The Raw & The Cooked

ファイン・ヤング・カニバルズのデビュー・アルバムがデラックス盤で再発!

ホンダのCDにも使われ日本でもヒットを記録、米ビルボード・チャートでもNo.1を獲得した名曲「She Drives Me Crazy」を含むファイン・ヤング・カニバルズのセカンド・アルバム『The Raw and The Cookes』が初のリマスター再発。リミックス、デモ音源やシングルB面曲などを多数追加収録した豪華2枚組仕様!

80年代なかばから90年代にかけて活躍した英バーミンガム出身の3人組ダンス・ポップ・ユニット、ファイン・ヤング・カニバルズのセカンド・アルバム。米英両国のアルバム・チャートで1位を記録、ブリット・アウォードの「ベスト・アルバム」も獲得したグループの最高傑作にしてラスト・アルバム。シングル「SheDrives Me Crazy」はホンダのCMにも使われ日本でもヒットを記録、米ビルボード・チャートでもNo.1を獲得。この曲と「I'm Not Satisfied」「It's OK (It's Alright) 」はプリンス仕事でおなじみのデイヴィッド・Zがプロデュース。「Ever Fallen In Love?」はバズコックスのカバー。「Good Thing」もビルボードNo.1を獲得。オリジナル発売は1989年。30年以上の時を経てオリジナル発売元であるロンドン・レコードからのファン待望のリマスター復刻が実現。リミックス、デモ音源やシングルB面曲など22曲をボーナストラックとして追加収録した2枚組。

One of the most exciting albums released during a decade of artifice and extravagance, in a mere ten songs and 35 minutes the Fine Young Cannibals created a masterpiece. Admittedly the trio had some help -- backing singers, guest musicians (including former Squeeze piano man Jools Holland and Talking Head's Jerry Harrison) -- but that doesn't take away the band's own accomplishment. Remaining true to the FYC's vision of tying past and present musical styles together into artful new pop packages, The Raw & the Cooked features a shopping list of genres. Mod, funk, Motown, British beat, R&B, punk, rock, and even disco are embedded within the songs, while the rhythms, many synthetically created, are equally diverse. In less delicate hands this would be nothing more than an everything including the kitchen sink motley mess, but FYC manage this mix with subtly and elan. Two-thirds of the record were released as U.K. singles, all were hits, and each one proudly boasted a distinctly different blend of styles. "Good Thing," for example, was the trio's tribute to the legendary all-night Northern soul parties of the '60s, but is much more than a mere meld of mod and Motown. It's actually built round a slinky R&B riff, fueled by a boogie-woogie piano, and slammed home with a cracking beat. "I'm Not the Man I Used to Be" is a torrid torch song, but fired by a futuristic jungle beat and an almost housey production. Then, of course, there's "She Drives Me Crazy," which features the most unique, and instantly identifiable, beat/riff combination of the decade. Even the four tracks that didn't make the singles cut could have, if MCA had the audacity to keep releasing them. "Tell Me What" perfectly re-creates the Tamla sound, with only the synth giving it a modern touch, but on the rest, FYC delve deeper into funk, disco, soul, and lovingly coax them into the modern era. Every one of Raw's tracks simmers with creativity, as the hooks, sharp melodies, and irrepressible beats are caressed by nuanced arrangements and sparkling production. Never has music's past, present, and future been more exceptionally combined. ~ Jo-Ann Greene