Disco Volante

This article is about the Mr. Bungle album. For the ship, see List of James Bond vehicles. For other uses, see Disco Volante (disambiguation).
Disco Volante
Studio album by Mr. Bungle
Released October 10, 1995
Recorded 1995
Genre
Length 68:45
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle chronology
Mr. Bungle
(1991)		 Disco Volante
(1995)		 California
(1999)

Disco Volante is the second studio album by American band Mr. Bungle. It was released on October 10, 1995, through Warner Bros, and is considered to be the most experimental of all their albums,[2] mixing elements from such varied styles as doom metal, jazz, Arabic music, musique concrète, easy listening and even tango. Many of the songs are instrumental or feature wordless vocals.

Background

The album's title refers to the name of the yacht of the same name featured in the James Bond film Thunderball, literally meaning "Flying Saucer" in Italian. Mr. Bungle had previously done a cover version of the film's theme song.[3] This was featured on the demo Warner Bros. Mr Bungle Demo Rough Mixes.[4]

Disco Volante would be founding member Theo Lengyel's final album with the band, leaving shortly after the tour due to "artistic differences".[5] Band member Danny Heifetz would later comment, "I miss him. He added a huge chemical imbalance that helped us on the road. He hates us and rightfully so. The music changed, plain and simple. Very little call for saxes, trombone or flute. He was an original member. I'm not. Makes me feel a bit like a union-buster."[6]

Release

Disco Volante spawned a number of officially unreleased demos (circulated on internet peer-to-peer sharing networks): "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz",[7] "Coldsore"[8] and "Spy".[9] "Coldsore" featured portions later used in "Love on the Event Horizon". "Spy" didn't feature on the release at all. The vocal effect in this song (at 4:48) is taken from Jean-Luc Godard's sci-fi film noir Alphaville, using a mechanical voice box to create the effect.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Stylus Magazinevery favorable[1]

Disco Volante has been well received by critics. In their highly favorable review of the album, AllMusic wrote, "Mr. Bungle is the musical equivalent of a David Lynch movie", calling the music a "totally original and new musical style, and an album that sounds like nothing that currently exists." They referred to the track "Desert Search for Techno Allah" as "a middle eastern techno number that has to be heard to be believed." [10] Stylus Magazine, in their 2005 review, wrote, "A decade later, Disco Volante still sounds daring."[1] In 2014, the album placed fourth on the Alternative Nation site's "Top 10 Underrated 90’s Alternative Rock Albums" list.[11]

Accolades

Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2006 Rock Sound United Kingdom "Les 150 Albums De La Génération" 69
"*" denotes an unordered list.

Track listing

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Everyone I Went to High School with Is Dead"  Trevor DunnDunn 2:45
2. "Chemical Marriage"   Trey Spruance 3:09
3. "Sleep (Part II): Carry Stress in the Jaw" (contains untitled track)Dunn ("Sleep [Part II]: Carry Stress in the Jaw")Dunn 8:59
4. "Desert Search for Techno Allah"  SpruanceSpruance, Mike Patton 5:24
5. "Violenza Domestica"  Patton, TirabassiPatton, Spruance 5:14
6. "After School Special"  Clinton McKinnon, Dunn, PattonMcKinnon 2:47
7. "Sleep (Part III): Phlegmatics"  DunnDunn 3:16
8. "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz"  SpruanceSpruance 6:06
9. "The Bends" ("Man Overboard", "The Drowning Flute", "Aqua Swing", "Follow the Bubbles", "Duet for Guitar and Oxygen Tank", "Nerve Damage", "Screaming Bends", "Panic in Blue", "Love on the Event Horizon", "Re-Entry") Patton, Spruance, McKinnon 10:28
10. "Backstrokin'"   Patton 2:27
11. "Platypus"  DunnDunn, Spruance 5:07
12. "Merry Go Bye Bye" (contains untitled track)Spruance ("Merry Go Bye Bye")Spruance ("Merry Go Bye Bye") 12:58
Note: The untitled track after "Sleep (Part II): Carry Stress in the Jaw" is often titled "The Secret Song" (the working title of the song) or "Spy" (the title that appears on various concert setlists). It was originally recorded without bassist Trevor Dunn's input or knowledge; although, shortly before its release, Dunn managed to find it and added a vocal track. Though never explicitly stated, it is believed (by Dunn) that the drums were played by McKinnon, and the bass guitar by Patton.[5] The untitled improvised section after "Merry Go Bye Bye" is listed as "Nothing" on the album sleeve, but is not actually its title; it is credited to Theo Lengyel and Danny Heifetz as a sly reference to the fact that neither of them wrote any songs on the album.[5]

Personnel

Mr. Bungle

Additional personnel

  • Billy Anderson – engineering, mixing and pre-mastering
  • Mike Johnson – engineering and pre-mastering
  • Kevin Donlon – engineering
  • Chris Roberts – engineering
  • Mike Bogus – engineering
  • David Ogilvy – engineering
  • Adam Munoz – engineering
  • Trevor Ward – engineering
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Athur Hertz – album front cover photography
  • Joseph A. Thompson – album outer tray photography
  • Davis Meltzer – album booklet backpage photography
  • Margaret Murray – sleeve art layout and design
  • Gregg Turkington – sleeve art layout and design
  • William Winant – cymbals on "Chemical Marriage", bongos on "Sleep (Part II): Carry Stress in the Jaw", tabla, kanjira and sistrums on "Desert Search for Techno Allah", jaw harp and percussion on "Violenzia Domestica" and bongos, xylophone and glockenspiel on "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz"
  • Graham Connah – piano on "Violenzia Domestica", "The Bends" and "Platypus"
  • Lisandro Adrover – bandoneón on "Violenzia Domestica"

References

  1. 1 2 3 Macdonald, Cameron (November 30, 2005). "Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante - On Second Thought - Stylus Magazine". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  2. ↑ Huey, Steve. "California - Mr. Bungle : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2012. California requires at least a few listens to pull together, but its particular brand of schizophrenia isn't nearly as impenetrable as that of Disco Volante...
  3. ↑ "Thunderball (1965) - Trivia - IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Mr._Bungle/Warner_Bros._Mr_Bungle_Demo_Rough_Mixes/110551
  5. 1 2 3 "Mr. Bungle Frequently Asked Questions". Bungle Fever. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  6. ↑ Carlin, Matthew (July 29, 1999). "Interview". westnet.com. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Mr. Bungle - 4. Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz Demo - YouTube". YouTube. July 28, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Mr. Bungle - Coldsore (Disco Volante Demos) - YouTube". YouTube. October 11, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Mr. Bungle - Spy (Secret Song) - YouTube". YouTube. June 28, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Prato, Greg. "Disco Volante - Mr. Bungle : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  11. ↑ http://www.alternativenation.net/top-10-underrated-90s-alternative-rock-albums/

External links

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