mr. patton got me some years ago when i first heard him do lionel richie's "easy" with faith no more. i bought angel dust shortly after that and have since been hooked on him. that voice of his is a phenomena, going from sweet crooning to wailing to screaming within a breath and perfect ease. though faith no more is no more, the band's most prominent member through the years, mr. mike patton, is not about to let us off the hook that easily. 33 years old and just getting started, with three bands in his curriculum and glorious vocal prowess. you just watch out, he's gonna get you sooner or later.
faith no more:
i think the first time i saw faith no more was a long time ago. the video to "we care a lot", on mtv when i was in my first year of high-school. no patton then, chuck mosely on the vocals, and i had no idea what it was i was watching though it stuck in my head. later, as i said before, when i first heard the patton version of faith no more i just had to investigate further. today i have precisely two faith no more cd's, angel dust and king for a day... and i think i'll start with the king...� � � � king for a day, fool for a lifetime
it's not so much the musical prowess that catches, but the way the simple tunes and melodies accompanied very plain riffs catch fire and burn with vigour when the highly volatile voice of mr. patton is poured over it...impossible to stay put or not sing along...simple and guileless...unstrained and free of pretentiousness...lyrics are somewhat poetic, but the sort of poetry that smells like raw sewage...soft rock melodies and half-tamed metal riffs which sometimes escape to wreck havoc...
1. get out
"it is the hardest thing to do, to watch it grow on top of you, and see you're just like everyone, no fun"
heavy, jivey, even jazzy...
2. riochet
"it's always funny till someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious"
rock song, simple but effective...
3. evidence
"stop beside the piece of circumstance, got to wash away the taste of evidence"
poppy, almost eighties. if this bit didn't have any vocals i would have guessed it was a sting song. just try and listen. it's uncanny.
4. the gentle art of making enemies
"don't look so surprised, happy birthday...fucker, blow the candle out, we're gonna kick you"
my favourite favourite song. the first metal kicking in, between the sweet violent bits...
5. star a.d.
"and when you die, you'll become something worse than dead - you'll become a legend"
beebop rock, definately jazz, peculiar...
6. cuckoo for caca
"shit lives forever!"
metal again, the combination of the lyric and mike's screaming conjured up images of a deranged housewife with a kitchen knife chasing her brats...
7. caralho voador
"my lips are moving but there's no sound"
downshifting again, smooth and simple but not quite a ballad...
8. ugly in the morning
"you did one thing wrong, you woke up"
back to metal. more screaming, the commoner's horror "don't look at me, i'm ugly in the morning", the ending is awe inspiring...
9. digging the grave
"digging the grave, i got it made"
rock, rock, rock...
10. take this bottle
"i can hope the stormy weather it passes on - it passes on"
now here's the ballad finally. the alcoholic's poetic lament. i always sing along to this one, can't help it...
11. king for a day
"never cheer before you know who's winning"
soft rock, acoustic guitars and stuff...
12. what a day
"what a day if you can look it in the face and hold your vomit"
nice rocky number, love that chorus...
13. the last to know
"can't you see, there's only one me, and that me is me"
slow metal, good heavy...
14. just a man
"i will not touch you i am just a man"
also my favourite, just beautiful beautiful. and another one i always sing along with. i can't quite get deep enough at the beginning yet, but i'm getting there...
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