Before you play a note, there’s a good possibility that
you’ll hate The The merely on the merits of their ridiculously pretentious
name, and even more so if you consider that the The is in fact, one person
commanding that moniker.
If all of this points to a possibility that you’ve developed
an opinion of Matt Johnson’s The The, then your first listen of his 1989’s Mind Bomb may even add to those that
bark “holier than thou” as the record is chocked full of end of days imagery
and various samples that beat the notion of religious Armageddon to death. All
one has to do is look at the back cover for proof; it features a white dove,
bloody and impaled, cruelly suggesting that the quest for world peace is
nothing more than folly for the naïve.
Mind Bomb is over
twenty-years old now, and what may save Johnson from that cynical notion is how
amazingly accurate his clarion call was, particularly in light of our post 9/11
condition. But it would be disingenuous of me not to admit that even then, Mind Bomb sure sounded like a major
piece of work
.
“Islam is rising/The Christians mobilizing” he advises on
“Armageddon Days Are Here (Again),” an acidic observation on how messengers of
hope and everlasting life have “forgotten the message and worship(s) the
creeds.” One need only look at the “God Hates Fags” signs or any act of
religious aggression so commonplace in today’s headlines to consider that
Johnson may have been clearly on the mark.
On “The Beat(en) Generation” he declares how we’re all
“reared on a diet of prejudice and misinformation,” encouraging us to “open
your imaginations” and consider the possibility that our religious and government leaders don’t always work in our
best interest after exploiting the
presumption that they’re always…always…supposed to.
With the introduction of Johnny Marr, The The’s sound
benefits greatly from the inclusion of the former-Smith’s chord progression and
plaintive harmonica while the band’s hosts of session players give Johnson’s
creative outlet the proper detail. Mind
Bomb’s big themes are given big production values, but they don’t become as
cluttered as other similarly themed releases who feel the need for huge
orchestrations or layers of pointless instrumentation. And nowhere on Mind Bomb is the attention to far from
Johnson’s philosophical musings, his colorful voice is placed firmly in charge
and up front in the mix.
The only downfall to Mind
Bomb-if there is one-is that the concept is so big, it would be nearly
impossible to follow up. The big themes explored on this record came as a
surprise to everyone, particularly considering The The’s previous work which
featured Matt Johnson’s big mouth in an incredibly sterile and claustrophobic
mix.
Mind Bomb opens up
the windows, allowing you the opportunity to not only contemplate what’s being
said, but to consider what’s really important in life. And if change does
indeed start with one person, Matt Johnson can take solace that Mind Bomb remains a fine example of
someone willing to take that first step towards enlightenment.
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