My Amazon Reviews: The Tubes "Goin' Down The Tubes"

Tube Trippiness
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Trying to follow all the reissues on all sorts of labels can make a Tubes fan crazy. Their theatrical brand of rock and roll combined sex, vaudeville and an under-rated quality of musicianship. Depending on how you ask, The Tubes peakedin any variety of their many albums, and this particular collection, "Goin' Down The Tubes," collects highlights, alternate takes and for some odd reason, the entirety of "Remote Control." That was my main reason for picking this up in the first place, though that's since been nullified by an actual re-master/reissue of "Remote Control" as a stand alone deluxe CD. But would I give "Goin' Down" up because of that? No way.

The disc opens with a couple of oddities, a half live/half re-edited version of "White Punks on Dope" (that also neuters the F-word) and then an alternate take of "Up From The Deep" than the one on the debut. Then you get three re-mastered tracks from the debut, including the seminal "White Punks On Dope" is all it's glitzy glory. (Which begs the question of why this, or the bulk of The Tubes' albums not been given a proper re-issue? "White Punks" sounds amazing here.) The slicker "Young and Rich" may have tried to make lightning strike twice with "What Do You Want From Life," but the real clincher was Fee Waybill and Re Styles duet on the S&M meets boy-girl Phil Spector mashup, "Don't Touch Me There."

There are a few songs from the disappointing "Now," which you can find re-issued but it was a hot-mess of a record. And how is this for cover selections? "My Head is My Only House Unless It Rains" and "Love Will Keep us Together"? Yes, Captain Beefheart and Captain and Tennille. That's one wild pair of captains. Onetime and one album member Mingo Lewis gets a showcase on his instrumental "God Bird Change" (from "Now"), which sounds close to fusion jazz/rock. That's just the first disc of "Goin' Down."

The aforementioned "Remote Control" takes up 11 of disc two's 17 tracks. The rest of "Goin' Down" is taken from concert material, I'm guessing from the "Now" tour and - I think - the "What Do You Want From Live" - double album, including a lively version of The Beatles' "I Saw Here Standing There." Just in case you missed it the first two times, "White Punks On Dope" gets a thorough workout with the audience going berserk. This was the period where The Tubes could have been the contemporaries of anyone from Zappa to Alice Cooper with a plenty of sideshow comedy thrown in for good measure. That's what makes "Goin' Down The Tubes" a best bet for Tubes fans that don't want to chase after the getting harder to find earlier CD's.

      

My Amazon Reviews: Steve Martin "Let's Get Small"

Got me a $300 pair of socks....
3 Out Of 5 Stars

With the 70's, comedy albums made a radical shift. The rock and roll generation didn't have the mindset for the starchiness of, say, Bob Newhart, or the homilies of Bill Cosby. The sex and drugs and rock and roll world needed their jokes to come at them more like a progressive rock album, just in monologue form. They also took advantage of the studio technology. The first of these artists came in the likes of Firesign Theater or Cheech and Chong, who used recordings like sound stages to set up elaborate long form jokes and characters. Then there was the other side of that coin. Enter Robin Williams and most importantly, Steve Martin.

Martin flipped the 70's upside down. Instead of the dopey world of Cheech and Chong, Martin came to the stage as the most uptight of WASP's, with a shiny white suit and surreal sideshow sight gags. Like Monty Python did to TV, martin went to that backdrop, and he exaggerated the absurdity of being this vanilla wafer of a guy to the point that his routines became like rock songs. By making a name for himself with his appearances on Saturday Night Live, where his banjo and bunny ears were delivered with a straight face as compared to the rapid-speed freakishness of John Belushi and the rest of the original cast. He was acting like he was clueless among the hippest, but you were in on the gag. By 1977, Martin was one of the hottest of the new breed of stand-up comedians and "Let's Get Small" was recorded.

