PLEASE NOTE: I do not have a scanner, so the artwork included here is not full-sized. Besides, my booklet is signed by Kramer, Dogbowl and John S. Hall.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Rutles Highway Revisited CD (Shimmy Disc)Sometimes you do the stupidest things. The list is long, but of late I can think of one on my behalf: selling my vinyl copy of Rutles Highway Revisited at the tail-end of the 90s. It was stupid because; A) it’s a particularly fine release I traded in for no other reason than my collection needing a serious culling; and B) I just bought this CD version through eBay a couple of weeks back and ended up paying a good $15 more than I did back in 91 first time round. I guess that begs the question as to why the urge struck to purchase the thing (again), and I can only say that I’m going through a Shimmy Disc re-run.
Skip back to the years 1990-93 and you’d see a man possessed by all things Shimmy Disc. Others I know took the bait, and I know there are others who thought all things Shimmy- and Kramer-related blew like the wind. I was in the former camp. Bongwater, Shockabilly, Naked City, Boredoms, Tuli Kupferberg, Daniel Johnston, Tinklers, B.A.L.L., Fly Ashtray, Dogbowl, Lida Husik – you name it, I had it. In interviews at the time, Kramer noted that he modelled the label on Folkways: an eclectic, free-form mixture of anything which took his fancy. For a good 5-6 years, I believe he succeeded in that aim. The label bit the dust in the mid 90s after a nasty lawsuit from Bongwater’s Ann Magnuson (NYC Downtown performance-artist blowhard extraordinaire) against Kramer, and has since been resurrected on and off by the Knitting Factory label, to mixed results. Stick to the first 50 or so releases and you’re on a winner. After that, it’s a gamble. But this…
Saw the Rutles movie once as a teen. A Beatles parody w/ various Monty Python folks, I think I laughed once, maybe twice. Up against Spinal Tap or even Bad News, it couldn’t compete. Maybe it’s a killer and needs revisiting, but for now it’s this Shimmy tribute which I’m happily giving a rebirth. With all the original songs penned by Neil Innes (of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band), you may get a gist of the sheer levels of unbridled zaniness on display here, but the mostly straight rendering of otherwise nyuk-nyuk material is what makes this work.
You get a smattering of Shimmy regulars here: Dogbowl, When People Were Shorter And Lived Near The Water (with a remarkably straight p-rock number), the Tinklers, Tuli Kupferberg (one of the best tracks, a demented piano/vocal take on Living In Hope, Daniel Johnston, Jellyfish Kiss (long-forgotten UK garage act signed to the label for a few LPs; total Stoogeoid thug-rock which puts to rest the myth the label was merely a haven for sub-hippie noodleheads), King Missile (I stated this when starting this very blog a couple of years back: their Shimmy-era recordings are really good, no matter what depths of crud their latter material may have plundered) and, of course, Bongwater.
Throw in the mix a strange brew comprising of Galaxie 500, Das Damen (I guess I must be the only man alive still willing to admit his fondness for a couple of their albums), Unrest and the Holy Modal Rounders’ Pete Stampfel and you’ve got one of the best tribute albums you probably don’t own. Of course, you have a slight diversion into bogusness with Shonen Knife (come on, just admit it: back in the late 80s/early 90s, you kinda liked them, too. Their schtick worked for a good 2-3 years, or at least until you came to the ultimate conclusion they were a one-trick pony w/ the musical lifespan of a carton of milk).
Since this is, in essence, a tribute to a tribute, if you hate the Beatles you’d better skip this review altogether and go do some gardening. Every track is a rip-off of a Beatles hit: Strawberry Fields, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Help!, etc.), firstly reinterpreted by Innes and then spat out again by the artist in question. Stew it up w/ that patented Kramer bong-haze production he mastered at the time and there you have a winner I really do intend on hanging onto this time. For good. Great cover art, hilarious liner notes, I hope this review doesn’t fall on deaf ears.
