Search - Flaming Lips :: Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid 1983-1988

Fantastic Collection (if you're a fan)

Nathan E. Kiner | Milford, NH USA | 10/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 3 CD collection comprises all of the Lips recordings from 83-88, and includes the complete recordings of The Flaming Lips EP, Hear It Is, Oh My Gawd, and Telepathic Surgery. Each disk also contains bonus tracks, encompassing covers, b-sides, live tracks, and the like. If you don't already have these albums, and chances are good you don't, this is the best way to get them.As others have mentioned, new fans should be warned that the Lips of old have little relation stylisitically to the Lips of today. Their evolution towards the the Transmissions From the Satelite Heart is clearly in motion, but you'll hear nothing like The Soft Bulletin or Yoshimi here. Some tracks even have a different vocalist, Wayne's brother Mark (who left the band shortly after its inception) is the lead singer on The Flaming Lips EP, and also all bonus tracks on disk 1. Still, this is some great stuff. I love the Lips today, but I have to admit I often miss the confusion and chaos of their earlier material. They've gotten a lot better at what they do these days, but sometimes too much skill takes the fun out of things. :) You also have to give them credit for their originality, this stuff is WAY out there compared to most of what was going on in the 80s. If you're a fan of their older material, you NEED this collection. If you're a newer fan but curious, I still recommend it, just be warned it may not be quite what you expect. If you're new to the Lips, I recommend either Clouds Taste Metallic(for overdubbed guitar insanity) or The Soft Bulletin (for orchestrated mellow goodness) as starting points. BTW, check out the AMAZING cover of Neil Young's 'After the Gold Rush', a wall of guitar noise that I'm sure Neil would have been proud to record himself. :) I don't think the guy who called this 'death metal' has ever actually heard any. Fear not, this material has absolutely no relation to Cannibal Corpse, and Cookie Monster does NOT appear as a guest vocalist. ;)"

This ain't no godzilla flick

Nathan E. Kiner | 11/30/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As you've probably figured out from other reviews, this is a compilation of the band's first ep, first 3 albums, and a cavalcade of bonus material. It's fairly agreed that flaming lips albums were fairly hit and miss up till their fourth release (in a priest driven ambulance), but there's still a lot of early classics worth buying this for, like "jesus shootin' heroin", "with you", "one million billionth of a millisecond on a sunday morning" and "chrome plated suicide". If you're already a diehard fan you may want to leap right into the early material with this set, but if you're looking for a cheaper look into the pre-warner brothers era, you can pick up "1984-1990", which compiles most of the more essential material found here. If you like what you heard, pick up "in a priest driven ambulance" or the recent two cd re-release "the day they shot a hole in the jesus egg", which gives you all of that album and a bonus cd of demos for the price of one cd as well.

The first cd starts off with the self titled ep, with the band's original vocalist Mark Coyne, Wayne's brother. The style is very different from the later lips, and even quite a bit different from the rest of the material on the first cd. These 5 songs seem very much inspired by 60's psychadelic garage rock, in fact almost all of these five songs would fit in perfectly among tracks you'd find in "nuggets" compilations. Mark is a fairly limited vocalist, but has the attitude for this style of music. Although he seems to have a vocal range of about two notes, his deep vocals lend themselves to the darker vibe of the material. Only the last track, "my own planet", hints at the faster, more melodic material ahead, and even then, hearing it lead into the first album's opening track, the mellow "with you" is quite astonishing. While still showing the Lips as a developing band, the album is mostly very solid, remarkably so considering it's Wayne's first time at lead vocals, alternating between raw but beautiful ballads and noisy punk rock-like numbers that at times recall early sonic youth. Next come the bonus tracks, more demos with Mark as the vocalist. These are considerably faster than the mostly slow and druggy material of the first ep, and mostly covers, including a hillarious take on the batman theme.

