Bummed

Bummed
Studio album by Happy Mondays
Released November 1988
Recorded August 1988
Genre Madchester[1]
Length 37:27
Label Factory - FACT 220
Producer Martin Hannett
Happy Mondays chronology
Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)
(1987)		 Bummed
(1988)		 Hallelujah
(1989)

Bummed was the second album by British band Happy Mondays. It was released in November 1988.

Warner later released a double album collector's edition on 5 November 2007. This release collected the original 1988 album with a second disc of remixes from the era.

Recording and production

Bummed was recorded in six weeks at the Slaughterhouse studio in Driffield.[2] The album's sound is noticeably different from any preceding or succeeding albums in the Madchester genre. This can be explained by the producer, Martin Hannett, who was notable for pioneering use of electronics in music. What is most noticeable production-wise on this album is the use of echo and reverb on the drum sound.

"Bummed", said drummer Gary Whelan, "was a saying at the time. Shaun used to say he was out all night and he bummed her all night long, a slang word for sex. I didn't even know what the album was called until it came out."[3]

Remixes

Several of the songs on this album were later remixed. These included "Mad Cyril", "Wrote For Luck" and "Lazyitis". "Mad Cyril" was remixed into "Mad Cyril (Hello Girls Mix)", "Wrote For Luck" was remixed twice, firstly into "WFL" and then "Wrote For Luck (Think About The Future Mix)"; Vince Clarke remixed the former, Paul Oakenfold the latter. "Lazyitis" was remixed into "Lazyitis (One-Armed Boxer Remix)" which featured Country legend Karl Denver on guest vocals. Paul Oakenfold would become vastly important to Happy Mondays when he produced their 1990 opus Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches. These remixes are significant as they were a sign that Happy Mondays were beginning to embrace the burgeoning rave scene, then taking place in the UK.

Impact

This album arrived at a time when the Madchester genre was only beginning to formulate into what could be termed a "scene", closely connected to acid house. However, on this album Happy Mondays played mostly pure rock music, with funk rhythms played on the drums and bass guitar and electronic flourishes showcased by the keyboard melodies. The real dance influence shone through when the songs were remixed by people such as Paul Oakenfold, as described above.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
The Guardian[6]
Mojo[7]
NME9/10[8]
Q[9]

Q magazine awarded Bummed three stars out of five. The album, wrote Martin Aston, "continues the band's warped version of Northern Soul rhythms, with stabbing guitars and Hammond organs, wayward sequencers, a dislocated rhythm section and surly sardonic vocalist ... [The] only real failing is its lack of versatility, but it's Happy Mondays' stroppy spirit that counts most of all."[9] In 2006, the same magazine placed the album at #18 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".[10] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[11]

Track listing

Original release

All tracks written by Happy Mondays except 10 (Happy Mondays, Lennon–McCartney)

  1. "Country Song" – 3:24 (Originally called "Some Cunt from Preston")
  2. "Moving in With" – 3:36
  3. "Mad Cyril" – 4:36 (Opens with the line "We've Been Courteous" from Performance supposedly sounding like Ian Curtis)
  4. "Fat Lady Wrestlers" – 3:25
  5. "Performance" – 4:09
  6. "Brain Dead" – 3:10 (Ryder's opening "You're rendering that scaffolding dangerous!" is a quote from the film Gimme Shelter, in which it is uttered by Sam Cutler, referring to the set at the Altamont Free Concert)
  7. "Wrote for Luck" – 6:05
  8. "Bring a Friend" – 3:45
  9. "Do It Better" – 2:29
  10. "Lazy Itis" – 2:48 (The song explicitly borrows from "Ticket to Ride" by The Beatles, but also nods to "Family Affair" and "Gonna Make You a Star" by David Essex)

2007 collector's edition

CD1
Tracks 1–10 per original release.

  1. "Hallelujah" - 2:36
  2. "Holy Ghost" - 2:50
  3. "Clap Your Hands" - 3:30
  4. "Rave On" (Club Mix)- 5:38
  5. "Boom" - 2:58
  6. "Mad Cyril" (Hello Girls Mix) - 3:53
  7. "Wrote for Luck" (12" B-side) - 5:48

CD2

  1. "Wrote for Luck" (7" version)
  2. "Hallelujah" (club mix)
  3. "Wrote for Luck" (12" version)
  4. "Hallelujah" (MacColl mix)
  5. "Lazy Itis (One Armed Boxer)" (featuring Karl Denver)
  6. "WFL" (Think About the Future)
  7. "Hallelujah" (12" version)
  8. "Kilamenjaro" (aka 'Rave On')
  9. "WFL" (Vince Clarke 12" mix)
  10. "Hallelujah" (Deadstock mix)

Credits

Band

Recorded

Mixdown

Engineering credits

  • The Slaughterhouse
  • Colin Richardson
  • John Spence
  • John Pennington
  • Strawberry
  • Laurence Diana

Special credits to

Artwork

References

  1. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bummed – Happy Mondays". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Wray, Daniel Dylan (1 February 2016). "Driff-Raff: Happy Mondays, Bummed & Driffield". The Quietus. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Q #341, December 2014, p16
  4. ↑ Kot, Greg (10 August 1989). "Happy Mondays: Bummed (Elektra)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  6. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (14 December 2007). "Happy Mondays, Bummed". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Eccleston, Danny (October 2016). "Shaun's Show". Mojo. London (275): 47.
  8. ↑ Elan, Priya. "Happy Mondays: 'Bummed (Collectors' Edition)'". NME. London. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  9. 1 2 Aston, Martin (February 1989). "Happy Mondays: Bummed". Q. London (29).
  10. ↑ "40 Best Albums of the '80s". Q. London (241). August 2006.
  11. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.

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