Customer Reviews

Rutles

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

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."

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.

"The Rutles" is a Beatles spoof that, surprisingly enough, is so well-loved by Beatles fans that it practically qualifies as supplemental material. All the music here is written by Neil Innes and parodies virtually every distinct period in Beatles history. From the early days of Beatlemania, to their psychedelic era, to their "get back" stage - the Rutles includes something for everyone. Far from being a one-joke phenomenon, "The Rutles" holds up very well almost 30 years later and there's a lot of cleverness contained within the CD. For sheer entertainment value, these 20 songs beat most of the "Anthology" hands-down.

Innes himself sounds an awful lot like John Lennon, and the songs lean more heavily towards the Lennon side of the Lennon/McCartney partnership. (Even before he became a Rutle, Innes sounded like one - just check out his Lennon-like "Angelina" on the "Recycled Vinyl Blues" compilation.) While even the most casual of Beatles fans can appreciate Innes' songwriting skill, it's only when you pay closer attention to Innes' production values that you'll realize "The Rutles" was far from a quickie cash-in. Put on a pair of headphones and skip through the CD - you will find that Innes paid close attention to George Martin's production and arrangement style, right down to the mixing, reverb, and EQ. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find any sounds on this CD that aren't historically accurate (although I am surprised that Innes didn't include a Mellotron on some of the later period stuff). There's an attention to detail even the most obsessive Beatles impersonators can't match.

I've listened to this CD many, many times. To my ears, it's the early period Beatles parodies that hold up best. Innes' arrangements incorporate multiple references to different songs into each new Rutles song, making seemingly obvious jokes like "Hold My Hand" pretty darned complex. Furthermore, some of songs stray far enough from their original targets to almost pass for Beatles outtakes. "Between Us" is a fine little ballad that would have been at home on "A Hard Day's Night," and "I Must Be In Love" is as good as any 45 Lennon/McCartney wrote in 1965. "Baby Let Me Be" is a good "Meet the Beatles"-style tune, and Innes even revives his own "Blue Suede Schubert" as a Chuck Berry-style rocker to remind us that in the early days, the Beatles often included covers of Chuck Berry songs like "Roll Over Beethoven."

I'm less fond of the psychedelic stuff. Aside from "Piggy in the Middle," a hilarious send-up of "I am the Walrus," the humor isn't as focused and the songs just aren't as creative as their inspirations were. You can find far better psychedelic tributes on XTC's "Chips from the Chocolate Fireball," although Innes certainly wins points for his "Penny Lane" parody. Innes' heart seems to have been with happy-go-lucky Beatlemania and not the heady "Sgt Pepper" days.

By the time we reach the final song, a Lennonesque guitar-based ballad that owes a lot to both "Julia" and "Dear Prudence," we are genuinely sorry that the CD has come to an end. The Rutles would return for a sequel CD that isn't nearly as good, and Innes still periodically performs these songs in concert. But all the Rutles you really need is on this disc. I think you'll find it a rewarding purchase, and it really belongs in every serious Beatle lover's collection.

Being a low-key closet Beatles fan, I was fairly skeptical when I heard about the Eric Idle/SNL produced mockumentary "All You Need Is Cash". After a few minutes of watching, however I was completely won over by the Pre-Fab Four.

What did it for me was this music, written and performed by Neil Innes et al. The songs are spot on as far as capturing the Beatles sound throughout their career--other reviewers have said this but in many cases, you'd swear you were listening to the Fab Four--"Love Life", "Cheese and Onions" and "Piggy In The Middle" are out of control. Moreover, the songs stand as just darn clever, well-crafted pop songs on their own. So much so, that a few years ago, a bunch of NY bands got together and recorded a tribute album called, "Rutles Highway Revisited".

By the way, back in '97, I attended an annual Tri-State Beatles convention (no snickering please). Neil Innes showed up as a guest speaker and later on that evening performed for the crowd. Although he did join in on a few Beatles songs, the crowd reaaally went nuts when Neil started performing his Rutles music. I was floored by how many of these fanatical Beatles fans were singing the Rutles songs by heart! It was a really fun and memorable evening.

