Search - Tonio K :: Rodent Weekend 1976-96

Mars does need women

06/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Much like the career of new wave/punk Steve Krikorian (aka Tonio K.), this compliation is an uneven collection of unreleased material. Can't blame Krikorian with this though, as he clearly warns you in the liner notes that this was material that was never good enough to make an actual album. With that in mind, however, there are some superb songs that definitely make the album worth owning. The opening track, "Funky Western Civilization II" is a nice take on the original. "Too Cool To Be a Christian" rocks, but seems almost ironic now, considering Krikorian softened over the years after embracing Christianity. "Everything, Including You, Disgusts Me" (angry to the supreme) and "I'm Supposed to Have Sex With You" (his lone, unreleased 'hit' and most 80s-sounding) are groovy as well. But for me, the two best tracks on this album are "Mars Needs Women" and "You Make it Way Too Hard." The version of "Mars" that appears here is an alternate take, complete with funky cow bell and bass line. His song writing here -- always terribly underrated -- is great: "Mars needs women/You should apply/Don't worry 'bout me baby/Have a good time." Overall, this album loses a star because of simply too many throwaway songs. But if you want an album that fills in the blanks between Steve's other 'must-have' albums, "Life in the Foodchain" and "Amerika," then this will do nicely."