{"id":12611,"date":"2020-07-23T05:00:20","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T05:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=12611"},"modified":"2020-07-18T18:40:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-18T18:40:16","slug":"enuff-znuff-brainwashed-generation-frontiers-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=12611","title":{"rendered":"Enuff Z\u2019Nuff \u2013 \u2018Brainwashed Generation\u2019 (Frontiers Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There was always more to Chicago legends Enuff Z\u2019Nuff than day-glo clothes, peace signs and drug problems. To a select few back in the day, singer Donnie Vie and bassist Chip Z\u2019nuff were our generation\u2019s Lennon & McCartney. And while they peaked commercially with their self-titled debut album, 1991\u2019s follow-up \u2018Strength\u2019 was their masterpiece. Then along came Grunge and knocked them straight outta the ball park like many others. The following album \u2018Animals With Human Intelligence\u2019 sank without a trace, as did their career.<\/p>\n

But unlike many of their contemporaries, the band battled through the subsequent line-up changes, legal issues and drug & alcohol addiction. Original guitarist Derek Frigo died of an overdose, long time drummer Ricky Parent succumbed to cancer. They changed labels more times than they changed drummers and guitar players, yet through all the tragedies, the one constant was that Chip & Donnie released quality music year after year. Even Donnie\u2019s departure couldn\u2019t stop the band. Now 15 albums into their career Enuff Z\u2019nuff are back with a new album entitled \u2018Brainwashed Generation\u2019, the second to feature Chip as lead singer.<\/p>\n

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To be honest, I had little interest in hearing EZN\u2019s last album \u2018Golden Boy\u2019. For me, EZN without Donnie is like Queen without Freddie, its peaches without the cream; it\u2019s like a broken pencil…pointless! While their voices work well in harmony together, can Chip really compete with those golden Vie pipes, and does he even have the songwriting chops on his own? Well, I\u2019m glad to report that \u2018Brainwashed Generation\u2019 goes a long way to prove me wrong.<\/p>\n

Joining Chip on this latest excursion is long time guitarist Tory Stoffregen, drummer Daniel Hill and ex Life Sex & Death\/AntiProduct legend Alex Kane (back in the band for the first time since 1987). Rick Nielsen\u2019s son Daxx contributes drums for more than half of the album, along with Mike Portnoy and even estranged main man Donnie puts in a guest appearance.<\/p>\n

With the basic tracks recorded back in November 2019, mixed and finished off by Chip at home during lockdown you could call \u2018Brainwashed Generation one of the first \u2018post lockdown\u2019 releases?<\/p>\n

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Opener \u2018Fatal Distraction\u2019 sets the scene with hazy, lazy vocals and great power pop hooks to die for. Chip\u2019s penchant for Cheap Trick is never far from his songbook, and the combination of loud, brash guitar work and a very hummable chorus takes this opener into classic EZN territory.<\/p>\n

Ok, Chip you have my attention but any band can put their best tune as an opener, put your money where your mouth is and prove it! As if in reply, the punchy \u2018I Got My Money Where My Mouth Is\u2019 follows and puts to bed any doubts that the bassist needs Donnie Vie to carry his songs in 2020. This shows a band full of confidence, urgency and bravado. With continuing Cheap Trick vibes, trademark backing harmonies and a chorus that insists you sit up and take notice, I\u2019m convinced just 2 songs in; they have already done enough to prove EZN are far from a spent force.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s impossible to do an Enuff Z\u2019Nuff review and not mention The Beatles. Lennon-esque, sentimental balladry is rife in the likes of \u2018It\u2019s All In Vain\u2019 and \u2018Broken Love\u2019. Chugging guitars, ringing chords and soaring vocal melodies take this listener to the same heights the likes of \u2018Fly High Michelle\u2019 and \u2018Right By Your Side\u2019 did back in the day.<\/p>\n

Donnie Vie returns for \u2018Strangers In My Head\u2019 and it\u2019s no surprise that its an album highlight. His lush tones carry the dark and foreboding tune to another worldly plain. It\u2019s a powerful. riff heavy rocker that sees the writer delve deep inside his own head. So much so, it makes the following \u2018Drugland Weekend\u2019 sound like a just another dumb ass rock song, all style and no substance, but hey there\u2019s nowt wrong with that sometimes!<\/p>\n

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Enuff Z\u2019Nuff never got the breaks they deserved. But let\u2019s face it, most of the greatest bands suffered the same fate! But put an Enuff Z\u2019Nuff greatest hits package together and it stands tall quality wise with any band you would care to mention and that will be their legacy.<\/p>\n

\u2018Brainwashed Generation\u2019 is a surprisingly good album, which recalls their glory days and the best of their influences. Sure, it\u2019s not as good as \u2018Strength\u2019 or even \u2018Animals…\u2019 song for song, but it\u2019s on a par with anything the band put out after, and that is a good place to be 15 albums into your career.<\/p>\n

Chip continues to fly the flag for Enuff Z\u2019Nuff, writing quality tunes and touring the world. It\u2019s all he\u2019s done since the heady 80\u2019s and no one\u2019s gonna stop his love train now.<\/p>\n

Buy ‘Brainwashed Generation’ Here<\/a><\/p>\n

Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n