| Houdini | 
 enlarge | Artist: Melvins
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $5.87
You Save: $4.11 (41%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $5.30
Avg. Customer Rating:   (39 reviews)
Sales Rank: 11870
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 82532
UPC: 075678253225
EAN: 0075678253225
ASIN: B000002IWU
Release Date: September 21, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Primo Melvins April 17, 2006
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Wow. All I can truly say is that this album is something to behold. Melvins purists may knock it slightly due to it being a major label album (their first), but hands down, this is their tightest and most face-eating accomplishment. If Boris, Zodiac and Your Blessened were on this album, it would be the greatest album of all time - and in fact there would be no more need to make music. Ever again.
The entire album rocks steadily. (Ironically, the worst track on the album is Sky Pup, in which Kurt Cobain lends his crappy guitar talent).
Standout tracks and my personal favourites are: Lizzy, Going Blind, Honey Bucket and best of all Joan Of Arc. If I were a boxer or ultimate fighter, Joan Of Arc would be my entrance music. In fact, this song is so [...], that I'd by default be ahead of my opponent on the judge's scorecards.
If you like head-nodding, sludgey riffage at its finest then you must own this. An album no Melvins fan, or metal fan should be without.
Hail to the Melvins.
the truth May 28, 2005
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
The truth is, the Melvins, while most worthy of the played out "grunge" title, are not responsible for it at all. They are in fact "dirge metal". They are not Northwest, rather Bay Area.
Whenever and however you take this album, it is about the best of dark, droning, beautiful music it can get. With Stoner witch and most Ministry albums, the darkness has a peaceful quality that you either get or you don't. Sure, it is one of the series of major label releases that inevitably bring it more accessible to the masses. Who cares when it is so fun?
 pretty good April 26, 2005
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
i'm not going to get very in depth here, because others have. this is not their best album, and certainly not their heaviest. it does however have some great moments, such as 'hag me,' 'teet' and of course the weird opening track 'hooch.' i'm not sure if its a good intro to the band, but it was mine. the production is my major quam, as it is not loud enough in a lot of ways, and certainly could be heavier. also the last track is rather unbearable, even while i love experimentaion and i love early swans. i'd say go for their heavier stuff, but this is good none the less.
Another remarkable album April 3, 2005
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Ignore the previous reviewer because it is full of clarical errors.
First off, Houdini was released in 1993, NOT 1995. I don't understand this rambling about the Melvins going downhill in 1995 starting with Houdini. Kurt Cobain was the one who helped the Melvins get on a major label (Atlantic) and it lasted for three albums before they were decided as being too nontradtional and not mainstream accessible. Houdini, Stoner Witch and Stag comprise this era, and all are fine albums worth owning with perhaps Stag being the most unconventional of the three.
I don't get how anyone could be critical of the Melvins, because as a whole, they have an impressive body of work that is always expanding and doesn't get pigeon holed in any preconceived notions of genre or labels. Also to dismiss "what ever they have done in the last ten years" without even bothering to listen to it is just plain ignorant.
To recap: all Melvins albums are worth owning if you give them a chance
The post 1995 work includes
Honky (1997)
The Magggot (1999)
The Bootlicker (1999)
The Crybaby (2000)
Electroretard (2001)
The Collusus of Destiny (2001)
Hostile Ambient Takeover (2002)
The Pigs of the Roman Empire (2004)
And yes even the most recent album with Jello Biafra is worth picking up. Enjoy.
 Beginning of the end March 31, 2005
15 out of 30 found this review helpful
I think the Melvins' career can be broken into a few clearly separate "acts":
Prelude- 1983 to 1985
Hardcore. Loud, fast, snotty. (see: Deep Six compilation album, EDIT- and the soon-to-be-released Mangled Demos)
Act 1- 1986 to 1989
Buzz (founder, guitarist, songwriter) was heavily inspired (no pun intended) by Black Flag's 'My War' album, particularly side 2, which was composed of three very long droning dirges. The Melvins' songs became a bit heavier and often slower. Some of their earlier songs might have been considered speed metal, but at this point you could hear a definite '70s "regular" heavy metal element in some songs. A very original sound at the time, many other local bands followed suit; the Melvins' change in direction is arguably single-handedly responsible for starting the "grunge" thing in Seattle, for better or worse. (see: debut EP, Gluey Porch Treatments, Ozma)
Act 2- 1990 to 1992
Their sound became, for lack of a less lame cliche, extreme. They were no longer "kinda heavy," they were extremely heavy. The song writing and live performances became confrontational. Riffs and rhythms were often so drawn out and plodding that they were scarcely recognizable. In other instances there were no riffs at all, a storm of white noise taking their place. Listening to the Melvins sometimes made you feel like you were a mastodon slowly sinking into a tar pit. I personally consider this to be the Melvins' at their peak. One of my personal highlights was seeing them play in Costa Mesa CA in 1991; in the middle of their set, Buzz began spewing atonal noise from his amp while Dale pretended to hit his drums. This went on for several minutes. Some fratboy types, at the behest of their girlfriends, approached the stage to make them stop. Their demands and pleas fell on deaf ears. Glorious.(see: Bullhead, Eggnog, Lysol [a.k.a. "Melvins"/self titled])
Act 3- 1993 to present
Houdini marks the beginning of this era. The Melvins suddenly abandoned the heavy approach. They completely lost focus and embarked on journey of discovery that usually involved ho-hum "hard rock" song writing and dabbling in experimental weirdness. Unfortunately, the experiments almost always fail. Or at least fail to be enjoyable listening. (see: Houdini, Stoner Witch, Stag, and whatever else they've put out in the last 10 years)
As far as I'm concerned, they do still squirt out the occasional great song, but by and large they probably could have called it quits in 1994 and left the music world a beautiful corpse to admire forever and ever. It happens all the time. A band spends all of their creative juices until nothing's left, but they keep going. Not that I blame them. What else are they supposed to do? Sell insurance?
EDIT- "to dismiss 'what ever they have done in the last ten years' without
even bothering to listen to it is just plain ignorant."
I agree, that IS ignorant. You'll be happy to know that I own and have listened to every single record the Melvins have ever released, including Never Breathe, with the one exception of Roman Empire. (EDIT- I now own Roman Empire) I would have listed them all by name, but there are a lot of them, and their titles weren't readily jumping into my mind anyway. And I'll continue to buy their records, always in the hope that they somehow get the fire back and do something worthwhile again. I'll let you know as soon as that happens.
EDIT- "The truth is, the Melvins, while most worthy of the played out "grunge" title, are not responsible for it at all. They are in fact "dirge metal". They are not Northwest, rather Bay Area."
Incorrect, sir. The Melvins formed in WA circa 1983. According to Kim Thayil, the "Seattle scene" was your average hardcore punk scene at the time, but after the Melvins slowed down and took on a more metallic sound, a lot of the bands in the area followed suit. That was how the "grunge" thing began. They didn't move to San Francisco CA until 1988 or '89.
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