Come Find Yourself

no

Quite good fun, but -1 for the cringey cover of We Have All The Time...

Found this incredibly dated stylistically and sonically - there's absolutely no way it could belong to any other era than the early-to-mid '90s. It's a predictable, fairly safe and largely joyless rap-rock fusion which grew rather tedious beyond the first couple of tracks. Nothing of interest to me here. Next.

I think the thing I liked the most was the couple of samples I recognised. Otherwise it's kind of a forgettable record.

So, Fun Lovin' Criminals are a group known for their laid-back fusion of blues, hip-hop, rock, and soul. But here's the thing - I used that same description already for G. Love & Special Sauce. At first, I wondered why both debut records from these two groups with very similar style fusions were included in the 1001 Albums book. But as I was listening to Come Find Yourself, my question changed to why G. Love & Special Sauce was even included to begin with, because Fun Lovin' Criminals do this schtick better from the get-go.

While the general tempo of these songs is kept slow, the overall presentation is hard-hitting, between Huey Morgan's crunchy guitar riffs, Brian Leiser's low-end bass, and Steve Borgovini's punchy drumwork. In fact, Brian did a lot for this group, between the keyboard and trumpet lines and occasional harmonica embellishments. Not to mention, the occasional sample incorporation felt inspired, like combining the riff from Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" with Ronnie Van Zant's line "Lord, I can't change" from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" on "Bombin' the L".

Sure, the lyrical content can be largely chalked up to getting high and committing crimes, which was pretty typical given the prevalence of gangsta rap in the 1990s. But Huey delivered his words with such an effortless flow and detail that it was engaging. If anything, some of the stories told were presented with such exaggeration, like the bank robbers causing mayhem while high on valium on "Scooby Snacks", or the story of a gangster who tried to free American mobster John Gotti from prison on "King of New York". Even their weirdly earnest rendition of Louis Armstrong's "We Got All the Time in the World" felt at home with all the comical lunacy on display.

So yeah, I dug Come Find Yourself and Fun Lovin' Criminals' take on this particular style fusion. Again, why did we bother with G. Love & Special Sauce to begin with here?

I didn't even know this was on the list until today. It's essentially a rap album with some slight rock elements. It's not particularly noteworthy outside of that, with mediocre flows and lyricism that lack the poetry of the best rap while also lacking the edge associated with both genres. This is not an important record and doesn't belong on the list, as evidenced by how I didn't even know it was here before today.

Sometimes you enjoy an album but only really like the single. And that's okay

A better DJ than a songwriter.

Funky... ehhh

I think I learnt from the reviews that this wasn't big in America and I can sort of see why. It is pretty cheesy and lacking in the supposed authenticity of a lot of hiphop from the time. Of course a lot of that stuff wasn't any more authentic but FLC seem to give you a wink with their Tarantino samples and um... fun loving approach to documenting the criminal life style.

But this was massive in the UK and I wasn't immune to its charm bouncing up and down behind the bar serving drinks on a busy Saturday.

Another album I didn’t hate but didn’t love at the same time. Scooby Snacks is a banger but that’s about it

High energy music that doesn't take itself too seriously. I loved this album growing up, and it turns out I still enjoy it. Not entirely sure I would classify it as essential listening myself, but there's plenty other albums on the list that brings less.

Look, do I feel guilty for liking this? Absolutely! Is it gonna stop me from liking it? Absolutely not.

Is this hip-hop?. Genuine question cos I don't know?

If it is, then this is the hip hop I like. It doesn't seem heavily laden with samples, it's musically mature, and it's foot-tappingly cool. The fact that there appear to be a band behind this and they actually seem to be playing instruments is a big plus for me, lifting this far above the pop-gun knob twiddling "gangsta" exponents of the genre.
Might be my highest ever rating for hip-hop, if this is, in fact, hip hop?

[Ed. no you've given a 5 to Beastie Boys before now]

I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did. It’s no classic, but it’s good.

Here is how old I am....
I remember going down the the local record store to buy this CD when 'Scooby Snacks' starting getting play on the local college radio station. My impression back then was that there were a few good songs and the rest was anywhere from OK to boring.

Times change, tastes change, maturity levels change. So many variables in the experience of life over the last 30 years may have changed the way I remember this as admittedly I havent listened to the entire ablum in probably 29 of those years.

Nope, just as I remembered it. Its fun, different and feels repetative after a bit. This is one of those albums people SHOULD hear, they dont need to.

3 stars.

Odd selection for this list. I'm probably kinder than most because of the nostalgia, but this is one probably left forgotten

3.4

For hip hop this is ok. Trippy instead of Gangster suits my tastes better.

Was super cool at the time, but you do look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. I’m not sure why it’s on this list tbh.

2.5

A surprising four.