King Missile - King Missile
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 See Larger Image | King Missile Artist : King Missile List Price : $9.98 USD ProductGroup: Music Release Date : 1994-04-19 Studio : Atlantic / Wea Label : Atlantic / Wea Avg. Customer Rating : (5 reviews)
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Reviews Customer Reviews for King Missile late 30s, maybe mid 30s.... Rating: Aside from John Hall's humor (which is excellent and offbeat) this album also features some pretty good rock music to go with it. I mean, it's not sensational, but it's cool...kinda grungy in some parts. But you don't get that with every track. Like I said though, Hall is still very amusing. The hunor is somewhat hard to describe It's not goofy like Weird Al, let's just say. Like someone said earlier, it's more satire...silly satire certainly, but dry like that. Subversive. ANYways, good CD, I found it in a library book sale for 50 cents, but you can totally spend more on it. It's worth it. It will make you feel alright.
Customer Reviews for King Missile Cd It's okay, but there are no clowns... Rating: I think King Missile's previous album "Happy Hour" was their crowning achievement and both John S. Hall and King Missile have never been able to follow it up. Though I find this album to be disappointing, it's not a complete failure. I'd say at least four or five songs are absolutely wonderful, while the rest of it is not quite on par with any of King Missile's previous material.
On the downside, Daniel Rey's production is a bit too raw, scratchy and grungy and it doesn't suit K.M.'s music very well. Secondly, it is a very dark album...Hall isn't as funny and clever as he used to be and his lyrics have gotten a bit more depressing. Half of his jokes fall flat. Thirdly, there is not as much variety in the material as before, with a bit too much emphasis on dirty, grungy guitars. And...last but certainly not least....the band don't sound like they are having much fun this time around.
That being said, there is still some great material here. "What If?" has a driving bass line that reminds me of The Go-Go's "We Got The Beat". It's one of the catchier and funnier tunes on the album, with Hall asking that if he wished he were a tree and became one, could he wish himself back? An interesting idea...I've thought about that many times myself! "Open Up" may be the most commercial sounding track here, but I like it anyway and find it to be a very enjoyable and melodic little pop song...and I like the fact that Hall actually SINGS on it. "Dishwasher" reminds me of Led Zeppelin..at least musically and I love the lyrics, which deal with a potential shoplifter who is a dishwasher. It's one of Hall's better monologues on the album. I am also very fond of "Hymn", which is the most serious track here and one of the more musical songs on the album. It reminds me a tad of "Happy Hour". I love the singing on it and I like the electric guitar line and the organ. Nice tune!
"Socks" starts off promising enough, with Hall ranting and raving about all the socks he has, but the song peters out about halfway through. Again, I'm not too fond of some of the louder and more grungy songs on the album. The album cover is slightly amusing, but couldn't they have come up with a more imaginative album title instead of having it self-titled? I may sound like I'm nit picking here and I probably am, but I just don't think this album measures up to the ones before it. I do have to admit that I prefer it over all the albums Hall would do with King Missile 3, however...
Editorial Reviews for King Missile Audio Cd Amazon.com King Missle has never grown much beyond its original premise: Presenting John S. Hall's offbeat poems over the shifting musical background constructed by a trio of veteran New York art-rockers. The group's self-titled sixth album tries to turn these music-and-poetry set pieces into more conventional songs, and the monotone Hall even tries to sing on "What If" and "Pigs Will Fly." But ultimately, the focus is on the words, and even if you enjoy them (which I do), King Missile albums are like other comedy recordings: After a listen or two, you file them away and forget about them. --Jim DeRogatis
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