Customer Reviews

Born to Laugh at Tornadoes

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Further evidence that the Was Brothers were the top of the pile. They were just too good to be successful, destined for obscurity, appreciated for life by a small group of devotees. Whilst its not as good for me as What Up Dog, the highlights of this even more varied collection are up there with their best. The pick for me is Mel Torme's brilliant performance on Zaz Turned Blue which although not typical of this band's output was probably the finest thing that they ever recorded, genuinely moving.

Supported by an impressive array of guest vocalists, Was (Not Was) created an eclectic album of many musical styles with Born To Laugh At Tornados. It contains great ballads and rock songs but most of the music has a dance beat.

I love the opening ballad Out Come The Freaks, the up-tempo pop-rock of Smile sung by Doug Fieger and the hilarious Zaz Turned Blue, an old style ballad performed by Mel Torme.

I also like Bow Wow Wow Wow, an up-tempo old style rock ` n roll number sung by Mitch Ryder and the funky metal of Shake Your Head, sung by Ozzy Osbourne. Man vs The Empire state Building is a complex, atmospheric piece with nervous rhythms and spooky vocals.

Born To Laugh At Tornadoes is a quirky, humorous showcase of the talents of Was (Not Was) and an impressive exploration of various musical styles. Be sure to also give their masterpiece Are You OK? a listen, it's even better than Tornadoes.

Practically every song is a different musical style... almost every track sung by a different guest artist... and yet, there's not one that you're likely to skip over after a few listenings. Bizarre, funny, tragic, dancable, and utterly unique. A must-have!

don and david was tour de force cd. all kinds of different styles on this cd including lounge singers mel torme and frank sinatra jr. guesting on vocals, eclectic pop with doug fieger of the knack, and electronic metal with shake your head with ozzy osbourne on vocals.don and dave let their two main front vocalists sir harry bowen and sweet pea atkinson shine on the other tracks, giving that motown funk groove thang feel on the whole cd. this is one of the all-time great cd's and collection of music one on cd.also check out mitch ryder on bow wow wow.a must have, and better than their what's up dog cd, which also rates as one of their best.

This one drove the marketing guys nuts. R&B, jazz, metal; it's all here. Great guest appearances from Mel Torme, Ozzy, and Frank Sinatra Jr. (really). Best stuff is when Don & Dave let Sir Harry Bowen and Sweet Pea Atkinson exercise their great Motown voices on "Knocked Down..." and "...Out Come The Freaks" (which should have been a smash). The music is varied, but not the quality of the music, which is consistantly good.

Was(Not Was) is a band that, in its heyday was considered odd, even in the 1980s, when everybody had a weirdo-gimmick. However, these guys were actual musicians, and were the REAL DEAL.

This album debuted "Out Come The Freaks" which later appeared on their 2nd LP with a a new mix. A stand-out song is "The Party Broke Up", featuring Don Was on kookoo-kreepy spoken vocals. Sweet Pea Atkinson fronts "Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like a Rubber Ball)" which is reminiscent of good old fashion Motown. In fact, Don Was once said in an interview, "We would like to sound like the Motown revue on acid." Well done, boys.

One of the strangest, yet one of my favorite tracks, "Zaz Turned Blue" is sung by--wait for it--Mel Torme, and is simply bona-fide genius. Another "Whaaat?" moment is listening to Ozzy Osborne singing lead vocals in "Shake Your Head (Let's Go To Bed)". Mel and Ozzy on the same CD? Who spiked the punch??

It was this CD that inspired me to buy their next two: "What Up, Dog?" and "Are You Okay?"

If you want to take a trip back to skinny ties, pointy purple suede shoes and 'every-which-a-way' hair-dos, this CD will get the party started.

Some songs are filler but Needless to say the overall album is still worthy of at least 4 stars. The version of Out Come the Freaks is Motownish in flavor but hey, these guys are Detroiters. The song I wanted but couldn't find anywhere was The Party Broke Up. The album is worth it for that song alone.