Like everybody’s everything, Fu Manchu‘s 2020 didn’t go as planned. A 30th anniversary celebration that as I recall was going to bring the three 10″ EPs above in the span of the year itself, plus touring, hit against a global lockdown and universal delays. Fu30 turned out to be a longer celebration, spread across three years as April 2020’s Fu30, Pt. 1 would be followed in April 2022 by Fu30, Pt. 2 and in Feb. 2023 by Fu30, Pt. 3, each with three songs, one of them a cover, and artwork referencing that same cover.

As was likely the plan all along, the three three-songers were compiled onto a single LP/CD, Fu30 Volumes I-III (the cover referencing KISS‘ Double Platinum), in 2023, and the band’s cover of Rush‘s “Working Man,” which they issued as a standalone in 2020 in homage to Rush drummer Neil Peart. The 10-song collection reshuffled the tracklisting as well, mixing the originals in such a way that Fu30, Pt. 2 leadoff “Strange Plan” fronts side A. I’ll be digging into this version. It’s here if you’re interested in following along that way:

Either way you go, Fu Manchu were clearly celebrating the three decades of their tenure by doing what they do best, which is being Fu Manchu. “Strange Plan” as a bit of characteristic lurch but breaks out for its solo, and it’s immediately backed by “Takin’ It to the Streets,” originally by The Doobie Brothers, which is likewise slowed down. The rhythm of the chorus is accordingly a little awkward, and among Fu Manchu ’70s covers, you’d be hard pressed to find one that fits better than “Godzilla,” but “Takin’ It to the Streets” gets bonus points for messing with the original a bit and the dirtied-up, riffier ending.

The other two covers — Surf Punks‘ “My Wave” from Fu30, Pt. 2, and Plimsouls‘ “A Million Miles Away” with Neil Fallon of Clutch on guest vocals — are spread throughout. The hairier fuzz at the finish of “Takin’ It to the Streets” continues as a theme into the shorter and speedier “As You Crawl,” and the momentum they amass there carries into the more open, drum-led verses of “Orb,” which is a highlight, with its stops and starts and weighted, on-the-beat, but still not overly aggressive approach. “My Wave” follows and also gets the start-stop treatment, offset with some effects and broader fuzz.

Producer Jim Monroe, who mixed 2014’s Gigantoid (discussed here, review here) before stepping into full-on helming a Fu Manchu LP recording on 2018’s Clone of the Universe (discussed here, review here), seems to have recorded all the tracks across the three LPs, and indeed, the sound of “Orb” or “My Wave” carries on that place-between sensibility of latter-day, post-2014 Fu, with a style that can speak both to the heavier onslaught of their two late-aughts full-lengths and the punk foundations of their ’90s heyday. Fu30, Volumes I-III obviously wasn’t written to be an album, and it’s not an album, but with so much groove around and an aesthetic that’s been defining itself over the course of — wouldn’t you know it — 30 years, continuity feels inevitable.

And that’s ultimately why I went with the compilation version rather than approaching the three EPs separately here. It’s perhaps a little truer to what Fu Manchu‘s intention for their 30th anniversary might’ve been, and it’s a decent LP-style flow across the two sides, splitting after “My Wave” to open side B with “A Million Miles Away” and Fallon‘s guest appearance, which feels a bit like an event even though the Clutch frontman and Fu Manchu bassist Brad Davis worked together in The Company Band (that felt like an event too), and whether you’re familiar with the original or not — which is my way of telling you I’m not — it makes a rocking start to the second half of the tracklisting.

The three Fu Manchu originals that follow — “Time is Going On,” “Low Road” and “Over Blower” — are culled in succession, one each, from the three EPs, and they represent the longest stretch of the band’s own songs on Fu30, Volumes I-III. All three use start-stop riffing in a different way and to a different atmospheric end. “Time is Going On” is quintessential mid-paced Fu. It could be on any number of records and because we’re talking about context we are, that’s a compliment. “Low Road” lightens up on impact a bit with a bluesier swing and lead licks, which of course makes the roller sensibilities of “Over Blower” seem to land that much heavier in comparison. But the three make a convenient sampling, because between them there aren’t any massive changes in basic approach, and yet Fu Manchu are able to affect a diversity of moods and atmospheres with subtle shifts in tone or tempo.

This is, of course, invariably, part of what has allowed them both their longevity and their position among the foremost US heavy rock bands of their generation, but it boils down to songwriting and that was never in doubt going in. If anything, Fu30, Volume I-III is a fan-piece, and Fu fans are probably those who need least to be convinced of the band’s prowess in this regard. Still, as both an occasion worth celebrating and a collection of Fu Manchu songs (plus covers) pressed to whatever size plastic circle one might prefer, you won’t find me arguing against whatever aspects here might be preaching to the choir. That’s kind of the whole idea.

Fu Manchu‘s anniversary touring would eventually happen, and as they’re now past their 35th anniversary, the concerns around the 30th are a thing of the past. This collection still remains, however, and as they might look ahead to the next decade milestone on their path, one can only wonder what might be in store for that and, of course, hope there are no plagues to derail.

