Big Boys, The / Lullabies Help The Brain Grow
Album: Lullabies Help The Brain Grow   Collection:General
Artist:Big Boys, The   Added:Aug 2018
Label:Moment  

Recent Airplay
1. Nov 28, 2023: The Modern World
We Got Your Money
3. Sep 11, 2019: Brownian Motion
White Nigger
2. May 04, 2023: Oh Messy Life
We Got Your Money
4. Apr 17, 2019: Brownian Motion
White Nigger

Album Review
Your Imaginary Friend
Reviewed 2018-08-21
NOTE: This is intended for reanimation, not charting rotation as its from 1983 and is not a re-release.

Texas band from early 80’s that shamelessly put the funk into hardcore punk. Much fame was gained by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus, for doing that, but it could be argued that the Peppers ripped off the Big Boys blind. At the time there was a fairly large sea between funk, which was a decidedly Black music, and punk, which was about as white and middle class male as it got. Though bands like the Minutemen and Gang of Four, Clash, incorporated funky sentiments, The Big Boys went all out, incorporating horn sections and lots of studio vocals. This album, from 1983, is one of their classic releases (I lifted it from the original vinyl as no digital versions of these exist– its mastered low so you may need to raise the fader a bit). Texas had a lot of interesting bands at the time who did not follow what were seemingly hardcore “rules” like bands from the coasts did. Their singer, Randy “Biscuit” Turner was a tour de force in and of himself and he likely didn’t know the meaning of word “rules”. See also The Butthole Surfers, Bomb Squad, Culturcide, MDC, Really Red, and of course Gary Floyd and co., The Dicks.

1)* (2:52) mid paced tribal, fun, w lots of in studio singers 2) (0:39) 2/4 upbeat quintessential punk blast. 3) (1:49) let the funk begin: total ninth chord funk skippy w horns and whistle, “I wanna party” - no pussy grabbing, ya think the RHCP ripped them off? 4) FCC “bullshit”, pinky 5) FCCs in chorus (2:16) cool driving rock, more bad religion’ish, anthemic. 6) (3:28) excellent radio noise sample then simple ballady 7) (2:15) sloppy punk a la buttholes in intro, launches into good 2/4 punk. 8) (0:39) punk blast 9)* (1:52) total funk punk 10) (0:59) simple hardcore 1982 11)* (2:53) I hear buttholes in the bass, tribal sick, 12)* (2:28) hardcore blast 13) FCCs. 14)*** (3:17) funk returns with the horns, “we are all white niggers”, at the time few white folk played funk that we take for granted today so hold ur judgment. Anthem 15) (2:52) “baby lets play god” menacing surfy rock, another anthem - a 32 second outro with some locked groove.

Track Listing
1. We Got Your Money   8. Brickwall
2. Lesson   9. Jump The Fence
3. Funck Off   10. Assault
4. I'm Sorry   11. Manipulation
5. Were Not In It To Lose   12. Same Old Blues
6. Sound On Sound   13. Gato Fucking
7. Fight Back   14. White Nigger
  15. Baby Lets Play God