The second cd starts off with the second album, "oh my gawd" whichis about on par with the first. There's more of an accent on the melodic, and the band takes a few steps forward, but a few failed experments like "ode to cc part 1" weaken things a bit. For bonus tracks, we get yet another set of Mark Coyne demos, this time mostly songs that would end up making the first two albums, with an amateur-ish but amusing led zeppelin cover and a )deservedly) never before heard track thrown in. You wouldn't really be able to imagine the guy who sang on the first EP doing these songs, but he does a commendable job on them, particularly his intense and over the top reading of "jesus shooting heroin". In the liner notes, Wayne describes his brother's performances here as "Ian Curtis meet Chris Farley (not the fat part - just the absurd intense part)".

The last disc gives us the album "telepathic surgery". It's considerably more bogged down with filler than it's predecessors (reportedly the band originally intended to make an album length sound collage that got worked on extensively, then discarded aside from the excerpt "hell's angel cracker factory", and thus probably had less time to write material). Still, there's enough glimpses of greatness to make it worth listening to, and the assorted aural experiments like the simultaneously goofy and scary "ufo story" and various strange interludes make for an interesting listen. The bonus material is a handful of live material, including a sonic youth cover, another led zeppelin cover, a drastically different Wayne vocal-ed version of "my own planet" from the first ep, a goreous version of "after the gold rush" from a neil young tribute album, and an alternate mix of "can't stop the spring" from 'telepathic surgery'. Finally, the whole album closes with a strange sound collage meant to be listened to while reading the introduction to the liner notes, which detail Wayne's first experience with acid. Prentious as [heck]? sure. But it's also incredibly terrifying and creepy to hear those amplified heartbeat noises as you read the surreal tale of blood, fear of death, french fries turning into worms, supernovas, time shifts, and the fear of death, even if the track doesn't really stand up on it's own."

Fascinating

B | Rochester, NY United States | 01/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""..Acid" is a triple CD set featuring the Flaming Lips' self-titled EP and their first three LP's ("Hear It Is", "Oh My Gawd!!!", and "Telepathic Surgery"), plus some bonus tracks (demos/covers/etc).



The songs are hit or miss. If you're only familiar with "The Soft Bulletin" or "Yoshimi" era Lips, this will be a shock. If you know "She Don't Use Jelly", picture that song..only noisier and without the infectious hook. That's a good description of The Flaming Lips' early material. Like the title suggests, rooted in punk rock, and glossed over in a druggy, psychedelic haze.



The EP features Wayne Coyne's brother on lead vocals (he left shortly afterwards). Songs like "Scratchin' at the Door" meander left and write without any real melody. It sure is an interesting listen though.



That applies to 1986's "Hear It Is" as well. Highlights include "With You" (power ballad + screeching guitar noise), "Jesus Shootin' Heroin" (scariest song ever), "Trains, Brains & Rain" (which has a genuine pop hook), and "Godzilla Flick" (a mournful accoustic ballad).



1987's "Oh My Gawd!!!" is probably the best album on here. Some of the more memorable moments include: "Everythings Explodin" (a noisy assault), "Maximum Dream for Evil Knievel" (a trippy, Pink Floyd like dirge), "The Ceiling is Bendin" (a delicious slice of warped psychedelia), "Thanks To You" (which borrows from Led Zeppelin's "Thank You", which is actually covered later in the set), and "Love Yer Brain" (a mid-tempo ballad which culminates in a destroyed piano and a loop from "Tomorrow Never Knows").



1989's "Telepathic Surgery" is the most sprawling and difficult of the three. But there's some good stuff to be found; "Chrome-Plated Suicide" (a pop song that borrows heavily from "Sweet Child O' Mine"), "Right Now" (raucous fun), "Miracle on 42nd Street", "Begs & Achin" (more racuous fun), "Shaved Gorilla" (which sounds like The Cure in a twisted sort of way), and the totally bizarre "UFO Story".



Like I said, this is largely hit or miss. There is some genuinely good stuff in here..but this set is more for curious fans who want to hear The Lips' beginnings. Before they really knew the fine art of songwriting.



3 Stars for the songs, 5 Stars for the 'interesting' factor..so call it 4 altogether."