THE YES-MEN - Prosody

THE YES-MEN Prosody cd 2000

Ma Raf Yo / What´s Wrong / I Won´t Run / Would In a Room / Your Hanging / You´re So Bad / Fawlty Rocks / Fraticide / Stripping Music / Acid Reign / Casting Stones / A Dog Is For Christmas / Beating Around The Bush* / Anglo Girl Desire*
*bonus tracks

Produced by Sean Greenway, Mike Alonso & The Yes-Men.

The Yes-Men: Stewart Leafinger Cunningham: lead guitar & backing vocals / Jay Curley: bass / Sean Greenway: guitar, vocals, bass, percussion & keyboards / Mark Hirst: drums & percussion.

Anyone with a streak of defiance will advise: "Don't be a yes man". It's a meritorious ambition, to die on your feet rather than live on your knees - as long as you're given a choice. Fate doesn't always deal a nice hand. But enough of morbidity, for now. There is one choice that you CAN make,and it's to beg, borrow, steal or buy a copy of this album. It's a classic. No argument.

"The Yes-Men" is something of a epitath, since band-leader Sean Greenway is no longer with us.

You can read about him here in this tribute from bandmate Matty Whittle. I never met Sean

but we did correspond a bit, in the first instance when he expressed mock indignation about a critical comment that his distinctive voice took some getting used to. To these ears, he sounded like Roy Loney -and that's a wrap. Like most people, Sean had problems. He wrote, un-prompted, about one in particular that had dogged him for years, saying he thought he'd finally shaken it. Not long after, he succumbed. Fuck, this sounds trite, but of course it was a tragic waste - especially for the people most close to him. All I can offer is that it touched me too and I would have liked to have met face-to-face. He seemed a nice guy, disarmingly honest and, above all, amazingly passionate about his music.

So this posthumous collection of outtakes and experiments is on us, thanks to Sean's mate and fellow guitarist Stew Cunningham, who compiled the album from bits and pieces recorded from 1995-2000. It's an amazingly cohesive and strong record, maybe the best Australian album of the last few years.

Most of the songs are Greenway compositions, dwelling in that broad category of hi-energy guitar rock and roll. There's more than a whiff of Sonic's Rendezvous Band there, but that only tells part of the story. Have a listen and draw your own conclusions. I can't add much more than what's already been said on this page about the songs. I 94-Bar - The Barman

"The Great Charade", which surfaced a few years back on a French single on Pitshark, is arguably the best track here. That's not to say that the rest aren't far behind. My copy came on fat-as-fuck black vinyl (pictured), thanks to the intrepid team at Spanish label Bang Records, and in that format it comes with an extra track (a fiery "Anglo Girl Desire", recorded for the "Flattery" Birdman tributes). No need to say that the vinyl sounds magnificent. There's a CD issue on European imprint Butcher's Hook as well (here), for those turntable-challenged, which Headmiles is selling. If you buy one Australian band's release this year, make it the Yes-Men.

Could this band do no wrong? Australia’s tragically departed Yes Men left a legacy that’s modest in quantity (the "Prosody" album) but overwhelming in quality. "The Great Charade" bolts along on the back of some superb Stew Cunningham guitar and the always expressive vocals of Sean Greenway (R.I.P.), while "Beating Around the Bush" is down-and-dirty, lascivious pub rock. Rumour has it some unreleased Yes Men stuff is lurking in the vaults with a release possible. This single only builds the case. I 94-Bar - The Barman

Buy it HERE !