Mike Patton's Mondo Cane and Disco Violante Re-issue

For anyone familiar with Mike Patton he needs no introduction. If you are humming and hawing over whether you have heard him, he is the mastermind ‘voice’ behind projects such as Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom, Tomahawk, Patton and Kaada, and hundreds of vocal side projects, most notably with Bjork and Rhazal. Genre of choice? That has never applied to Patton. From the Math-Death Metal stylings of Dillinger Escape Plan, to the Hip Hop vibe from the executioners, all the way to his spastic 'every-genre-at-once' Mr. Bungle, Patton has proven to the world that if a sound can be made with his mouth, he can make it. Patton was also enlisted to create the vampire sounds in the Francis Lawrence film 'I am Legend'.



In the midst of working with half of the music industry, Patton rarely releases an album under his own name. ‘Mondo Cane’, his latest and 3 solo album to date, is an 11 song compilation of Italian pop and movie theme songs from the 50’s and 60’s. This album is nothing shy of original. Taking the songs original structure and arranging music for him and 65 friends from various walks of instrumentation, ‘Mondo Cane’ is his most upbeat and exciting album. Patton performs ‘voice’, though his influence is heard throughout. It is impossible to describe something that perfectly combines 60’s bubble-gum pop, smooth jazz, and even the occasional Captain Beefheart-esqe freak out scream. Let’s just say this album is so good it has made me review a CD on my vinyl blog!

For any Mr. Bungle fans out there who have been patiently awaiting a nice re-issue of their ‘Disco Volante’ LP- wait longer. The copy I got was mastered so low, I literally had to crank my stereo to get a signal. This resulted in a significant ‘hum’ noise from my turntable’s motor. This LP was re-issued in 2008 and in 2010 on Green Vinyl, and reviews I have read for both seem to hint that the problem was existent in both. Perhaps it was a faulty batch and only complainers reviewed it (case and point), but purchaser beware- or ask to listen to a copy before purchasing it. To many this has been a frustrating purchase, as the original now catches upwards of $100 on Ebay.