Songs (click on the -icons for audio)
1. Het einde van de eeuw
2. Sex verandert alles
3. Radiohoofd
4. Dageradeloosheid
5. Als ik bij mij ben
6. Supermodel
7. Lukt het met hem ?
8. Mijn bloem
9. Beatlesgitaar
10. Ik was een wrak, ik was een zombie
11. 17
12. Eenzaam onder jou
13. Dolfijn
14. Ik bid voor een DJ
15. Is er een plaats
16. Zomer zonder spijt

Musicians :
- Frank vander Linden : voice, guitar & stuff
- Dirk Jans : drums, voice & stuff
- Michel De Coster : bass & legs

Gasten :
- Jan Leyers (keyboards on "Lukt het met hem ?")
- Mario Caldato Jr. (counting on "Supermodel")

Produced & mixed by Dirk Jans & Frank vander Linden
Recorded at House of Ghosts (Wambeek) & ICP (Brussel)

Photo's : Guy Kokken, Art Direction : Herman Houbrechts (Beeldzorg)

Press Release

It's about time that you should know about these guys : De Mens, the rocking powerpoptrio around the witty frontman Frank Vander Linden has been one of the most popular rockgroups of the country, and through hits like "Dit is mijn huis", "Irene", "Sheryl Crow I need you so" or "Maandag", the Mens has been a household name in Belgian radio all this time.
Yet the summit has not been reached yet. 1999 is destined to be thé year of De Mens, and has already started well with the new single "Einde Van De Eeuw" shooting up in de Afrekening like a rocket. The new album "Sex Verandert Alles" (Sex changes everything) - their first for Play It Again Sam Records ! - also promises a lot. For the first time Vander Linden & Jans have done the production of the album themselves, and the authorities in this field say you can hear that : from the enthusiasm of the guitarplayer, drummer and bass-player, from the subtle use of samples & loops, from the way the rough edges have been preserved where necessary. "Sex Verandert Alles" not only contains loud rocking songs à la De Mens, but also (nice) surprises such as the hiphop-ish title song, the astonishingly beatiful violin samples of "Dageradeloosheid", or to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion tributary song "Mijn Bloem".
"Sex Verandert Alles" is surely - besides being a truth as big as a house - surely the best thing that was ever accomplished by De Mens.

My opinion

Although they have been tampering in the sidelines of the well-known powerrocksongs with all kinds of samplers, voices, tapes etc... and the rocktrio handled a synth on occasions, De Mens sounds more tightly-knit then ever before. The reason could be that they did all the productional work of the cd themselves, recorded without the interference of third parties.
The somewhat more "experimental" songs work out well, also because they emphasize the evolution and the ability of the bad. Still, it makes me wonder if these inventive little elements will not sound hopelessly outdated in 5 years or so, and if the more straightforwarded songs (like the single "Einde van de Eeuw", "Radiohoofd", "Mijn Bloem", "Ik was een zombie") will float on top as being the best songs of the album.
Vander Linden knows perfectly how to shy away from the limits of his voice. The melodies he builds fit exactly within the confinements of it. A disadvantage remains that he doesn't seem capable of more emotional singing, something that's lacking in the more fragile songs such as "Dageradeloosheid", "Lukt het met hem ?", "Dolfijn", "Is er een plaats".
Apparently, the group had recorded over 40 songs on tape, of which 16 stand here shining. Probably a good selection, because only a small handfull of songs come a bit short ("Supermodel", "Beatlesgitaar", "Ik bid voor een deejay", "Dageradeloosheid"). 4/16th of waste, hope the greens won't mind.
Sometimes however, óne song can be enough to make the difference between a reasonable and a reasonably terrific record. The song on "Sex verandert alles" that makes that difference for me is "17". This song has it all : great lyrics, a tension buiding up, an outburst, inventive arrangements, a strong melody ... in short, a world class song on a Belgian record.
Conclusion for me : their "Best Of" of 2 years ago is better, but this one comes 2nd.

Your opinion

"Dageradeloosheid" one of the lesses songs on Sex Verandert Alles??? Are you kidding ? This is the best song of De Mens ever!!! Did you perhaps have earplugs in when you were listening to it or had you been drinking a bit too much the night before ??
Sent in by Wouts Hoge Raad der Cynische Wijzen
My reply : I don't drink alcohol, so that leaves only one possility open.

And your opinion?
Did I get it all wrong, or was I spot-on ? Do you want to share your opinion about this cd ? Send it in, and I'll put it up here !

More about this group :

- De Mens heeft uiteraard al lang een plaats in dit archief
- My review of the newer cd "Liefde"
- Management band : Peter Verstraelen (Rock Werchter)

Where to buy this CD ?

You can order this CD from a number of locations (prices researched on Janyary 4th, 1999, but nothing guarantees they still are the same when you read this).

Shop	Price of the CD	Shipping + other expenses	Total	Link
Frontstage	645	50	695 BEF	Frontstage
Azur	753	0	753 BEF
HVH-Megastore	728	54	782 BEF
Proxis	640	95	735 BEF	Proxis

The lowest price is in yellow, the highest in red. This price comparison doesn't take things into account like deduction of shipping expenses when ordering more than 1 cd, bonus points, differences in guarantees ... Shipping prices are those for customers in Belgium.

Have you seen this record elsewhere on the net, do you own an online-CD-shop with Belgian products in it, or if there's something wrong with my calculations : let me know.

Other recent reviews.
Do you want to announce your record here? It's easy (and free) ! Click here for the conditions.