Leave it to the musical pranksters at Shimmy Disc (Review Revue all-stars, to say the least) to release a tribute compilation to a joke band. The Rutles (note the pronunciation lesson below) were a Beatles-mocking vehicle created in the '70s by Monty Python's Eric Idle and Neil Innes, which ended up having a longer career than the band they were a parody of, recording and touring off and on into the '90s and reuniting for a 30th anniversary concert in 2008.
The Rutles did not spawn quite as many covers and tributes as the Beatles, of course - why, just this week we were treated to the Flaming Lips' take on Sgt. Pepper's, much of which wouldn't sound out of place on this LP. As far as I can tell this is the only Rutles tribute album out there, and might be the only tribute album to any fake band (e.g., there are lots of Spinal Tap tribute bands out there, but I couldn't find a compilation in their honor – someone get on that!). The results are decidedly mixed, but with a lineup including Galaxie 500, Syd Straw, Unrest, Shonen Knife, King Missile, Paleface, and Bongwater, it's a great slice of early '90s rock, viewed through a very strange lens.
"Well, I like Shimmy Disc and couldn't find a bum track on here, so I say H, but maybe someone less biased should check it out. Bongwater, Shonen Knife, Das Damen, Jellyfish Kiss, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Joey Arias. Man oh man!""Very creative covers here. I really like Bongwater's cut."
"It's not the Pre-fab Four, but it's pretty great."
"This that and the other here – you can't miss."
"I've heard several people say 'Roo-tles' on the air – it's 'Ruh-tles,' folks! If you never saw the movie, you should. It featured the orig. Sat. Night Live cast, members of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the Rolling Stones, & even a Beatle or 2. This is fun!"
"Most 'tribute' LPs sound fun, but end up disappointing. This one - for me - makes the full drop down to lame. A funny in joke, but let's face it - the songs just aren't worth tributing. Move it down, I say. L"
"I've heard cut after cut & I have yet to get even slightly interested."
Hey, it's another Shimmy-Disc release! Apparently I have this unconscious attraction to their catalog. When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water is one of those bands whose name I've noticed (how could you not?) and admired for decades, but I don't believe I've ever heard them until just no…
Obviously, my parents did way too good of a job raising me, as I have pretty much no familiarity with the woman who, according to the Internet, was "widely considered the most controversial and radical female singer of her day" – Wendy O. Williams' day being more or less the first twelve years of m…