To end honestly, I’ll tell you that I was thinking of skipping this one altogether. It’s not really an album, and it’s not as widely regarded in Fu Manchu‘s catalog as, say, the LP-from-EPs compilation Godzilla’s Eatin’ Dust (discussed here). But if you’ve been following the march of time through this series, you know we’re getting pretty close to now, and as I look ahead to what’s left, I found myself wanting to fit in as much as possible before it was finished. This is the 16th Friday Full-Length in a raw that’s been Fu Manchu. How many bands, really, would still have you trying to cram more in after so long?

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

—

Hang on, gonna go take the dog around the block with The Patient Mrs.

…That was the right idea. I feel like I haven’t moved my body in months because, mostly, I haven’t. Oddly enough, neither Hungarian homework nor stonerblogging are particularly onerus physically. Strange how I hate exercising and I seem to have structured my entire life around not. I can still suplex The Pecan if I need to.

Speaking of The Pecan, we have a meeting today at 2PM about her being in fourth grade math. Like a check-in, except that in the interim this week the district announced they’re moving her class to a different school, so basically we’re done with them and it’s time to get the ball rolling on out of district placement. They’re removing her from her ‘home’ school cohort anyway and her current placement doesn’t seem to be educating her so much as enforcing compliance, so if they’re going to make the environment even more restrictive by taking her away from the kids she’s been in class with the last three years, they don’t really have a leg to stand on in keeping her in that program at all.

My sincere hope is that’s a good thing in the long run, but it sure sucks now. The convenience of the neighborhood school — especially if it’s a decent one, which we’re privileged to live near — isn’t to be understated. Leaving that to potentially drive half an hour to and from Berkeley Heights each day isn’t something I relish, especially if I come home in between, but if that’s what the thing is gonna be, then so be it. I still don’t see any way to educate this demand-avoidant, steadfast-resistance ADHD, don’t-give-a-fuck-about-the-rules autistic kid at home. I’m neither qualified nor inclined to do it — and yes, I’d be the one to do it — and my relationship with her has enough points of contention as regards everyday things like brushing her hair or getting dressed for school. Am I really supposed to expect her to learn about social studies from me? I can’t even convince her not to pee all over the toilet seat.

That puts a lot of stakes on the private school we’ve been in touch with. We have a meeting with them next week, but I think the outcome of today is just going to be stay the course with the math unless and until the wheels come off, then pivot to something else, which has been ‘the plan’ all along. One band-aid into another, since kindergarten when she got to this school in the first place.

Anyway. Feeling anxious for one meeting, will feel anxious for the next, and probably the 75 after that before we get anything accomplished and hopefully get her on the road to where she needs to be educationally.

I took her last week for an evaluation at Mathnasium. They do a free whathaveyou and then tell you the price of tutoring, which is prohibitive enough in a group setting, let alone for a private tutor which she’d probably need. Like the school, they had her somewhere in the fourth grade range, but the woman who gave us the tour was watching her do the math in her head and we talked about how she’s always just been able to see it, and in the follow-up email, the woman said she could see The Pecan was gifted. It sucks that something as stupid and made up as money is the barrier to her pursuing her passion for math in that setting. It seems so vulgar an idea.

That’s the kid update, who’s up for a Zelda update?

I got to watch The Patient Mrs. play about an hour of a Breath of the Wild game she’s had going for a while on the Switch 2. She never has time to play because, well, she has way more of a real life than I do, what with the success in her career, friends, online support groups and international union of moms worldwide. She took on the Windblight Ganon rematch and used like 80 arrows. It was fun. I still think I’d have a hard time getting into a replay of BOTW, but it is beautiful.

Meantime, a bit in anticipation for the fan-made PC ports of Twilight Princess that I mentioned last week, I downloaded Ship of Harkinian, which is the decompiled version of Ocarina of Time with a wide slew of cheats, mods and quality-of-life changes built-in. There’s a button you click that’s like, ‘Hey do you wanna use 4K textures now?’ and you click yes and then it works. Part of what I was curious about with the native PC version instead of running it on an N64 emulator was what the difference was. The difference is how well everything functions.

The Pecan saw me starting the game yesterday evening and took over, played through the first dungeon and on toward the next by bedtime, most of the time sitting on my lap. Total win for nerd parenting. Highlight of my month, definitely as far as hanging out with her is concerned.

I also put a couple hours this week into the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, which is a game I played like 35-plus years ago on the NES made from the ground up with new grpahics and gameplay and such. It’s fun. My rotted-brain attention span is challenged by turn-based battling, which 10-year-old me would neither understand nor accept, but it’s still fun and if I play it for like an hour or two at a time over the course of the next however long, passively, once in a while, well then I got to enjoy it for longer. /end Zelda update.

Premieres next week slated for The Dharma Chain, Her Name Was Fire and November Fire, and then I’m out to cover Desertfest Oslo, which doesn’t feel real even a little bit yet and probably won’t until I’m sitting in the airport waiting to roll out. Last year was a joy, though, and I’m looking forward to getting back. The more I see of that city, the more I like it.

Have a great and safe weekend. Don’t forget to hydrate. And fuck the supreme court and whoever decided that guy who burnt down the warehouse — Mr. Theyshouldajustpaidusalivingwageorwhateverhesaid — was a terrorist.

Thanks again for reading.

FRM.

The Obelisk Collective on Facebook

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

Tags: At the Dojo Records, California, Fu Manchu, Fu Manchu Fu30 Volume I-III, Fu30 Volume I-III, San Clemente

This entry was posted on Friday, May 1st, 2026 at 11:56 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.