 The Rutles Truth be told, I love this album more than most of the Beatles' own albums, and have probably been influenced musically by the Rutles about as much as by the Beatles. There has probably been no album ever recorded with purer sarcasm as this Beatles parody perpetuated by ex-Bonzo Dog Band member Neil "Ron Nasty" Innes and ex-Monty Python member Eric "Dirk McQuickly" Idle, along with Rikki "Stig O'Hara" Fataar and John "Barry Wom" Halsey. The parody is savage and sharp, but done far too accurately to be realy mean-spirited. But in its focus it's more successful even than Spinal Tap in attacking its subject with dead-on accuracy. Every overly simple melodic "Stig" guitar solo, every preening "Dirk" harmony vocal, every throwaway "Barry" track, every pretentious "Ron" lyric is in place. Fans of the Beatles will love it for its attention to detail, while foes of the Beatles will like how it destroys the Beatles mythos. But fans will get more out of it, as there are tons of Beatles in-jokes every which way. This could not have been created without a great love for the Beatles on the part of their parodists, as there is so much stuff in here that only a fan would appreciate. The CD issue includes all the tracks from the original LP and adds a few that were not included on that album but were featured in the original TV special "All You Need is Cash." The bonus tracks are the lesser ones, for sure: "Baby Let Me Be" is as unmemorable as, say Ringo's "Matchbox," while the Cavern-Club-era parody "Goose-Step Mama" is more notable for continuing the British comedy fixation with Germans than for its actual content. "Blue Suede Schubert," similarly, is more clever than funny. But most of the other tracks are very, very funny, laugh-out-loud funny for reformed Beatlemaniacs like myself. "Number One" takes on "Twist and Shout" in a contest to see who can be stupider (it's a draw); "With A Girl Like You" captures the hammy, plastic "sincerity" of "If I Fell." "Ouch!" is a barely-changed version of "Help!" ("Ouch! Don't desert me/Ouch! Please don't hurt me/Ouch!/Ow, ow, ouch!"); "Nevertheless" is pretty much "Within You Without You" with different words. Apparently Lennon and Harrison got a big kick out of the whole thing (George was even in the TV special as a reporter), but you can definitely see Paul not getting the joke, or appreciating it in the least. Lennon gets mocked arguably more accurately, actually: "Cheese and Onions" has even been bootlegged as a Lennon outtake, while "Good Times Roll" takes on John's LSD period with particular glee. The best songs are pastiches of several songs or of a type of Beatles song ("It's Looking Good" is a condensation of Rubber Soul, for example), but most stick pretty close to a specific track ("Another Day" is "Martha My Dear," – and extra bonus points for using the word "pucilanimous" – "Piggy in the Middle" is "I Am the Walrus"). The disc is filled with hilarious details (the huge letdown ending of the "Day in the Life"-esque "Cheese and Onions," the intentionally half-assed "Get Back" rewrite "Get Up and Go"), making it a comedy album that bears many multiple listens. The great thing is, the songs are extremely good, so it's a good album unto itself, like XTC's Dukes of Stratosphear CD, which was also intended as a joke but which turned out to be their best album. The liner notes to The Rutles include the very Python-esque history of the band, including a tongue-in-cheek interview with Mick Jagger. The original LP issue came with a pretty lavish book which is well worth seeking out to anyone who becomes a huge Rutles fan. This is a seminal release for sarcastic pop musicians of all stripes – Kramer's Shimmydisc label even went so far as to do a tribute album with the likes of King Missile and Bongwater (that disc is also recommended) – but it's not one that I ever see referred to as an influence. With the Beatles credited as an influence on so many bands, I can only think how cool the music scene would be if more bands credited the Rutles. Parody doesn't just have to be "Weird Al" and MAD Magazine, you know.
Review by Red-Red Richards |