Tonio K.'s "Life In the Food Chain"

I can't recall if I've ever seen this record talked about here, and I don't see a review on the site which is kind of surprising.

What's the TP consensus - late 70s New Wave classic or posturing phony cash in?

I'm going with the classic myself.

Just played it and it sounds incredibly fresh and vital.........and a weird kind of classic in that it somehow seems to have not been picked up by the retro pop culture vampires always trying revive a past touchstone.

i always thought it was rubbish. i recall deciding not to include him way back when.

Yeah I can definitely see it being taken that way, and I know a lot of people who do take it as phony BS - it's one of those "how am I supposed to take this" kind of things, I suppose. Very hard to read the intent or motivation behind it.

Playing it just now it sounded really funny (in the best sense) and relevant to the world today.

It's quite the odd little record that's for sure.

Ok, I'm surprised there's either not more people rushing to defend this record or rushing to say "Christ, mats you usually have such good taste but that record sux".......

Maybe some of the ladies who grace this board would like to chime in and offer the female point of view?

Ummmmm

I liked his couple of albums in the mid-80s when he kind of veered into T Bone Burnett's extended musical family, but otherwise I liked "H-A-T-R-E-D" and a couple of other things from the early albums but didn't pay much attention beyond that.

Where are you ladies? Still no ladies.

My wife told me to let you know that perhaps Tonio K. the performer has been overshadowed by Tonio K. the songwriter.

I don't know that I agree with her on that, but I do recall feeling a bit odd about his having co-written about half the songs on the ARC Angels' album way back when...and y'all know how I never bring up ARC Angels on this message board.

Seriously, though, as usual, I think the wife is right.