Rutles

Rutles | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 3, 1990)
• Original Release Date: March 22, 1978
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B00000348L
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,386 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #96 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music > Comedy Rock

Track Listings

1. Goose-Step Mama

2. Number One

3. Baby Let Me Be

4. Hold My Hand

5. Blue Suede Schubert

6. I Must Be in Love

7. With a Girl Like You

8. Between Us

9. Living in Hope

10. Ouch!

11. It's Looking Good

12. Doubleback Alley

13. Good Times Roll

14. Nevertheless

15. Love Life

16. Piggy in the Middle

17. Another Day

18. Cheese and Onions

19. Get Up and Go

20. Let's Be Natural

Editorial Reviews

Released for the first time on CD in the UK, The Rutles album was the soundtrack to the original TV spoof documentary film All You Need Is Cash. The brainchild of Neil Innes and Eric Idle, this expanded CD adds six tracks to the 14 track vinyl version first released in 1978 and comes in a vinyl replica digi-pack. One of rock's most enduring and insightful parodies, brilliantly mirroring The Beatles' career, it even featured a cameo from George Harrison (as a TV reporter). The Rutles themselves were Neil Innes as Ron Nasty (Lennon), Eric Idle as Dirk McQuickly (McCartney), ex-Beach Boy Rikki Fataar as Stig O'Hara (Harrison) and Patto's John Halsey as Barry Wom (Ringo). The fifth Rutle, for recording purposes, was Patto's mercurial guitarist Ollie Halsall. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rutlemania Uber Alles, December 30, 1999

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rutles (Audio CD)

How did ANYONE every think that Klaatu were the Beatles recording under an assumed name in the late-70s, when it was obvious to anyone with ears that the Beatles were recording under the unlikely name of the Rutles!

Okay, okay, the Rutles are actually ex-Bonzo Dog Band member Neil Innes along with other musicians, but these guys have put together a collection of drop-dead parodies that are done with charm and reverence for the originals. Granted, the film (All You Need Is Cash--BUY THE VIDEO! ) skewered the Beatles legend, but the soundtrack is no joke.

I bought the LP when it was first released in 1978 and listening to the songs was like getting to hear previously unreleased Beatles songs. Now with the CD re-issue, you get an additional 6 tracks for a total of 20 loving send-ups of the Fab Four from their Cavern Days to their final rooftop concert.

In addition to the songs, any true Beatles fan will enjoy the liner notes, photos, interviews and album covers that chronicle the history of the Rutles. HIGHLY Recommended

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rutles Passed The Audition, July 5, 2000

By 

J. GENIO (Earth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rutles (Audio CD)

I wish I could have given this CD 10 stars! If parody is the greatest compliment, then Neil Innes and the boys paid the Beatles the greatest compliment of them all. The music contained on this CD is extremely precise and accurate. There are times on this CD that I have to wonder if I am really listening to the Rutles or the Beatles. I dare anyone to tell me that the vocals on "Cheese and Onions" do not sound exactly like John Lennon. "Another Day" could be mistaken for Paul McCartney, under his "Nomme de merde de taureau," Arsenio Vermounth.

The CD format offers more songs than the LP. One of the extra tracks, "Get Up And Go," sounds very much like the Beatles "Get Back."

Although the film "All You Need Is Cash" was nothing more than the casts of Monty Python meeting Second City TV to poke fun at the Beatles legend; this CD is positively no joke. The music is accurate to the point where you would say things like "That sounds a lot like. . . ", but, by the same token, they are slightly different to add a touch of originality. The lyrics are quite charming and entertaining.

This is a wonderful CD. It is good for die-hard Beatles fans, as well as those who are not. It is definitely worth every penny. And, yes, "the Rutles DID pass the audition."

41 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Millstone in Rock History, April 12, 2001

By 

David A. James (Fairbanks, AK USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rutles (Audio CD)

The legendary Rutles have been anthologized on this collection which presents many of their most well known recordings. The influence of the Rutles can not be understated. The lesser known Beatles were, in fact, a spoof band who spent their entire career poking fun at the Rutles by virtually replicating many of the songs included here. The Rutles' world-wide smash, "Hold My Hand" was answered by the Beatles with "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "Please Please Me," "She Loves You," and "All My Loving." Such was the influence of the Rutles.

Always on the cutting edge, many of the band's pioneering recordings are included on this CD. In the mid-sixties, guitarist Stig O'Hara branched out into world music with the stunning, sitar powered "Nevertheless." This inspired Beatle George Harrison to compose the vastly inferior "Within You and Without You." Don't be fooled by cheap substitutes, the Rutles were there first. (It is worth noting that O'Hara continues his association with sitar master Rabbi Shan Carr to this day). Ron Nasty, the smart Rutle, proves his intelligence on the brilliant "Piggy in the Middle" with its memorable chorus of "Do a poo-poo." John Lennon's "goo-goo-ga-jub" shows none of this deep insight. Dirk McQuikly, possessed of wonderful pop smarts, shows them off in fine form on "Another Day" ("Nature's calling, and I must go there") And the ever fun-loving drummer Barry Wom provides lighthearted silliness on "Living in Hope," which displays his hauntingly beautiful, nasal-retentive vocals.

There is plenty more to be found on this exceptional recording. "Love Life" was the anthem of that wacky summer of '67. "Blue Suede Schubert" shows how well the Rutles understood the early rock'n'roll songs which inspired them in faraway Liverpool, England. "Ouch!" Brings back memories of those silly movies they made during their mop-top years. "Doubleback Alley" is a paean for boyhood in old England ("And Father O'Malley/To clip your ear/And steer you clear/Of the funny man/In the ice cream van/Who talked so queer...Doubleback Alley takes me back, and in my mind I see/Happy smiling faces if I flog my memory..." We should all have such dear memories.) "Let's Be Natural" leaves the Rutles on the cusp of the seventies, pointing the way to a simple life lived on the land. Throughout their career, the Rutles were always at the head of the curb, belatedly followed by the Beatles who copied their every move.

Let us thank the fine folks at Rhino Records for releasing this set and reminding us that the Rutles were far more than simply Dirk McQuickly's band before he was in Punk Floyd.