Published on Jun 2, 1997
The success of the Fine Young Cannibals had to be one of the
biggest surprises of 1989. Roland Steele and crew were as far
removed from being a rock group as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but
they hit the big time with their wonderful song “She Drives Me
Crazy,” and brought their album
The Raw And The Cooked into the blockbuster range.
Too bad the rest of the album doesn’t live up to the hype. One
song rarely can support a whole album, and this is no
exception.
“She Drives Me Crazy,” with its synthesized drums, was a great
party song – Steele’s falsetto delivery which went into a
full-fledged roar was perfect for the track. Even the guitar work
fits the track – from the jangly jazz riffs to the crunch of the
power chords.
Most of the rest of the album falls into a pattern where Fine
Young Cannibals sounds like they’re trying to be a jazz-rock band
of the ’50s. “Good Thing” sounds like a throwback to the early days
of rock and roll, and is a semi-decent track. “Ever Fallen In Love”
is a better example of how Steele et al. could use this style to
their advantage.
But the obvious lack of musical direction is obvious. On one
track, Steele sounds like Prince with his dick caught in a vice,
the next he sounds like he wants to be Tom Jones – cheezits, make
up your mind! And those synthesized drums – they have
got to go.
The Raw And The Cooked works best when the band tightens up
and dares to look at the rock side of their psyche. When they fail
to do so, the results are disastrous – “I’m Not The Man I Used To
Be” is a weak track following the two radio hits, while “Don’t Let
It Get You Down” fails from the first note.
Of course, Fine Young Cannibals came from the world of college
alternative radio, where this would have probably been considered
cool. In the world of pop music, however, something like this can
be career suicide. (In fact, this turned out to be the band’s last
album, as Steele turned to an acting career.)
Another problem is that the album has not aged very well – there
was a movie I was watching recently which featured the Fine Young
Cannibals as the “house band” – and the music seemed very out of
place. Whoops – turns out they were performing tracks from this
album, meaning this is not a good sign.
The Raw And The Cooked both defined and killed this band,
and while the hits are still great songs, it hardly sets Fine Young
Cannibals apart from the rest of the field. This is a good reason
why some greatest hits albums are must-owns.