BONZO DOG BAND、RUTLESの音楽的ブレーンであるニール・イネス。このCDは1stアルバム+αという内容です。モンティ・パイソンのライブでも演奏している「How Sweet To Be An Idiot」収録。このCDはジャケに書かれている通り、RUTLES、BOXER、TEMPEST、ケヴィン・エアーズ・バンド等で知られる故オリー・ハルソールらに捧げられています。
As far as I'm concerned Neil Innes is one of the finest singer/songwriters of the 1970s, and whether he should be considered a comedian or not is immaterial. Very few artists can swing from out-and-out frivolity to serious emotion and back again, often in the space of one song. This album contains Innes' 1973 album 'How Sweet To Be An Idiot' as well as non-album singles and B-sides, including a couple of tracks from his post-Bonzo Dog Band project The World, and it's a delight from beginning to end. The title track is one of the best pop songs ever written (Oasis loved it so much they famously 'borrowed' whole portions of it for their single "Whatever"), "L'Amour Perdu" is charming nonsense and "Song for Yvonne" manages to be sweet and creepy at the same time. Anyone who's ever wondered why Innes became the unofficial 'seventh Python' would do well to check out this CD. One minor gripe, though, is that it's not arranged chronologically - but what does it matter when you're dealing with material as special as this?
Neil Innes evidently had a hand in the selection of cuts, so I hate like heck to say this. It's not his fault. Blame the Beatles (for "Sergeant Pepper") and blame Brian Wilson (for "Pet Sounds") and blame Ray Davies (for "Arthur"). Fact is, by the 1970s we had come to expect musical geniuses to produce The Album As Art Object. Most of this "Recycled Vinyl" CD comes from the 1973 masterpiece, "How Sweet to Be an Idiot." "How Sweet" was an art object, a sparkling, francophilic, Faberge egg of sentimentality, full of sadness and joy and longing and optimism. After 27 years, I still love it. There are several considerations that make The Album As Art Object. One is a familiar sequence of tunes. Another is the purely musical transition in chords from one song to the next. Another is thematic unity or thematic sequence or both. And there are other considerations. Young CD hounds may be surprised to learn that, in the days of vinyl, music lovers would argue about which SIDE of an LP was better. Apparently, like the Ramones when they released "All the Stuff," Innes imagined that "Recycled Vinyl" is the only CD of his work that will be released for the mass market, so he added some other songs (excellent in their own right) and stirred the pot. I hope that more CDs will follow and that "How Sweet" will be issued as itself, with its original cover art (fine photo of Innes as a duck-hatted harlequin). So I hate like heck to take away one star for a compromise of artistic integrity. Innes forever! Four stars.
RE-CYCLED VINYL BLUES represents the first time I have ever been disapointed by any music Neil Innes has been associated with. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit, but I always thought Innes was an overlooked genius who could turn virtually anything into an interesting tune. This CD proves me wrong. The production is thick and muddy, the playing is slow and slovenly, and the lyrics are dull and lifeless. The only redeeming tracks here are "Lie Down And Be Counted," an acoustic strummer with a sense of humor and some tasty backing vocals, and "How Sweet To Be An Idiot," which fits in with some of the very best of Innes' catalog. Too much of the rest of the record sounds like Innes and some studio hacks trying to fulfill contractual obligations. Thank God for the Rutles.
Neil Innes is one of the 20th century's comic geniuses. His songs and approach to comedy/satire are beyond critism. And he has not recieved the acknowledgement that he actually deserves. His wit and way with words are legendary and his contribution to 'The Rutles' in itself is a masterpiece. Recycled Vinyl Blues is a gem and if you have not heard Innes before then this is the best way to begin. Excellent.