All the Hype that Money Can Buy

Description

All the Hype that Money Can Buy is the third full-length studio album by the American ska-influenced alternative rock band Five Iron Frenzy, released on 5 Minute Walk Records in 2000, distributed by ForeFront Records in the US through Chordant Distribution Group. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Masaki Liu at One Way Studios in Concord, California; with the band co-producing.

Five Iron Frenzy is Reese Roper on lead vocals, Nathanael “Brad” Dunham on trumpet (with Brett Barker on second trumpet on track 9), Dennis Culp on trombone and backing vocals, Leanor (Jeff the Girl) Ortega on tenor saxophone, Micah Ortega on guitar and backing vocals, Sonnie Johnston on guitar, Keith Hoerig on bass, and Andrew Verdecchio on drums. Percussion on this album provided by Gary Minadeo (track 8), Jeff Campitelli (tracks 6 and 14), Karl Perazzo (track 3), and Karl Perazzo (track 9). Piano on track 9 provided by Mike Busbee. Guest vocals by Brett Barker (track 8), Justin McRoberts (tracks 4 and 12), Randy Stonehill (track 3), Scott Kerr (track 8), and Val Hellman (track 8).

It takes an awful lot of guts to release a song against homophobia on a Christian label:

I was in eighth grade
I said he was a queer
I thought he had it coming
He died of AIDS that year
My liberty
As if Christ’s death meant nothing to me
(From «Fahrenheit»)

It takes even more to follow that up with a song condemning Christian escapism and isolationism:

The radio is preaching the candy coated goo
The record companies and the TV, too
No one rocks the boat
Terrified of trouble
Can’t tamper with the walls of their sterile Christian bubble
It was never your intention to get people saved
(From «Four Fifty One»)

These two songs serve as a pattern of sorts for the rest of All the Hype That Money Can Buy, Denver, Colorado natives Five Iron Frenzy’s fifth album, including one nine-song EP and one live album. All the Hype… comes across as extremely harsh, with chief lyricist/lead vocalist Reese Roper attacking everything from capitalism («Giants») to people who use music as an outlet for their inflated egos («All the Hype»). And while Roper and his zany crew have denounced various practices on their previous records (see «Old West» from Upbeats and Beatdowns, «Handbook For the Sellout» from Our Newest Album Ever!, or «The Untimely Death of Brad» from Quantity is Job 1), never before have they been so direct in their assaults (or so catchy in their choruses, for that matter).

Amongst all this aggression, however, there are more than a few songs on which Roper points his critical eye within. Take «Ugly Day», which finds him crooning like Reverend Al Green:

Something snapped deep inside me
Something that somebody said
I felt the brush of angels wings then
And your voice echoed in my head…

I would lie down on the street
To keep the dust off of your feet
I would kneel each time I kissed you
Anything, Christie I miss you

Tender worship songs like «Hurricanes» and «World Without End» are destined to become this album’s versions of «Dandelions» and «Every New Day», while «A New Hope» (sounding considerably better than it did on last year’s live record Proof That the Youth Are Revolting) explores the reasons behind the massacre at Littleton High School. There are even a few of the band’s signature silly songs, the most notable of which is «The Phantom Mullet», a butt-rock ode to that “virus” of a haircut sported by Billy Ray Cyrus and pro wrestlers across the country.

Musically, there’s more variety on this album than on any of its predecessors, from the reggae-romp of «Solidarity» (featuring guest vocalist Randy Stonehill) to the quiet, percussion-driven «Hurricanes» to the infectious uniqueness of «Giants». It’s a stretch calling some of these songs ska (and the band probably wouldn’t have it any other way), but certainly a few of the songs («Me Oh My», «Four Fifty One») were influenced by the genre.

To put it simply, All the Hype That Money Can Buy is unbelievable. It’s almost certainly destined to become the band’s magnum opus, and could well go down in history as one of the greatest Christian albums of all time. [Michial Farmer, The Phantom Tollbooth, 04/29/2000]

That crazy ska band from Denver, Colorado, unleash their fifth CD on their expectant fans, and what a gutsy project it is! Right through from start to finish, the listener is bombarded with compelling lyrics; toe-tapping grooves and infectious tunes that keep making you go back for more! On their live album Five Iron Frenzy gave us a taste of some of what was to come with «Ugly Day» and its upbeat “woah-ohs” and the Columbine-inspired «A New Hope» which explores the reasons for the massacre. And now, at last, here is the rest of the new material… The band show their ability to cover more light hearted subjects such as hair cuts in the metal-driven «The Phantom Mullet» and their home state of Colorado in the outrageously funny «You Probably Shouldn’t Move Here». And yet, they are not afraid of addressing taboo issues such as homophobia in «Fahrenheit» and Christian isolationism in «Four-Fifty-One». Musically, this album is a masterpiece. Styles are diverse, from rock to Latin and metal to reggae, whilst still staying faithful to the roots of ska. Reese Roper leads the band superbly with his unique vocal style, and even showcases his supreme yodelling. The horn players show what fantastic musicians they really are. Guest percussionists, notably Karl Perazzo of Santana, add to this band’s musical diversity. Micah Ortega and Sonnie Johnston show off their talents as they switch almost seamlessly from metal to delicious ska guitar. Standouts on the album are «All The Hype» which is a fast paced, light hearted rap about people who use their music to expand their inflated egos, and the worshipful and poetic, yet strangely zany, «World Without End». Their cover of Tom Jones’s «It’s Not Unusual» injects a dose of Five Iron magic, to give this classic hit a youthful rejuvenation. «Giants» is a robotic anti-capitalist number with an anthem-like ending, and the Latin-style «Hurricanes» is a reverent, worshipful offering. Overall, this album is an exciting musical journey, navigated by one of Christian music’s finest ska bands. If you can listen to this album and not dance along, check your pulse! [Aleem Hossain, Cross Rhythms, February 2001]

> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/all-the-hype-that-money-can-buy/867560724)

CD tracklist:

00. What’s Up?
01. The Greatest Story Ever Told
02. Me Oh My
03. Solidarity
04. The Phantom Mullet
05. Ugly Day
06. Fahrenheit
07. Four-Fifty-One
08. You Probably Shouldn’t Move Here
09. Hurricanes
10. Giants
11. I Still Like Larry
12. All The Hype
13. It’s Not Unusual
14. A New Hope
15. World Without End

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by 5 Minute Walk Records. (Track 00, “What’s Up?”, is hidden before the first track on the CD. It is accessed by holding rewind at the start of Track 01.) Re-issued on 12-inch vinyl LP by SMLXL Vinyl in 2017 (pressed on both black vinyl and Limited Edition Orange Vinyl).

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