CD Review: Powerman 5000 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Vol. 1 - Rare & Previously Unreleased '91-'96

I first heard of Powerman 5000 way back in 1997, I believe the first track I heard was "Organazized." A good song, had some funk and crunch to it. That first album, Mega!! Kung Fu Radio, had a lot of good songs, but it seemed a bit unfocused as if the band wasn't sure what direction they were heading in. The second album, Tonight the Stars Revolt, came out two years later, and was better and remains my favorite release. It had a lot more focus and was just a better all around album. They then made a new album, had some personnel changes, and the album was shelved in favor of creating yet another album. The result was something completely new called Transform. This is probably their most straight forward rock and roll album, but still distinctly PM5K, and a good listen. But enough of that history, what we have to listen to now is a collection of songs that developed during their years of touring Boston, prior to their major label debut. What we get is a look at a band developing their sound, and creating some good songs at it.



Spider and company have a very unique sound that has changed with each successive album. The songs of this collection are most similar to those from Mega!! Kung Fu Radio, including some early versions of songs that would appear on it. They blend metal, rock, funk, jazz, and hip hop into something new, some sort of mutant nu-metal. I hesitate to call it nu-metal, that has a growing negative connotation, but it works here. Throughout this collection two things stood out above the rest. The first is Spider's voice, it has this low guttural quality, as if it is clawing it's way from the back of his throat. He goes from a smooth laid back hip hop flavored flow to a growl that strikes with a a great ferocity. The other is the bass playing, there is always a funky bass line playing giving the whole project a groove.

Spread throughout the disk are clips of Spider talking to the crowd during their shows, urging them to buy their CD, or listen up, or whatever. The tracks include a funkier version of "Even Superman Shot Himself," and the original version of " Earth vs. Me." There are also some tracks not heard in any form such as "City of the Dead" and "Put the Hammer Down." Closing the album are some live performances including the then new "20 Miles to Texas 25 to Hell" and the crowd favorite "Organizized."

This is an excellent addition to the PM5K library. We get the opportunity to see what they were like as they grew in Boston. They are revealed to be a very different band than they are today. There was a lot more funk feeling to the music, in the bass, and at times, minimalistic guitars. This is definitely not the same band that we know now, but we get to see the development from the more funky rock band, into a rock band with elements of many other genres.

To quote Spider "We were ahead of our time, behind our time, horrible and brilliant all at once." This pretty much somes it. It is best that some of these songs didn't make it to their debut album, but at the same time, there are some incredible moments on this album. The guitars that go from background minimalism to in your face in a moment, smooth bass lines laying down a groove, a drummer keeping the backbeat, and Spider alternately giving laid back rhymes and growling vocals.

Bottomline. A must for fans, and there is even some good stuff that could bring in some new fans. From the opening of City of the Dead to the close of the live Organizized and everything in between chronicles the growth of a unique sound on the metal scene.

Recommended.