Anyway, buy this CD if you enjoyed "All You Need Is Cash", like the Beatles, or just want to appreciate some fun, clever Beatles influenced music--you won't go wrong.

This CD is a marvelous parody of the Beatles, so good in fact that it's almost like having 20 new Beatles songs.

"Goose Step Mama" is a wonderful parody of one of the Hamburg Tapes (the Beatles used to taunt their German audiances). The only thing is that this is far better than anything on those tapes.

"Number One" is in their early "Please Please Me" style. I would challange a novice to early Beatles material to figure out that this wasn't really the Fab Four.

"Baby, Let Me Be" might be a shot at the Decca Sessions.

"Hold My Hand" is obvious a take off of "I Want to HOld Your Hand." Be Careful or you'll be humming this one all day.

"Blue Suede Shubert" just a dead on attempt to capture the feel of Beatles remakes...this one is obviously lampooning "Roll Over Beethoven"

"I Must Be in Love" is just a beautiful ballad that could have been ripped off of the "Hard Day's Night" Soundtrack.

"With a Girl Like You" is a great twist on "If I Fell"

"Between Us" is instrumentally identical to "And I Love Her."

"Living In Hope" seems to be a nice little poke at "Don't Pass Me By"

"Ouch!" may be the best pure parody on the album. It nails "Help!"

"It's Looking Good" could fit on Rubber Soul and Neil must've been listening to "I'm Looking Through You" before he penned this one.

"Doubleback Alley" must be a couple of blocks doen from "Penny Lane"

"Good Times Roll" is a much funnier version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

"Nevertheless" is a great lampoon of George's Indian tracks (especially "Love You To") but easier to listen to because it's only 47 seconds long (or something like that).

"Love Life" captures every nuance of "All YOu Need Is Love"

"Piggy in the Middle" is every bit as good as "I Am the Walrus", but the lyrics are better because Neil Innes has a better sense of humor than John. "Hey diddle, diddle, the cat's in the fiddle, piggy in the middle, doo a poo poo" "I know you know what you know but you should know by now that you're not me."

"Another Day" is a nice piece that reminds one of "Martha My Dear"

"Cheese and Onions" has really got that Plastic Ono Band Sound down and the ending is a crack you up reminder of "A Day in the Life." My sources tell me that JOhn Lennon may have actually written this song and turned it over to Neil for this project.

"Get Up and Go" is simply "Get Back" with new lyrics (more or less).

"Let's Be Natural" seems to be a shot at "Mother Nature's Son".

Okay, how creative is this album...first look at which songs they parody...not the obvious ones most people would think of. Secondly, any of these songs would stand on there own if there had never been a Beatles. They are tuneful, the lyrics are clever and funny. Third, wouldn't most people doing a parody like this just change the lyrics of the real Beatles songs, but not here. They actually wrote all new songs that remind you of Beatles songs without actually plagerizing them (okay, "Get UP and Go" is an exception). You'll almost never get tired of noticing little Beatles touches in every song, Innes must have a great ear. I know that Weird Al does great parodies, but Al uses the identical tunes, Neil Innes manages to pull these off with different tunes, just similar instrumentation.

If you're a Beatles fan and don't own this, then you're not a Beatles fan (not really). Get this and make it official.

If you just like good sing along pop, this album will still enthrall you.

Whatever they conceived this album to be, it exceeded all expectations.

My only complaint? The packaging of the CD is nowhere near as good as the LP was (LP had a better cover too). Try to dig up the LP of this. The booklet and liner notes were just as good as the album. You could browse it for hours.

Although the Rutles movie (which hopefully will be released on DVD one of these day) was very blatantly funny, this soundtrack is quite different. There are occasional bits of humor in the music, but not much more than was in the Beatles music itself. However, the music itself is pretty darned good, and sounds amazingly like the Beatles. Neil Innes (who composed the music) clearly listened to the originals much more closely than many of their serious imitators did back in the 60s. I originally purchased the LP back in 1978 when the T.V. movie came out (or I should say, I bought "the full color booklet with free bonus LP" - It touches of humor like that phrase on the sticker on the LP package that are missing a bit in this CD version).

