it is, or even what year we're in. Whatever the case, there's always room for more blogging, more thinking, and just generally a thing to do where I can relax and discover things that maybe I didn't before because i'd never really thought, relaxed or blogged enough to work stuff out in the first place. I promise that the next few paragraphs will actually start to make some kind of sense as i'm sure anything before this sentence probably came out as the vocabulary equivalent of a dog who's been made sing whenever the Eastenders theme tune comes on the tele - inaudable, unreadable mush.

...and from Eastenders, leads me neatly into The Wildhearts' first album, Mondo Akimbo A-Go-Go. It's sort of a holy grail of an album, in the sense that it's bloody hard to get hold of, and as a collector, even when you've heard all the songs from it, you feel as if it's your right to own it. The front cover is striking, depicting a detailed human (I assume human) heart, with a toy arrow impaled through it. Coincidentily, this is the same cover as used for the later released 'Best Of' album for all of us who were too skint to afford the original grail, and had to make do with the plastic Thomas the Tank Engine cup. Hey, but I love that cup too.

1992 was the year. I would have been 2 or 3 years old depending on the month and it really is one of those collections of songs that I wish I could've 'been there' for the first time around. Unfortunately my mother couldn't produce quickly enough, and I had to make do with not hearing the Wildhearts at all until the age of 15/16. Oh how tragic life was before then.

I recently got my hands on this mini-album (only four songs. Four! That's like half an Iron Maiden album!) so I could hear the early, botched, raw, scratchy, itchy, messy, fucked up versions of some of my favourite Wildhearts tunes. On first listen, I was almost disappointed that the sound quality wasn't AS bad as all the sources had been saying. In fact, I actually prefer the production on Mondo Akimbo A-Go-Go than the enhanced, expanded eight track edition (eight songs. Eight! That's like an entire Iron Maiden album!) that would become Don't Be Happy... Just Worry a year later.

The album unfolds as follows:
1- Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes (5:29)
2- Crying Over Nothing (3:49)
3- Turning American (6:25)
4- Liberty Cap (4:16)
-Total Running Time- 19:59

Since this is only a four track album (four songs. Four! That's...) I can go into a bit more detail of why I think this album is so great. The whole shebang starts with the classic opener, Nothing Ever Changes..., and what an opener that is. It's not just an eye opener, it's a jaw dropper. In fact it's an ass spreader. Open every orifice you can think of, and you have it. It begins with a few slowly played opening chords, that almost transport you to the inside of a church or castle, and then the big chord kicks in, and that oh-so funky bass starts. Aside from the intro to an album, I would go as far as to say this is the best introduction to any song ever. The intro builds and builds for about 45 seconds, and then explodes into probably the most beatiful guitar melody ever written (and in this version, it isn't hidden away behind the rest of the sound, it finally stands out). This melody only lasts for about 15 seconds, and completes the wonderful intro. A minute of pure heaven.

[Quick message to anyone reading up to this point]: Well done. You've survived my getting all goggly eyed and wet panted over nothing more than the intro to a song. Don't worry, i'll start going into the jist and stop being so specific about chords and shit in a second.

Whew, so, getting past the intro, we head into the bulk of the song itself. Now, something I may go on quite a lot about, certainly if I ever do more reviews based around The Wildhearts' albums, is the sheer quality of Ginger's lyrical expertise. Certainly in the early days, he was a demon with a pen and some of the most seemingly simple ideas and lyrics could be moulded around music to make it far more complex, and basically, pure ear-candy. Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes is no exception. You might think it a barmy title, but it's a really clever and sort of strangely clairvoyant view into many band's (especially The Wildhearts') careers. The song is basically about the state of how the music industry is run. How no matter where you go, who you're working with/for, they all want the same thing, and the only thing that's ever different is the people involved - the situation is always the same. Take the lyrics:

Laughing is all that I can do,
Trying to keep from falling through,
Nothing ever changes; Nothing ever changes.
They all got advice to give,
'Cause they got no life to live,
Nothing ever change; Nothing ever changes,
and nothing ever changes but the shoes.

