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Se�or Smoke

Electric Six - Se�or Smoke Audio CD

A fair review of the Electric Six "Se�or Smoke" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Electric Six reviews here, or go back to the Electric Six tabs.

Band: Electric Six
Title: Se�or Smoke
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-01-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rock and Roll Evacuation 2: Devil Nights 3: Bite Me 4: Jimmy Carter 5: Pleasant Interlude I 6: Dance Epidemic 7: Future Boys 8: Dance-A-Thon 2005 9: Be My Dark Angel 10: Vibrator 11: Boy or Girl? 12: Pleasant Interlude II 13: Radio Ga Ga 14: Taxi to Nowhere 15: Future Is in the Future

Even at their weakest they still ROCK!
I know that the band did not want to record their cover of Radio Ga Ga for example but since it was a popular song in their live shows the studio made them put it on the album. After the success of their first album Electric Six probably had a lot of pressure from the studio to put out something that would be a hit. With all this pressure a band can sometimes crack and the resulting album can suffer because of it. While I think this album is their weakest so far there isn't much bad to say about the album.

As for the Queen cover Queen is my favorite band so any cover would likely come up short in my view, but its still a fun song. I wouldn't care if it hadn't been on the album, but at the same time I don't dislike their version enough to be sad about its inclusion.

The highlight of this album is Dance Epidemic which should come to no surprise to an Electric Six fan as it is sort of a rule that all songs with a form of the word Dance in the title are classics (the one exception being Dance A Thon 2000 which appears on this album as well). I highly enjoy the absurd spoken track in which Dick Valentine tells a story of a man named Monty in Pleasing Interlude #1. Classic absurd comedy from a master of the genre.

As of today this is my least favorite album from Electric Six, but I could see that changing over time. I'd say the highlights are Rock N Roll Evacuation, Jimmy Carter, and Dance Epidemic. In fact I think the first 6 tracks are all amazing. Its after the sixth track where they album mostly remains fun, but not so memorable. Still, it has some of the most classic Electric Six songs so it's still a winner in my book!

Lyrical Highlights Include:
"And there's a toxic cloud hanging over her
And there's white noise on the screen
And there's a man in a hotel room
Assaulting a maid who just came to clean
Up the mess.

Backstreet's back
Alright. " From Jimmy Carter

"Your body goes to waste every minute you don't give it to me
I'm dying for your sins on the dance floor, can't you see?" From Dance Epidemic

"Evil girls biting good girls
Turning good girls into evil girls
Evil boys eating evil hamburgers
Evil boys eating evil fries" From Rock N Roll Evacuation.

A catchy, fun, interesting RIOT!!!
Its a send up of how unintentionally silly rock and roll can be sometimes (only E6 is very intentional with their silliness). Electric Six play a sort of stone faced, tongue in cheek, bombastic hybrid of hard rock and dance music. They could very easily be nothing more than a stupid novelty band except for one important thing:

They write fantastic songs.

Almost all the songs on this album will make you dance or rock out, all the while making you laugh your [. . . ] off.

What sold me on giving the Electric Six a shot was their hilarious lyrics so if these make you laugh, you NEED this album:

"If money talks, then I'm a mime/If time is money, then I'm out of time"

"You were walkin' down the street/You were just across the street/So I had to cross the street/To get to your side of the street. "

"Your body goes to waste every minute you don't give it to me. /I'm dyin' for your sins on the dance floor, can't you see?!"

"Have a seat, I'll tell you what I did/I can't sit down 'cause I'm a dancer. "

"She don't like it too hot/She don't like it too cold/ROOM TEMPERATURE!/ROOM TEMPERATURE!"

"Are you ready for my sucky sucky?/Are you ready to be set free?/Are you ready to siphon gasoline/Are you ready for the number three?"

"This is who you are/five dancing teenage boys who sing their way into our hearts/backstreets back. . . alright. "

That last quote was from "Jimmy Carter," a song that almost made me pee my pants the first time I heard it.

Simply put, the Electric Six are hilarious (trust me when I say those lyrics I printed are only the tip of the iceberg), and their music is genuinely creative, fun, energetic and catchy, so even after you memorize all the jokey lyrics, you'll still have no problem dancing around the room playing air-guitar to this thing. Even their cover of "Radio Ga Ga" is pretty sharp.

If you like bands that can make fun of rock while they rock (Spinal Tap, The Dictators, The Aquabats), than you need "Senor Smoke" by the Electric Six. Its their best album.

This Band is Criminally Underappreciated
After hearing the album "Fire" back in 2004, I nervously anticipated seeing a gang of hip young sillouhettes spazzing around in a new IPod commercial to the song "Dance Commander" at any moment. Like many an E6 fan, I remain mystified as to why this wildly unique and innovative band has not blown up to monstrous levels of popularity. In a purely selfish way, I kind of love the fact that they still have only an underground cult following(it's way more enjoyable to attend live performances in smaller venues with more intimate groups of hardcore fans), but I do hope these guys eventually get more of the recognition they deserve.

Owning every bit of sound ever recorded by Electric Six that I could get my obsessive little hands on, I say without a doubt that Senor Smoke is their tightest and most consistent album so far. Every song pops, rocks, bumps, and grinds in all the right places. Dick Valentine's hilarious exaggerated rock god/sex symbol (yet somehow still geeky average guy underneath) persona is in its finest form here, as are his brilliantly irreverant lyrics, which manage to incorporate an impressive spectrum of subjects ranging from male hyperlust to fast food to pop culture to politics(!). And the music is hooks galore! If you like hard rock with your funk and disco with your punk, and you agree with Frank Zappa that humor DOES belong in music, then please please for the love of the Supreme Being, pick up this album!! If you're not pumping your fist in the air, shaking your butt and smiling, then you should probably mention it to your physician. Cause maybe you're slightly anemic and need a B-12 shot or something. .

Not their best but good.
However, it still has that funk/rock thing going and the twisted lyrics that drew me to the band from the beginning, so I'm glad I added it to the collection. I like Senor Smoke, though it isn't my favorite of Electric Six's recordings.

THE CHILD DEVIANT
This is my first Electric Six album, and I must say. . . I Love the hell out of it!!!! How to describe the style of music. . . err, . . . umm. . . . I guess it's kinda disco-metal, or something wiered like that. It's truly a hilarious album that makes you giggle your a** off, and yet, it's not cheesey or un-talented. The music is actually verry good. All in all. . . . Wow! What a fun record!.

You can see a complete list of all Electric Six discography, or go back to the Electric Six tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.