The Jesus And Mary Chain - Munki 2LP
To celebrate the album’s 25-year anniversary, The Jesus And Mary Chain reissue their long-sold-out sixth studio album "Munki".
Originally released June 2nd 1998 on Sub Pop / Creation Records, "Munki" was – up until the Mary Chain’s reformation in 2007 – an experimental rock’n’roll masterclass turned swan song for the Reid brothers, whose fractious in-fighting culminated in the band’s break-up less than a year after its release. It was perhaps fitting, then, that "Munki" is argued by some as the definitive Mary Chain record in the way it seemed to chart the full array of musical directions the band had ploughed over the five records that came before.
The decision to bookend the album with Jim’s rousing sing-along I Love Rock 'N' Roll and William’s caustic white-noise anthem I Hate Rock 'N' Roll perfectly captures the two-fold tension at the heart of the Mary Chain at that time – a tension between noise and melody, and warring brothers.
Across the album’s 17 tracks and 70-minute running time, there are the expected abrasive noise-rock epics Cracking Up and Degenerate by way of fuzzed-out pop hits like Fizzy and the tender acoustic slow-burner Never Understood. Between the Reid’s Glaswegian snarls and unapologetically insolent lyrics – "I'm a mean motherf*cker now, but I once was cool”, “McDonald’s is sh*t!”, “Children are fools!” being just a few lyrical highlights – "Munki" also features two great guest appearances. Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval returns for another Mary Chain duet on Perfume, which has a swagger that’s equal parts menacing and bittersweet, and the Reid’s younger sister Linda (Sister Vanilla) sings beautifully on top of Moe Tucker’s motorik proto-punk scuzz.
The vinyl has been remastered by Pete Maher (The Rolling Stones, Jack White, Liam Gallagher).
Tracklist:
1. I Love Rock 'n' Roll
2. Birthday
3. Stardust Remedy
4. Fizzy
5. Moe Tucker [feat. Sister Vanilla]
6. Perfume [feat. Hope Sandoval]
7. Virtually Unreal
8. Degenerate
9. Cracking Up
10. Commercial
11. Supertramp
12. Never Understood
13. I Can't Find the Time for Times
14. Man on the Moon
15. Black
16. Dream Lover
17. I Hate Rock 'n' Roll
About this product: this reissue is pressed on 2x 180g blue and red vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve.