We Care a Lot

Released as a single in early 1988, this Chuck Mosley-era song was actually recorded twice.  It was produced for the first Faith No More album of the same name in 1985 (then still "Faith. No More", under an independent label), and again on their follow-up album (and what many consider their true debut album), Introduce Yourself, in 1987.  Now under the label Slash, some of the lyrics were changed during the second recording to keep up-to-date with pop culture at that time.  Keyboardist Roddy Bottum wrote the sarcastic lyrics to mock celebrities that fake their charitable, save-the-world attitude (with help from Mosley in the updated version).  Patton then inherited this song, which would be the most played song from this era played on tour, and ad-libbed even more current events as the years went by.

In April of 2010, FNM returned to San Francisco during their reunion tour with a surprise for the audience.  Towards the end of the concert, Patton left the stage, and to the delight of old Faith No More fans, Mosley appeared and performed "As the Worm Turns", "Death March", "We Care A Lot", and "Mark Bowen" with his original band from 22 years prior (minus Jim Martin), and was then joined by Patton during "Introduce Yourself" for a duet encore.  However you feel about Mosley's style, you have to admit that this would've been pretty impressive to witness live! 

Mosley has his own band now, playing with Vanduls Ugainst Alliteracy (simply known as VUA), and even released an album in 2009 called Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food, but he won't be forgotten as FNM's original front-man.

A Patton blog this may be, but here is Chuck's appearance on stage as he does "We Care a Lot".  Patton is off-stage at this point, watching, along with everyone else, what could've been Mosley's band all along.  

I Started a Joke

Originally written in 1968 by Robin Gibb and performed by the Bee Gees, "I Started a Joke" was covered by FNM, and appeared as a B-side to their 1995 single "Digging the Grave".  Faith No More disbanded in 1998, and shortly after, this song was released as the band's final single (It also made an appearance on their greatest hits album, Who Cares a Lot? the same year).  An official video was released, but no band members appear in it (except for a brief cameo by Patton, who can be easily missed as "Michael from Barnsley" in the beginning of the video).

Here we visit Bizarre Fest again in Cologne, Germany, but this time it's the summer of 1997.  Patton, months from turning 30 years old here, was arguably at the height of his vocal capabilities in this era. 

As the Worm Turns

Looking back, I realized that I haven't touched on any of Patton's early days with the band that put him on the map.  In fact, everything up to this point has been from 2000 on (even if some of the songs were released earlier, the performances were not).  So, without further ado, let's visit You Fat Bastards: Live at the Brixton Academy, and check out "As the Worm Turns".

When "the worm turns", someone who has always been weak and obedient starts to behave more confidently or take control of a situation.  It seems that the unemployed subject in this song would benefit from doing so.  The original version of this song was written and performed by Chuck Mosley, and released on FNM's debut album, We Care a Lot.  This is another one of those songs that I'm glad Patton picked up, though I really enjoy both singers doing this.  Patton recorded a studio version of this song during the Angel Dust sessions, but it never made it onto the album.  Luckily, Patton's cover DID make it onto a limited Japanese release, which can be heard here.  Go listen to it right now.  I'll wait.

Recorded in London in 1990 (in the very same venue that they would kick off their reunion tour some 19 year later), Live at Brixton Academy would be the only official live album released by the band.  The VHS was released the same year it was filmed, during the tour to promote their latest album, The Real Thing.  The audio was released a year later. 

Here, a young Patton, just a couple of years inside the legal U.S. drinking age, jumps around on the stage, hair still long, voice still testing it's boundaries.  Even this early in his music career, Patton was juggling his time between two bands, though Mr. Bungle had taken a backseat during this worldwide tour.

    You can view the entire concert here, which has been said to be one of their best performances ever as a band.  The energy levels are through the roof, Jim Martin (who many argue was the best guitarist the band had in their existence) is still present, and Patton's vocal range is on the cusp of self-discovery.  It's exciting to watch this concert, knowing all that has yet to come.

Midnight Cowboy

When I'm winding down in the evening, I find instrumentals to be a relaxing way to leave the chaos of the day behind.  Naturally, Patton has this area covered as well.  Rounding out the album Angel Dust, and also found on FNM's Songs to Make Love To (perhaps a nice accompaniment to the Lovage album discussed in the previous post?), is a cover of English composer John Barry's "Midnight Cowboy".

Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman star in the 1969 must-see, movie classic of the same name.  It's the only X-rated movie to ever win an Academy Award (this was later changed to an "R" rating without editing the original film, which got it's "X" rating based on it's drug and sexual content).  Patton turns to his melodica to cover this particular tune, with the rest of the band slowly joining in crescendo. When not opening shows on their most recent tour with "Woodpecker from Mars" (another great instrumental that Roddy Bottum knocks out of the park on the keyboards), or Peaches and Herb's "Reunited", the band would quietly take the stage as Patton alone starts the set off with this instrumental.  A part of me wants to buy a melodica simply to learn how to play this song on it, thought I doubt I'd ever make it sound as beautiful as this.

Matador

In 2011, Bill, John, Puffy, Roddy, and Patton wrapped up their South American "Second Coming Tour" leg by playing the SWU festival in Paulinia, São Paulo, Brazil (a pro-shot concert definitely worth watching in it's entirety on YouTube).  It was here, towards the end of their 75 minute set, that they performed my favorite version of this super-rare, untitled song.  Known simply as "Matador" in the internet world, it gave FNM fans hope for a new album in the future.  Many speculate that it could be a long-lost B-side from the Angel Dust days, while others feel like this is indeed new material.  As usual, Patton and the band are tight-lipped, and deny that there will be another album.  One can only hope, however, since we've heard denials of rumors before, only to be pleasantly surprised shortly after (like the announcement of appearing at the BST Hyde Park show in London this coming July after retiring once again following the recent tour).

This song goes on a little longer than most, but I personally don't mind.  It's eerie melody captured my attention on first listen, and until a studio version is ever released (if ever), this live version will have to do.  In the few live performances captured on video, none are completely flawless, proving that they don't play this song nearly enough.  Check out this amazing song below!

Chinese Arithmetic

If something is tough to do, one says it's "harder than Chinese arithmetic".  Could this also be a euphemism for the "young, hung, and plastered" subject of this song?  Found on FNM's second album, Introduce Yourself, this was originally sung by Patton's predecessor, previous lead singer Chuck Mosley.  I'm glad Patton doesn't ignore the band's first two albums that feature Chuck, otherwise great tunes like this would never be heard live (this particular song is a live rarity as it is, getting far less stage time than many other hits of later years).

This version from 2009's Download Festival in the UK is one of my favorites, and has been stuck in my head for the last few days, without complaint.  Bonus points for Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" intro.


This is not to say that I don't like the version found on the album.  Chuck, after all, WAS the sound of Faith No More in the early years.  I appreciate his work as well, but it's fair to say that I am pretty bias when it comes to my favorite.