Faith No More: Introduce Yourself

Faith No More: Introduce Yourself

1987

Slash Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Faster Disco  2. Anne's Song  3. Introduce Yourself  4. Chinese Arithmetic  5. Death March  6. We Care A Lot  7. R n' R  8. The Crab Song  9. Blood  10. Spirit


Oh, God. I love this record. I used to originally own it on cassette, which had a different cover that looked like this:

The tape was always gritty and crunchy cos I listened to it so much...

...in fact, this is probably in the running for one of my most listened to albums. Manoman, in the early 90's nary a day went by when this wasn't squeaking away in my walkman. I'm always surprised whenever I bust this out for old times sake and find that it retains all of the power that it did back when I first heard it. It seems like it should have aged poorly. Day Glo Funk Metal isn't fine wine, y'know. But this is still so off-kilter it works.

This is much more professionally produced than their debut.  For some indie bands making the jump to the majors can be a dangerous proposition (how did this happen by the way? I can see the Patton version getting signed, but it seems like the Chuck material isn't an obvious choice for the big time) but FNM sounds perfectly at home with their bigger, brighter, bolder colors.  And the issue with the dicey tracklisting of their debut has also been rectified. Pretty much every single song here is a knockout, full of catchy hooks, intriguing atmospheres and inventive instrumentation (80's metal guitar virtually free of any wankery! Novel!). I have a hard time picking a weak spot. I guess maybe the title track is my least favorite song on here. I basically think of it as a short band introduction and even that's fun in it's own way. It's probably the only reason I know the band members' names.

 Come to think of it, "Spirit" took awhile to grow on me. It sounds like some sort of hard rock alma mater, with Chuck warbling about the "tools you'll need further down the road." I think it initially freaked me out because it reminded me of "Greed" (a song I pretty much despise) but it rocks out so sparsely and furiously. Actually, the whole album rocks more and louder than "We Care A Lot." They really brought the guitar to these sessions (the keyboard, while still important to the mood, doesn't seem to carry the songs quite as much this time around).

I love the band's sense of humor during this era. It was so goofy and genial. There was definitely a prevalent sense of humor during the Patton era but it seemed darker and more ass-holish, if that makes sense. This is just good California-dude fun. See "Anne's Song," the title track, the re-recording of "We Care A Lot" and the spoken intro to "Death March" for prime examples. BTW, I love that doomy riff that makes up "Death March."

 My other favorites here are the seismic opener "Faster Disco" that is just hemorrhaging bucketsful of fantastic melodies. Also be sure not to miss "The Crab Song," which is maybe my 2nd favorite FNM song (after "As The Worm Turns"),  which is Chuck Mosley's masterpiece where his performance runs the gamut from genuine heartbreak, petty blustery anger, to cartoonish humor (the 10-foot jack section). I can see how this song would especially grate on you if you're not into Chuck's off-key vocal stylings but I love the shit out of it.

Every song here is great. My favorite FNM album (tied with "Angel Dust" and the EP with the rhinos fucking on the cover, but we'll get to those later) and probably the best 80's funk-metal album.  Let's listen to some music. Here's "Faster Disco" by Faith No More...Enjoy...