(Virgin)
If you're unfamiliar with the Rutles, I suggest a visit to their "Official" website http://www.rutles.com for the complete story. Suffice it to say that they are a well done satire/parody of the Beatles.
There are some real-life parallels between the two bands that are uncanny. For example, this release posthumously features recordings of Rutles guitarist Ollie Halsall, who died in 1992 - two finished tracks from the 1977 rehearsal sessions, "We've Arrived (and to Prove it We're Here)," "Now She's Left You," and the uncompleted backing track "Unfinished Words," which Neal added lyrics to. In addition to these lost recordings, the rest of the album features the surviving members Neal Innes (Ron Nasty - songwriter, vocals, guitar, and keyboards), Ricky Fataar (Stig O'Hara - vocals, guitar, drums), and John Halsey (Barry Wom - vocals, drums), along with Mickey Simmonds (keyboards), Malcolm Foster (bass), Dougie Boyle (guitar), and Bernie Holland (guitar).
The Rutles mythos was instigated by Eric Idle (Monty Python's Flying Circus) and Neal (Bonzo Dog Band) in the early '70's. This album alleges to be recently interred tapes of the group's abandonded last album. It's actually the three recently unearthed songs, combined with 13 new ones (written by Neal). The album is dead-on lyrically, of a band in disintegration, while capturing (outright stealing in many cases) the production techniques/effects of the Beatles later recordings.
While the first album by the Rutles chronicled, lyrically and musically, the Beatles pop-through-psychedelic styles (and as a result was built on re-workings of the songs - ie. Neal would lift the melodic hooks from several songs and link them together, then write sarcastic lyrics which stand on their own, for them), here the emphasis is on the production techniques the Beatles used after they retired to the studio. The lyrics are also more focused, chronicling the band's disappointment, disillusionment, and antagonism.
The album is so full of references, it's beyond the scope of this review to list them all. What I would like to comment on, however, is the way Neal has structured the album to tell the story of the Beatles disintigration better than the Beatles have (can). A longing for the band's innocence haunts the album, best reflected by the way Neal programmed the ironic "We've Arrived (And To Prove It We're Here)" to immediately follow the remorse of "Rendevous/Questionaire."
"We've Arrived" sounds like a hurried soundcheck from 1964, possibly for an Ed Sullivan television appearance. Kicking off with a infectious pop intro, the song quickly deteriorates into a false start while the band regroups. It sounds like a couple musical ideas stuck together - demonstrative of the bands writing style. Here, they're still playfully co-operating and creating. The lyrics sound like they could have been written on the spot, to just fill the out the music: "We've arrived! And to prove it we're here/ We've arrived! And it's suddenly clear/ That we're here to stay/ For more than a day/ Maybe a week or a year..." The band is obviously goofing and having fun...totally oblivious to what the future holds.
This is mirrored against "Rendezvous" where Ron Nasty (obviously John Lennon) laments, "Do you spend the time like me?/ Yearning to be free?/ Free From all you have to do? Doing only what you want to?/ "Oh yes, of course I do..." Ah ha, we thought as much... "Hang on! Who are youse?" We're the other members of the band... "And who invited you to sing along? Just answer that..." Well, no one, we were only passing by..."Well kindly keep on going if you please..." But we're only trying to help you with your song... "But I don't want any help!..." The production accurately captures a band grudgingly constructing their album instead of creating/performing it.
"Rendezvous" segues into "Questionaire" in the Beatles best Abbey Road style. Here, Neal (again as Ron Nasty) sings, "Hey Mister man in the street - excuse me/ Do you have a few minutes to spare? Oh yeah.../ Don't worry, I'm not trying to sell you anything you wouldn't want/ I'm just a Questionaire.../ "Tell Me What You Think About This Low-Fat Shampoo..." The song precedes "Rendezvous" stylistically - it's straight out of Magical Mystery Tour - and reflects the awareness that the band has become a job, the music a commodity.
The only time the album breaks out of the story is on "Unfinished Word." Here the lyrics are a lightly scathing critque against interring John Lennon, to produce "new songs" for the Beatles Anthology Albums; "Unfinished words like Cheese and Onions... (which in the lyrics is handwritten, while the rest is typed)/ Help me to write this/ Marzipan song/ Unfinished words/ Flying like birds/ High in the sky above my Deckchair..." followed by "I can't pretend to be/ someone who pretends to be/ someone else.../ Or so my pretend friend tells me."
I could go on. I strongly suggest listening to this album from this perspective. It's rewarding my multiple listenings as I dig deeper into it. I'm impressed by how Neal cleverly addresses both lyrically and musically, the same ideas about personal dysfunction, love, wealth, success, class, and business that filled John's and (to a lesser extent, the rest of the Beatles) songs.
