Customer Reviews

Electromagnetic Steamboat: The Reprise Recordings

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

 

 

So far, this is the only CD release of the Fugs' finest album, their out-of-print masterpiece: It crawled into my hand, honest. The best-funded and best-produced of the Fugs' albums, ICIMHH is rich with references to surrealism, Egytpology, politics, psychedelia, and (of course) the arcane sexual practices of Sixties hipsters. The range of musical styles is pure post-Beatles anything-goes, from Gregorial chant to chamber orchestra to folk to Nashville country, and the lyrical/satirical (satyrical?) wit of Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg, and Ken Weaver is stroboscopic. The 40-page liner-notes booklet is a knowledgeable and honest history of the permutations of the Fugs throughout their career.

Other Fugs albums included in this 3-CD collection have not stood up as well to the passage of time (as least, of my time), but it doesn't matter. Start with Track 11 to begin ICIMHH. I expect some previous Amazon reviewers didn't get that far, and I sympathize.

ICIMHH is an important incursion of the avant guarde into rock history, on a par with The Mothers' We're only in it for the Money. It's funny, and it's beautiful, and, oh yeah, it's not for the easily offended.

Can't believe someone called the music dated. Must be one of those effete snobs Agnew used to rail about. LOL. I guess you could call Gregorian chants dated. I guess you could call Floyd Cramer-ish country piano dated. Hell, punk rock is dated, now. Its all dated now. If it isn't hip-hop, its dated. (and some would argue that's dated, too!) What a weak arguement.

Simply put, the Fugs ICIMHH is their masterpiece. Listen to how many styles they tackle successfully and weave them seamlessly together in a scatalogical pastiche that no one else could match, or even attempt. The second side of It Crawled Into My Hand is the Fugs' paean to Abbey Road's second side. So many classics.
While our other reviewer thinks the early ESP albums are the heart of the Fugs oeuvre, I beg to disagree. It was here, while the band was signed to a major label and could afford to bring in top session players, that they were able to flesh out their songs and reach their maximum potential. Listen to the blistering guitar on Crystal Liason, the aforementioned, country piano on Ramses II, the operatic baritone on The Divine Toe Pt.II. There is no question this is a fully realized production that makes the ESP albums sound almost amateurish.
Finally, this long forgotten masterpiece gets to see the light of day again. Too bad you have to shell out so much for it. It would have been nice to see this as a single release since it was the apex of their career.

It is a pure pleasure to hear these tomes once again. And, as others have said, this is especially true of their album, "It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest." The enduring popularity of The Fugs is a testament to word of mouth advertising since many of these songs were banned for airplay by a number of radio stations. I know this first-hand since I was a DJ when The Fugs were in vogue. I chanced to play "The Divine Toe" (parts 1 & 2) one evening at about 1:00 AM ... and had my timeslot cut back by two hours when the manager who was listening in expressed his disapproval the next day (grin).

The real puzzling thing is the fact that this CD set is made by Rhino Records ... and buying it new from their website is [...] cheaper than buying it here at Amazon.com. Go figure...

these recordings are where the fugs mix of sexual outrageousness, political radicalism and social satire started to wear thin. since neither tuli kupferberg or ed sanders were musicians their music got weaker as they went along. some of the musical styles satirized here were already passe in 1970 and are now totally extinct. strangely these recordings are both politically radical and musically dated. look, the fugs first album and the fugs second album are classic and essential to anyone who wants to know or understand what the 1960s counterculture was like. both cds are miracles and highly recommended. electromagnetic steamboat is for diehard fans only.