Ex-Faith No More singer rediscovers melody

Mike Patton

NEW YORK - Former Faith No More frontman Mike Patton is taking a break from squealing, howling and imitating cartoon characters to try some old-fashioned singing.

Eight years after the demise of the pioneering group that shot to fame in the 1980's with the rap-rock anthem "Epic," the singer has finally departed from avant-garde, cinematic and just plain weird noise-rock projects to release "Peeping Tom," a melody-based record that fuses hip-hop and alternative rock.

"This is more song-oriented. I needed some balance," Patton told Reuters. "A lot of melodic song ideas were seeping up and I had not outlet for them. I just go through phases, and now it's "Peeping Tom" season."

The album, due next week on Patton's Ipecac label, is built on trip-hop beats and samples and relies on Patton's vocal prowess. Faith No More fans longing for an unlikely reunion will see glimpses of his earlier work in his menacing whisper on the first single "Mojo" or his crescendo on the closer "We're Not Alone."

Six years in the making, the album features a slew of collaborators such as British trip-hop group Massive Attack, rapper Kool Keith, human beatbox Rhazel and Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones. They swapped audio files by mail with Patton, who has yet to meet Jones and Keith in person.

"I had myself set up for this huge dramatic nightmare having heard how difficult Keith is to work with," Patton said. "We all know he is slightly off kilter. I didn't expect to get that track back, but I'm a big fan of his and I said to myself I'd go above and beyond to make this happen.

"How wrong I was! He was one of the most responsible, professional collaborators on the whole record. I had one phone conversation with him and three days later I had the track and it was perfect."

Patton, who once penned such Faith No More songs as "Crack Hitler" and "Cuckoo for Caca," lives up to his reputation for irreverent humor and bizarre lyrics with lines like "I know that a--holes grow on trees/But I'm here to trim the leaves" from the song "Don't Even Trip".

He manages to reveal Jones' previously unknown potty mouth on the song "Sucker," where she murmurs sultrily "What makes you think you're my only lover/The truth kinda hurts, don't it, (oedipal expletive)?"

"I don't consider myself a great lyricist," Patton said. "I tried to pick words that sounded musical and flowed well, then I'd build a little theme. I wanted to keep the lyrics light and fun and congruent with the music, which I think is light and fun and like a vacation."

The singer said he sometimes reminisces about Faith No More's good old days, when they used to tour stadiums with Metallica and Guns N' Roses, but not with regret.

"They're good because they ended," he said. "If they were still going, they'd be the sad new days. It was really hard to spit the last record ("Album of the Year") out. I think it stands up to any of our others, but I was looking in the crystal ball and I could see where we were going. The best thing to do was to end on a good note."

Despite occasional offers to regroup, Patton said he'd never agree to a Faith No More reunion.

"Every four or five years, some Svengali who thinks he can change the world comes with a briefcase full of cash and makes a crazy offer," he said. "And it's not easy to (refuse). It would be very easy for some of us to rehearse for a couple of days, smile and cash the check. I'm not at that point. I got enough things on my plate. Maybe if he comes with two briefcases full of money..."

- REUTERS