Was (Not Was) - Born To Laugh At Tornadoes - 1983
Studio Soundboard Recordings @320
{Out of Print}
This is for those of you who haven't seen or heard of this recording which was the second record put out by Was (Not Was).
Go here for
musician and track info
Here's a cover and a title that caught my eye back in 1983 and I just
had to buy the record even though I had never heard of the group and
had no idea what to expect. But I figured that if I liked the cover
chances were that I'd like the music as well. So what did I get?
The
opening punch of a pop/rock melody, singer Sweet Pea Atkinsons raspy
vocals and the dark but funny lyrics of "Knocked Down, Made Small
(Treated Like A Rubber Ball)" convinced me; I had made a wise decision
buying this album!
Some would say it's an unfocused
album, with different sounds, different type of songs. But I heard it as
a creative and ultimately fun record that I keep playing to this day.
You
get songs about weird, offbeat characters trapped in a normal, everyday
life or about "normal" persons in weird and offbeat situations.
The
guestlist is "eclectic": Doug Fieger from 80s group The Knack, Mitch
Ryder from MC5, Ozzy Osbourne (who's vocals on one track replaced
Madonna's!), Branford Marsalis and even Mel Tormé.
ODD FACT #1:
President Nixon was apparently asked to play piano for "(Return To The Valley Of) Out Come The Freaks", but refused.
ODD FACT #2:
Mell
Torme was lined up to record a version of Dante's Inrferno with Was
(Not Was) to be called either "Mel In Hell" Or "Torme In Torment".
~Neb Stephenson
Track List:
01. Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like a Rubber Ball)
02. Bow Wow Wow Wow
03. Betrayal
04. Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)
05. Man Vs. the Empire Brain Building
06. (Return to the Valley of) Out Come the Freaks
07. Professor Night
08. The Party Broke up
09. Smile
10. Zaz Turned Blue
pass = fbsvw
Tornadoes 1983
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