The Rutles - Archaeology
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Free Music Notes for Archaeology
Free Music Review: Patience will be Rewarded
Hit: 5 Stars
At first, this album appears a pale imitation of The Rutles soundtrack album. But after listening a couple of times, I fell in love with Archeology, too. The wit is not sledgehammer, but it is there. Many of the songs were written by Neil Innes years ago and have now been given "the full Rutles treatment."There is plenty of parody here, especially of The Beatles' Anthology project. This collection contains some of Innes' most insightful lyrics. As Homer Simpson says, It's funny because it's true.
Here are some of my favourites:
Major Happy's Up and Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band [Guess which song it parodies!], appropriately followed by a very amusing poke at With a Little Help From My Friends called Rendezvous
Questionnaire sounds like Fool On the Hill meets Imagine AND I Am the Walrus!
Lonely-Phobia sounds like it comes from the Help era, with acoustic guitars and serious lyrics that betray its earlier origin
The Knicker-Elastic King is another Penny Lane parody, in the style of Doubleback Alley
Here is a snippet:
Knicker Elastic - essence of propriety
Knicker Elastic - upholder of society
The price of raw materials
coupled with inflation
squeezed his global holdings
his liquid assets bottomed out
and shrunk his retail outlet operation
Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Musik is in the style of Not Guilty and has bitingly satrical lyrics, which Innes admits, mock his own lifestyle as much as anybody else's.
Another lyric extract:
Look at all the nice things money can buy
Every day there's more and more
Do you ever stop and wonder why
you need to lock your door?
Loneliness is all that
people ever share
Smuggling their pain through
'Nothing To Declare'
Living next to people
who agree to disagree
Happy in a pie-chart
society
Shangri-La is a fun song, which sounds like it could have come from Abbey Road, but with a For No One horn solo, and a long, singalong, Hey Jude-type ending.
Great fun. Highly recommended.
Free Music Review: The Rutles Have Arrived (And To Prove It...)
Hit: 5 Stars
.....They're here!This collection parodies the Beatles like the original album and allows Neil Innes, Ricky Fataar, and John Halsey to take on a life of their own as well. There's no participation by Eric Idle (who played Dirk McQuigley, who was rumoured to be deaf!). It starts out with a Sgt Pepper/With a Little Help parody "Major Happy's Up and Coming Once Upon a Good Time Band" followed by John Halsey's deadpan vocals on "Rendevous" ("Ay, oo ah yew?" he asks before the response "We're the other singers in the band!"). Ricky Fataar plays the sitar and sings "Joe Perfect". Both the Beatles Anthology and The White Album arespoofed on "We've Arrived And To Prove It, We're Here" (with the jet flying, the false starts, the giggling during takes, and the "#2, #2, #2..."). "Shangri-La" spoofs "Hey Jude" (and tops it in length!). "Lonely Phobia" spoofs "The Things We Said Today". "Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Muzik" is reminiscent of "Come Together" with its electric piano. "I Love You" and "Easy Listening" don't seem to spoof the Beatles as directly, but have the feel of the original Rutles album. "Questionaire" dares to mention the access to handguns (enough said if you didn't catch on). "The Knicker Elastic King" is feel-good tounge in cheek humour and "Hey Mister" is reminiscent of "I Me Mine" with its waltz in G/shuffle in Em melody. "Don't Know Why" and "Back In '64" try to explain the legend of the Rutles ("Say goodbye now, it's all over").
Free Music Review: Thanks for all the fish
Hit: 5 Stars
Quite apart from the fact that Neil Innes, John Halsey and Ricky Fataar get it spot-on every time with these send-ups of The Beatles, it's also evident that they loved both the original source material and its' creators. The main reference points seem to be late-period rather than early-period Fab Four, but the Prefab (Three) Four also visit that earlier time now and again, and all of it's done up well. What's especially nice is that many of these songs hold up on their own even after you've "gotten" the joke. "I Love You" won't make anyone forget "And I Love Her" or "If I Fell," but it's actually a sweet little song in it's own write (thanks, John!) and I at least find myself humming it as much as anything the Beatles actually wrote.The most disquieting song, however, is "Don't Know Why," where it's almost as if John Lennon has been channeled from the void for one last comment about Beatlemania and what it all meant. Innes and Company make no bones about it; "it" (Beatlemania, the Sixties, etc.) was fun while it lasted and it's all over now. Certainly a sentiment Lennon would have approved of, but it won't blunt your enjoyment of this great collection.
Free Music Review: A great album which stands on its own
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is not merely a parody of the Beatles. Actually its more of a tribute than a parody. "Tell me what you think about how easy it can be to buy a gun?" This reference to John Lennon's murder from the song "Questionnaire" sets the tone for this album. The Rutles on this album seem to want to be taken seriously as a real band. Nowhere on the packaging does it mention the "stage" names of Nasty, Dirk, Stig, or Barry. Instead the band uses their real names. Neil Innes has written another great bunch of songs. Favorites for me are "Unfinished Words", "Now She's Left You", "I Love You", and "Questionnaire". Its still fun trying to pick out the Beatle and solo references ( a little Cold Turkey in Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Music) but the album really does stand on its own merit. Eric Idle is missing from the project so perhaps thats why some of the comedy is missing. However, if you like Beatles style tunes and catchy pop you can't go wrong with Archaelogy.Free Music Review: Keeps getting better
Hit: 5 Stars
This is unlike the first Rutles album which it was made with not too much effort, most songs just a music ripoff with changed lyrics, with a few brilliant original exceptions (Nevertherless, Cheese And Onions, Doubleback Alley, etc). Those were original songs inspired in beatles sound, with new lyrics AND music, and you could still tell in which song it was inspired. Well, most of the songs in Archeology are original, with music that stands on its own, sometimes is like The Beatles had made some more new songs. I love Eine Kleine, Joe Public, and the rest of them. Try to listen to them in a good stereo, they have a really good sound. This isn't a parody anymore and I can't understand those who underrate this album because of that, this is a true and original beatles tribute that any beatles fan will appreciate.