Search - Happy Mondays :: Yes Please

Out with a whimper...perhaps not.

Charles Comer | Baltimore, Maryland | 07/05/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The two main methods of evaluating a work of art are to either take the work as it is and judge it simply by its own merits, or, to engage in a contextual analysis, considering the work in relation to the context out of which it was produced. While the merits of the Mondays have generally opposed such a contextual critique, since not only does their work stand on its own, but also they were much more trend setters and scene builders than followers, this last album deserves such a treatment. As nearly everyone agrees, including, from what I understand Shaun Ryder himself, this is their worst album. But does that mean it is a bad album? This I cannot say for certain, although I like it enough to play it on occasion, but not as much as the previous three....Yes Please! is the result of a waning music scene, the over-indulgence of drugs, internal bickerings within the band itself, a misguided recording session in Barbados presumably to keep some of the members free from H but allowing them open access to booze and crack, and the choice of record producers Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads fame in lieu of Paul Oakenfold (from the Pill-n-Thrills album), who was the first choice, in order to get the album out to help salvage the struggling Factory records. In an interview with Ryder, the erstwhile Mondays headman admits that their fourth installment should have been postponed for a while, letting the members embark on a break from one another and pursue some individual projects, as well as the chance to work with Oakenfold who had captured so well what many might call the quintessential Mondays sound. This, however, was not to be, and as they say the rest is history. The resulting ...Yes Please! is the product of bad circumstances and a lack of vigor and vitality. It's sound is much more forced and contrived at times. (Add to this the fact that Ryder did not have lyrics for the songs until after their return to Britain.) Moreover, again according to Ryder, some of the members of the band were recalcitrant to the direction that Ryder wished to go, which would have been similar to the first Black Grape album. From what I understand, even some of the Black Grape songs were written during this time and could have/should have been Mondays songs. Nevertheless, ...Yes Please! is not without its merits. Ryder is still on his mark as a lyricist, and to a large extent captures the mood of the time and portends the demise of the Mondays. The music is much more sparse than what the Mondays had done before, and at times captures the tropical holiday feel of the Caribean. (Interesting too, they recorded in Eddy Grant's studio!) Monkey in the Family and theme from Netto are two of my favorites, but others have remarked on Sunshine and Love and Stinkin Thinkin. Actually, it's fair to say that nearly all the songs are solid. What is different, however, from the other Mondays albums is the absence of any track that achieves the anthem-like status of such songs as Tart Tart, WFL, Kinky Afro, Loose Fit, Step On, and, well nearly all the tracks from Pill-n-Thrills. In short, ...Yes Please! lacks any truly memorable moments. While not a bad album, it is also not a really good album, and had it been recorded by any other band it would probably drift off into obscurity."

Happy Mondays on the verge of House Music in early 90s

Matt Exp. Guitarist | 01/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is amazing and especially love that Sunshine and Love...The synthesizers and the down beat dance tempo really influenced house music for its time....It's very upbeat at the same time with Shaun Ryder's inane chill drony dark lyrics make it unusual when the music is somethin' you can dance to and rave on.....

Reviewers really put down this album and don't give it a fair chance....This album showed that they progressed through the years.....and when the Hallejujah single came out it was a rave dancefloor oddity......same with Sunshine and Love....This album and the others made and set the standards of modern house music in the 90s and 21st Century...



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