In a nutshell then, this is truly a great opener with poignant words of wisdom, in the guise of a rant that sets the tone for the next three tracks perfectly. Crying Over Nothing is the next track, and wouldn't you just know it, it's another belter. This is actually one of my favourite Wildhearts tracks period, and has the sort of riff that you think 'they must have stolen this from somewhere, but made it ten times better than what it ever was' thing going on. Starts with a mini-bass line with sliding lead guitar, and quickly explodes into the riff of the same rhythm. As far as i'm aware, it rarely receieves much live play, even back when the back-catalogue was small, which baffles me because it's probably my favourite of the four. (Four!) The lyrics again fit the tone of the song effortlessly. The opening lines begin:

You, with that sadness in your eyes
You got places you can cling to if you'd only take the time
I've got the arms to break your fall
but you're sad without a reason and that's the baddest kind of all
Down down - See them drown.

Next into the longest song on the album, Turning American. Generally speaking, I am anti-long songs and usually have to skip songs if they go on for more than five minutes, but this is definately worth listening all the way through. The song meaning is interesting, in the sense that from first inspection, it would seem to be something to do with english people becoming more like our American cousins, which would widely be considered a fault - certainly if you didn't like Americans. However, Ginger seems to have never sad a bad word about the people of the west, and since he praises the place so much and even has a home out there. This could not be the case. No, the song is actually to do with musicians - and it's musicians who don't stick to their roots and feel as though that have to switch styles to stay popular and keep in with trends. Another well constructed rant floating on a bed of an epic 'army march' of a riff. This is a slow and heavy song, which is a great power punch after the quicker flurry of Crying Over Nothing. The lyrics are again, superb - probably the most intelligent on the album, and sung with great grit and frustration that really digs deep into the 'ol bones. Ginger has never claimed to be a great singer, and I wouldn't argue with a man who writes this well... but to be honest, as many Wildhearts fans i'm sure would agree - he is the right singer. His words, his voice, his presence just seems to fit.

'Cause it's a place where people happen
It's the corner of success
Everybody loves you and you're never second best
Smell of easy money and you'll follow it 'til death
I smell the shit upon your breath
I remember you when you were an English man
but now you're turnin' American

Walkin' away from the crumbling empire
won't make it grow anymore
Changing your style 'cause the radio tells me
How can you sleep? You're a commercial whore!
And you'd lick the steaming phallus if it offerred you a hit
Clean you of integerity and then they'll make you fit
Think you'll glide to stardom and then show them what you got
Your pride. Your balls.
They own your lot!
I remember you when you were an English man
but now you're turnin' American

Coming neatly to the closer now. Liberty Cap would be unquestionably the most overlooked song due to it's much slower tempo than the rest, but that doesn't make it an inferior track. It opens with the bass alone - a very deep, mysterious bass that really has that body pulsing effect that you want. This is another song that builds up, but on a much more emotional level than the opening track. As the lyrics start, lots of imagery is induced that enhance a brilliantly claustrophobic atmosphere, which mirrors the openess of the first few chords of Nothing Ever Changes... as the suspense reaches its climax, the drums wail and we're off into a gut buster of a chorus. The song appears to be filled with words of frustration and angst and towards the end, we get the gentle chant of 'I'm calming down...' repeated a few times before we explode into the last few, off-beat riffs that end this mini-album on a dramatic explosive high. Whew. 'bout time for a cuppa tea methinks.

Leave me be, man, I just wanna be on my own
Leave me be, man, I just wanna be on my own
I've got secrets in my head
I've got spiders in my bed
I said, leave me be, man, I just wanna be on my own
I'm calming down...
I'm calming down...
I'm calming down...
Down...
Down...
Down...
Ugggghhhhh!

So there we have it. Mondo Akimbo A-Go-Go in all its glory of just four tracks! Did I mention that it's only four tracks, and it's this good. It was an album that really seemed to set the tone for many of the band's personal endevours and musically fueled their reputation for being a rampaging riff band, who were able to reel you in with a cheerful melody and soothing harmony, before banging your scaly head against the side of the boat and letting you back in for round two. Not their most praised work. Not their best work either. But it was their first and really began the journey for all the fans of a manic roller coaster ride of drug-induced arguments, fall-outs, split-ups, reformations, split-ups, more drugs, split-ups, reformations, more reformations, more splits ups and eventually... coming clean and reforming to be playing the circuit for us all once again. Four defining songs of the band's career. (Four!?)

SCORE: 10/10