– posted by Dave
Various
Rutles Highway Revisited (A tribute to The Rutles)
Released 1990
Shimmy Disc Europe (SDE 9028/CD)
1. Cheese & Onions – Galaxie 500
2. Hold My Hand – The Pussywillows
3. Number One – Bongos, Bass & Bob
4. Good Times Roll – Lida Husik
5. Another Day – Dogbowl
6. Piggy In The Middle – Das Damen
7. I Must Be In Love – Syd Straw & Marc Ribot
8. Nevertheless – Joey Arias
9. Let’s Be Natural – When People Were Shorter & Lived Near The Water
10. Between Us – Unrest
11. Ouch! – Peter Stampfel & The Bottlecaps
12. Blue Suede Schubert – The Tinklers
13. Living In Hope – Tuli Kupferberg
14. Baby Let Me Be – Daniel Johnston
15. It’s Looking Good – Uncle Wiggly
16. Goose Step Mama – Shonen Knife
17. Get Up And Go – Jellyfish Kiss
18. Doubleback Alley – King Missile
19. With A Girl Like You – Paleface
20. Love Life – BongwaterRutles Highway Revisited Liner Notes
12:30PM…Hi. My name is Debbie Nixon. I’m sitting in the lobby of the Algonquin Hotel waiting to meet one of the all-time intellectual giants of Rock & Pop, ex-Rutle Ron Nasty. If the interview goes well, boyfriend Kramer says it will be my "big break." I don’t want to louse this up…so I’m half an hour early…
12:50PM…Kramer is a crazy guy; I met him at a party…he has all this…like ENERGY! He runs a record company or somethin’…SHIMMY-DISC he calls it. Anyway, he’s put together this tribute album to the Rutles and he wants ME to get Ron Nasty’s reactions!…
12:55PM….Five minutes to go…I’m nervous…I re-read the bio-notes Kramer gave me…I wonder what the "great man" will think of Rutles Highway Revisited. Surely the musical genius and lyrical force that masterminded such songs as "Doubleback Alley," "Nevertheless" and "Cheese And Onions" would understand that imitation was the sincerest form of flattery?…
1:35PM…Ron is late, I order an english muffin and check my cassette recorder and portable CD. I make a mental note to tidy my bag. My apartment keys are always getting tangled with my speculum…which can be embarrassing…some guys don’t know what it is and ask dumb questions like "what is THAT?!."..
2:05PM…Still no sign of Ron…I wonder what I should do? Kramer said I had "brains" and there was more to life than being a cheerleader for the Chicago Bears…he reckoned if I put all my thoughts down on paper, they would make a book…so, here I am, out of a job and into literature…you know, books and stuff…so O.K., right now it’s just Rock Journalism, but it’s a start.
2:35PM…The Algonquin Hotel is famous…they say the Vicious Circle used to hang out there. Maybe I’ll check out their albums and do a piece on them one day…Where the hell is Ron?
I telephoned his room…he "cannot be disturbed."
3:10PM… I bribe the Bell Captain to deliver a photograph of me on vacation in Florida.
3:14PM…Ron calls the desk. He will see me straight away. I grab my stuff…this is it!
DEBBIE: Ron, after the Rutles split, you turned your back on the world. Why?
RON: Don’t be stupid! You can’t turn your back on the world…turning your back is what happens when you’re busy looking the other way…
DEBBIE: What exactly does that mean?
RON: I dunno. It’s all history. Anyway, I’m still bigger than Rod.
DEBBIE: What do you think of "tribute albums?"
RON: Not a lot…they’re just sequels, like Rocky 6, Airport ’77, or Police Academy 2001!. .They’re all crap!
DEBBIE: A lot of talented and well-respected underground musicians have contributed to…
RON: Talented and well respected underground musicians? That’s a contradiction in terms, isn’t it?
DEBBIE: I don’t know…I have the CD with me…Do you wanna hear it?
