Genre: comedy
Rating: 2 stars **
Title: Keynsham
Company: Sunset
Catalog: SLS
50375
Year: 1969
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: 1975 reissue
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 5917
Price: $10.00
Produced by Neil Innes and Vivian Stanshall, 1969's "Keynsham" was the second studio set the group had released in four months. It also served to underscore the fact they were beginning to fragment as a performing unit. Understandable given the recording and touring schedules they'd been dealing with over the last couple of years. Once again Innes and Stanshall were responsible for the bulk of the material, but unlike earlier efforts where they frequently collaborated bringing out the best in each, this time around it sounded like the two were going in different creative and personal directions. Only 'The Bride Stripped Bare By Bachelors' and 'Busted' were shown as Innes-Stanshall collaborations. Exemplified by tracks like 'You Done My Brain In' and 'Quiet Talks and Summer Walks', Innes came off the better of the two. Stanshall had a couple of nice moments ('We Were Wrong' and the goofy 'Busted'), but his material seemed less consistent and far darker. His personal demons would erupt during the band's second tour of the States Yeah, it was kind of like The Bonzo's version of the Beatles' "White Album" with each member given shots at the spotlight with the rest of the band providing support.
- True, The Bonzos were a comedy act, but people tend to forget that Innes and Stanshall were also gifted pop writers and every member of the group (including Sprear) were accomplished musicians. The Bonzos were more than capable of writing a killer pop song and kicked along by a jaunty pop melody and some funky saxes, 'You Done My Brain In' was a great example of those talents. Easy to see why this one was tapped as a single. rating: **** stars
- The title track (apparently inspired by a Radio Luxemburg commercial peddling a program that would allow the purchaser to pick winners in professional soccer games), started out as one of Innes' most engaging melodies, before morphing into a strange blues segment that actually mentioned the word 'Keynsham'. rating: **** stars
- Described in the liner notes as 'All the romance of the novel', that was in fact a pretty good take on 'Quiet Talks and Summer Walks'. Propelled by a pretty flute solo, it was one of Innes' prettiest ballads and if you didn't know it was a send-up, you could have easily mistaken it for a real heart-tugger. rating: **** stars
- I remember hearing 'Tent' the day after I had a crown put on a tooth (broke the tooth eating a Lays potato chip). The opening sound of a dental drill was excruciating to me. Luckily the rest of the song was a bit better, showcasing Stanshall's affection for '50s-styled rock. Don't ask me what it was about as I don't have a clue and the liner notes were of little help - 'A penetrating inquiry and some recreation'. rating: ** stars
- Played fairly straight, 'We Were Wrong' was a breezy pop song that served as an affectionate nod to American '50s pop songs. Loved Innes' organ solo .... rating: ** stars
- With a very English lyric and feel, 'Joke Shop Man' didn't make much of an impression on my American ears. That's not to say it wasn't good, rather I just didn't get it. Of course, the song took a very strange turn into jungle percussion and sound effects. rating: ** stars
- 'The Bride Stripped Bare By ' Bachelors' started out sounding like a Monty Python sketch and then turned into a pop song with another set of indecipherable English lyrics. I've listened to it dozens of times and still don't have a clue. 'Bout the only thing I can make out is they refer to each member during the song. The brief fuzz guitar solo was nice. rating: ** stars
- The hyper lounge act 'Look At Me, I'm Wonderful' served as Larry Smith's moment in the spotlight. A brief, but forgettable snippet to end side one. rating: * star
- Innes' standout contribution and my favorite performance on the LP, 'What Do You Do?' was a killer slice of psych-influenced pop. Great melody with some fantastic mid-Eastern flavored horns in the background. rating: ***** stars
- I just don't get it when it comes to British Vaudevillian numbers, so 'Mr. Slater's Parrot' is wasted on me and the start and stop structure just irritated me. Sounded like another bad Monty Python sketch ... rating: ** stars
- With an English folk feel, 'Sport' was modestly funny - especially the 'give him a nice cold shower' blurb. The second half of the song featured a killer Dennis Cowan bass line and the hand bells were also cool. rating: ** stars
- Another glistening Innes-penned pop melody, 'I Want To Be with You' had plenty of commercial top-40 appeal and may have been one of the few tracks that wasn't tongue-in-cheek, rather seemed to have been inspired by the band's hectic recording and touring schedule. rating: ***** stars
- The instrumental 'Noises for the Leg' was mainly notable for listening to Roger Ruskin Spear trying to play a Theramin (not very successfully judging by the results). The title was derived from the fact that during concert performances the Theramin was stored in a fake leg. Guess you had to be there. rating: ** stars
- 'Busted' took awhile to grow on me, but it was a nice summary of the whole Bonzo phenomenon. rating: ** stars
A pair of UK singles were pulled from the LP:
- 1969's 'I Want To Be with You' b/w 'We Were Wrong' (Liberty catalog number LBF 15273)
- 1970's 'You Done My Brain In' b/w 'Mr. Slater's Parrot' (Liberty catalog number LBF 15314)
Summary - underrated by critics and fans alike and worth picking up.
"Let's
Make Up and Be Friendly" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) You Done My Brain In (Neil Innes) - 1:40
2.) Keynsham (Neil Innes) - 2:20
3.) Quiet Talks and Summer Walks (Neil Innes) - 3:15
4.) Tent (Vivian Stanshall) - 3:20
5.) We Were Wrong (Vivian Stanshall) - 2:30
6.) Joke Shop Man (Neil Innes) - 1:23
7.) The Bride Stripped Bare By ' Bachelors" (Neil Innes - Vivian Stanshall) - 2:35
7.) Look At Me, I'm Wonderful (Vivian Stanshall)
(side
2)
1.) What Do You Do? (Neil Innes) - 3:15
2.) Mr. Slater's Parrot (Vivian Stanshall) - 2:18
3.) Sport (Vivian Stanshall) - 3:20
4.) I Want To Be with You (Neil Innes) - 2:15
5.) Noises for the Leg (instrumental) (Vivian Stanshall) - 2:15
6.) "Busted" (Neil Innes - Vivian Stanshall) - 5:40
The band undertook their second US tour, but things didn't go as well this time around, in large part due to the fact Stanshall had begun to suffer from severe stage fright. To combat it he began to drink increasing amounts of alcohol. They made it back to the UK and after a final March 1970 performance at Loughborough University, called it quits.
For anyone interested the official Bonzo Dog Band is found at:
