New York's best kept secret bring their high energy, high vibe songs of love, devotion, desperation & inspiration, all delivered with 110 per cent perspiration, home to the world on their Estrus debut. A hand clappin',... more » foot stompin', r 'n' b infused rock 'n' roll testimonial that draws inspiration from equal parts revved up bad boy British blues & shack shakin' Stax/Volt power soul! 12 trks of unrelenting rock 'n' soul redemption rec. by Tim Kerr in Austin« less
New York's best kept secret bring their high energy, high vibe songs of love, devotion, desperation & inspiration, all delivered with 110 per cent perspiration, home to the world on their Estrus debut. A hand clappin', foot stompin', r 'n' b infused rock 'n' roll testimonial that draws inspiration from equal parts revved up bad boy British blues & shack shakin' Stax/Volt power soul! 12 trks of unrelenting rock 'n' soul redemption rec. by Tim Kerr in Austin
"This album isn't that bad, just not that good. It's obvious from this album that their strength is their live show. If you haven't seen them live yet, you should, if just once. Theres no need to see them twice. You get the idea. I'm afraid that the main weakness of this album is the rather mediocre songs. Good raw production, and the guitars have a lot of power, but that can't hide the fact that the songs are pretty .... I bought this album after seeing them play live. You probably will too. Their live show must have tricked me into thinking these were good songs. Oh well, at least The Mc5 had some good tunes. Back In The USA is 6000 times better than this. Better luck next time boys."
Great, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll album
The Tiger Effect | 04/05/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
""People Get Ready" is a great, back-to-business rock 'n' roll album from neo-punks Mooney Suzuki. This band is sort of like the White Stripes and the Strokes but without the arty pretensions. In fact, the lead singer has said in an interview that he doesn't use a riff that he *hasn't* heard before. I agree with some of the reviewers that this band sounds like the MC5. Though the '5's first album was recorded live in concert, the debut effort from MS is a studio album in the sense of "live in the studio" (that is, everything recorded in a take, without overdubs). Being from Boston, I think this band has a lot of the same attitude as Boston's late great J. Geils Band, except Geils, at least before "Centerfold," was an R & B band, whereas the Suzuki get stoked on fun, Ramones-style punk rock."
Sounds cool at first, then gets old
Shadowgraphs | 10/27/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I'm very glad that I downloaded this album instead of buying it. The first few times I listened to it, I thought it was the coolest, greatest thing ever. But then I realized that almost all the songs are in the same key, and that the singer had to be the worst lyricist in the history of man. My advice is: go ahead and download this. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. Just remember to save your money for something truly great like Elf Power's opus Creatures or the new Sigur Ros album that will be released next week (I can hardly wait!)."
The Bottom Line
Duotonex | Chicago, IL | 07/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"From the distorted guitar start of "People Get Ready" to its soulful finish, the Mooney Suzuki proves beyond the shadow of doubt that great American rock still exists. What this album lacks in depth in more than makes up for with attitude. This is roots rock the way it was originally created. After giving this one a listen you can list about 100 bands that they remind you of, yet borrow absolutely nothing. The Mooney Suzuki have a very distinct sound in a somewhat cloned genre. I believe most reviewers are a little too liberal with the 5 star rating, but I feel I can deem this one an "underground" classic."