1 of 1

Write now Article Tools

4 Non Blondes recorded exactly one album - then broke up. "Bigger, Better, Faster, More" is the album they left behind, which also launched the career of singer Linda Perry.

Perry was just 24 when the other band members spotter her at a solo performance. Just three years before the album's release, she'd been singing on the streets, and had already struggled with substance abuse, but the band couldn't miss the potential in her powerful voice. Within two years, they'd landed a recording contract, and were in the studios to create "Bigger, Better, Faster, More." Perry's voice dominates every one of its 11 tracks, and her writing credit appears on every song.

The album opens with a fierce, fast number called "Train." It's an abstract cry describing someone wanting a train of escape - but with Perry's emotional delivery, the lyrics almost make sense. The next track switches to a funkier beat, but Perry still belts out its over-the-top chorus. ("Let me take you away on the wings of my superfly...") It's only after these two experimental songs that the album switches to a surprisingly straightforward and personal ballad - signaled by the gentle acoustic guitar opening of "What's Up." This song became the band's biggest single, as Perry's intensity lends real power to its first person plea that "I pray every single day for a revolution." The album's first side ended with two more personal numbers - "Pleasantly Blue," a rocking bluesy love song, and "Morphine and Chocolate," a slow, strong meditation about the need to break free.

But the album's most revealing number is probably "Old Mr. Heffer." The fast, peppy track is just 132 seconds long, and describes a wild afternoon, presumably near San Francisco's Haight Street. (The album's liner notes include a thank you to the Nightbreak club on Haight street, and it was the center of a music scene which sometimes confronted singers with tourists visiting San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.) "I got a beer in my hand and I'm dragging a stoogie too," Perry sings rambunctiously - bragging about her style as she confronts "Susie and Billy," a young couple holding hands. Soon she's addressing "Mr. Heffer," explaining that "I didn't mean to scare your blue-eyed-child," but when they'd snubbed her she felt compelled to chase them for a mile.

Perry's personality is evident throughout the album, but especially on this track. The band even got its name when a mother in a park warned her little boy about the dirty people around. (Describing the family as "very blonde," the band decided to describe themselves proudly as four non-blondes.) Perry wrote two politically suggestive songs for the album - "Calling All the People" and "Dear Mr. President" - sharing a strong commitment to her own personal values. But the album ends with a statement acknowledging that no, she doesn't have all the answers. "Can't you help me find my way home," she sings out strongly.

Perry apparently antagonized the band's studio handlers, insisting on a more experimental sound and ultimately releasing only a solo album to fulfill their contract (which the studio refused to promote). Given her unbending determination, it's ultimately a miracle that "Bigger, Better, Faster, More" even exists.

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Album reviews: Bigger, Better, Faster, More by 4 Non Blondes?
We want to hear your view. Write now!