The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Take It From the Man! (1996)

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to go on and on about this band.  For good reason.  In my opinion the Brian Jonestown Massacre are one of the best contemporary bands out there.  Their music has evolved from shoegaze haze to 60s classicism to some strange combination of everything (Icelandic singers!).  My favourite is the listing of instruments played on each album by singer/songwriter/founder/leader Anton Newcombe.  It's typically about twenty instruments long, usually concluding with "and some-weird-fuckin'-Chinese-shit."

Anton Newcombe

Named in honour of legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, and playing on the name of the infamous Jonestown cult, the band released their debut album Methodrone in 1995.  In the 16 years that have passed, the group has seen upwards of 50 members come and go, always revolving around the mad genius of Newcombe.  Former members include Peter Hayes, one of the founding members of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.  The story of the BJM was chronicled (in slightly outlandish terms) in the critically-acclaimed documentary Dig!  Watch the documentary HERE.

The BJM are another band that I have a difficult time narrowing down my favourite album.  Like many people, it is constantly changing, depending on the day or the mood I am in.  That being said, I have always had a fondness for Take It From the Man!  Arriving in 1996, it was the first of three records of new material to be released by the band in 1996 alone.

Take It From the Man is pure 60s Stones.  From the opening seconds to the end, it sounds like a relic from 1966.  Where their previous records had been seeped in psychedelia, Take It From the Man had an edge and an attitude to it.  Newcombe shares songwriting duties with the criminally underrated Matt Hollywood, one of the original members of the band who had a falling out with Newcombe but has recently returned.  Fans of Boardwalk Empire might recognize the theme song as "Straight Up and Down" from the album.

Tambourines shake throughout and the record carries a jangling intensity, each song seemingly on the edge of collapse.  It's a messy, rough, brilliant trip into the history of rock and roll.  While I have had albums by different bands significantly change my musical outlook, I don't know if there is an album out there that, on first listen, had such an immediate impact on me.  I was instantly blown away by what I was hearing.  It was new, but it was old.  Despite it sounding like a 60s record, at the same time it was unlike any album I had ever heard.  Make sense?  It shouldn't, but that is part of the joy of the BJM.  It doesn't always make sense.  But it almost always works.

One final note about the BJM.  I was lucky enough to see them perform live on their most recent tour in June 2010 in Toronto at the Phoenix.  While I will avoid saying it was my favourite live show ever, I was pretty much blown away.  I don't even remember now how many people were on stage performing (7 maybe?) but the band blew through a veritable Greatest Hits (if there is any such thing in the BJM) and it was a glorious wall of sound for over 2 hours.  For a taste of what it was like, click HERE.

A few select tracks from Take It From the Man!

Vacuum Boots

Oh Lord

Straight Up and Down

Get on it!