STUCK MOJO: The Great Revival

Produced by Rich Ward

Released: 2009

Stuck Mojo was probably the only band that did the rap-metal thing properly, a left-wing, politically-charged rage machine of spitfire rapping and crushing metal riffage. Snappin' Necks and Pigwalk were genre-defining albums that made all other groups trying the style look like tryhard losers. In spite of this, Stuck Mojo has always been rather inconsistent and twenty years since they began churning out the grooves The Great Revival shows a band that seems to be at the crossroads. Fact is, this doesn't seem much like a Mojo album at all but a Rich Ward solo issue with his old band's name stuck on it. As the only original member left, this is no doubt his right but Stuck Mojo was always a band people either loved or hated, and those who loved them for being rap-metal may not really care for this. Those who hated them for the same reason may hate them even more now.

The Great Revival begins pretty strongly with "15 Minutes of Fame", classic Mojo built on one of Ward's typically catchy groove riffs that sets the album up as something at least on par with Rising. After that however it becomes a strange hodgepodge of styles that much of the time isn't metal and sometimes is hardly even rock, and while it is bookended with tracks that attack the American fame machine there's almost no politics about this at all. "Friends" is a funk-laced radio rock song with a catchy chorus and some sweet female backing vocals that if given a chance would have "hit" written all over it, but it flies in the face of everything this group once stood for.

"The Flood" is an unusually brooding track with a really heavy, sludgy feel that makes it one of the more interesting cuts and on "Now That You're All Alone" they offer up a nice line in melodic rock with a neat guitar hook. It's not Stuck Mojo, though, and you'll find stuff like this all over Ward's My Kung Fu is Good.

"The Fear" is the fastest and heaviest thing this band has done in a decade but at less than two minutes doesn't really satisfy. Then there's the rewrite of "Country Road" (actually "Take Me Home, Country Roads") that almost verges on a copyright infringement as only the hook is left -- even West Virginia has been dumped for North Carolina! This is so far removed from Stuck Mojo that it's difficult to reconcile it with the name of the band on the cover, like Martin Scorsese suddenly deciding to make a chick flick.

The Great Revival is undoubtedly the most diverse album Stuck Mojo has ever made and probably one of the most varied things from a single artist to have been released this year; however, it doesn't really do them any favours because it is quite simply too different for most tastes. They certainly can't be accused of not trying out a few new things, though.

1. Worshipping a False God
2. 15 Minutes of Fame
3. Friends
4. The Flood
5. Now That You're All Alone
6. There's a Doctor in Town
7. The Fear
8. There's a Miracle Comin'
9. Country Road
10. Invincible
11. Superstar Pt 1 (The Journey Begins)
12. Superstar Pt 2 (The World of Ego and Thieves)

Rating: 45%