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MIKE PATTON

RIO/Avant-Prog • United States


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Mike Patton biography
Michael Allan Patton - Born January 27, 1968 (Eureka, California, USA)

Mike Patton first gained fame for his vocal work for the metal band FAITH NO MORE, as well as a solid cult following with his avant-prog outfit MR. BUNGLE. After FNM disbanded in 1998 he recorded one last album with MR. BUNGLE before forming the crazed and theatrical avant-metal band FANTÔMAS. He recorded his two little-known solo albums while touring with FAITH NO MORE. His first solo album, "Adult Themes For Voice" was recorded during a 1996 FAITH NO MORE tour. The album was recorded in hotel rooms and consisted of 34 tracks of Patton making vocal noises. His second album, "Pranzo Oltranzista"(1997) recorded while still with FAITH NO MORE features instruments played by Featuring Marc Ribot(guitar), William Winant(drums), Erik Friedlander(cello) and John Zorn(alto sax).

While his first CD is creative and somewhat interesting, it is essentially noise and may be hard to take. His second album, "Pranzo Oltranzista", is a more interesting work. If you're into dark, spooky, and weird avant-prog with a bit of free jazz, check this album out.

-Written by The Miracle

Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com :
He's involved with Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, as well as Fred Frith and other respected Progressive artists.

See also: Kaada & Patton

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MIKE PATTON discography


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MIKE PATTON top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

1.92 | 23 ratings
Adult Themes for Voice
1996
2.97 | 19 ratings
Pranzo Oltranzista
1997
3.76 | 9 ratings
A Perfect Place (OST)
2008
3.00 | 5 ratings
Crank - High Voltage (OST)
2009
3.71 | 38 ratings
Mondo Cane
2010
3.38 | 8 ratings
The Solitude Of Prime Numbers (OST)
2011
4.25 | 4 ratings
Mike Patton & Jean-Claude Vannier: Corpse Flower
2019

MIKE PATTON Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

MIKE PATTON Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

MIKE PATTON Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

MIKE PATTON Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

MIKE PATTON Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Adult Themes for Voice by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 1996
1.92 | 23 ratings

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Adult Themes for Voice
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

2 stars MIKE PATTON's first solo album ADULT THEMES FOR VOICE is a bona fide journey into the avant garde. Unlike anything else in his career before or after he decided to splice and dice vocal recordings he made in hotel rooms on a mini-recorder and for whatever reason released them for the world to scrutinize. This is just his vocals and some production manipulations. With such a low rating it seems like much of the world is not in tune with Mr PATTON's strange and bizarre world of vocal shredding. This album is in the same vein as Demetrio Stratos' solo albums where Mike is simply showing us his ability to take his voice to strange unthought of places. Strange indeed. At times he screams, squeaks and moans, howls like a monkey and does things I lack the proper vocabulary to describe.

This album was inspired by his love of Japanese noise bands like Hanatarash. I have owned this for quite a while but have only listened to it a handful of times. It is basically a sonic diary of a creative vocalist spontaneously doing what he feels inspired to do and then taking it apart and sewing it back together. The result is a very mixed bag. I actually find some of this stuff highly creative and a tad interesting. This isn't however an album that one puts on often because 45 minutes of its inconsistency is a little too much. Some tracks taken on their own are downright ingenious and beyond bizarre. An interesting experiment but I would definitely file this one in the "collector's / fan" category because very few will find anything redeeming in this. I actually much prefer Mike's following album "Pranzo Oltranzista." That is a truly bizarre avant-garde album that works for its entirety.

 Adult Themes for Voice by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 1996
1.92 | 23 ratings

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Adult Themes for Voice
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by Conor Fynes
Prog Reviewer

1 stars 'Adult Themes For Voice' - Mike Patton (1/10)

Mike Patton has one of the greatest vocal ranges around. Best known for his work with Faith No More and Mr. Bungle, the man is a legend, well-known for his eccentric personality and remarkably inventive music. Keeping that in mind, there's no reason why 'Adult Themes For Voice' should have been such a travesty. Mike Patton has no dearth of creative energy, and his voice can be challenging and beautiful all at once. What we have here though is something that's weird, without necessarily being creative. Instead of using his voice to its potential, Patton defaults on cheap gimmicks and bad humour. Listening to street traffic is more entertaining than this.

It feels odd that such a musical intelligence like Mike Patton has created one of the worst albums I have ever heard, and I only wish it wasn't true. Created with a four track portastudio, I imagine it took more time to think out the thirty four stupid song titles than it took to compose this, that is, if a composition stage ever took place. To put it bluntly; 'Adult Themes For Voice' consists of forty plus minutes of Patton making various noises into a lo-fi microphone. To Patton's credit, the listener is privileged to a wide variety of different vocal noises, from monkey screams, to monkey howls, to heavy breathing, and even a few hand claps thrown in there for the sake of variety. Often, Patton's screaming ends up sounding like harsh radio static, due to the cheap recording.

