Have you watered the brains today?
Joseph W. Hlebica | San Diego, CA USA | 04/28/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Noone knows more about nor appreciates more than do I The Bonzo Dog (Doo-Dah) Band. Noone. I first became aware of the Bonzos when they made a cameo appearance in the Beatle's feature Magical Mystery Tour. I was disappointed to learn that John Lennon had objected to their inclusion, but, thankfully, Paul McCartney, who had "discovered" them, prevailed, and the Bonzos made it to the otherwise unimportant film's final cut. I had purchased all of the Bonzos' to-date released albums by the summer of 1971, when I was just 16 years old. I learned more of the Bonzos thanks to the eclectic programming of our local free-form FM radio station in Sacramento, CA, KZAP, and I attended their only concert tour of the US in 1969 when they opened for Led Zeppelin. Well after the band's breakup, I had the privilage of attending intimate performances by both Neil Innes and Vivian Stanshall during tours of their solo acts. I sat front row during a concert date on Elton John's US tour following the release of Honky Chateau when Elton featured "Legs" Larry Smith tap-dancing in ski boots atop the grand piano. I was a huge fan especially of Stanshall's, and in later years attended an exclusive Tokyo screening of the film version of Rawlinson's End, starring Trevor Howard as jolly, bucolic, old Sir Geoffrey. And for all of this, it is my highly informed opinion that of the Bonzos' many and extravagantly produced albums, Tadpoles is their finest work. Among the many gems on this album is the best-ever cover of a one-hit-wonder's hit, Billy "Boris" Pickett's Monster Mash, featuring Stanshall both out-Borising Pickett and out-Borising Boris Karloff, the original object of Pickett's impersonation. Typical of the genius of the Bonzos' their cover vastly surpassed the original--and featured the additional line "Igor! Have you watered the brains today, Igor?"--much as their musical parody of the Beatles on their final album, Let's Make Up and Be Friendly, vastly surpassed the Beatles. In fact, it is my unimpeachable opinion that the Bonzos were the original Beatles and that only after discovering the Bonzos, the Beatles were inspired to make their career-transforming leap from Mersey Beat to Psychedelia. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an auto da fe to attend in my tent."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
