Powerman 5000- The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Vol. 1
by Greg Howell 

We try our best to match CDs with reviewers that "get" them. Sometimes, despite having 20 writers, a CD is beyond this goal. It might just be the fact that the CD is truly bad. This series was created so that our more adventurous writers can examine CDs that were found lacking by our staff and ultimately by the final critic.  Occasionally, we may be wrong and you can chalk that up to a matter of taste.  In those cases, we offer you the chance to argue in favor of these CDs in the Fan Speak at the end of the review.  For now, here is the latest CD that our writers found to be Wholly Crap. 

Powerman 5000- The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Vol. 1
Label: iMusic
Rating: 

In my reviews, I try to find something positive to take from the record, but in reviewing Powerman 5000’s album of B-sides, I found it coming up quite flat. The album title could have just called itself ‘the bad, and the ugly,’ and been more truthful with the fans. The songs on this rarities album were recorded in between 1991-’96, before 99’s breakout album ‘Tonight the Stars Revolt.’ I’ll break the tracks down one by one and hopefully give a fair warning to an interested reader.

B.S. One: Just an intro into the album

City of the Dead: A slightly funk intro, weak lyrics and rhymes, reminiscent of a (hed PE) or a poorman’s Limp Bizkit leave this track dead on arrival.

Slumlord: A blues\funk hybrid intro that also throws in a light record scratching as Spider’s (lead singer) deep vocals begin. This track grows quite repetitive and disappointing.

'91 Even Superman Shot Himself: A shot at a social commentary, Superman ends up being a shot in the dark and misses badly.

B.S. Two: Another intro into the next song.

Boredwitcha: An almost straight ‘hip hop’ song reflecting more Vanilla Ice than Eminem. I became very bored with this song.

In the Eye: A funk/pop fusion with incredible boring lyrics that made me wish I had something in my eye to take my mind off of what I was hearing.

Original Earth vs. Me: A guitar\record scratching intro that leads into Spider’s increasingly annoying lyrics.

Put the Hammer Down: A hard intro that sounded close to 99’s ‘When the Stars Revolt.’ Made me raise my eyebrows. The first semi-descent track.

Solid: Anything but solid, this track starts up with an up tempo style that Spider struggles to keep up with.

End: An intro of almost a minute of Spider chanting, ‘Take it to the End.’ I only wish he would.

B.S. Three: An intro.

File Under Action: A slightly better song held back by more lame lyrics.

Army of Me: A cover of a Bjork original that doesn’t do it justice. A valid attempt and probably the best track on the album, which isn’t saying much.

Getting Solid: A different take on track 10, "Solid", that still doesn’t help it out much

Player Re-Mixx: Played out track with an annoying, repetitive beat.

20 Miles to Texas, 25 to Hell: The first of four live tracks, this song moves so agonizingly slow it feels like you’re going 20 mph on the highway.

Strike the Match: Something needs to light a fire under these guys. Yet another song that was painful to get through. This time Spider raps too fast over the slow, grinding beat.

What if?:  Had to turn up the volume on this track. The vocals were way too quiet and got drowned out by the instruments.

Organizized: Something this album was not. Again, bad pacing with the vocals to instrumentals.

Overall, this album left me disappointed, yet glad it was over. Only long term\hardcore PM5K bands need to even think of this album, but I would strongly urge you to stay far away from this rarities album that should have stayed in the editing room.
 
 

Tracks: B.S. One City Of The Dead Slumlord '91 Even Superman Shot Himself B.S. Two Boredwitcha In The Eye Original Earth Vs. Me Put The Hammer Down Solid End B.S. Three F.U.A. Army Of Me Getting Solid Player Re-Mixx 20 Miles To Texas, 25 To Hell Strike The Match What If Organizized

Listen to samples and Purchase this CD online