I have mixed feelings about Life is Peachy, and I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt with a 4 star rating as opposed to the 3 star rating I was tempted to give it. This album shows the awkward developmental period between the self-titled and Follow the Leader. The result is interesting and fun if not necessarily the high point of Korn's career. 

The album starts out well enough with the infamous "Twist," a 49 second scat from Jonathan. It's not a fantastic song but it sets the stage for the rest of the album, a hodgepodge blend of heavyness and creepiness with playfullness and vulgar humor. From here out, the first part of the album is basically a funkier, weirder take on the self-titled sound, with lots of abstract chords and offbeat rhythms. The songs aren't as heavy-hearted as the self-titled, but they retain the same familiar chuggy balance. In a way this is the strongest and most stable portion of the album, and the best of them would probably have to be "Chi" with its distinctive time feel changes. 

The middle portion of the album has some of the best songs on this album and may alone be responsible for the 4 star rating I gave it. "Porno Creep" is a very cool Snot-like jazz/rock song that acts as a sort of intermission. "Good God" is an emotionally intense song with screeching high guitars and a distinctive melody. "Mr. Rogers" is a disturbing, creepy, drug-addled tune with lyrics depicting paranoia and betrayal. 

Unfortunately, it seems that after the first half, the album doesn't know what to do with itself. "[email protected]#-!" is a rediculous joke track that is only really entertaining the first time for its shock value. The idea is funny, but it compromises the quality of the album as a whole. Likewise, while I'm sure "Wicked" and "Lowrider" were great fun for the band to do, they chew up the flow of the album and spit it out as a messy, random pulp of varyingly mediocre songs. 

Amidst the innappropriately placed cover songs etc., are the album's singles. They both more or less sound the same and are decent songs. Most importantly, though, they start to introduce the subtle hip hop influence and bizzare pedal effects that would become more prevelant on the next album. "Ass Itch" also hints at the sound the band would adopt for Follow the Leader. It has a good chorus but the verse and various other parts are a bit scattershot. 

"Kill You" is the logical successor to self-titled's "Daddy", and is almost as profoundly disturbing. This is also the logical continuation of the first half of the album which is far superior to the messy second half. The potential shown in the first half seems to suggest that this album was a rush job and suffered as a direct result. It shows in the schizophrenic cobbling together of various novelty songs, but it also shows in the tin can production and in the playing of the band which is not as tight as it was on the self-titled. 

Not for the last time, Korn rushed to put out an album at the expense of quality. It's not a terrible album, and when you cut out the duds you get a very nice little EP that fits perfectly as a transition between the self-titled and Follow the Leader. But it is a sophomore jynx. Still, it's pretty good as sophomore jynx's go. 3.5 stars grudgingly rounded up to 4. Give it a spin once in awhile - just don't look at it too hard under the microscope.

by Rubin Carver "The Duke"

TRACKLIST:

01 - Twist.wma                                         
02 - Chi.wma                                           
03 - Lost.wma                                          
04 - Swallow.wma                                       
05 - Porno Creep.wma                                   
06 - Good God.wma                                      
07 - Mr. Rogers.wma                                    
08 - [email protected]#0%!.wma                                        
09 - No Place To Hide.wma                              
10 - Wicked.wma                                        
11 - A.D.I.D.A.S.wma                                   
12 - Lowrider.wma                                      
13 - Ass Itch.wma                                      
14 - Kill You + Twist (A Cappella).wma 

WMA 320Kbps 44100Hz STEREO

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