Customer Reviews

Joyeux Mutato

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

 

 

Especially a Christmas album, it might sound a little like this. I have always maintained that David Benoit is the anti-Christ of modern Jazz, with his icky sound effects and creepy "smooth" sound...but I think there is another problem with Mr. Benoit...he just takes himself too seriously.

With Joyeux Mutato we have a member of Devo, doing almost the same sort of sound-effect sampling, smooth sounding jazzy stuff...yet it is all so silly and entertaining. Maybe wearing a flowerpot hat puts things into perspective for some people, but pretention has never been a Devo problem.

Anyway...this is a silly, fun, Muzak-ish holiday album that is just silly enough to serve as a break during endless replay's of Ol' Blues "White Christmas."

No, this doesn't sound like DEVO. No, this doesn't sound like Rushmore. None of that means it isn't worth hearing. The music on Joyeux Mutato was originally composed to accompany a gallery show, and it excellently creates a lively ambiance of fun. Mark Mothersbaugh's father, best known to DEVO fans for his portrayal of the character General Boy, has said that Joyeux Mutato is his all-time favorite music ever created by his illustrious son: I think that says a lot. This is not music just for children, and it can be enjoyed any time of the year. A limited (and slightly different) edition was released last year on the Rhino Handmade label, and it stayed in my CD player all summer. Joyeux Mutato livens up any rainy day and is an especially nice treat at holiday time. Give it a try this Christmas: you might even find yourself listening to it next July 4th.

Those of you expecting a Devo X-Mas record will be disappointed. This CD is more in line with Mothersbaugh's "Music for Insomniac" discs in that it is heavily (i.e., entirely) synth-oriented and very repetitive. There are only snippets of recognizable Christmas songs, which is good, but I didn't "feel the spirit" while listening to it. The music is rather obnoxious, but in a charming way. I probably won't play it very often, but I'm glad it's in my collection. Fans of The Residents will probably like this disc.

Tracklist:

1 Blue Joy 6:24
2 Midnight Wind-Up Toy 10:59
3 Bell Boy 5:40
4 Tannenbong 6:16
5 Happy Woodchopper 9:01
6 Only 12 Shopping Days Left 5:35
7 Peace And Goodwill 5:06
8 Enough Xmas For All 5:45
9 Rudolph The Space Deer 7:41
10 You Better Watch Out... 5:09
11 Let There Be Snow 6:32
12 I Don't Have A Christmas Tree (Soylent Night) (High Tolerance Edit) 5:12

Credits
Mixed By - Bob Casale*, Van Coppock
Producer - Mark Mothersbaugh
Recorded By, Vocals - Van Coppock
Recorded By, Voice [Additional] - Bob Casale*
Sampler [Additional Sampling], Voice [Additional] - Albert Fox
Voice [Additional] - Dan Ping Wong, Demetrius-Dennis Wilson, Michelle Peters, Nancye Ferguson, Nigel Caaro
Written-By, Performer, Vocals - Mark Mothersbaugh

Notes:
Numbered limited edition of 3000.
Red felt covered digipak.
A shorter, retail version was also released.

and I'm agnostic.....lots o' fun for those in the know. Don't compare this to his other soundtrack efforts. Spuds will understand...others should open their eyeholes. Even better listening in the summertime. (Will also chase away unwanted houseguests.)

I have an earlier version of this CD which was released as a limited edition (950 of 3000) with a red felt cover and a slighty different track listing. It is an instrumental Christmas album by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo. The music is very eccentric, sounding very little like traditional Christmas music. The tunes bear a faint resemblance to the songs whose titles they are reminiscent of (meaning "Blue Joy" sounds a bit like "Joy to the World" and so on). The songs are kind of interesting to listen to, but they are somewhat repetetive and run quite long. But if you're looking for an oddball instrumental Christmas album, this is the CD for you.

Not traditional, but it's exceptional. You could listen to it at other times of the year besides Christmas. I think this album, Guaraldi's "Charlie Brown's Christmas" and Handel's "Messiah" are about all you need for Christmas. The rest is just like wrapping paper, nice appearance, but still somewhat meretricious.

If you're looking for music similar to Devo or to Mothersbaugh's Rushmore stuff, skip this. It's closer to his Rugrats tunes -- it's essentially children's music.