The History of the Bonzos [Import, Original recording remastered]

Bonzo Dog Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Bgo - Beat Goes on
• ASIN: B0000011PI
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,271 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Intro and the Outro

2. Rockaliser Baby

3. Sport (The Odd Boy)

4. Noises for the Leg

5. King of Scurf

6. Labio Dental Fricative

7. Hello Mabel

8. Canyons of Your Mind

9. Jollity Farm

10. You Done My Brain In

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. I'm the Urban Spaceman

2. Bad Blood

3. I Left My Heart in San Francisco

4. Tent

5. Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?

6. 9-5 Pollution Blues

7. Big Shot

8. Release Me

9. We Are Normal

10. The Sound of Music

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered disc that incorporates the original double album on a single compact disc. The Bonzo Dog Band were the foremost comedy rock group of England, giving the world the likes the Viv Stanshall (who also introduced the instruments on the original "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield), Neil Innes (who was part of The Rutles) and Roger Ruskin Spear. This collection has long been praised as a definitive collection of the best of the group, assembled shortly after their final agreement to part ways forever.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your best Bonzo value, May 1, 2002

By 

woburnmusicfan (Woburn, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of the Bonzos (Audio CD)

The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band was to music what the Firesign Theater was to the spoken word, using a bizarro sensibility to produce comedy recordings unlike anything ever done before. They used every instrument they could lay their hands on, without regard to whether they could actually PLAY it, and played anything from rock to 20s-style vaudeville music. The Bonzos toiled from 1966 to 1970 in obscurity, except for the Beatles collaboration "You Know My Name, Look Up the Number" (the B-side of the "Let It Be" single). Pianist Neil Innes later did a lot of work with Monty Python.

This two-CD set is a strong collection of their best, including a few post-Bonzo gems from individual members, like Viv Stanshall's infectious "Labio Dental Fricative." "The Intro and the Outro" introduces the band members to a repeated two-bar riff, and when they run out of band members, it's "Big hello to big John Wayne on xylophone", and on to Adolf Hitler, General de Gaulle, Brainiac, etc. "Canyons of Your Mind" is an Elvis impersonation with a purposely awful guitar solo. The 20s-style pieces include the delightful "Mickey's Son and Daughter" and "Jollity Farm". At the opposite extreme, "Slush" sets a mournful dirge to a tape loop of a laughing bag (remember those?). There's rock ("I'm the Urban Spaceman"), blues ("Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?"), teen pop (the dandruff ode "King of Scurf"), film noir ("Big Shot"), self-reverence ("Look at Me, I'm Wonderful"), and more. Instruments come and go without warning. The indescribable "My Pink Half of the Drainpipe" stops dead in the middle for Stanshall to present "Rodney's bass saxophone solo, as promised". Stanshall promotes the bodybuilding regimen of "Mr. Apollo": "Before I was a poor stone apology, today I am two separate gorillas".

If you're going to own one Bonzo album, this should be the one. It'll give you the most Bonzo for your money. The only reason I don't give this five stars is that it's SO weird that there's a limit to how much you can listen to in one sitting. It's just too much of a good thing. If you're lucky, the CD will include the liner notes and pictures that were on the LP (such as Roger "Ruskin" Spear taking a sax solo while holding a cartoon thought balloon over his head that says "Wow! I'm really expressing myself!")

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting 2 disc introduction, November 1, 2004

By 

Musicalia "dimplehobbit" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of the Bonzos (Audio CD)

This 1974 compilation has been eclipsed in more recent years by more in-depth CDs such as 'Cornology', so why would you want this? Because it is (I'm pretty sure) the only CD which has Vivian's singles 'Suspicion' (excellent send-up of the Elvis classic) and 'Blind Date' (in which two odd 'people' meet at Waterloo Station ...), alongside a different mix of 'Labio Dental Fractive' than you get on Cornology *and* the original version of 'Canyons of Your Mind' (with the sequins! hooray!). You also get another Neil single uncollected elsewhere and Roger Spear's version of 'Release Me'. Otherwise it is more of the same although I'll never quibble with a CD which includes 'Hunting Tigers', 'My Pink Half of the Drainpipe', 'Tent', 'Jollity Farm' and (if you must) 'Urban Spaceman'. I do miss 'Death Can for Cutie' but you can't have everything.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AND A FINE HISTORY IT IS!, January 21, 2000

By 

Harvey J.Satan "Harvey J.Satan" (Among The Garden Gnome,Friar Park) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of the Bonzos (Audio CD)

Whether you are a long time Bonzo fan,or a "new to Bonzo" fan....this is an excellant starting point. This collection features not only the members works as a group,but a sampling of some hard to find,on CD,solo efforts as well.Here are the Bonzos most well known tunes,and a number of obscure,and offbeat one's as well! (With some lovely pictures,to look at in wonderment). They're all here: VIVIAN STANSHALL! RODNEY SLATER! ROGER RUSKIN-SPEAR! LEGS LARRY SMITH! DENNIS COWAN! JOEL DRUCKMAN! SAM SPOONS! VERNON DUDLEY BOHAY~NOWELL! DAVE CLAGUE! Oh.....and Neil Innes. Hear the band,that The Beatles,once called,"Their Fave Band!" (Don't believe it? Get out your "Magical Mystery Tour" video....they are in it!)(So are The Beatles.).The Bonzo's lunacy might also have inspired Monty Python's muscial silliness,as they performed weekly with Eric Idle,Terry Jones,Michael Palin,and Terry Gilliam on "Do Not Adjust Your Set" (1967). So what more need you know? George Harrison loves 'em! Elton John loves 'em! Eric Clapton played with them! Led Zepplin loved 'em! SO WILL YOU!