These were such 'hits' in the late 70's that every high-schooler and college kid had most of the catch phrases memorized. You couldn't go an hour without hearing somebody set themselves up to say "Excuuuuuse Meeeee!" Or sing the bits off of "Theme From Ramblin' Man." His shows were like concerts for his acolytes. This was a great album for parties in that, like a classic rock album, everyone knew the words. Since 1977, though, the style has worn out, and jokes involving Jimmy Carter or the gay jokes will likely draw a blank stare from anyone under 50. Still, "Let's Get Small" is like a classic rock album. Those hits you all drunkenly shouted along to in college thirty some years ago still can elicit a nostalgic chuckle or two, but getting your teenage grandkids to laugh along might be a challenge.

     

My Amazon Reviews: The Tubes "Remote Control - Expanded Edition"

Tube-opia!
4 Out Of 5 Stars

The Tubes were licking their wounds from the dismal dismissal of their highly experimental "Now," when they decided to pool all their strengths and shoot for a concept album. It made perfect sense that they would create a grand satire of pervasive media, since most of their best work lampooned that topic with gleefully broad strokes. This time, however, The Tubes brought on board a secret weapon in the person of Todd Rundgren. He was running hot as a producer at the time, coming off the huge success of Meat Loaf, solo albums, and the breakout of his band Utopia.

What Rundgren did to "Remote Control" was to slicken the sound to a commercial sheen that the band had lacked in the past. For their part, The Tubes came forth with a very strong batch of songs, all tied together with the Marshall McLuhan styled "medium is the message" theme. The protagonist of "Remote Control" wanders the album becoming increasingly absorbed/disillusioned with the fact that his life isn't matching the programs he's watching, from the desire for instant gratification in "I Want It All Now," to the terrific ballad "Love's A Mystery (I Don't Understand)," featuring a superb vocal from Fee.

Perhaps the most interesting moment here is the instrumental "Get Overture," which had the band showing off their musicianship in a way that was only hinted at before (though it also bears the very heavy hand of Todd). It proved once and for all that The Tubes were more than just comical music pranksters and had more to offer than the shocking stage antics of their live shows. It's hard for me to decide which Tubes CD is really their finest, but between "Remote Control" and "The Completion Backwards Principle," I'd give this disc the higher scores for composition. "TCBP" was a sleeker musical effort, but in their desire to land that elusive hit single, had a damper lyrical bite. However, in all things Tubular, you really need both.

The best two things about this re-issue? There are four bonus tracks from the long unreleased "Suffer For Sound" sessions. They show the metamorphosis of the band in transition to what would eventually be their slicker sound. I think "Holy War" is my favorite of the batch. Then there's the sound. Beefed up and sharpened considerably from my old original A&M CD, the disc sounds terrific. Add the story of the album's gestation in the liner notes, and you have the best Tubes issue in their always eclectic discography.

     

My Amazon DVD Reviews: "Suck"

Tune in to KCUS
4 Out Of 4 Stars

A giddy, goofy piece of rock and roll camp that delivers on all counts, from the homages to classic rock albums and pictures to the cameos from Moby, Henry Rollins, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Alex Lifeson, "Suck" makes glorious hash of the overworked vampire movie and rock band films. Dave Foley manages "The Winners," a mediocre band that travels in a hearse and can't catch a break. That is, until the sexy female bass player gets bit and becomes a goth idol. Before you know it, the band is gaining fans by the thousands, leaving a trail of groupies in their wake and Malcolm McDowell on their trail.

There is no real attempt to make this anything but a corny cult flick, even the 'animation' is hokey. Alice and Iggy are obviously having a blast chewing their parts, and there's an hysterical inside joke regarding Moby as the lead singer of a rival band. The original songs are just good enough to be Spinal Tapp-ish, but not too bad as to make you graon. The soundtrack itself contains the likes of Lou Reed, Iggy, Cooper, David Bowie and The Burning Brides, and is a true addition to the film. "Suck" is exactly the kind of film that should be on the A-List for a few decades' worth of Halloween parties.

     

Is it just me, or does Osama Bin Ladin's son look like Weird Al Yankovic, Circa 1999?