Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/03/1997
Faith No More's 1997 release
Album of the Year featured the talents of another new guitarist,
Jon Hudson, who replaced
Dean Menta (
Menta only toured with the group in support of
King for a Day before being dismissed). Like
King for a Day,
Album is more straightforward musically than past releases and remains one of
FNM's most focused and concise works. Recorded in bassist
Billy Gould's home studio,
Album of the Year would turn out to be their last studio recording before splitting up in 1997. A trio of outstanding tracks --
"Stripsearch," "Last Cup of Sorrow," and
"Ashes to Ashes" -- blend
hard rock and
pop melodicism the way only
FNM can, while
"Helpless" is an unpredictable composition that alternates between heavy guitar riffing and
Mike Patton's tempered vocals. The explosive album opener,
"Collision," and
"Naked in Front of the Computer" show that the band can still compose prime heavy rockers, while other musical forms were included as well (the romantic
ballad "She Loves Me Not," the evil boogie of
"Home Sick Home," and the Middle Eastern sounds of
"Mouth to Mouth"). For the gripping album closer,
"Pristina," the '90s turmoil in Yugoslavia is used as a backdrop for a tale of lovers being separated due to war.
Album of the Year was a fitting way for one of
alt-rock's most influential and important bands to end its career.
~Greg Prato, All Music Guide
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