THE THE - MIND BOMB

The first album by The The I ever owned was "Soul Mining" and it was incredible. On the strength the that recording alone, I purchased so much subsequent material from Matt Johnson anticipating the repeat of that record. But he never captured that moment again for me. Instead, he moved in a different direction entirely. One I wasn't always sure I liked. In fact, "Mind Bomb" was the record that ended my obsession with this band. "Soul Mining" would be a one off amazing record and nothing good would ever come from The The again.

Of course, years later, my appreciation for Matt's work has changed greatly.

Back then I was more into electronic sounds and New Wave whereas today I'm more versatile in my tastes. His movement towards conventional instruments on "Infected" and "Mind Bomb" were viewed (on my part) as a sell out. However, today I see it as an expanding pallet. The necessity of "Soul Mining" is understandable when you consider what he had to work with and his lack of association with other musicians. These other albums show Johnson reaching out and becoming a more well rounded musician as well as incorporating musical ideas from the people he would work with.

Now... Specifically... About "Mind Bomb"... The title implies a mind-blowing musical experience. And when you lump in the subject matter, it's a far reaching political and social commentary that could almost double as a college course. The songs tackle everything from social apathy ('The Beat(en) Generation'), to religious intolerance ('Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)', 'Good Morning Beautiful'). Injustice ('The Violence Of Truth'), to sexual salvation ('Beyond Love').

But does it achieve its goal of blowing your mind?

As a teenager, I'd say no. The material, although comprehensible, was completely beyond my ability to fully understand. I was forming my religious identity along with figuring out how the world actually worked. I think I bought into the whole propaganda that America was the country God founded on this earth and we were the chosen people living in freedom. It was impossible to see anyone else as anything other than evil. The message of this CD fell on deaf ears. It was complex enough that those who truly understood it were in the position of "preaching to the choir" and those who didn't just glazed over the meaning. That's the danger of reaching for such volatile subject matter in pop music. And make no mistake, despite his best efforts to the contrary, this album is pop.

Johnson does much better tackling esoteric issues rather than social. At least those concepts can be interpreted to fit someone's life. However on "Mind Bomb", there's no interpreting this stuff.

The first side of the cassette is the truly controversial side whereas the second side is filled with fluffy romance numbers and sappy ballads. To complete this one sided theme, he should've swapped 'Kingdom Of Rain' with 'The Beat(en) Generation' and it would be thematically perfect.

It sounds like I'm really ripping this album to sherds and I don't want to give that impression at all. There are some excellent numbers on this record that I've always liked. Since I've never been a big Sinead O'Connor fan, it will come as no surprise that I didn't want to like 'Kingdom Of Rain' where she sings a duet with Johnson. Even today I find the lyrics somewhat off-putting and yet I really enjoy the music on this track. I love 'Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)'. It's such a wonderful song and has the most amazing beat. It's almost a relentless march over the top of Johnson's vocals, but in a way, that's where the true excitement comes from. It's a driving beat and it carries you all the way through the song to a big build and crescendo. By far the most satisfying number on the record. And in my opinion, should've been the opening track. Other stand out numbers include 'Gravitate To Me' and 'The Beat(en) Generation'. 'Gravitate To Me' has that incredible line, "I am the lighthouse, I am the sea, I am the air that you breathe, gravitate to me". Very awesome! I like the fact 'The Beat(en) Generation' is based on a painting Johnson saw. To me that gives him the impression of someone who finds inspiration in unusual places. I like that he appreciates contemporary art as well.

So in the end, as a kid, this record couldn't hold my attention. As a adult, it has more meaning and I appreciate its attempts at complexity. No one will ever accuse Johnson of not being a strong lyricist. He's just too good. But it was never going to be a record you could spoon-feed to a mass market. I'm sure his label had a field day trying to market it. I think I'll give it a less than perfect mark on my list and say that it's more for die-hard fans than a casual listener. Unless you know The The and are into what Johnson is doing, this album will probably bore you. My final words: RECOMMENDED FOR FANS.

THE THE - MIND BOMB
01. Good Morning Beautiful
02. Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)
03. The Violence Of Truth
04. Kingdom Of Rain
05. The Beat(en) Generation
06. August & September
07. Gravitate To Me
08. Beyond Love

THE FAMILY - THE FAMILY

Not many people may remember this short lived band from the 80's. They were a band on Prince's new label, Paisley Park. Members were culled from various side projects. Jerome Benton, Paul Peterson and Jellybean Johnson were all members of The Time. Susannah Melvoin is the twin sister of Revolution member, Wendy Melvoin, and Eric Leeds was a standby Revolution member in his own right. It was an interesting blending of characters. But this disc is important for more than just the performers.

All of the tracks, barring 'River Run Dry'; which was written by Bobby Z., are Prince compositions. And they're important Prince compositions. In typical Prince fashion, in order to distance himself from the project and also help the band members come into their own, he gives songwriting credit to the various members and takes credit for only one track, 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. That song later became a huge hit for Sinead O'Connor.

The music represents a transition of sorts for Prince. On the heels of 'Purple Rain', Prince released the unprecedented 'Around The World In A Day'. This album was the first disc on Paisley Park. It was also seen as a slap in the face as Prince did the unthinkable... Instead of trying to recapture the success of his previous records, he moved into new territory. Not always a smart move. The Family record showed us even more the direction he was going in. It laid the foundation for projects spanning the next few years and impacted Prince's writing to this very day.

Two songs, 'Yes' and 'Susannah's Pajamas' are Prince's first attempts at writing jazz. With his future long time jazz partner, Eric Leeds, he crafted two tunes that later spawned albums worth of instrumental jazz mostly under the Madhouse moniker. 'The Screams Of Passion' and 'Desire' both include instrumentation and orchestration by Clare Fisher. Fisher became incredibly influential on Prince during 'Parade' and his work continued to filter down through new projects for years.

Prince was experimenting with more continental styles of songwriting and expanding his horizons through exposure to different genres of music.

The tragedy of The Family is that the group didn't last. The potential for more great music and future collaborations were all laid out. But lack of promotion caused St. Paul to leave and the band quickly became defunk sans it's lead vocalist. Shortly afterward, Prince ended his relationship with Susannah Melvoin and she moved on as well.

There's another reoccurring Prince theme happening here... The Family name was created to suggest the band was a family of sorts. All of the pictures and artwork were created to stress that relationship. It's important to note Prince created a band that crossed gender and color lines and called them a family. The significance shouldn't be ignored. Granted, you can say it's a knock off of Sly & The Family Stone, but I think Prince was looking at something more apt for a time when black artists were finally being accepted and played right along white bands on the music charts.

This disc has wonderful funk, exciting rhythms, beautiful orchestration, tongue-n-cheek lyrics and an overall laid back, feel good vibe. It's an extremely positive disc. It represents hope.

It's long out of print and difficult to find. But if you can find it, I suggest picking it up. Even today the music has an appeal. Years later. Give it a try and see if you don't agree. My final words: AMBITIOUS, BEAUTIFUL & ENDURING.

THE FAMILY - THE FAMILY
01. High Fashion
02. Mutiny
03. The Screams Of Passion
04. Yes
05. River Run Dry
06. Nothing Compares 2 U
07. Susannah's Pajamas
08. Desire