Fu Manchu: King of the Road (2000)
Stoner rockers Fu Manchu found a new songwriting gear on 1997’s absolutely stellar The Action is Go, but ‘99’s ensuing Godzilla’s/Eatin’ Dust was really just two EPs crammed together, so ...Go’s righteous successor was in fact 2000’s nearly as impressive King of the Road.
The proof is here for all to see -- or rather, hear -- in the potent, fully realized boogie bashers crafted for this LP by singer/guitarist Scotti Hill, lead guitarist Bob Balch, bassist Brad Davis, and drummer Brant Bjork, formerly of the venerable Kyuss.
Don’t let Bjork’s presence mislead you, though, because, even more than its occasionally space-traveling predecessor, King of the Road’s big grooves and bigger riffs are all pure Fu Manchu -- custom-built to tear down desert highways towards an infinite sunset.
See if you can recognize a theme here, as “Hell on Wheels,” “Over the Edge,” “Boogie Van,” “Drive” and the title track all accelerate (and celebrate) life behind the wheel, or, more specifically, vintage custom van culture as reflected in the 1960s Ford E-Series pictured on the album’s cover.
Another doom-laden highlight called “Hotdoggin’” is a little harder to decipher (could be sexual double entendre?), and Fu Manchu do circle back to another favorite subject -- skateboarding -- on “Blue Tile Fever,” and then they have a laugh on the exceptionally stoned “Weird Beard.”
A decent, if unspectacular cover of Devo’s “Freedom of Choice” rounded off the original release, but this vinyl reissue blessed us with the smoking hot outtake “Breathing Fire” and the mysterious “Hanglider,” which I still can’t find an MP3 for, even now.
So, again, feel free to race past the musical left turn that was Godzilla’s/Eatin’ Dust, but rest assured that you won’t be disappointed with the now 20-year-old King of the Road, which also paved the way for the following year’s equally awesome California Crossing.
More Fu Manchu: No One Rides for Free, The Action is Go, California Crossing, “Hung Out to Dry.”
