Tepid Peppermint Wonderland - A Retrospective

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-10-18 rating:
TPW is great but there are even greater things around
Bought the album a while ago, having read many positive reviews of BJM from folks who seem to like same acts as I (Robyn Hitchcock, Guided By Voices, The Coral, Sun Dial, Dandy Warhols, Green Pajamas, Grant Lee Phillips, Apples In Stereo, Bardo Pond, Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips, TV On The Radio etc etc.). Since then I have also listened most of the "regular" BJM albums. So.

1) Generally I don't consider myself a person that's too easy to impress. Still, I've come to the firm conclusion that Anton is a true genius indeed, whatever he is as a person. How can its band still remain relatively unknown to public, I just can't fathom.

2) BJM is NOT a bit a rehash of the psychedelic music of the 60s. It may be inspired by that psychedelia and bear the same freewheeling mood but it's a modern, fresh, original music.

3) TPW is mostly intended to be an introduction and as such it's a pretty good one indeed. Sufficient for a novice to become converted. It is also easier to find in your nearest CD shop, i.e. if you urgently need a gift it'll make an excellent one.

4) The true magic of the best BJM albums (Take It From The Man, Their Satanic Majesties 2nd Request) is their absolute coherence. They just put a spell on you and you won't want to stop listening until the end. Sounds dated but that's simply true.

5) Get this album, give a listen, spare for a friend who's still in the dark about BJM's greatness. Rush out and buy _at_least_ these three CDs: "Take It From The Man", "Their Satanic Majesties Second Request", "Strung Out In Heaven". Restricted to just a single CD, your first choice should be "Take It From The Man". But quite possibly you'll want many more.

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review by: radiofriendly11 date: 2006-08-30 rating:
Our generation's lost genius
The first thing to write about when discussing the BJM is their leader, Anton Newcombe. As anyone who has seen the documentary Dig will testify, he can be a very nasty person. Aside from this, he is a total genius. The arrangements that he puts into his songs are truly remarkable. Each song is better than the last and just when you think he cannot better something, he goes and does it. My favourite tunes are Servo and Anenome. The latter feeling like an acid trip! There is just so much thought and soul put into the BJM's music that you can't help but like it. I have never fallen in love with any type of music for a long time, not since i discovered a guy called Kurt Cobain. In 40 years i truly believe that he will be considered to be on the same pedestal as Lennon, Dylan and Cobain. You deserve it Anton, you really do.

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review by: stendec-306 date: 2006-01-29 rating:
A work of true genius!
Trying to Review “Tepid Peppermint Wonderland whilst doing it justice, and putting it in perspective is a challenging task – the two discs contain a total of 38 tracks covering the earlier years of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Anton Newcombe’s band. I hadn’t heard of them until Christmas when my girlfriend bought me a copy of “Dig”, an extraordinary film documenting 7 years in the lives of The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre. The film made me want to hear more of Anton Newcombe’s music, and “Tepid Peppermint Wonderland” is now part of my collection. From the loose psychadelic ramble of “All Around You”, the opener, to the purposeful yet haunting “If Love is the Drug”, and the almost Pixies-like overdriven lead guitars that turn “That Girl Suicide” into a complex mesh of confused emotion, there are loads of influences here. “Get you out of my life” sounds as though it could have slipped off “Exile on Main Street”, and indeed is as good as any of the tracks on that classic album, and on the closing track “Sue” Anton’s vocals sound almost Jim Morrison-like. Favourite track for me out of the 38 is a live take of “Swallow Tail”, a gorgeous melding of sparkling rhythm guitars underpinning Anton’s distinctive voice. “If you were the last Dandy” is on this album too – The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s rather bitter “tribute” to the Dandy’s, and it’s the only song on this collection not written by Anton Newcombe, although it sort of fits his style. 38 tracks on a double CD and not a single poor or dodgy track at that – which is amazing in itself. I was astonished at the quality in all of the songs on this album. Anton is definitely a genius when it comes to music, he must be one of the greatest songwriters ever, and I really don't say that lightly. Anton's life hasn't always been straightforward – I’d highly recommend watching “Dig” if it’s the only DVD you see this year, but that’s another story. This album is a “MUST BUY” though – you are definitely missing out if you don’t experience Brian Jonestown Massacre for yourself.

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review by: date: 2005-08-08 rating:
One-dimensional
Being a compilation of early songs from a number of recordings I thought this would be a great way to get into the band. But I think the compilers were a bit one-dimensional and I'd query their song choices. I'd recommend the album Take It From The Man! as a better place to start because it hangs together well as a record which this somehow doesn't - and Man! has more variety. I got Tepid Peppermint Wonderland and Take It From The Man! at the same time which was lucky, because on the evidence of this compilation I wasn't inspired to look any further, but after listening to Take It From The Man! I will probably buy more BJM albums.


review by: date: 2005-02-20 rating:
heaven sent!
I can only recommend this album to everyone interested in psychedelic guitar music and 60ies stuff! The BJM definitely don't get the public attention they deserve but Aton Newcombe's influences on other musicians such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Dandy Warhols, the Lovetones (only to mention a few of them) are uncontested. It's a bit like with the Velvet Underground, they're not very successful in terms of CD sales but their influences stretch very very far.
This cd is a collection of the most important BJM songs in 14 years of band history, however I miss some great songs. Unfortunately there's no "going to hell", "nothing to lose" or "caress" on the album. But it's a great album anyway, so buy it an convince yourself of the greatness and uniqueness of the Brian Jonestown Massacre!

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