Customer Reviews

Command Performance-Live In Person / Jan & Dean Meet Batman

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

 

 

The first part of the CD is a live performance from the TAMI show. Jan & Dean sing all their hits, with a few surprise renditions of such songs as "Louie Louie," "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," and "I Should Have Known Better." Very good quality. You can even hear the girls in the audience sing along. The second part of the CD features an album I've been searching for ever since CD's were being made: "Jan & Dean Meet Batman." When I was little, one of my cousins gave me the original record, and it's been one of my all-time favorites. As a comic book and super hero fan, it was a very rare treat to see a rock and roll parody of Batman & Robin. Jan & Dean perform songs based on the D.C. comics characters, and in between, they present a series of adventures starring the team of "Captain Jan & Dean, the Boy Blunder." In the stories, Jan & Dean display their sense of humor with some hilarious take-offs of the Batman TV series. Dean's voice of the Boy Blunder sounds just like Burt Ward! The singing duo transform into the "Titanic Twosome" when they sing the opening line of "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena." If you thought the TV show was campy, wait until you hear these little mini-dramas. The songs include: Jan & Dean singing the "Batman Theme"; "Batman," which features lyrics like "Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot," taken right from the comics stories; "Robin the Boy Wonder," a very humorous ditty with lyrics like "Holy porcupine quills," and then Robin's voice saying "Holy rodent!"; "Mr. Freeze," a catchy instrumental with sounds of chattering teeth in the background; "The Joker is Wild," about everybody's favorite Bat-Villain, with Dean laughing and sputtering at the end of each verse... funny, funny stuff!; and "Flight of the Batmobile," a delightful performance of the "Gotham City Community Sing," with Robin saying "Holy" something after every lyric, and a trumpeter named Ollie playing a solo which sounds like "Flight of the Bumblebee." I really love this album because it's just plain fun. I think this was a good effort by Jan & Dean, and they sounded like they were having a great time. I was so happy to finally get a copy of the album on CD, because not only is it fun, but I was able to hear all the lyrics and voices so clearly, without the scratches, pops and hisses that wore onto the record all this time. And it was also great to receive the live performance from the TAMI show as a bonus on the CD. I highly recommend this to any Batman or Jan & Dean fan.

As the editor of the Batman Toy and Collectibles Price Guide at http://www.btcpg.com I can say that this CD is a true treasure for fans of the 1966 Batman TV series!

With so many artists, their live performances are not nearly as good as their studio albums, but that's not the case with Jan and Dean. Some cuts such as "Little Old Lady" & "Sidewalk Surfin'" take on a new life in the live setting. Their versions of other hit songs are endlessly fascinating. They prove what great harmony means on "All I Have To Do Is Dream", the old Everly Brother's tune. The only tune that really doesn't work is the take on "Dead Man's Curve". The bonus cut of "Freeway Flyer" is funny & side-splitting.

As for the other half of the CD-Jan & Dean meet Batman-well, it's an interesting artifact of two crazes meeting one another-superhero meets surfer dudes! You might listen to it a time or two, but it's not going to find a slot in the "frequently played" section on your CD player.

At this price, you can certainly afford it for just the "Live" part of it.

Although not many music fans today even know of Jan & Dean, they were on the music scene before the Beatles, the Beach Boys and many others. When I was a kid, I owned the original Batman parody album and I waited for the day when I could get it on CD. Now its here and I am thankful that it has held up all these years. J&D are genuinely funny and the music is excellent surf--meets--Batman. This CD is certainly not for everybody, but if you want to relive that 60s experience, its a good start. I can remember growing up in the 60s when music wasn't so pompous and full of itself and it was actually fun to listen. If you like surf-type music, or if you just want to hear two guys who made it fun, get this! NOW!

This CD features two Jan & Dean albums on one disc.

Command Performance is a live recording. It is a decent performance, but who knows how much of it is really live, and how much is post-produced. "Theme From the TAMI Show" is definitely not live, it's the single version with applause overdubbed.

Jan & Dean Meet Batman was released to cash in on the popularity of the Batman TV show. It features a few novelty songs about Batman, a couple of instrumentals and a series of comedy sketches featuring Jan & Dean's superhero alter-egos Captain Jan & Dean The Boy Blunder. It's a moderately funny album, which you will appreciate more if you are a Batman fan.

This is certainly an interesting pairing of two Jan and Dean albums. The first disk album, "Command Performance," is absolutely essential for any Jan and Dean fan. The boys are in fine form and the Hal Blaine big band really rocks. Their version of "Louie, Louie" has got to be one of the more interesting you will ever hear.

The second album, "Jan and Dean Meet Batman," is for true fans only. This was the last Jan and Dean album (not counting the throw together "Popsicle" and Dean's great "Save for a Rainy Day") and marks a big change from the previous. It's more of a comedy/parody than a musical experience. The songs are few and too similar to each other. Although it's a very interesting concept and both Jan and Dean are genuinely funny, I doubt that many people will be able to listen to it too many times.

Dean has made the statement that "Batman" foreshadowed where the duo might have gone if Jan had not been in the accident. We shall never know.

It is a real shame that the original artwork for "Batman" is not part of this CD package. I understand that the CD company was denied rights to it, but it is sorely missed.

I gave this CD four stars, but that is primarily based on the live album. As a longtime Jan and Dean fan I am overjoyed to own a copy of "Batman," but it's certainly not for everyone.