REVIEW: Black Grape, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid (Radioactive)
- Simon West
Black Grape's 1995 debut, It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah, was the party album of the year, a raucous, hugely enjoyable mess of beats, brass, soul, rap, guitar, and the shouty genius of Shaun Ryder. They've opted for more of the same with Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, and the result is the party album of the year.
The album kicks off with first single "Get Higher", an atypically laid-back slice of funk and dance, during which Ronald Reagan (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) reveals his and Nancy's heroin and marijuana addiction. Typically silly, good stuff, it is then upstaged completely as the tempo kicks into overdrive and it's time for silly sexual innuendo, a Ryder specialty.
"I wanna get cheeky with ya/I wanna get squeaky inside ya", yells the man on "Squeaky", the first of four brilliant upbeat stomps in traditional Grape style. "Marbles" is up next, currently getting much airplay with its insistent chorus of "Why you say yes when you mean no." Back to sex. "Any chick with matching tits/My dad just had to shag" explains Shaun on "Dadi Was A Badi", a shoutalong anthem in the style of the first album's "Tramazi Parti", and probably the best track here. "Cheeba cheeba cheeba", he inexplicably shouts on the joyfully chaotic "Rubber Band."
This is all you really need to know. The tempo never wavers much - the nearest Black Grape get to 'slow' is a cover of Frederick Knight's soul hit "I've Been Lonely For So Long", though, presented here as "Lonely", it's hardly a ballad.
The future of Black Grape is currently in some doubt - cancelled gigs and alleged mass firings are among the recent stories. Ryder's volatility is well documented, but it would be a shame for Black Grape to pack it in when they're still putting out albums like this.
Best listened to with a load of people and a shitload of beer, the ten songs here are the sound of a hell of a party in full swing. There's not a lot new here, simply more of the same chaotic genius that Ryder's been displaying since Happy Mondays. "Stupid, stupid, stupid"? Hardly. Entertaining as hell.
