Editorial Review

Reviews (17)

yuck
I love Iggy Pop and I'm pretty forgiving but this album kinda stinks. Not a single memorable (except for it's ickiness) track.

he's bored
Iggy Pop, with a faceless backing band, James Williamson producing (with a mustache), sounding like he was listening to the first Richard Hell and Talking Heads album exclusively, the first of his three dry-run albums for Arista.Unessential, lukewarm, completely middle of the road.He claims he's the chairman of the bored and he sounds it.Stop with 'Lust For Life' and 'Kill City.'

Iggy fans- GET IT!
This album was his first of 3 under the label Arista and probably the best (Soldier & Party being the other two). Although this is generally referred to as one of his better albums and this is certainly the case, it isn't in the same class as his '77 releases (The Idiot & Lust for Life). This is his first solo album without David Bowie, but he still has his old buddies James Williamson & Scott Thurston to guide him through things.

The music, if not the lyrics, generally continue along the upbeat, pop rock vibe from Lust for Life. Although side one contains a couple of decent tracks (especially 'I'm Bored'), the album doesn't really get going until side two. When Five Foot One kicks off the 2nd half of the album, we have liftoff. Although the lyrics seem harmless enough, the song is really a lament at the limitations that are placed on people. It's definitely one of Iggy's best tracks. 'Angel' is the most soppy ballad in Iggy's catalogue, and with lyrics like ("I'll split my skull for your love"), you get the feeling he really means it. 'Billy is a Runaway' closes out the album on a great note with Iggy sounding more like a narrator telling the story of an underage kid getting up to no good.

The most interesting (not best) track on the album though has to be 'African Man'. Possibly the wierdest song Iggy's ever recorded, if you've heard 'Jesus Loves the Stooges' then this will challenge that one for its mantle. It's the type of thing that only Iggy could record and not totally embarrass himself while doing so, and wouldn't be out of place on the eccentric Zombie Birdhouse.

Reviews (1)

Reviews (21)

The only one you need
I'm sorry but this is the only listenable Butthole Surfers album. I have listened to every single Surfers album and this is the only musical one. The others are all soundscapes and noise, which is fine if its halloween. All the songs on this cd are funny and entertaining. For fans of wierd punk rock. Stand out tracks are The Wooden Song, and Who was in my bed last night for sure. Buy this cd.

Brilliant culmination of the Surfers work
If you can only own one album by the Buttholes, this is the one to get.I myself am a huge fan and have everything they've ever done and I find this album to be their masterpiece, if not my favorite BS album.What do I mean by that?Well this CD has some of every style the Buttholes ever did, from the overdriven punk of "Who Was in My Room Last Night?", to the psychedelic wierd-out of "Alcohol", etc.Yes the Buttholes have been more abrasive or experimental such as on my favorite album, the brilliant "Psychic-Powerless, Another Man's Sac."But rarely have the Buttholes been as consistant both in the strength of the songs and the production, which is great thanks to John Paul Jones.Yes, he was Led Zeppelin's bass player, and by putting the emphasis on the songs (and Paul Learys guitar playing) rather than sonic experimentation, the Buttholes made one of the strongest and most rocking albums of their career.Jones got a great sounding album out of the surfers.I wish they'd used him for the somewhat scattershot "Electric Larryland."Oh well, after this album the Buttholes got perhaps a little lost and eventually went for an electronica oriented sound for their Wierd Revolution album in 2002, which is a good album but doesn't sound like the Butthole Surfers.Independent Worm Saloon is their last truly great and consistant rock album.I recommend it to fans and newbies alike.

Reviews (5)

It doesn't get funnier than this ____!
Wow!
I thought I was the only one who found such great humor in the world of poop stories -- I was wrong.I received this gift for my birthday and found one hysterical story after another.In fact, I intend to submit some personal stories in hopes of making the next edition.
Thank you for making me laugh out loud and sharing such great stories with the world!

It's got a story for everyone!
Whether you are in college or a grandparent, this book has a story for you. I just love the one about the guy in Cairo! Do yourself a favor and get this book.

Reviews (13)

Not bad, but not that good
There are some true gems here such as the wonderful "Revolution" parts 1 and 2. not to mention the killer and heavy "Blindman".But I'm afraid there's a lot of filler and dross too, such as "Golden Showers" and the excreble "No, I'm Iron Man" which is essencially an unfunny joke spoken over the top of noise.It grates after only a short while.The various and thankfully short "Lonesome Bulldog" variations are funny in that each one is "worse" and sloppier than the one before it, they act as little vignettes between the longer songs."Something" played live was much more powerful than on this album, though its still good.P.S.Y. is a tongue in cheek guitar workout by Paul Leary complete with Buttholes blues licks at the end and blues shouting courtesy of Gibby."Barking Dogs" is a head twisting excursion into noisy psychedelica that by Butthole Surfers standards seems more like a tame or even somewhat conventional afterthought.Though some of the songs are very good, this album just isn't that focused or experimental enough to warrant a higher rating.The Surfers seemed to have reached an uneasy compromise between song oriented material and the crazed instrumental excursions of previous years with the result being one of their most unsatisfying albums.They seem to be almost unsure of themselves, either they tried too hard or not hard enough.Perhaps their lable troubles had something to do with it?I don't know, in any case this set was followed by one of their best:the excellent "Independent Worm Saloon."But theirmost groundbreaking work was behind them.

Their only Waste Product
This is really the only Bad record they ever really made.The surfers themselves even admit this record is bad.The 13 tracks may look deceiving because there really are only 7 songs here.Other then the production being pretty crappy here, there isn't much energy except on the song PSY (The only thing that saves this album from a 1 star).Apparently the recording machine broke before they could finish it, and instead of replacing, Rough Trade released it anyway.And as if what goes around, comes around the Label collapsed soon after.The band was pissed, the fans were pissed so having the titled of the record being Pioughd (P-O-ed) kind of fits.The production on this record was so bad that on the side of the case it says Pioughd, but on the back of the case its spelled Piouhgd.The actual songs are Revolution, Lonesome bulldog, The Hurdy Gurdy Man, Golden Showers, Blindman, P.S.Y. and Barking Dogs.All the other lonesome bulldogs are just the end of the song divided up; it's a joke like the dog is getting drunker and drunker.It should have been just one song.Revolution part 1 is just the first 1:30 or the intro to Part 2.No, I'm Iron Man, I originally thought it was going to be a cover of Black Sabbath's Iron Man.That that would have been really cool; but it's not, it's them arguing over who can sound like Iron man using the Gibbytronix and it gets old after a couple of seconds.The version of something is just a lame joke that is embarrassing in comparison to the godlike nightmare original.And yes, even the version of PSY here has some flaws.A song they had been playing as an instrumentals for years, now with lyrics thrown in to tell a story.I don't know about you, but I found it to be a lot more psychedelic without the lyrics. All in all I would only recommend this only to really big fans of the Butthole Surfers who seek out and have to own everything.(such as myself)I personally would recommend just about anything else the Butthole Surfers have made instead of this thing.All I can say is just get this record really, really cheap.Hope this helped.

CLASSIC BUTTHOLE!
This album gets a lot of negative reviews, but it is right up there with the rest of the butthole's music.This CD reminds me of a cross between Rembrandt Pussyhorse, and some of the stranger songs on Independent Worm Saloon.

REVOLUTION 1-2- a light rocker that dissolves away into this long ambient piece with telephones, bells, sirens, and "gary shandling"

LONESOME BULLDOG 1-4- the first one is an acoustic song with gibby singing/ranting.the other three are short, instrumental variations on the same guitar theme.all are cool little suprises scattered throughout the album.

HURDY GURDY MAN - the donovan song with a heavy tremelo effect on gibby's voice

GOLDEN SHOWERS - reminds me of some acid soaked 50's rock song

BLINDMAN - heavy, awesome guitar, deep pitch shifted lyrics

NO I'M IRON MAN - starts off with IronMan arguing with someone else over who gets to be IronMan, they seem to get into a heated argument but unfortunately there is too much other noise going on to understand

SOMETHING - the classic butthole's song, reworked into a candypop version, with some crazy dentists drill sounds (my friend was acctually once so traumatized by the sound of the dentist's drill that he wouldn't let me play this song ever while he was around!)

PSY - the instrumental song they've been playing live for a long time, but now extended with some lyrics thrown in - this is definately the most accessable song on the album

BARKING DOGS - psychedelic art at it's best

Reviews (11)

PARENTAL WARNING:THIS IS A GREAT IGGY ALBUM
I have just recently gotten into The Stooges, and Iggy's solo classics (The Idiot/Lust For Life.....if you don't have these, you don't deserve a stereo...make that true for the Stooges albums as well).I bought this from a used cd shop down the block, just because it was cheap and I had heard from people it was good.It was really an afterthought, but I put it in my test stereo (the one I try new stuff out in before I ruin the foundation of the house with the big stereo eating up the front wall of the room)...I listened to a couple songs, but nothing was doing it for me, probably because I was still reeling from hearing The Idiot for the first time.Last night, nothin to do, put this on, and jammed my ass off. NUMBER ONE: This is great songwriting, that is the key to this album...I was too focused on the music and the studio sound, seeing if it would match the ambience of his older stuff, but that's not the way to listen to this....Sure, the music's great, a nice mix of Rock and some really great almost-ballads and whatthef*cks that only Iggy could do...The love songs, uh-huh, can't hang with that, but that's only two songs out of 16....Album Highlights:Hate, F*ckin' Alone (my anthem), Plastic & Concrete (nice&simple), Louie Louie....the list goes on, can't wait to listen to it again....maybe this time I'll try to shatter the windows with it....

One of the best
This is one of my favorite Iggy Pop discs. This is a very insightful and angry testimonial from an American icon. Other than that, it is good rock. Check it out.

Editorial Review

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Editorial Review

Reviews (10)

Useful maintenance info
I think this book would have been better received if it wasn't labelled "Owner's Bible". This has raised expectations that weren't met.
The review on the cover of the book describes the contents accurately - its intended to help prospective owners purchase a vehicle, and owners to perform routine maintenance. It does both of these things very well. A third objective was to make the owner better able to discuss complex service issues with their service facility.
If you want to rebuild the transmission, this is the wrong book. If you want information on making a purchase, performing maintenance, trouble shooting common problems, and insight into complex repairs this is a great book. Enjoyable to read, too.

Good as far as it goes...
This book was widely anticipated and loaded with high expectations among the 124 (E-class chassis) community. I pre-ordered a copy months in advance. Why? The factory shop manual on CD is very difficult to use. A Haynes manual is only published in Europe, and covers only European models. This means there is effectively no aftermarket shop manual for these cars, where many other MB models have one available. I think we were all expecting a "Bentley Grade" shop manual (and all that this entails), like the stellar ones produced for BMWs and Audis. What we got was essentially an enhanced owner's manual, or a buyer's guide.
If you just bought a 124, this book makes for a good orientation.
If you are considering buying a 124, this is an excellent buyer's guide.
If you want to actually fix something yourself, forget it!
The Haynes manual from the UK is still the best bet for an aftermarket workshop manual. (ISBN: 1859602533)
Anything really serious requires the factory CDs.