Neil Innes Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Shortly after the Bonzo Dog Band broke up in 1970, Neil Innes formed the short-lived band the World, also including ex-Bonzos bassist Dennis Cowan and future King Crimson/top session drummer Ian Wallace. Their sole album, Lucky Planet, was also issued in 1970, and stands up neither to the Bonzo Dog Band nor to the best of the music Innes would make in his solo career. While Innes is one of the best rock parodists, Lucky Planet -- like, in some ways, the Bonzos' own final 1960s album, Keynsham -- leans too much toward straight rock, and not often toward comedy. There's still much subtle humor in what's often a pastiche of late-'60s Beatlesque rock, but while subtlety is one of Innes' great virtues, perhaps the wit in these tunes is a bit too subtle to generate the kind of laughs you might expect. On casual hearing, in fact, they sound a little like run-of-the-mill 1970 British rock tunes, though close patient listening reveals "Angelina" to have an unusually heavy streak of self-pity; "9-5 Pollution Blues" as a droll take on white-boy blues-rock, complete with blatant Cream-like riffs; and the very Byrdsy "Lead Us" as a spoof on the youth culture's hunger for heroes. "Godzilla's Return" is so much an of-its-time prog rockish mélange that it treads the line between a satire and the real article. When reissued, the album has been billed to Neil Innes & the World, including a bonus track in a second version of "Come Out into the Open." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Given that a cottage industry has sprung up around seemingly anything related to Monty Python, it's rather surprising that Neil Innes remains little more than a cult figure in America. As Python's unofficial musical director (you've seen and heard him in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and Monty Python at the Hollywood Bowl), Innes has been a consistent presence in the group's post-TV work. As the musical mind behind the Rutles, his gift for both hooks and witty lyrics had as much to do with making that satire fly as Eric Idle's contribution. And the smart, surreal humor that dominates Innes' recordings (both with the Bonzo Dog Band and on his own) would seemingly be right up the alley of any Python fanatic -- and the guy also knows how to write a great pop tune. Following the breakup of the Bonzo Dog Band, Innes briefly fronted a semi-serious pop band called the World before cutting his first solo album, 1973's How Sweet to Be an Idiot. Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues is essentially an expanded version of How Sweet to Be an Idiot, featuring all 11 songs from that LP along with some rare single sides, and it's as good a starting point as any for examining Innes' solo work. While some of the songs here are straight-up comedy pieces (particularly "Lie Down and Be Counted," "Bandwagon," and the title cut, featuring a vocal cameo from Michael Palin), most walk a graceful tightrope between sly humor and solid pop-friendly rock & roll, such as the buzzing guitars of "Momma Bee," the playful boogie of "Topless-A-Go-Go," and "Feel No Shame," which starts out light but builds to a mighty finish. Innes is also supported by a superb set of musicians, including ace guitarist Ollie Halsall and former Bonzos drummer Dennis Cowan (to whom this album is dedicated), and it's not hard to wonder if Innes might have gotten more respect and attention from the music press if he hadn't been so funny, because musically this is smart and beautifully executed stuff. Monty Python fanatics, fans of British rock of the 1970s, and anyone who digs a great hook played with heart should get to know the music of Neil Innes, and Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues is a rich sampler of what he does so well. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Taking Off finds a post-Bonzo Dog Band, post-Grimms, but pre-Rutles Neil Innes delivering -- for him -- a fairly straightforward '70s singer/songwriter album. Which is not to say that the album is without humor or without some offbeat stylistic detours from the expected path (notably the goofy hoedown of the opening number, "Crystal Balls"). But Innes' sense of humor has always tended toward the wistful and whimsical, and the mood-evoking, comparatively lush arrangements on Taking Off tend to complement this side of him better than on any of his non-solo work. Witness "Catch Phrase," which is lyrically clever enough to be a Bonzo Dog Band number, but is given a mid-'70s John Lennon-ish arrangement so that it becomes a legitimate pop song as opposed to a novelty record. And speaking of Lennon, there's more than enough affectionately inspired Beatles influence on display here to keep Innes' Rutles fans happy; Taking Off boasts everything from the tongue-in-cheek George Harrison spoof/tribute "God Is Love" to the McCartney mini-parody "Three Piece Suite," as well as the faintly psychedelic "Shangri-La," which the Rutles later recorded in a rearranged version that played up its most Beatlesque aspects. However, unlike the Rutles' recordings, Taking Off is first and foremost about proper songs, not pastiches (however spot-on those pastiches might be). As well, while the Beatles loom large as an influence on this record, there are other influences evident here too, particularly the lighter sides of Elton John and the Kinks. And finally (and most importantly), the most prominent personality on display here is that of Innes himself. While there are echoes of many other fine artists on Taking Off, Innes never lets those echoes overwhelm his own unique, often melancholy presence. This ultimately is what makes Taking Off a worthy listen, particularly for anyone interested in hearing the sound of the man behind the sound of the Rutles. ~ Rudyard Kennedy, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Beatles had Hamburg, the Rutles had Rutland -- Rutland Weekend Television to be precise, the spring 1976 BBC TV series in which former Bonzo Dog Band Neil Innes and Monty Python's Eric Idle first aired the fascination that would shake the world. The pre-Fab Four appear only once in the RWT chronicles, reuniting "for tax purposes" to perform "I Must Be in Love (Is All You Need, Apart from Money Which Can't Buy Everything)," but the aftershocks of that performance can still be felt. Rutland Times is the soundtrack to the TV series, a 21-track masterpiece that really is as funny as it ought to be. An effortless parody of the last decade or so of British television's most treasured conceits, it takes the form of a full broadcast day, from the opening overture by the Rutland Light Orchestra, to the close down message from the Two Nobbies. In between times, the rock institution The Old Gay Whistle Test, children's TV flagship Wash with Mother, sports (the Foul of the Month competition) and television itself (Boring) are all highlighted via Innes' uncanny knack of sounding precisely like what he puts his mind to. But the highlight has to be "another in the series of Classically Bad American Films," 24 Hours in Tunbridge Wells, which not only sounds precisely like an outtake by Rodgers & Hart, it will probably send you off in search of more of the same. Hamstrung just a little by its distinctly British demeanor (with the most Anglophiliac will in the world, few folk who haven't lived there will quite understand why Nicholas Parsons raises such guffaws), Rutland Times stands among the highest of all high points in Neil Innes' lengthy career. And Eric Idle's pretty funny as well. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
'How Sweet to Be an Idiot'
Release Date 1/1/1973
Tracks 11
Label United Artists
See Album Tracklist and Review