RON: No.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(At this point I turned off the cassette recorder. The interview had started to go horribly wrong. I knew Ron had an attitude problem, after all, here was the man who’d said that Western Civilisation was merely an effective sewage system and had demonstrated this to the world by sitting fully clothed under a shower. I had to think of something fast. I suggested we go sit in the shower.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DEBBIE: Do you feel better now?
RON: Yeah, let’s get it over with.
DEBBIE: O.K., here’s the first track. It’s by GALAXIE 500.
RON: Another bloody sequel! Which one have they done?
DEBBIE: "Cheese & Onions."
RON: I like the start, I think this lot have got something, probably constipation, they’re obviously high on laxatives…yep, they’re speeding up…heading for the lavatory…aaaahh…nope! Ah well, back to the laxatives.
DEBBIE: See what you think of the PUSSYWILLOWS and their treatment of "Hold My Hand"…
RON: Hullo? What’s this? Who is she singing to? A man or a woman? This is not yer ordinary All-American sticky palms and doorstep stuff. Never mind holdin’ hands, this’ll have the Moral Majority up in arms! Whatever next?
DEBBIE: BONGOS, BASS & BOB… "Number One."
RON: Who’s that screeching? It’s not Bruce "I’m-really-going-to-hurt-my-throat-this-time" Springsteen, is it? No, can’t be…he’s not raucous enough. Maybe Bob’s stood his bass cabinet on the bongo player’s foot, yeah, that must be it. The rest of the band’s havin’ a good laugh…insensitive bastards!
DEBBIE: See if you can guess this one.
RON: Oh yeah… "Good Times Roll." Who’s doin’ it?
DEBBIE: LIDA HUSIK.
RON: What’s she doing on this album? She’s got a pleasant voice and she can handle a lyric, shame it has to be this one. Did I really write that crap? It must have been the biscuits, I should have stuck to the tea…Who was it on the phone during the chorus? Sounded like they were callin’ from New Jersey…
DEBBIE: (sneeze) Excuse me…can we get out of the shower now, or at least turn off the water?
RON: Yeah, we can listen to the next one while we get out of these wet clothes…
(I’d half expected this! I put aside my mixed feelings and played along…I really needed the $25 Kramer promised me.)
DEBBIE: Can you help me with this zip…? It’s stuck…
RON: This is great music for struggling with zips…I didn’t recognise it at first, it’s one of Dirk’s, he was a moody sod…"Another Day," typical. Who’s singin’ it?
DEBBIE: DOGBOWL.
RON: There’s no need to be rude. I’m doin’ me best…they shouldn’t put zips in polyester Kaftans…
DEBBIE: No…Dogbowl is a man. He made this track.
RON: All by himself? There, that’s got it!…Now let’s put all our wet clothes in a heap, sit on them, and watch the T.V. with the sound off…
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(I hadn’t expected this! We sat stark naked on our wet clothes in the middle of the room… Ron was working the remote…It was weird how soon the pictures seemed to fit the beat…Did this ego-maniac really know something?)
DEBBIE: Wow! Did you notice when Dogbowl said "number 9" you zapped to Channel 9 at that precise moment?
RON: Yeah, it’s just the kind of thing that does happen when two naked people are sitting on their wet clothes in the middle of the floor and a station break comes up…say, you have a terrific body…
DEBBIE: Why, thank you! Oh no, keep the T.V. on, here comes "Piggy In The Middle."
RON: Who is it this time?
DEBBIE: DAS DAMEN.
RON: I’d better make a cup of tea….
DEBBIE: Oh! You have a kettle?
RON: Never travel without one. I’ll get the bags.
DEBBIE: I’m not accustomed to taking tea…
RON: Trust me, if this is anything like the soddin’ original, we’re gonna need it! ….
(The tea was incredibly strong…I lost all sense of time and place…I felt "at one" with myself…)
DEBBIE: Wow…!
RON: This is good…"I Must Be In Love"…
DEBBIE: No…I think it’s the tea…
RON: I’m talking about the song, Dummy! Stop playing with that speculum and tell me who they are!
DEBBIE: Oh! I’m sorry. It’s SYD STRAW & MARC RIBOT…
RON: Well, they’re far too good to be on this album. It’s not anybody who can sing about everything and nothing the way they do…What’s this crap!?
DEBBIE: Oh, let’s see…it’s JOEY ARIAS doing "Nevertheless."
RON: He’s out of his tree!
DEBBIE: He’s an artist…making a statement…
RON: It’ll be used against him if he’s not careful! I’ve met guys like him. The lights are on but there’s no one at home.
DEBBIE: Calm down, your veins are swelling all over the place…Here, let me rub them for you…come on, get down from that bureau and lie on the bed…there now, is that better?
RON: Uh….it helps…it helps a lot.
DEBBIE: WHEN PEOPLE WERE SHORTER & LIVED NEAR THE WATER…
RON: Poetry? At a time like this?
DEBBIE: No…they’re next…"Let’s Be Natural."
RON: Oh, bloody Hell! This is fast…I can see why they wanted to know if they were rollin’…this is the kind of music that does for your ears what throwing up does for your throat.
DEBBIE: You don’t like it?
RON: Cover my head with something.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DEBBIE: Oh yes! YES! mmmmmm….Oh! Ah!….oh…ah!….oooooohmmmmmmmmm….GOD! Are you O.K.?
RON: Phew…yeah…now I can breath…you’re quite a girl, you know…very imaginative…
DEBBIE: You’re not so dull yourself, Ron…Oh, what’s this?
RON: It’s "Between Us"…even I know that, hullo, they seem to have forgotten the words, either that or they couldn’t be bothered to do an instrumental solo. What do they call themselves?
DEBBIE: UNREST.
RON: Well, they sound quite peaceful to me, even sweet. How many more tracks are there?
DEBBIE: We’re about half-way…
RON: WHAT!? Is that all? This has put years on me already.
DEBBIE: Don’t sulk, tell me about "Ouch!." Was it a "cri de coeur" about a "chagrin d’amour?"
RON: Yeah…whatever you say…is that next?
DEBBIE: Yep, by PETER STAMPFEL & THE BOTTLECAPS.
RON: I thought this was called "Ouch!." Is this Stampfel bloke a method actor with bare feet leapin’ about on real bottle-caps? Where did all the "Eeech! Yow! Cripes!" etc, come from? Silly old fool…
DEBBIE: You look tired, do you want to rest?
RON: No! A Nasty never gives up…go get the ice bucket and tell me what’s next…
DEBBIE: My God, such stamina! O.K…it’s the TINKLERS…They’re also visual artists.
RON: Then it’s just as well they can’t see us…God, they don’t half go on and on…the ice cubes in our navels are gonna melt before they finish…and I’ve got a blister on me brain! Who’s next?
DEBBIE: Where’s the list?
RON: Here…it’s TULI KUPFERBERG, "Livin’ in Hope." Where did he get that silly intro from? He sounds old enough to remember when "gay" just meant happy and "fug" was just a smoke filled room…he must be a nice guy, though. The notion that "Hope" is a Condo’ somewhere is inspired…
DEBBIE: Shall I make some more tea?
RON: Is the Pope a Catholic?…Who’s this? DANIEL JOHNSTON? What a sense of rhythm! Hurry up with that tea…what’s he singin’? It can’t be "Baby Let Me Be," can it? The organ is very…I dunno…MOVING…like a Van Gogh sky. The tambourine has a mind of its own…I hope he feels better soon…
DEBBIE: That’s nice…who is this?
RON: UNCLE WIGGLY…"It’s Looking Good"…
DEBBIE: Here’s your tea…don’t spill it.
RON: Mmmm…great. This is almost musical…a bit slow maybe. They don’t sound very excited about whatever it is that’s "lookin’ good."…they might as well be singin’ "I’ve got a dog," or "I’ve found 5 bucks"…
DEBBIE: Gimme that list…"Goose Step Mama"…
RON: It should be "Goose Steppin’ Mama"…
DEBBIE:…it’s by SHONEN KNIFE.
