An album by the Happy Mondays must surely rank as one of the most unlikely comebacks in this year of reunions, considering main man and chief pill-popper Shaun Ryder's decline into tabloid figure of fun since the band's disastrous 1992 final album Yes, Please.
Ryder and dancing mateBez had a brief reprieve with two-album Black Grape in the mid-90s. Now they're back as the Mondays with original drummer Gary Whelan, a band of ring-ins and studio help from a diverse bunch including DJ-producer Howie B on mixing duties and Ry Cooder somewhere in there.
Initially, the result sounds like it's about to rise above low expectations. Opening tracks like Jellybean and Angels and Whores recall the irresistible sloppy funk energy of their heyday and show Ryder hasn't lost his brain-addled free-associating and frequently sleazy vocal approach. And the technofied Anti-Warhole (On the Dancefloor) is infectious nonsense. But the rest, despite pharmaceutical references in the lyrics and guitar styles (blues, slide, banjo) over the wobbly grooves, just runs out of puff. And their anaemic cover of Deborah Harry's Scarface soundtrack song Rush Rush marks the low point on an album which starts out in high spirits but then just wallows.
Label: Sanctuary/Shock
Verdict: The amusing return of the Mancunian mob from the days of "baggy"
