Search - Shudder to Think :: 50,000 B.C.

You Look Terrified of Me... You Might Do Worse

Martin J Flanagan | Wantagh, NY USA | 05/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Now that the mighty S2T has officially called it quits it's time to reassess their catalogue. Their last 2 official albums were movie soundtracks, one of mostly ambient & electronic music ('High Art') and one with a slew of genre exercises & (mostly) guest singers ('First Love, Last Rites'), but '50,000 B.C.' was their last conventional "rock" album.When it was initially released in 1997, the album was met with derision by many fans (who saw the more straightforward songwriting as a sellout) and critics (most of whom had hated them all along). Unfair I say...The funny thing about Shudder To Think is that they were idiosyncratic by design. Even when they tried to play it straight there were always elements (namely lead singer Craig Wedren's quvaery vocals & off the wall, frequently inscrutable, lyrics) that would guarantee no one would mistake their music for mainstream alt-rock radio fodder.Once you drop your preconceptions and accept that the boys didn't have it in them to try to replicate the truly bizarre 'Pony Express Record' (viewed as either a masterpiece or a pretensious mess of an album, depending on who you ask), '50,000 B.C.' will, upon repeated listens, reveal itself to be simply a great rock record.I count maybe three 3 unworthy songs but the majority of the album is fun, listener-friendly, only slightly off-kilter. There are quite a few standouts: "Beauty Strike" is a major-chord adrenaline rush, "Red House" a rerecording of one of their best early songs, "She's A Skull" is goofy but fun post-punk silliness, and the plaintive "Saddest Day of My Life" could almost pass for a power ballad.Shudder To Think were one of the best, truly original rock bands of the 90's. An acquired taste to be sure, but I would recommend this album as a good introduction for the uninitiated.Strange and wonderful. Pity they're not around anymore to make more albums like it."

The perfect balance.

John Chamberlain | Silver Spring, MD United States | 05/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I haven't followed every twist and turn of Shudder to Think's illustrious career. I bought "Pony Express Record" after hearing "Ex-French Tee-Shirt" on the radio and getting smitten. I'm an art rock fan, but I'm not into bizarreness for bizarreness' sake and complexity for complexity's sake; ultimately, it has to move me or it's just an intellectual exercise. I've put a lot of work into understanding the intricacies of PER and figuring out what it's all about, and while there are exhilarating moments, the payoff has been uneven; I still can't follow what's going on half the time or what effect they're trying to create besides confusion. So I thought I'd check out their supposed "sellout" album and see what an EXTREMELY intricate band sounds like when they go commercial. My verdict: they sound GREAT. 50,000 B.C. is the perfect balance of wimpy-campy-psychotic-sweet vocal melodies and harmonies, ambitious but not overly chaotic song structures and chord changes, and very cool rhythmic grooves with just enough quirkiness to throw you off balance every 30 seconds or so (instead of every 10 seconds, as on PER). The choruses tend to be long and involved and requiring of some study before you can really groove along, but, ah!, so satisfying when you do. "Survival" is an accessible high point, but for their special brand of hypnotic weirdness, the trophy goes to "The Man That Rolls." I think that people who say 50,000 BC is a compromise are missing the boat; it sounds to me like S2T decided that they didn't have to prove how quirky they are anymore and just let the music -- and the quirkiness -- flow."

The happiest day of my life

siamkid | 10/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this album after I fell in love with the two tracks they did for the Velvet Goldmine Soundtrack. Anyone who enjoyed that album too, or anyone looking for a more sophisticated sound should check this album out. All the tracks are great, but I especially enjoy "Survival" and "Call of the Playground.""