Review Summary: Some things are best left unheard; although not a complete crash-and-burn, certainly out of place in E's discography.
Wow, where do we start. This is Mark Oliver Everett, also known as 'E', known for his music under the moniker Eels. He has carved out a reputation over the course of the past 20 years for his dire outlook on life, depressing music, and distinctive style of writing.
Born in 1963, his first 'official' solo album came out in 1992, and he didn't achieve significant success until 1996's Beautiful Freak, when he was already well into his 30's. Since then, he's become fairly well known (as well as his albums, he has music in each of the first 3 Shrek films) and popular, with an eclectic mix of genres and styles of music on each album. But where did it all begin? When was E a young, foolish man with no idea what to do and how to do it?
The answer should be 'Never.' He should always be in our minds as the man behind Electro-Shock Blues and Blinking Lights, or that guy that did the song in Shrek when Shrek and Fiona are blowing animals into balloons and generally frolicking about. But unfortunately, we have that image somewhat stained by this...erm...rather obscure, home-made contraption from way before he knew how to write music.
Enter 'Bad Dude In Love'. This was apparently an independently recorded album made back in 1985 with only a few hundred copies made, featuring a handful of covers and a handful of originals. Surprisingly enough, the 22 year old Mark Everett doesn't sound too different from how he would sing on his well-known albums; he has a distinctive, raspy/throaty voice that rarely stretches out of a speaking range unless he's using falsetto, and despite his youth and seeming lack of musical experience, he sings pretty much the same way. For those who like his voice, you will likely at least enjoy this album for that. The production is also surprisingly good considering it's an independent album from 1985 made by some unknown kid (I read a rumor that this was recorded in the last 10 years and secretly released by E as a joke...which isn't actually that crazy), but it unfortunately doesn't help the music. The sound of the drums and general use of backing instruments all sound like they've been taken straight from an 'I Love The 80's!' handbook, and while a variety of instruments pop up as per usual with E, they somehow don't fit here because instead of sounding distinct or edgy, they sound dated and cheesy.
The reason it'as surprisingly good is that it's not grainy or distorted sounding like many indie albums, it sounds like it could have been made in a studio.
Production aside, what about the actual music? If the songs are good, the rest would be a minor inconvenience, right?
Well yes, but the songs aren't that good. At best, they're okay, covered in cheese but catchy and with E's wonderfully unique voice. At worst, it's a mess of mediocrity eating at your soul, forcing you to endure it with the hopes that the next track is better.
The highlight of the album for me was 'Eunice', a cheesy love song that seems to be about a girl he liked. He sings it well and it's catchy enough to be enjoyable, moreso than the others at least. The opener was rather discouraging....'Everyone's Tryin' To Bum Me Out' is the best example of what makes this album hard to listen to. The covers are also mired in the gloopy muck of cheddar, feta, pepper jack, Gorgonzola, mozzarella, Gouda, and whatever other varieties of a particular dairy product that you care to name. While not exactly BAD, they're again, hard to listen to and fail more than they succeed.
Why an 'average' rating than? I've torn this album apart, it's hard to listen to, super-cheesy, and mediocre. The truth is I like E's voice and style, and the fact that he managed to make this back in the day is a feat of art in its own right (think Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room' art except not as funny). Of course, if it was a prank by him just recently, that also merits respect for its sheer ingenuity and getting me and at least a few other Eels fans to waste our time on it...final verdict is that it's not really worth a listen unless you're extremely curious to hear a less-depressed E (although I'd point you to Daisies of the Galaxy instead) or really happen to dig 80's pop.
