Even the cover is a winner, with a washed-out look that screams new wave via horn-rimmed glasses, even more so than contemporaneous pictures of either
Elvis Costello or
the Embarrassment. But if it was all look and no brain,
Crazy Rhythms would long ago have been dismissed as an early-'80s relic. That's exactly what this album is not, right from the soft, haunting hints of percussion that preface the suddenly energetic jump of the appropriately titled
"The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness." From there the band delivers seven more originals plus a striking cover of
the Beatles'
"Everybody's Got Something to Hide" that rips along even more quickly than the original. The guitar team of
Mercer and
Million smokes throughout, whether it's soft, rhythmic chiming with a mysterious, distanced air or blasting, angular solos. But
Fier is the band's secret weapon, able to play straight-up beats but aiming at a rumbling, strange punch that updates
Velvet Underground/Krautrock trance into giddier realms.
Mercer's obvious
Lou Reed vocal inflections make the
VU roots even clearer, but even at this stage of the game there's something fresh about the work the quartet does, even 20 years on -- a good blend of past and present, rave-up and reflection. [The 2009 reissue of the album on
Bar/None removes the bonus track, a cover of
the Rolling Stones'
"Paint It Black," that had appeared on a prevoius edition of the album and adds 5 bonus tracks. The tracks are available as a digital download and include two
Carla Bley-produced demos, a single version of
"Fa Ce-La," and two live songs.] ~ Ned Raggett
![Rage Against the Machine XX [20th Anniversary Special Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0887654121523_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "Rage Against the Machine XX [20th Anniversary Special Edition]")
