Pop Will Eat Itself's third album, released on
May 1, 1989 by
RCA. It achieved a
midweek position of #41 in UK
music charts. Singles featured on the album included
Def.Con.One,
Can U Dig It? and
Wise Up! Sucker.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are no longer in
grebo country. The sample infused rock'n'roll sound has survived its way onto this album, but it's met with
LL Cool J and
Public Enemy influenced hip-hoppery. Don't go thinking the lads from the
Black Country have lost touch, though - there's plenty here for the perennial fan. The songs on this album are mostly a step up from earlier album
Box Frenzy's
Beaver Patrol, but
This Is the Day is not without its sillier moments.
The lyrical content of the songs is varied.
Comic books,
alcoholism,
unrequited love, heroin use,
James Brown, and even the band's own personal interests provide subjects. One common thread throughout is an abundance of off-handed filmic and literary references coupled with very smooth rhyming. The lyrics are always intelligently put together, no matter how frivolous the topic being addressed.
Musically, it's very fair to say that this record is the most sample driven
Pop Will Eat Itself release.
Vocal snippets are everywhere, chunks of hip hop songs are wedged between them, and the drum lines are almost all stolen from
classic funk releases. This shift in approach might have been related to
Graham Crabb's decision to give up drumming (being replaced by a drum machine dubbed "
Dr. Nightmare") and join
Clint Mansell on vocals, but chances are
PWEI was interested in cashing in on the then-current craze in rap music.
Worth noting on this album is that the opening track sets something of a precedant for the
Poppies; tt's a brief bump of sorts, consisting of a simple, chanted lyric, intended to bring the listener to a point of excitement before delving into
the good stuff. This concept would find a home on two future albums, with similar result to its use here.
Must hear:
Track listing:
01. 01:12
PWEI Is a Four Letter Word
02. 04:25
Preaching To the Perverted
03. 03:16
Wise Up! Sucker
04. 01:23
Sixteen Different Flavours of Hell
05. 03:51
Inject Me
06. 03:20
Can U Dig It?
07. 04:02
The Fuses Have Been Lit
08. 00:57
Poison To the Mind
09. 03:59
Def.Con.One
10. 03:37
Radio PWEI
11. 01:01
Shortwave Transmission On 'Up To the Minuteman Nine'
12. 03:33
Satellite Ecstatica
13. 03:08
Not Now James, We're Busy...
14. 06:41
Wake Up! Time To Die...