Name: Andrew WK
Release: Mother Of Mankind
Release Date: 22nd March 2010
Label: Steev Mike
Website: www.awkworld.com
Mother Of Mankind may be an album of rare and unreleased tracks, but spiritually, it’s the fourth Andrew WK album which is due to be released on March 22nd along with the lost third album ‘Close Calls with Brickwalls’ which was originally only released in Asia.
In this Review we are gonna focus on ‘Mother of Mankind’. Some hardcore fans may well have heard a few of these tracks before but i’m gonna go from the angle that its all new and give a track by track rundown of the album. A few words of warning…. this is written by big fan and I would also like to apologise for my over use of the word EPIC hehe
Track 1 – We Party (You Shout) : A perfect opener to show the world that WK is Back a party anthem with the energy of the tracks from (I Get Wet) with his singing style from the later Albums. Garuanteed to be a live hit.
Track 2 – High Five: A nice mellow Intro breaking into a fist waving sing along chorus. Epic WK at his best!
Track 3 – Lets Go On A Date: This is one of the tracks from the original import release of CCWBW. Another classic style WK song and, just like High Five, this is another one which will have you pounding your fist in there air to its fantastic breakdown.
Track 4 – We Got a Groove: Starts off as a bit of a Jingle for Santos Party House (Andrew WK’s New York club) to a nice Reggae Groove and finishing off nice and dubby with a few rock licks. Really nice! Defiantly influenced by his work with Lee Scratch I’d say.
Track 5 – Sarah Notto: This Track seems influenced by some of the work he has done in Japan. Fun is the best way to describe this one.
Track 6 – Im a Vagabond: The new Andrew WK single and a nice, big, epic ballad!
Track 7 – I’ve Got No Fear: This one’s an interesting one! It’s a really big progressing anthem which a kind of stadium rock feel from the 70’s and 80’s and that’s not a bad thing at all! Really shows off his diversity.
Track 8 – Big Party: Nice 80’s synth’s. This feels like it should be on the Beverley Hills Cop soundtrack. A nice filler for the album.
Track 9 – Who Knows: Title of his concert movie DVD. A big Orchestral like instrumental track.
Track 10 – Coming Bad: This anthem, in my eyes, is WK’s Answer to Bohemian Rhapsody!
Track 11 – Can You Dance With Me: Another fun party anthem. Piano’s and fist waving guaranteed!
Track 12 – Kicks And Bricks: A Gang Vocal sing along! Just Perfect
Track 13 – A.W.K: An Epic Instrumental… so EPIC!
Track 14 – I Will Find God: Another Happy little tune about having fun with life.
Track 15 – This My World: Rising march, where on the odd occasion, WK’s Voice sounds like Pete Steele from Type O Negative. Good fun though.
Track 16 – Young Lord: Young Lord was the title of one of the albums WK announced he was going to release a few years back. This is a bit of a weird one. A bit of piano, some vocals and effects but it wouldn’t be a WK album without a couple like this.
Track 17 – We Not Gunna Get Old: This would have fitted Perfect on WK former album ‘The Wolf’. Proper old skool anthemic WK.
Track 18 – Kill Yourself: Starting off with a repeating piece of Synth this reminds me of some of the stuff Vince Dicola did in the 80’s. Funnily enough, a few years back, some friends and I gave Andrew a copy of Dicola’s ‘Transformers The Movie Soundtrack’. I wonder if we influenced it at all?
After the synth and a bit of speech the song then breaks into a relaxed ballad perfect listening to on a Sunday morning.
Track 19 – I Want Your Face: This was on the Original CCWBW’s and I have to say personally its one of my all time fave WK songs. Proper fun sing along where Andrew showcases his vocal talents which have improved dramacticly between ‘The Wolf’ and CCWBW and added some extra oomph to the sound we already love.
Track 20 – Jewel Street Man: Another one that’s a bit proggy and sounds like its from the 70’s. After a few listens this grows on you. I think with time this could be one of the most memorable.
Track 21 – The Party God: The Tradition of WK albums is to end with something epic and it really dosent get much more Epic than this and has the Perfect Title! This will make all those hairs on your arms and the back of your neck stand on end!
Considering this is a rare and unreleased album it is up to the standard of his other 3 albums and in places I would even go as far as saying it feels stronger than ‘Close Calls With Brick Walls’. This album showcases Andrew’s diversity as musician and rroves yet again he is not a one Trick Pony. Long Live The Party!
Reviewer: Nik Box
