Happy Mondays
Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)

THE REVIEW

Not much to do: if I have to choose my favorite music scene, I say "MADCHESTER".

To make it short, we can trace its birth around Manchester (no kidding?) at the end of the '80s, and the sounds came directly from genres like Alternative Rock, Psychedelic Rock, and Electronic music, mostly Acid House.
The groups belonging to this scene formed in the early '80s when Manchester was dominated by bands like New Order and Smiths, who greatly inspired the newcomers; a nightclub, the very famous Haçienda, managed by members of New Order and Factory Records played a truly key role in spreading the Madchester sounds.
This type of venue became increasingly successful, also in correlation with the widespread use of ecstasy (MDMA), which intrigued more and more young people to attend them.

The Happy Mondays were firsthand witnesses of what I just told: they were founded in 1980 and can be considered one of the very first groups to start the scene, followed by the Stone Roses and Inspiral Carpets.

"Squirrel And G-Man" is their debut album, released in 1987 for Factory Records and produced by the legend John Cale (Velvet Underground).
Incredible how almost 30 years have passed since its release...

We cannot yet talk about electronic influences, but with these 10 tracks they have the opportunity to present themselves excellently to us these stoners, showing that there are no prima donnas but each has their particular role: Shaun Ryder's singing is his very personal shout (on rather nonsense lyrics) accompanied by a bass with exceptional sound, with linear and not particularly complicated but melodic and striking riffs; the guitars, in turn, follow the Funk sounds in a minimal and trippy way, and the drums do their part, often with really tribal entries and fills; the keyboards are vitally important for the success of effects that provide a dreamy and cheerful background.

The tracks almost all follow the same thread, also due to the group's inexperience, but there are still memorable attempts like the super melodic "Olive Oil" (very Stone Roses, some would say), "Oasis" (any reference to things and/or people is purely coincidental), and the memorable "24 Hour Party People", considered an anthem for this musical community (from which even a film-almost documentary, dated 2002, takes its title about this period).

Here are the fundamental foundations of Madchester laid down. But it is still the dawn of this colorful scene and of the Happy Mondays themselves, who will have the opportunity to establish themselves thanks to subsequent records and other antics.