Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle

Take the term "crossover". A word that has been overused and abused over the years to the point of losing its true meaning. What is its significance? As almost everyone knows, this word derives from the English "to cross over", which alludes to interchange, contamination, and the fusion of different musical genres.

Too often, however, this definition has been applied to bands like Linkin Park or, worse still, Limp Bizkit. Who could do nothing more than play heavy guitars while some idiot shot off his "fuck" and "shit" in the middle of the usual insipid rap verses.

Ladies and gentlemen, once there were Mr. Bungle (bungle=mishap), a band of outstanding musicians who in the '90s took their small audience by the hand and said: "Alright, dear. Now I'll explain what this damn crossover is all about".

Think of any genre. They tackled it. Often their tracks consisted of the aggregation of "clashing" musical styles with each other. Unlistenable to those without trained ears, but superb for anyone interested in the non-trivial.

I refrain from attempting to review "Disco Volante", their second work, and also the most experimental, and opt for this self-titled album, more accessible. If you want to understand them, you have to do it step by step, or you risk indigestion and feeling nauseated. This is exactly why I was driven, wanting to review them, to choose the debut album, the most famous of the three they published (and the best-selling), thanks to the push from Faith No More's "The Real Thing" and the video for "Quote Unquote", the only video of their career. But that's just a detail. Mad is the person who thinks they can say something about these songs. So here is the message. If you do not know this work, listen to it immediately, if you already know it... Well, continue to listen, love it and attempt (in vain) to understand it. When you think you have succeeded, enjoy a moment of pride. In five minutes you'll realize your mistake.

And this isn't even the most complicated episode of their discography, as I already said. The members of Mr. Bungle here are still unripe (always in relation to the subsequent albums, of course). Especially Mike Patton, then 23 years old, who would reveal his TRUE madness only a few years later. In any case, already in these ten tracks, he proves to be much more versatile and brilliant than the other frontmen of his generation.

Giving 5 stars to this work is an understatement. Paraphrasing George Orwell, I tell you: "Many albums are worth 5, but some are worth 5 more than others". Thank you.