Happy Mondays: Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches (180g) Vinyl LP

Daytime ravers The Happy Mondays’ breakthrough third album reissued. The record was produced by star DJ Paul Oakenfold and frequent collaborator Steve Osbourne, and is a cornerstone of the Madchester and ‘baggy’ movements. Unlike instantly compelling contemporaneous stuff like The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, this one’s definitely more of a ‘you had to be there’ sort of joint to my ears, although there’s some objectively nice grooves to be excavated. “Kinky Afro” is the big tune but I prefer “God’s Cop,” “Holiday,” “Loose Fit” and “Bob’s Yer Uncle.” The other big single “Step On” is the sole departure from the traditional bass/drums/guitars arrangement, sounding a little more like the sound Oaky was moving toward. Weird note, the coalescence of guitars, maracas (shout to Bez) and psychedelics with an emphasis on grooves, creates odd coincidental parallels with jammy stuff like Grateful Dead. Nice-sounding official reissue cut from the original Factory master tapes with reproduced artwork by the original designers and code for digital download.

• black 180g vinyl pressing
• cut from original Factory Records master tapes
• gatefold sleeve w/ artwork carefully reproduced by Central Station Design
• brand new liner notes by Sylvia Patterson
• digital download included
• music label: London Records 2020

reviewed by Big Salad 02/2020