RON: Who are they?
DEBBIE: Three Japanese females…from Osaka…
RON: Gleat Baws of File! Are they Geishas?
DEBBIE: I don’t think so…
RON: Hang on…the only bit they’ve sung properly is "sold you." It was meant to be to be "sold yer." Tinker, Tailor, SOLDIER, Sailor, get it? Oh, never mind, they’re not good…but they’ve got guts…hullo, someone’s tryin’ to get through on the short-wave radio…who is it?
DEBBIE: JELLYFISH KISS
RON: What on earth are they chanting?
DEBBIE: It says here…"Get Up And Go."
RON: How very appropriate!
DEBBIE: Ugh! Did you just fart?
RON: Yeah…sorry…sometimes noise affects me that way…I get really bad attacks…
DEBBIE; Can’t you control them?
RON: No…once they start, they just keep building up…bigger and bigger…
DEBBIE: Just…try, O.K.? This is KING MISSILE with "Doubleback Alley." I think it’s my favorite…YUK! You really do have a problem, Ron. Was that you or the guitar?
RON: A bit of both, I think…
DEBBIE: You ruined that track…I thought it was good!
RON: So did I…but I told you, I can’t help it…
DEBBIE: Well…try sitting on the ice bucket…get a grip…there’s only two more…this is PALEFACE…"With a Girl Like You."…(snigger)
RON: What are you laughin’ at?
DEBBIE: You! (giggle) You look ridiculous on that ice bucket….
RON: Don’t blame me…it was your idea! Anyway, it’s not working. The noise is even louder…
DEBBIE: (titter) NO! (gasp) Stop that! Don’t you dare…oh no! (shriek) I can t stand it!
RON: What…the noise?
DEBBIE: No…(gasp,moan) The MIMING!
RON: I wasn’t miming! I was singing along. Control yourself woman!
DEBBIE: Oh…aahhh…my sides…
RON: Never mind your sides. You’re shakin’ so much your breasts look like they’re tryin’ to escape from Elm Street Freddy…you’ll do yourself an injury!
DEBBIE: Oh God…I’m sorry…last one…it’s BONGWATER…and…"Love Life"…
RON: I’ll never make it…
DEBBIE: No! Don’t get up! You can’t let the contents of that ice bucket loose over New York city…the mayor’s got enough problems…
RON: Don’t worry…I have a plan…lend me your speculum…
DEBBIE: What for?
RON: You’ll see…
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
With Bongwater’s "Love Life" fading away, Ron succeeded in harnessing his extraordinary flatulence with the aid of a book of Algonquin matches and my speculum. Slowly and majestically, he rose from the ice bucket like an Apollo moon-shot. His nude body arched gracefully as he began to circle the room. Faster and faster he flew until suddenly, he was heading straight for the window! He yelled for me to grab hold…:I blindly lunged for his speeding torso and we vent through the window together…High above the streets of Manhattan. oblivious to the fact that I was hanging from his genitals, he spontaneously burst into a Frank Sinatra impression:
"Fly me to the moon,
and let me play among the stars,
let know what spring is like
on Jupiter and Mars,
in other words, Hold My Hand…""Hold My Hand?," I thought…"is nothing original?"
Somewhere over the cold gray Atlantic we made warm, wonderful, weightless love…witnessed only by lone yachtspersons and the kind of super-tanker captains no one ever believes. As the dawn crept up over Eastern Europe and we drifted down towards Liverpool, I asked Ron if he could sum up his reactions to RUTLES HIGHWAY REVISITED…He kissed me on my Brains and said they ought to have called it "Teenage Mutant Ninja Rutles."…that way they could have made enough money to buy a politician and never have to work again…
"Screw Literature," I thought," Long Live Rock ‘n Roll!"
P.S. If anyone out there finds my speculum, look after it…it my be worth a lot of money someday…
08-025779-10 Printed in The Netherlands
Copyright Shimmy Disc——————————————————————————–