Fu Manchu
California Crossing


3.5
great

Review

by Pedro B. USER (365 Reviews)
May 11th, 2010 | 13 replies


Release Date: 2002 | Tracklist

Review Summary: As airy, sunny, laid-back and just plain cool as the beachfront, convertible and bikini babes on the sleeve suggest.

Fu Manchu were, along with Kyuss, one of the forefront names of the stoner/desert rock scene. Somewhat removed from the trudging hea viness of “real” stoners like Iron Monkey or Bongzilla, these bands sought to mix the fuzzy, spaced-out nature of the genre with flat-out hard rock influences, coming across as modernized versions of something like Hawkwind. However, there soon was a split within the scene itself: while Kyuss and their peers would continue down the path of increasing fuziness, Fu Manchu, along with other bands, chose to embrace their hard-rock roots, basically becoming practitioners of the genre.

All this brings us to the early years of the millenium, and to California Crossing, an album which possesses one of the most perfectly fitting covers of all time. In fact, the album’s sound is as airy, sunny, laid-back and just plain cool as the beachfront, convertible and bikini babes on the sleeve suggest. Sure, at times it is more than a bit fuzzy, as if the band and their sultry escorts had indulged in a few blunts during the ride; but the record’s essentially cool, laid-back nature never ceases to make itself heard, even when the band injects a little more energy into its tempos.

Opener Separate Kingdom already serves as a perfect introduction to the album, with a laid-back intro riff, a nice chorus and a bit of a Cultish swagger. Follow-up Hang On is an example of a song where the band infuse a little more speed into the proceedings, but, as noted, it retains the essential chillout nature of Fu Manchu’s sound. From then on, the album basically balances these two strands, sometimes delving into somewhat more stoney ground (like in Bultaco, which features a guest appearance by Keith Morris) but never losing sight of the main hard-rock road it chose to go down.

The first half of the album is undeniably very strong. Tracks like Separate Kingdom, Thinkin’ Out Loud or the title track itself all have strong riffs, appealing singalong choruses and decent, if unspectacular, solos, while some of them also bring somewhat unexpected influences, like the less-than-subtle allusion to AC/DC on Wiz Kid and the grungey touches in the chorus of Thinking Out Loud. However, the single greatest moment of this album is undeniably Mongoose, whose intro gives new meaning to Christopher Walken’s famous proclamation of “gotta have more cowbell!” From there, the track evolves into an orgy of hard rock riffing, fuzz, good soloing and an even better chorus, easily standing head and shoulders above even the best of its peers. However, it is merely the cherry on top of what was already an extremely appetizing cake.

Sadly, however, the second half ends up faltering quite a bit, the more stoner-inclined tracks not working as well as its rockier predecessors, and on occasion even becoming completely anonymous (Squash That Fly), something that never happened in the early stages of the album. Scott Hill’s exceedingly monotone vocals also begin to grate a little, even if Bob Balch’s riffs continue to try their darndest to excite. Still, there are a few decent moments on this portion of the album, Amp’n chief among them, but also Downtown In Dogtown and even instrumental The Wasteoid, which features solos by all three instruments, but still has the decency to stay under the four-minute mark, like the majority of the tracks on the album, and thus not overstay its welcome.

In the end, then, California Crossing may not be a masterpiece of the hard rock genre, but it makes for a fun, extremely easy listen. The short duration of the songs, coupled with the breezy nature of most of them, contribute to make this one of those albums you want to listen to while driving, preferably close to the maximum speed limit down a deserted highway. If you enjoy the likes of Lullabies To Paralyze or Electric, it is your duty to get this album; if you like manly hard rock as a genre, then by all means give it a try, too. It comes guaranteed with no keyboards, no ballads, no hairspray and no leopard prints; just loud, crunchy guitars and a whole lotta balls.

Recommended Tracks
Separate Kingdom
Mongoose
Amp’n



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user ratings (115)
3.6
great

Comments:Add a Comment 
ConsiderPhlebas
May 11th 2010


6157 Comments


This always gets a spin in the summer. Cool review, man.

ReturnToRock
May 11th 2010


4807 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Not one of my best, since I'm a little ill...but thanks!

Bitchfork
May 11th 2010


7581 Comments


mehmeh

random
June 23rd 2012


3182 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

"Squash That Fly" rules.

undertakerpt
June 23rd 2012


1649 Comments


Have always loved squash dat fly, may check this shit out like

random
October 28th 2012


3182 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

"Squash That Fly" is pure testosterone.

undertakerpt
October 28th 2012


1649 Comments


if you like these, check out my Do me bad things review, you can tell these were an influence on them

qiblas
August 26th 2013


458 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

It took a minute for this album to grow on me. But when it did, whoooooooooa nelly! Amazing album. Great memorable riffs and catchy chorus'.

This might be the most poppiest stoner/desert rock album there is and that's a cool thing.

AcidCaravan
June 3rd 2014


504 Comments


Funny album. The last FU album I dug, but gone was the fuzzy-psychedelic crunch and overall quality of "In Search Of..." and "The Action Is Go", which were their peaks.

InFlamesWeThrash666
May 27th 2015


10589 Comments


IN CALIFORNIIIIIAAAAAA THERE IS NO STOPPING

SheriffOfHongKong
December 13th 2016


62 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Check out their 3 previous records for quality Fu. Skip this lame ass record and everything that came after.

SitarHero
May 8th 2022


14796 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

I don't know why it took this long for this to grow on me, but it did and god damn. First half of the album is just perfect.

trickert
February 10th 2024


415 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Not their greatest album. Has its moments--nothing this band has done is ever bad. However: The three albums before this are just blazing mountains of heavy fuzz bliss perfection, and that's where you want to start. Have had a renaissance with their last two, though--Gigantoid and Clone.



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