The The – Mind Bomb

Fantastic pressing. Wide, spacious soundstage with great instrument separation. Have owned from new in '89 and for me Matt's greatest album. Johnny Marr's guitar & Sinead O'Connors guest vocals are jewels in this treasure trove of songs.

The image on the back cover of the dove impaled on the bayonet is homage of "The Meaning of Geneva, Peace Cannot Live Where Greed Capital Exists!" (1932) by John Heartfield

Mindblowing record! Outstanding mix! Everything in its right, own, place. It's just lovable how The The can make amazing tracks without a slight use the "proven formula"(?) for rock hit songs. Those amazing drums and bass throughout the whole album offer a unique dark/angry atmosphere where vocals+lyrics match just perfectly. ♥

What was the designer thinking putting the logo in the top right corner? That "The The" logo should have been superimposed on Matt Johnson's forehead, and it would become centered like his image and the title of the album.

This is my go to vinyl for testing changes to my setup. Incredible soundstage !!!

Funny wise I see a post from me some 8 years old. It seems at these times there was not this certain release listed. With poster. Doesn’t matter! Actually. With or without poster! It is a true underrated masterpiece!!!! That is for sure . Nothing less.

The back cover graphic art is inspired by John Heartfield’s cover of a 1932 issue of AIZ magazine.

The The - “Mind Bomb” (Epic 1989)

Anyone that loves Matt Johnson and his visionary musical project AND who is also an avowed audiophile knows that this album is an absolute top notch aural wet dream to hear on a great system! Personally, I think it stands as one of the best recorded albums out there. Matt’s eloquently sharp vocabulary and the imagery he portrays with his music and lyrics is captivating and often a deep ride into his heart, soul and mind exposing one epiphany after another with his mini-movie like compositions. For this third album he actually put together an absolutely stellar band that stuck with him for a couple tours and another LP which included the great Johnny Marr who’s input here is immeasurably exquisite! His harmonica playing is just as prominent as his guitar licks throughout the whole album. As a huge fan of the Smiths that had broken up 2 years earlier this was an unbelievably fantastic dream come true. The theme of this album is undeniably about religion and it’s control it has on the (then) 5.1 billion of us around the world. 31 years and 2.5 billion more humans later these songs still resonate with meaning more than ever with tracks like the opener “Good Morning, Beautiful” that also has one of the most gorgeous sound-stages in recorded music. The mimicking “Ballroom Blitz” intro with “Are you ready Jesus? Buddha? Mohammed? Well alright fellas, let’s go!” for “Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)” is so cynically clever! The album does veer off the subject slightly with a wonderfully dark duet about distressed love with Sinead O’Connor’s passionate vocals on “Kingdom Of Rain”. This album also features one of the best songs written for a then youthful Generation X with the ironic toe tapper “The Beat(en) Generation” which also features one of Johnny Marr’s most memorable harmonica licks too! This original US pressing is one of my favourite and best sounding albums in my collection and I highly recommend seeking it out even if you can only find the CD. Mind blown!

I'm always wondering if these late 80's (when CDs & their digital mastering was starting to be the rule) LP releases are worth buying VS a cheap original CD. Any insight for those who have both?

King in the Realm of Rain
Do you want to live a life of anguish and sorrow? Do you want to visit the kingdom of sadness and pain? If the answer is positive then Mind Bomb is created just for you. Musically the album is fantastic: Johnny Marr on lead guitar, drummer guru David Palmer at drums, saxophone and clarinet, trombone and oboe, Hammond organ and harmonica - and all this plenitude is just a background to Matt Johnson's tortured vocals of Christian martyr. Lyrically Mind Bomb is even better, like some prisoner of conscience Matt Johnson attacks us with eternal questions: "We are pushed onto our knees to worship or to damn? Those are the rules of religion" or calls us like a siren: "I am the lighthouse. I am the sea. I am the air that you breathe. Gravitate to me". And the hymn of lost love "Kingdom of Rain" sung in a duet with Sinead O'Connor is a special delight: "Our bed is empty. The fire is out. And all the love we've got to give has all spurted out. There's no more blood. And no more pain. In our kingdom of rain". So Mind Bomb remains one of the brightest stars in the skies of intellectual rock.