Musical open mindedness is obviously an issue with every avant-garde album a listener will come across, but not every experiment is genius. Save for a couple of bland echo effects, this is a forty minute exercise in complete, utter ambivalence on the part of Mike Patton. The only thing here is his voice, and if 'Adult Themes' was all you had to go by, you would not even guess that he may be one of the greatest vocalists of the modern age. An experiment with vocal noise could have been brilliant if it was done the right way, but this is at best a squandered concept, and at worst, the most tasteless waste of talent I have ever come across.

 Mondo Cane by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 2010
3.71 | 38 ratings

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Mondo Cane
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by TCat
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

4 stars With Mike Patton's history in music, I think it is safe to say that the biggest surprise he could give us now would be to not surprise us at all. His versatility shines through on this album where he ventures into arranging and singing classic Italian cinema songs. This album is completely in Italian and his amazing voice is backed up by beautiful orchestral arrangements. One of the nicest things about this album is that the songs sound updated yet they still retain that genuine classical Italian flavor. You could be in any Italian ristorante listening to this music and think you are listening to a native speaking Italian. But Patton fans need not dispair, the voice is uniquely Mike Patton's voice and that's what makes this so wonderful. He pulls off the drama and the dynamics of these songs to convince you he is totally in a realm he belongs in singing Italian music and adds his own twists and turns so that you remember he is a contemporary artist and that there is no doubt that this is 100% Mike Patton. He even takes a slightly dark turn (not as extreme as some other albums however) in the arrangements "Che Notte!" and "Urlo Negro". The orchestral arrangements are beautiful and really are essentail to this collection, the most beautiful in my opinion is "Quello Che Conta". This album is excellent and should be added to anyone's collection that considers themselves a Mike Patton fan, it should be explored by prog lovers, but it probably could not be considered essential. There really is no new ground explored here, but the arrangements of the songs and production of this album is so well done that it should not be passed by if at all possible. Look this one up, especially if you are a fan or if you are into Italian Progressive.
 Mondo Cane by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 2010
3.71 | 38 ratings

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Mondo Cane
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars "Mondo Cane" is the 5th full-length studio album (including a couple of soundtracks) by US rock/metal artist Mike Patton. The album was released through Ipecac Recordings in May 2010. Patton is probably mostly known for his work with acts like Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, and Tomahawk, and for his experiments with the human voice, but on "Mondo Cane" he goes down a quite different path. "Mondo Cane" does continue the Mike Patton tradition that you should expect the unexpected though.

This time around the singer has chosen to cover 50s and 60s Italian pop songs backed by the Filarmonica Arturo Tuscanini orchestra and choir (conducted by Aldo Sisillo). "Mondo Cane" has a pretty interesting recording history, as it was recorded live during the first three dates of an Italian tour. No performance was kept intact though, and instead the album was created from various instrumental and vocal tracks and spliced together for the final mix. All tracks feature Italian language lyrics. The idea for making the album came to Patton while he was living in Bologna, Italy, and was touched by the "older" music playing on the radio. Patton had learned the Italian language and moved to Bologna when marrying Italian artist Titi Zuccatosta, and I´ve read comments from more than one Italian fan, saying that although Patton has an American accent, he actually nails singing in Italian pretty well.

As usual a bold move that Patton more or less pulls off with seamless ease and also great conviction and passion. Patton has a strong voice and an extremely versatile vocal style and while it's only "Urlo Negro" which features some semi-aggressive vocals, we're still presented with a plethora of different "clean" vocal styles on the album. The choir backing and the orchectra work really well and provide/support the tracks with the right atmosphere but it's Patton's vocals that are the center of attention. There's a nostalgic and sentimental atmosphere to most of the tracks that really graps my attention (this is music which wears its emotions on the sleeve), but images of spies and femme fatales also come to mind during the most energetic of the tracks like "Che Notte!" and the above mentioned "Urlo Negro". The material are predominantly just a really warm and pleasant listening experience.

