June 9, 2011

MIXTAPE: The “real” best of Faith No More

 
Label money grabs have put out a lot of FNM best of compilations since the band broke up following their Lisbon show April 7, 1998. Best of albums put out by labels always seem to miss the mark for true fans. They always include the obvious tracks, like the songs that were singles. But we all know those aren’t always the best. You’ll never hear “Kindergarten” off Angel Dust. If I had to pick one song as my catalog favorite it would be Kindergarten. Patton nails the chorus so flawlessly. It sounds almost ghostly. So killer.

Angel Dust is also my favorite album by the band. Everybody wanted Epic Part II and when they didn’t get it they left in a huff. The album has a tremendous edge to it, and if you followed the drama that was going on within the band at the time the Patton influence is becoming much, much more pronounced. And guitarist Jim Martin is becoming less into it. This of course was Martin’s last album with the band.
 
Liner Notes:
In my entire junior high and high school career I only skipped school once. It was to buy Angel Dust when it came out in June 1992. I didn’t really miss much school. Me and a buddy left school during lunch to go to the mall to buy it. Then we came back. Not really skipping, but we did miss a huge, extremely rare, full blown food fight in the cafeteria. Oh well, every time I play that CD I think of leaving school to go buy it.

A final memory. The very first time I heard FNM was June 30, 1990. It was during a Metallica/Aerosmith outdoor concert played in the outfield grass of a triple A baseball stadium in Rochester, NY. Five bands played that day and there were lengthy pauses in sets because of crazy summer lightning/rain storms. During this downtime they kept playing the entire “The Real Thing” album. I totally dug it. I asked some dude next to me who this was on the PA and he’s like, “Faith No More, duh.” Whatever. But I was hooked then. Bought the album right after that. Later that summer “Epic” blew up with constant video play by MTV. So FNM is one of those bands that I label as I “discovered” - meaning I was a fan before most people I know were into them. Been a huge fan ever since.

Here’s hoping the recent 2009/2010 second coming of Faith No More tour/reuniting brings us a new studio album. Recent interviews I’ve seen with Billy Gould tell me this will happen.

So as a HUGE Faith No More fan, I give you the definitive best of. This is the Real Thing. 

UPDATE: the following was a link to download a mixtape I put together. But for some reason little ol' me has come under fire recently and have had a bunch of my blog posts targeted as copyright violations. So I've taken down the link. So check out the list of songs that I deem as good, but that you can't hear here, but that you can find in a million other places on the Internet for a band that broke up 13 years ago and SHOULD be dying to attract new fans based on the glowing praises of REAL fans like me. What the fuck ever. 

Mixtape: Faith No More Best 1987-1997

Track Listing:

Absolute Zero [KFAD b-side]
Another Body Murdered (With Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.)
As The Worm Turns (Patton version)
Ashes To Ashes
Caffeine
The Cowboy Song
Digging The Grave
Easy [Turn The Lights Off Intro]
Epic
Everything's Ruined
Evidence
Falling To Pieces
The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies
Jizzlobber [Edit]
Just A Man
Kindergarten
Land Of Sunshine
Last Cup Of Sorrow
Let's Lynch The Landlord
Light Up And Let Go
Midlife Crisis
The Morning After
Mouth To Mouth [Edit]
The Perfect Crime [Bill & Ted Soundtrack]
Ricochet
RV
A Small Victory (R-evolution 23 Full Moon Mix Edit)
Smaller And Smaller
Spanish Eyes
Surprise! You're Dead!
This Guy's In Love With You [Live 10-21-97]
Underwater Love
We Care A Lot [1987]
The World Is Yours

NOTE: Edits are my edits – used to improve the song, keep listener interest high and/or shorten in an attempt to get more songs played at a party. Don’t like it? Buy the original.

Support bands. Buy their music.

3 comments:

  1. In hindsight, no new album release is worth missing a food fight...just so that you can be the first dude in school with the new album.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, you are probably right. With hindsight I wouldn't have missed that food fight. I would have worn a wet suit and ordered extra mac and cheese. Or maybe just a cloth diaper.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UPDATE: the following featured a link to download a mixtape I put together. But for some reason little ol' me has come under fire recently and have had a bunch of my blog posts targeted as copyright violations. So I've taken down the link. So check out the list of songs that I deem as good, but that you can't hear here, but that you can find in a million other places on the Internet for a band that broke up 13 years ago and SHOULD be dying to attract new fans based on the glowing praises of REAL fans like me. What the fuck ever.

    ReplyDelete