Audio Cassette review:
Firehose - Mr. Machinery Operator

Firehose - Mr. Machinery Operator

Band: Firehose Title: Mr. Machinery Operator Rating: Release Date: 23 February, 1993 Media: Audio Cassette Tracks: 1: Formal Introduction 2: Blaze 3: Herded into Pools 4: Witness 5: Number Seven 6: Powerful Hankerin' 7: Rocket Sled/Fuel Tank 8: Quicksand 9: Disciples of the 3-Way 10: More Famous Quotes 11: Sincerely 12: Hell Hole 13: 4.29.92 14: Cliffs Thrown Down

Customer Reviews some great stuff here, but you have to listen to it... Did they honestly listen to it? In the era it almost seemed "trendy" in music circles to slam fIREHOSE in favor of the Minutemen. Gosh, when this album dropped it got so unfairly ROASTED in the press by the snobby "alternative" music mags of the day. Maybe it's the "Oh yeah, well I was there first" schtik of the fickle punk scene littered with lemmings and bitter elitists unable to accept progression. Again, did they LISTEN to fIREHOSE's records? -- they are absolutely totally f-ing amazing. 10 years+ later I still enjoy this album. There are a couple slow points where the ride lags a bit. . . but the hills are tremendously higher than the valleys on Machinery Operator. The whole album is woven tight with phenominal loopy, pluck / slap melodic bass lines to kill for. Ed's guitar howls and screeches, now with a pinch of fuzz and buzz. Kira just WAILS on "Hell Hole", a song with a funky rhythm section to rival the Chili Peppers. "Blaze" is a peppery addition to any mix tape / list. There's great stuff here, but you have to listen to it. . rocket fuel tank buried in my head Sure, the band broke up after this one. This album, I feel, is much maligned. Sure Mike Watt sings some songs that Ed Crawford usually sang. Production by J Mascis adds some extra squall and grit that I really like. For once Crawford's guitar has balls to match its agility. What really can't be discounted though is the songs. These songs are miles beyond "Flyin' the Flannel. " They careen and ricochet, erupting into clouds of feedback and just as suddenly floating gently down like the shards of exploded lightbulbs. There is an intensity to "Sincerely" and "Witness" that just isn't present on the previous album. The anger is palpable in "Hell-hole," and one of the reasons behind that anger boils over the edges of "4. 29. 92. ". I only give it 4 stars, 'cause it's the only fIREHOSE album that i have a few songs that i dislike somewhat, but i love 1, 4, 5 and 6. . You can see a complete list of all Firehose discography, or go back to the Firehose tabs