Although the album essentially was recorded live, "Mondo Cane" feels like a studio album (you won´t hear audience noise or talking between tracks), and a very well produced on at that. The organic and warm sounding production suits the material perfectly. So upon conclusion "Mondo Cane" is a quality release through and through. It´s one of his more easy listening releases and some fans may find it a little too safe and not experimental enough, but to those who enjoy Patton's voice and and support his eclectic mindset regarding the boundaries of music (which means no boundaries in his case), this could prove to be a litte pleasant gem. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

 Mondo Cane by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 2010
3.71 | 38 ratings

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Mondo Cane
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by DASistGrantTeeL

5 stars Let me start by saying that im a huge Rock Progressivo Italiano fan, a friend of mine sent me this album, and I had no idea what to expect (truth be told I was expecting Faith No More) I began listening and I was pleasantly surprised, it’s all covers of 50’s 60’s Italian pop/ jazz, and in fact it’s all sung in Italian. The album gives mike patton a lot of room to show off just how great of a singer he is, and how very diverse of a singer we already knew he was. He does such a good job singing it’s hard to believe he isn’t a native speaker. Tracks like “Ore D’Amore” “Quello Che Conta” show of Patton’s more soft side where as tracks like “Urlo Negro” and “Che Conta” show a much strong, heavier and darker side although nothing compared to the heavy tracks of Patton’s other projects (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle).

The 50’s 60’s Italian pop/jazz is very authentic (except for the sound quality obviously) and the music is so well performed, being that the majority of the record was recorded live which is incredible because the album sounds excellent, it would be hard to make it sound better in anyway, even if they spent years in the studio. I believe this to be one of the best cover albums of all time and a very strong album in Patton’s discography. 5 out of 5

 Mondo Cane by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 2010
3.71 | 38 ratings

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Mondo Cane
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by Rune2000
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Just like John Zorn who defies placement under any genre or label, Mike Patton has now followed his mentor's steps and once again broadened the possibilities of his musical talents.

Mondo Cane is an album filled with renditions of cinematic Italian pop songs from the '50s and '60s all sung in their native language by Mr.Patton. Backed by an orchestra and recorded during two live shows, among them one in Italy, this album shows everything you might or might not care to know about Mike Patton's vocal and linguistic abilities. This material shows off just how unique of a personality that he possesses and if you could handle Patton singing tenor-style vocals on an opera-sounding Il Cupo Dolore off A Perfect Place or any of his previous solo albums then I'm sure that you'll enjoy bits and pieces of this release.

Granted that this material is void of anything resembling prog or avant-garde, Mondo Cane is not for everyone but there's just enough charm to this material for a lovely easy listening session. I can definitely recommend playing it while having a few guests over just to hear them ask what music this is. Then you can go about and tell them everything you know about Patton, but make sure not to go overboard by completely alienating them in the process. The album features a total of 11 tracks where each displays something new about Mike Patton may it be his great pronunciation on the quirky Che Notte! or passionate and sweet delivery on Ti Offro Da Bere, this release displays it all!

Even though I seem to be enthusiastic about Mondo Cane, which I am, there is no real point in recommending it to anyone but the fans and even some of them might scratch their heads when experiencing this album for the first time. Still one can't blame Mike for any lack of ideas and that's why I award the album a shaky good, but non-essential rating for showing how an artist can go about when broadening their scope of abilities.

**** star songs: Il Cielo In Una Stanza (3:56) Ore D'Amore (2:53) Deep Down (3:22) Quello Che Conta (4:04) Ti Offro Da Bere (2:28) Senza Fine (4:38)

*** star songs: Che Notte! (3:18) Urlo Negro (2:49) Scalinatella (3:15) L'Uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare (3:17) 20 KM Al Giorno (2:56)

 A Perfect Place (OST) by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 2008
3.76 | 9 ratings

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A Perfect Place (OST)
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by Rune2000
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars There are a great number of reasons for everyone to get this album. The mere facts that it's bundled with the short movie and that it's the 100th recording released on Ipecac records were good enough for me. What makes it even better is the fact that it's a great release!

While keeping in mind that it's a soundtrack Mike Patton has still managed to carve out songs that I can listen to on their own without connecting them to the short film. Especially if you consider the fact that the score itself is actually approximately 10 minutes longer than the film I guess that it's not completely inseparable from the movie.

Since the material here is quite versatile A Perfect Place can serve as an excellent introduction to Mike Patton and his music career. Check it out if you haven't already done so!

***** star songs: A Perfect Twist (Vocal) (2:44) Batucada (2:18) Catholic Tribe (2:28)

**** star songs: Main Title (3:15) A Perfect Place (3:30) Car Radio (AM) (1:01) A Little Poker Tomorrow Night? (3:10) Seriously Disturbed (1:18) A Dream of Roses (2:34) A Perfect Place/Main Title (Reprise) (2:45) Another Perfect Place (1:42) Car Radio (FM) (1:55) Swinging the Body (1:57) Il Cupo Dolore (2:06) A Perfect End (2:46)

Total rating: 4,21

 Adult Themes for Voice by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 1996
1.92 | 23 ratings

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Adult Themes for Voice
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by mrcozdude

3 stars Mike Patton has a large cult following for his versatility & diversity.He's contributed guest vocals to dozens of bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan,The X-ecutioners,Bjork & massive attack whilst leading his own bands & projects such as Tomahawk,Fantomas,Lovage,Mondo Cane and maintaining a solo career,composing scores for film as well as lending his vocal talents for Transformers 2 & I am Legend.He has very close ties with Avant Garde/Jazz saxophone player John Zorn & collaborates frequently with high school friend & bass player Trevor Dunn.

