My Top 5 Electric Six Albums.

For my money, Electric Six are the most underrated band making new music today. My own journey with the band began when most others did. Gay Bar and Danger! High Voltage stormed the charts over here in the UK back in the day, with the music, and video's gaining notoriety. Flashing codpieces, sexy weightlifting Abraham Lincoln/s, and a particularly euphemised hamster delighted, and irritated audiences in equal measure. No strangers to controversy, Electric Six appeared to court it with every release, with their cover of Queen's Radio Gaga getting a fair share of scorn from the gutter, sensationalist press for featuring the ghost of Freddie Mercury dancing on his own grave. I guess it was a story that broke up all the phone hacking and rifling through bins for Elton John's bank statements at the time. 

 Anyway, let's fast forward to the present. I had a brief sojourn with the band over that period. I bought the album, Fire, and listened to it regularly, recognising straight away that the deep cuts were amazing. Isn't this always the way with these kinds of bands? However, being a metal guy, much more so at the time, I ended up forgetting about the band, to my shame, and continued my dark, satanic journey towards oblivion. Then I grew up and realised that 'heavy' did not automatically translate to 'good'. Thank god I got off that train before getting into bands where they make themselves look like Pandas. Some of my friends are still there, and skullets are not condusive to a happy life, in my experience. 

Over the past..hmm..maybe seven to ten years, I rediscovered Electric Six. And boy, did I realise that I have missed out. One of the most prolific and hardworking bands around had been slogging away, up and down the length and breadth of the planet, gigging and releasing albums, while I spent time colouring, then shaving, then losing my hair. My musical tastes evolved at the pace of natural selection, while their catalogue blossomed into a body of work that was eclectic, funny, poignant, catchy, evil, optimistic and just plain great.

 I wanted to rate a few of the albums and if I capture one person in the net of Six, I will have done my job. There is nothing better than discovering a band you love, and then finding out there are decades worth of material to catch up with. With Electric Six, the choice can be confounding, as there is a lot, and it is all great. Here, I present my suggestions for getting started. Electric Six lists already exist of course, and opinions vary somewhat. I would begin your journey with one of these albums, though lucky dip rules apply; everyone's a winner!. 

Honourable Mention: Absolute Pleasure. 

Absolute Pleasure is a live album, and covers a fair bit of ground from Electric Six's back catalogue. It is almost as good a start as any, as it also introduces the bands live style, which can differ from the album versions in all kinds of ways. Dick Valentine is a master of the stage, and straddles the line of cringe cabaret with virtuoso singing effortlessly. The most genius rock persona creation since Alice Cooper in my book. 

Five: Fire (2003). 

If I was ranking all of E6's albums, Fire probably wouldn't be in my top five. However, for introductory purposes, it is probably essential. Get aquainted with the band the way we all did. Listen to Dance Commander, Gay Bar, and Danger! High Voltage on repeat. Find out the big celebrity that is an uncredited guest on the latter, and then discover deeper cuts like Synthesizer, and Electric Demons in Love, then become obsessed. 

Four: Kill (2009) 

In my opinion, a very overlooked album. I have seen people say that they can't engage as much with this one, but, to me it gets it's hooks in you slowly, and as you become aquainted, the ear worms take over. (Khaaaan!). Definitely on the heavier side sound wise, with plenty of distorted guitars, and a loud mix. The drumming is of particular note on the album, for me at least. Perhaps if, like me, you have a 'metally' background, it might be a great start. Standout tracks include Body Shot, Egyptian Cowboy and Escape from Ohio. 

Three: Senor Smoke (2005) 

The follow up to Fire that received a luke warm reception, perhaps based on expectation, and also the afore mentioned Freddie Mercury controversy, this album has been criminally overlooked. Jimmy Carter is a masterpiece that encapsulates Six's attitude amazingly. Uncharacteristic, funny, poignant, mellow, and catchy, it is different, yet unmistakably Electric Six. This song really is a microcosm of what they band are about, with the collection of albums being able to conjure the same descriptions exactly. Vibrator is a personal favourite of mine, with a catchy rock groove and a very personal battle of justice, with the unlikeliest of implements. Devil Nights stands out as a rock disco classic, and Dance Epidemic is just a stone-cold classic. 

Two: Flashy (2008) 

This is where it gets hard (that's what she said). When comiling this list, I realised that I had to leave out one of my favorite albums of all time, but this is why making a top five is so hard. In a way, each E6 album is so unique, that they are all on a level. I think one should view the list as, the five discs I would take to a desert island. Hey, I just had an idea for a radio show! 

Flashy is one of the two albums where I consider every track to be cold. There are no hits and deep cuts, there are just winners. The top two are albums that I regularly listen to from front to back, much in the same way that I would listen to Dark Side of the Moon. But, instead of blubbing like a baby at the end, I am smiling and ready for the day to continue throwing its excrement in my general direction. Gay Bar Part Two is a feast and offers some insight into the band’s difficulties that sudden and significant fame brought (I assume). We were Witchy Witchy White Women is a provocative, unique, punky original song with a film quality story, told in Valentines unique style. The fact that many people have not heard this song is pure criminal. Making Progress calls back to Synthesizer to some extent and is a chilled and laid-back banger. I predict that fans of Electric Six might see this one as my most controversial pick, based on its position, but that's part of the fun. All the albums seem to resonate differently with different people. And that is almost the coolest part. 

One: Zodiac (2010) 

This album, in my opinion is solid gold. When I got down to my top five, I realised that I had to leave out I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being The Master (2007), Human Zoo (2014), and Bride of The Devil (2018). I can't understate how important these albums are to me, however Zodiac, I think, is the one album I would coose to keep if I could have only one. 

The songs on Zodiac contain no hint of filler, and it is the album that is the most criminally overlooked in terms of success. (They all are, but this one takes the biscuit). How Clusterfuck was not a massive hit is beyond me. I am a writer and a student of writing (don't judge my blog posts. They are just casual and fun, probably with mistakes and all. The story I'm working on for my MA dissertation, if it were ever to be adapted into a screenplay, would have Clusterfuck as it's end credits music. The song has influenced a few ideas, and this goes to show that music can be so influential in life. The song is built for this, and I can't believe no-one has used it yet (unless I've missed it). All songs are gold, as I say, but I particularly love Jam it in the Hole, (a fan classic), and Talking Turkey, another of those album end songs that are laid back and catchy. This one has amazingly dirty lyrics that always make me hungry.

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I hope you liked my list. Please feel free to comment what you think about the order, and definitely let me know if you started listening to (more) Electric Six as a result. Beware, this will not end here!

 If you are a big time E6 fan already, I was thinking about what other bands had the same kind of appeal. The one that stuck in my head was Oingo Boingo. Also, though quite different, I see Crash Test Dummies in a similar kind of light. Prolific and quality, yet out of the spotlight to some extent. However, this just makes being a fan even sweeter in my opinion. So much music, so little time! 

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