Search - fu manchu :: Action Is Go

Action Is Go
fu manchu
Action Is Go
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Metal
 
  •  Track Listings (14) - Disc #1

Despite the loss of two ostensibly crucial members--guitarist Eddie Glass and drummer Ruben Romano--Fu Manchu soldier on with the followup to their brain-numbing masterpiece, In Search of.... While The Action Is Go doesn't...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: fu manchu
Title: Action Is Go
Members Wishing: 4
Total Copies: 0
Label: Edel
Album Type: Original recording remastered, Import
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Metal
Style: Alternative Metal
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 035498017322, 035498017346, 4029758707029, 731455707021, 809274549822

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Despite the loss of two ostensibly crucial members--guitarist Eddie Glass and drummer Ruben Romano--Fu Manchu soldier on with the followup to their brain-numbing masterpiece, In Search of.... While The Action Is Go doesn't quite equal the high-water mark the band set on its previous outing, it mines the same Sabbath/'70s hard-rock vein with slightly different results. Produced by White Zombie guitarist J. Yuenger, Fu's fourth album has less garage fuzz and more heavy metal crunch. Though Glass and Romano's replacements--Bob Balch and former Kyuss drummer Brant Bjork, respectively--do a good job handling the band's standard chug-a-rama, their feel for and interpretation of the material is dramatically different than that of their predecessors. Like every Fu Manchu outing, The Action Is Go heaves and grunts with monstrously heavy classic guitar riffs. There's absolutely nothing new about them--you've heard most of these riffs on any number of Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult records. However, it's the little touches--such as guitarist/vocalist Scott Hill's plaintive, stoned wail and bassist Brad Davis's snaky, throbbing bass lines--that make Fu Manchu more than just pale imitators. While Balch and Bjork add their own personal touches to the proceedings, their contributions aren't quite as unusual as they might be, and ultimately The Action Is Go suffers from this lack. Though it's not a bad album, the garage edge that once gave the band a muscle up on the competition (Monster Magnet, Slo Burn, and others) is sorely missed here. --Adem Tepedelen

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CD Reviews

She wanted nothing... and I delivered
07/28/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fu Manchu- Gods. A cross between the Stooges, Black Sabbath and a really stoned teenage garage band. Reminds me of a friend I used to have- listened to KISS a lot, grew his hair long, wore clothes from 1977 and disappeared... I imagine him now- in a souped-up, customized Trans-Am rolling along, Sabbath on the 8-track and bumper sticker which reads "Gas, Grass or Ass: No one rides for free.""
"UN-I-DENTI-FIED !!! UN-I-DENTI-FIED !!!"
T.A. | South Florida | 07/07/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you read the entire Editorial Review (above) by Adem Tepedelen, you may come away thinking this CD pales in comparison to "In Search Of..." Well, I say it blows it away, and here's why:



First of all, he states Fu Manchu's line-up change has brought about a blandness to their music when Eddie and Ruben split for good. Look at their replacements, though--Brant Bjork (drums) of Kyuss and Mondo Gen., and Bob Balch (who I must admit, I've never heard of this guitar player) who, compared to Eddie Glass, is like comparing sticky krypto to skunky krypto: they're both REAL good...so do you really care? Then, he goes on to say that Fu cannot compete with Monster Magnet anymore. What? It's 2006, and I'm surely not going to put on a Monster Magnet CD anymore...but I listen to Fu nearly everyday. Their sound stands the test of time!



The music changed a little. The utter grunge and sludge was altered, incorporating a real 70's rock aspect. There's been a huge revival in our culture I believe--a renewed love affair with classic rock. You didn't see this in the late late 80's or the 90's. But now, you hear it everywhere, and I believe Fu Manchu is one of a handful of bands to help this process along in the mid to late 90's.



Every song on this CD is good. There are a few tracks which reak of the "In Search Of..." sound. The first song, "Evil Eye," reminds you of the past. The next track, "Urethane" (Fu's best song ever) introduces you to the new sound. It sounds like Fu Manchu, Black Sabbath and AC/DC all jamming together at once. It's musical perfection.Then, song 3 (title track) thrust you backward with a very Eddie Glass-esque, fast-paced, hard core style rock song. "Burning Road" then presents a mix of old and new--quiet, slow, rythmic; then, you're hit with a tidal wave of distorted guitars.



"Laserb'last," "Grendel, Snowman" and "Saturn III" are influenced greatly by Bjork's presence, and are very remniscent of Kyuss. Grendel sounds like a song from "Red Sun" while Saturn sounds and feels like it belongs on "Sky Valley." These songs are both THAT GOOD.



"Anodizer" is awesome. Sounds just like what they hit us with on "In search Of" (think Strato-Streak). It has a low, grungy, dark riff and tone to it.



"Guardrail" and "Unkown World" are so Eddie Glass-heavy, you'd pleasantly think they were NEBULA songs...really. They both sound like something from "To The Center" or "Charged."



The other songs are all good as well. But for me, Evil Eye, Urethane, Anodizer and Grendel are the reasons I think this CD is the best of it's kind. They blow away many of their contemporaries, and even much of their own music with these four legendary tracks.



In my opinion, "The Action is Go" tops all of Fu Manchu's other recordings. They never put anything together again that was quite this perfectly good from start to finish. I believe they made their very best music between '96 and '99, where we got "In Search," this CD, "(Godzilla's) Eatin' Dust" and "King of the Road." This was 'Chu at their very best."
Love the musical indie aggression
Michael Cheney | Seattle, Washington United States | 02/09/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this album... espically the reference to hotrods, skateboards, and bmx... I highly recomend this album..."