His high school band Mr Bungle,a group of friends gained him notoriety amongst musicians.Their fusion of genres such as surf,funk & metal made them certainly unique and inspired many bands of the nineties such as Korn & Incubus to blend multiple genres with metal.But it was when Faith No More member Jim Martin wanted to Patton to their replace current vocalist Chuck Mosley and upon joining with give Patton his hugest commercial success.This could be seen as a stigma to people not familiar with his other/more frequent others works.

The album under review is possibly the most risky début ,I have ever head.Fortunately being a fan of his for a while cushioned the blow of how much of an abstract approach he took to recording it.The album just comprising of vocal tracks and various themes in which he creates noise and sounds with his vocals reflecting the themes and vice versa.When listening to this,it can help to acknowledge the title and you may see what the vocals are trying to replicate.The tracks & theme their selves are very dark & sometimes deranged with many of the titles involving death & sex such as titles called ""I Killed Him Like a Dog...And He Still Laughed"" & "Red Mouth, Black Orgasm". His approach his very similar to his work John Zorn with the Moonchild trio where lyricless vocals & sounds are performed over experimental/Avant Garde music,this certainly shares the same category but minus the instruments your left with 43 minutes of noise vocals.When the concept of an Avant Garde is clear you can begin to try & understand what's really trying to happen.Sometimes I think the idea & release of the album is more a statement then the music itself.I really love the idea of this album,Patton's vocals are spine chilling & performed impressively.He creates sounds which sound impossible to replicate or for that matter even sound like they were created from a human beings mouth (again possibly the point album).The album can grow tiring three quarters of the way through,the beginning feels exciting & unique,because it's certain you've never heard anything like this before but once those feelings diminish it can feel like a novelty and there are moments where there are genuinely hilarious moments such as "Inconsolable Widows in Search of Distraction".

An Avant Garde album with one of the most unique vocalists ever and despite whether you like the album or not,you have to appreciate the effort & creativity.It's not one I play regularly but am glad to listen to once in a while.

Don't expect Faith No More or even anything Patton has done before.

 A Perfect Place (OST) by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 2008
3.76 | 9 ratings

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A Perfect Place (OST)
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by catfood03

3 stars Mike Patton fans and those simply curious will want to consider picking this one up. This movie soundtrack is quite different from his work on the Tzadik label (Adult Themes for Voice and Pranzo Oltranzista) and also more tempered and accessible.

A Perfect Place is packaged with both a short film and it's music together on two separate discs. Neither film or music is a total masterpiece, but each has moments of brilliance and intrigue to keep the eyes and ears attuned. What is great about Mike Patton as a film composer is that he doesn't simply rely on a string section alone like many film scores do. Like his friend and mentor John Zorn, Patton is unafraid to pull from Rock, Avant, Big Band, and general noise-making (two tracks are of a radio dial being tuned) to suit the right mood for each piece.

All that said however I don't really think as a album it holds up as strong as it could. The CD is only a scant 35 minutes, mostly consisting of instrumentals, but there are a few moments where Patton gets to flex his vocals a bit in the way he did in his Mr. Bungle days. I don't play this CD much, but when I do I come away feeling it was a good purchase.

 Pranzo Oltranzista by PATTON, MIKE album cover Studio Album, 1997
2.97 | 19 ratings

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Pranzo Oltranzista
Mike Patton RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by ProgBagel
Prog Reviewer

3 stars Mike Patton - Pranzo Oltranzista 3 stars

A much easier listen than the debut Patton album.

'Adult Themes for Voice' was an album focusing around Patton's main gun, which is his voice and unique, unconventional stytle. 'Pranzo Oltranzista' is a look on his composing efforts. The album is mostly avant- garde music, with a touch of some free jazz, probably because of the presence of musical genious, John Zorn.

My favorite songs of this album are all the ones with sound effects. I find those tracks to be some of the best 'noise' tracks of any of Patton's work with ambience and sound effects and the like.

I give this album three stars because it was good, but didn't have any mindblowing stuff. It was a tolerable album unlike the debut and had some pretty good ideas.

Thanks to Cygnus X-2 for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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