Bentley Rhythm Ace – For Your Ears Only

"For Your Ears Only" is a mixed bag of a second album from the Brummie beatsmiths.

The good: "T-Spot", "Theme From 'Gutbuster'" and "Madam, Your Carriage Awaits" are the highlights, three very different forms of brilliantly bonkers big beat that continued the quality of BRA's superb eponymous debut album, but showed how versatile they had since become. "T-Spot" is a strange, Jean-Jacques Perrey-inspired children's TV theme, "Gutbuster" is a funky party banger, and "Madam" showcased a more mature, downbeat side, with it's juxtaposition of tough break-beats and orchestral melody.

The bad: the six tracks in the middle are however a significant step backwards. They all possess fine ingredients and adhere to BRA's distinctive musical style, but the end-result is more madcap than melodic, and sometimes moronic. "A Lot Of Stick" and "Duckweb" are the lowlights, dominated by the kind of zany noises (e.g., jew harps) that, in small doses made the BRA sound so endearing, but in the large doses here are just cacophonous.

And the average: "Ride Your Sleigh" opens the album very promisingly but ends abruptly half-way through, as if the Bentleys couldn't be arsed to finish it. "Do The Christmas Rush" makes good its 'Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay" bassline, "Kenny Beats" has joyous church bells, and "How'd I Do Dat???" expanded their sound into the realms of quirky vocal pop.

"For Your Ears Only" only reached #48 in the UK album chart, and "How'd I Do That???" bombed as a single. Why the Bentleys dropped the high standards of their previous work is a mystery, but it echoed the sharp decline of the big beat genre in general, which by the time of this album's release, was nearing its nadir. (5)

At the time this was a remarkably psychedelic record. It hasn’t stood the test of time but it wasn’t really the intention. They deserve more credit for it.

This follow up to their outstanding first album, whilst solid in parts, ultimately fails to live up to the expectation created by their debut.

Things start off well enough, with the chirpy "T-Spot", followed by "...Gutbuster", which is the one track on this album that matches up to the standard set by their previous work. Later on, "Do the Christmas Rush" with its cheery melodies, sounds exactly like something that belongs on an 'Alternative Christmas' playlist, whilst "How'd I do dat" is a good vocal track.

But this album is like an undercooked pizza- crisp and satisfying round the edges, but with a doughy and somewhat sagging middle. "A lot of stick" is borderline unlistenable, irritating vocals drowning in a sea of squelches, burps and farts. Other tracks suffer from similar problems, where the cohesion of the samples, the funky basslines and the wiggly synths of their debut are replaced by a random feel to the increasingly weird samples, a lack of hooks, and a not small amount of noise resulting in a 'flat' feel to some of the music. So, an okay follow up but there is little here to excite the senses in the way their eponymous introduction did.

Was one of most daring big beat albums to surface from the late 90's, a fairground acid trip abstract full of colourful ideas with some pretty irritating moments too. I can imagine BRA lying on the floor of their studio crying with laughter at some of the ridiculous concoctions they invented during the creation of this record. It so stupid. Badly mixed, often flat a pancake, but a barrel of laughs when you're in a giddy mood.

On their second album, <i>For Your Ears Only</i>, Bentley Rhythm Ace continue their streaking, fun big beat. The tracks here are quick and funky -- it’s like the sonic equivalent of a 3 Musketeers bar: sweet and satisfying, but mostly filled with air. “Theme from ‘Gutbuster’” has a driving quality that just makes you want to boogie -- and this is true for almost all the tracks. “Do the Christmas Rush” sprinkles in some cheery synths to lighten the mood, but there’s really nothing to distinguish the tracks from one another -- no catchy hooks or interesting samples. It’s a pity, because their rhythmical abilities belie what this album could have been.