The Real Thing

Up until Faith No More's third release, 1989's THE REAL THING, the San Francisco quintet was considered too eccentric for rock's mainstream. Unlike other bands of the era, FNM refused to be limited to just one musical style--the group was indeed heavy, but it also touched upon many other styles (alternative, rap, Middle Eastern, punk, funk, jazz, etc.). But prior to the writing and recording of the album, the band parted ways with its longtime singer, Chuck Mosely, and hired newcomer Mike Patton.
Unlike his predecessor, Patton was a very talented and versatile vocalist who could easily adapt to any of the different musical styles his new bandmates threw at him. While it took a few months for sales to crest, THE REAL THING went on to become the group's much sought-after commercial breakthrough. The rap-metal anthem "Epic" was a surprise Top-10 smash (pushing the album to multi-platinum status), while such other tracks as "From Out of Nowhere", "Falling to Pieces", "Zombie Eaters", and "Underwater Love" were just as exceptional. Although the band had been waiting years for mainstream success, FNM decided to challenge its newly acquired pop audience with its next release.|

Starting with the careening "From Out of Nowhere" driven by Roddy Bottum's doomy, energetic keyboards, Faith No More rebounded excellently on The Real Thing after Chuck Mosley's was fired. Given that the band had nearly finished recording the music and Mike Patton was a last minute recruit, he adjusts to the proceedings well. His insane, wide-ranging musical interests would have to wait for the next album for their proper integration, but the band already showed enough of that to make it an inspired combination. Bottum, in particular, remains the wild card, coloring Jim Martin's nuclear-strength riffs and the Bill Gould/Mike Bordin rhythm slams with everything from quirky hooks to pristine synth sheen. It's not quite early Brian Eno-joins-Led Zeppelin-and-Funkadelic, but it's closer than one might think, based on the nutty lounge vibes of "Edge of the World" and the Arabic melodies and feedback of "Woodpeckers from Mars." "Falling to Pieces," a fractured anthem with a delicious delivery from Patton, should have been a bigger single that it was, while "Surprise! You're Dead!" and the title track stuff riffs down the listener's throat. The best-known song remains the appropriately titled "Epic," which lives up to its name, from the bombastic opening to the concluding piano and the crunching, stomping funk metal in between. The inclusion of a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" amusingly backfired on the band -- at the time, Sabbath's hipness level was nonexistent, making it a great screw-you to the supposed cutting-edge types. However, all the metalheads took the song to heart so much that, as a result, the quintet dropped it from their sets to play "Easy" by the Commodores instead! ~ Ned Raggett