Thank God for Mental Illness

Thank God for Mental Illness
Studio album by The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Released	October 25, 1996
Recorded	July 11, 1996
Genre	Rock country blues[1]
Length	63:35
Label	Bomp!
The Brian Jonestown Massacre chronology
Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request (1996) Thank God for Mental Illness (1996) Give It Back! (1997)

Thank God for Mental Illness is the fifth studio album by American psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre, released on October 25, 1996 by record label Bomp!. It was the third full-length album released by the band in that year.

Recording

The album was recorded on July 11, 1996. Anton Newcombe has claimed that the album cost him only $17.36 to make.^[2]

Content

The album is divided into two parts; the first part features mostly acoustic lo-fi songs of a short length. The other half is a series of songs merged into one track named Sound of Confusion, that features both regular songs and more abstract sound collages. The first seven minutes is the sound of passing cars and an incoherent religious chant performed by Newcombe.

AllMusic described the album as "the BJM's down-and-dirty country-blues outing".^[3]

A picture of a crazed-looking Joel Gion appears on the cover.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]

AllMusic's Jason Ankeny praised the album, writing: "with Thank God for Mental Illness, their third collection of absolutely stunning music in less than a year, the Brian Jonestown Massacre parallels the prolific and effortless brilliance of the Rolling Stones at their fevered late-1960s peak; the sheer scope of their achievements is stunning – rarely are bands quite so productive, or quite so consistently amazing. [...] while it lacks the blistering immediacy of their previous material, the album swaggers and struts with all of the group's usual attitude intact, coming complete with a loose, offhanded feel perfectly accenting the overall atmosphere of debauchery".^[3]

Track listing

1. "Spanish Bee" – 3:48
2. "It Girl" – 2:12
3. "13" – 2:35
4. "Ballad of Jim Jones" – 2:14
5. "Those Memories" – 2:01
6. "Stars" – 3:15
7. "Free and Easy, Take 2" – 2:28
8. "Down" – 3:52
9. "Cause I Love Her" – 1:14
10. "Too Crazy to Care" – 1:22
11. "Talk - Action = Shit" – 2:07
12. "True Love" – 3:32
13. "Sound of Confusion" – 33:03
    • "Fire Song" – 11:56
    • "Fuck You for Fucking Me" – 3:52
    • "Spun" – 4:20
    • "Kid's Garden" – 7:23
    • "Wasted" – 5:19

Personnel

• Anton Newcombe – guitar, bass, drums, vocals
• Matt Hollywood – bass
• Jeff Davies – guitar
• Dean Taylor – guitar
• Joel Gion – percussion
• Travis Threlkel – guitar
• Ricky Maymi – bass
• Brian Glaze – drums
• Mara Keagle – guitar, percussion
• Greg Helton – drums
• Callum Moffat – guitar

References

2. Dig!. 2004.
3. Ankeny, Jason. "Thank God For Mental Illness - The Brian Jonestown Massacre". AllMusic. Retrieved February 23, 2012.