FDF Volume 3 Issue 335 - Limbomaniacs - Stinky Grooves

Album – Stinky Groove

Artist – Limbomaniacs

Key Players – Mark “Mirv” Haggard – guitar. Brian “Brain” Mantia – drums. Pete Scaturro – keyboards. Tony “Butthouse” Chaba – bass and lead vocals. 

Produced By – Bill Laswell

Release Date - 1990

Overview – Formed in the early 1980s in San Francisco, CA the Limbomaniacs fused funk, rock and hip hop. Blending these styles, and being accomplished musicians they'd garner much respect musically, but the juvenile lyrics seemed to be the bands focus. The band was on the cusp of the funk revival of the late 80's but grunge was fast approaching. By 1991 the band had broken up.

FDF Comments (aka the songs) – This is a short record. Eight tracks about 35 minutes and it kicks off with “Butt Funkin”. The track sounds like it could have been on any early Red Hot Chili Peppers records. The bass and guitar have a fun groove, with a lot of shouting lines and laughter mixed in. The lyrics are “rapped” over the funk layers. The lyrics are as juvenile as the title suggests. Some of the lyrics are about how some butts have pimples while some have hair...you get it. Even with all that Bootsy Collins offers up some backing vocals on it..  'Maniac"  has some trumpet samples that give it a neat heavy crunch. The guitar is buzzy and the lyrics are still rapped, but it seems to have more of that early 90's alt rock feel. The snare drums seems to have a tight snap to it (perhaps a piccolo snare). The bass has a lot more punch on “Free Style” but we still feel locked in the same style and focus as other tracks. Butthouse pushing it quickly with the vocals and the band seems willing to be right there with him. Maceo Parker offers up the great saxophone section. “Porno” is a slower track, but still is heavy and its about exactly as you'd think. The guitar solo is pretty good, but it feels too silly. “Shake It” is full of samples at the outset and its interesting on some levels. The band adjusts well to the recorded back beats and samples. Maceo is back on “That's The Way”. The guitar at the start is a clean riff and then the bass comes in. The horns fill everything out nice and the bass is tight, then the campy lyrics start. Zzzz. A great moment ruined...Maceo saves this one. Starting up with a sound clip from B.B.King about “this song having really heavy lyrics” the track “The Toilet's Flooded” then starts. Yep..the lines are “the toilets flooded..the log won't fit..the toilets flooded with a great big shit....” Yep...my 8^th grade mentality is laughing too, but wow. The album wraps up with “Pavlov's Frothing Dogs” and Maceo is one this one as well there are more samples of lyrics and the band locks in to one groove letter Maceo take over.

Where are they now? - Mantia has done a lot of work as a session drummer.  Working with the likes of Guns and Roses to Tom Waits. 

FDF Overall Take/Was it worth Dusting Off? - There is some good funk on here, and with Bootsy and Maceo you'd expect a lot. It just has not aged well at all. The lyrics are just too campy to take seriously..at all. Even if the guys are special musicians, its almost too campy. One song as a goof, but the whole record of it sort of dumbs down everything.

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