Customer Reviews

Songs That Made America Famous

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For those of you interested I want you to know that I recorded this album over 30 years ago and in spite of selling thousands, I have never received a penny in royalties. I wish to thank all of my fans that have enjoyed the record over the years. If you decide to purchase it I want you to enjoy it.

However I want you to know that the recording industry are a bunch a of criminals and have been stealing from the artists for a hundred years. This record is a fine example and is the rule and not the exception. This is why I support "Free" download music because, regardless of how much the recording industry complains, they get 99.9% of the money and the artist never gets a fair shake.

All the best,
Patrick Sky
plsky@intrex.net

Guaranteed to offend just about everyone, Patrick Sky's "Songs That Made America Famous" is one of those rare albums that will never be forgotten by anybody who hears it.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this record, however, is that it has held up so well since it was first released 30 years ago. Oh, some of the more topical songs about the war in Vietnam are no longer as relevant as they used to be, of course, but most of the satire still succeeds brilliantly. And it is to Mr. Sky's great credit that he pulled no punches in being an equal opportunity curmudgeon who used humor to attack the hypocrisy of both his critics and his fans. Feminists, racists, Catholics, Jews, rock stars, and yes, even protest singers, are all fair game as targets of Patrick's wrath.

Many of the tunes on this CD are disgusting, obscene, perverted, and sick, but most of them are also boldly hilarious, outrageous, and full of the sort of viscious dark comedy that is sharp enough to make you split your sides laughing. And it shows with crystal clarity how much the popular musicians of today have retreated into the safety of the bland and timid kind of cultural commentary that dominates our inhibited modern marketplace now. In our current PC environment, who would dare to create a fictional character named Blind Funk Earwax and interview him for a song called "Child Molesting Blues"? Who would risk being labeled cruel to the handicapped (I mean, disabled) for playing a track like "Ramblin' Hunchback"? Who else would challenge his audience to recognize the bigotry, fear, and narrow-mindedness within themselves, and then turn around and make fun of himself as well? As the late Phil Ochs once observed, humor can be a very powerful weapon that makes a deadly serious point, because it catches listeners when their defenses are down. In the hands of an artist as talented as Patrick Sky, that weapon was deployed with devastating effect.

Although I feel I must take off a star to account for the fact that some of the work here has lost a bit of its punch with the passing of time, "Songs That Made America Famous" remains one of the best albums of its type ever recorded. Imagine putting Lenny Bruce together with an acid-crazed Tom Lehrer, and combining that with the most articulate and scathing rants of Bill Hicks, and you will have some idea of what to expect from Patrick Sky. Your ears will burn and your sense of decency will be shocked, but you will also be smiling if you have any capacity at all to laugh at the absurdity of the human condition. And that alone is reason enough to give it a spin and check it out.

I guess if Pat knew that he wasn't going to get any money he wouldn't have tried so hard!

I first heard this when I was in the Army at Ft Bliss, Texas in 1973. It was playing in a semi hippie stereo/record and I ordered it after hearing about 20 seconds worth. It takes on everyone and lampoons left and right. Some of the songs have played in my head for 27 years and I'm delighted to be able to own it again. Pat's ability to get to the core of his subject has allowed the satire to hold up after all these years.

No way that this isn't the most funny album to come out of the 60s. Like it is so funny, making fun of feminists and liberals. Patrick sky was the Ann Coulter of the 60s!!!

Recorded during the Nixon administration, _Songs that Made America Famous_ still has the potential to offend, even in a world that tolerates _South Park_, gangsta hip hop and the current U.S. president. As an example of its satire, consider Mr. "H. Bromovitz," which Sky sings to the tune of "Mr. Bojangles." To make a point about ethnic stereotypes, Sky replaces the minstrel stereotyping of "Mr. Bojangles" with a stereotype of a Jewish storekeeper, and thus underscores how offensive a song "Mr. Bonjangles" is, when you think about it. _Songs that Made America Famous_ will disgust many. It makes use of profanity and ethnic slurs in its satire. The album's MAD-magazine-style cover is a good indicator of its content if one imagines a more offensive MAD magazine for twisted grown-ups. _Songs that Made America Famous_ is an education in satirical songwriting from a man capable of profoundly sick humour. I don't hand out 5 stars very often, but this highly repugnant collection deserves it.

Mix the pornographic poetry of The Fugs, the cynicism of David Peel, and the humanism of Don Rickles, and you have a pretty good approximation of this album: A scathing indictment of the culture from which it came. Although the CD is only a half-hour long, it manages to be offfensive within its first eight seconds! And once it starts, it doesn't stop. For anyone who has had more than enough of "political correctness", this album is a must-have. Sky opens up and releases a storm from which no one is safe. It's blatantly offensive, patently self-indulgent, and unrelentingly hilarious! Guaranteed to break the ice at parties.

Perhaps the greatest pop farce around. Patrick mixes irreverant topics, off color humor, and "in your face" shock to create a fusion of color, craziness, and rancor.

One artist's way highlighting the hypocracy of American life. You'll laugh and cringe at the first listenning, but when you go back again, you'll probably get the message.

I have the original LP, found in a Berkeley record store in about 1975. The producer was Alex Bennett, noted radio host in New York and San Francisco. He has mentioned the recording session a few times on his shows.
<http://www.radiofreejack.com/>
I like it a lot - and now with the helpful Internets we can all listen to similar recordings that were made over the last 110+ years. Non "PC" songs have always been a part of our culture, they are just not mentioned much... the book LOST CHORDS: THE DIVERTING STORY OF AMERICAN POPULAR SONGS is worth exploring.

If you do not own a copy of this 1973 folk record, by all means get this now! The story goes that this anti-PC record was recorded in 1971 and rejected by EVERY major label because it was too filthy and politically left wing. At the same time, it gained immense notoriety because it was extremely hilarious, dead on, and just plain amazing. After over 25 years, this disc holds up and then some. This disc rips apart Vietnam politics AND Vietnam protesters. Those are about the only dated objects on here as it also tears into sacred cows like racism, anti-Semitism, feminism, and practically every -ism that still exists as we head into the 20th century. I would think Bill Hicks would owe a lot to Patrick Sky. In 30 minutes, this record makes you laugh, think, and sing along. This is a record time forgot and now's a good opportunity to rectify that situation. -reviewed by Agent Rogersz for the DDO. END