I hadn't heard the music in about 20 years until I recently purchased this CD - so I wasn't certain if it was as good as I remembered it to be. In general, it is. The CD has several additional songs. As I usually find is the case for "bonus tracks", in most cases you can see why these added songs were not chosen for the original LP. Those that were on the original LP tend to be far superior, the added tracks tend to be lesser quality - nonetheless, that's what the program feature on CDs are for. There are plenty of great tracks to fill out the CD. Five of these could easily have been on real Beatle albums: Living In Hope, Ouch!, Double Back Alley, Another Day, and the very best IMHO is the Lennon-ish "Cheese and Onions." There are little touches on the latter that make it stand out. For instance when the vocal spells out "C-H-E-E-S-E-A-N-D-O-N-I-O-N-S" he adds "Oh-No". John Lennon often seemed to add the words "Oh-No" into his songs for no apparent reason, I presume calling out to Yoko. These touches show how carefully Innes listened to the original music and modeled his songs likewise. He has successfully captured the Beatles sound, chord changes, and subtle idiosyncrasies accross their very different eras, not just one. Number One, Hold My Hand, I Must Be in Love, Ouch!, sound exactly like pre-Revolver Beatles songs. Double Back Alley, Good Times Roll, Nevertheless, Another Day, Cheese and Onions sound very much like they come from somewhere in the Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, to White Album eras. Lets Be Natural and Get Up and Go, capture the post-psychedelic Get Back/Let It Be era. So in summary, I wouldn't recommend this as a comedy album (although the movie itself is very funny), but if you like the Beatles music - this is a nice "Beatles from an alternate universe album" and a much better tribute album than any of the so-called tribute albums involving other people doing covers of Beatle songs.

This is the soundtrack to the TV movie that aired in Britain and later picked up in the US called "All You Need is Cash". The movie itself is a Python-esque parody of the Beatles. It is almost embarrassing that the music is ... good.

The music is well written, well produced and expertly crafted. The most fascinating thing about this CD is that while some tracks are funny, the music is worth listening to for the music, not just the novelty.

Personally I have a deep respect for any songwriter that can work the word pusillanimous into a song and make it work. That, people, is talent!

STF

Yes, the Rutles TV special was very funny, but don't let that distract you from the top-notch Pop on this CD. I like it so much that my band used to cover "I Must Be In Love."

The production is a bit sparse at times, but the great Neil Innes injects enough energy and wit into every tune to carry them through the thinner moments.

"Goose-Step Mama," "Number One," and some of the other 'early' Rutles stuff is good, but when Innes hits the band's 'middle' and 'late' periods--beginning with "Doubleback Alley"--he whips off a few near-classics. "Piggy In the Middle," starts as a baltent rip-off of "I Am The Walrus," but Innes adds a melodic turn that makes it the Rutles own. "Another Day" and "Cheese & Onions" recall 1970-ish McCartney and Lennon without ridiculing either.

Which is, of course, the secret to the Rutles greatness: Innes & Eric Idle were great fans--and great friends--of the Beatles. Imitation may be the greatest form of flattery, but it takes a real fan to do it right.

By the way, there are those of us who have argued for years that, if the Beatles had ever wanted to get back together post-1980, Neil Innes was the obvious choice for a fourth.

As for the eternal question--will the Rutles ever get back together--I think Mick Jagger put it best:

"I hope not."

... well maybe its' the "Business Man's Special". Nearly 30 years on, and I'm still listening to this recording! It's awesome. This album (now disc) helped me to discover the recordings of the Beatles. Each generation seems to discover them, but this recording is, like the Beatles catalogue, still as fresh today as it was back in '78.

If you're a Beatle fan, you can become a Rutle fan too. This is not simply a parody of the Beatles, it is the Ultimate Beatle Tribute Album. This music was so similar to the Beatles, that the Beatles actual own a part (so they wouldn't sue!), which is why "Get Up and Go" didn't originally appear on the LP... it sounded too much like the Beatles!!

Buy this CD, you will not be disappointed.