Customer Reviews

Tubes

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of those rare audio gems by a group that was way ahead of their time. First released in the 1975, the songs "What Do You Want From Life?" and "White Punks On Dope" steal the show, and best personify the early Tubes. These funny & sardonic rants against materialism work beautifully. The Tubes consistently nailed these themes in true funky-artsy form. Groups like Talking Heads got lots of nods for their satirical odes in the the 1980s, but The Tubes nailed it earlier, and in my opinion, much better!

My first exposure to The Tubes was the video stuff from "Completion Backwards Principle" that was rotated on MTV in the first few weeks of it's existence. Then, a friend turned me onto "What Do You Want From Life," the second track on what was then the second side of this record. (Of course, the art of sides is lost on a CD.) My life was changed forever.

I was blown away at the talent and diversity of this band. Progressive Rock ("Up From the Deep"), San Francisco Swing ("Haloes"), Mariacci ("Maleguena Salerosa"), Las Vegas Show (What Do You Want From Life?"), and then sounds that only The Tubes could make in songs like "Mondo Bondage," and "Boy Crazy."

The writing is complicated, tight, lyrically brilliant... I can't say enough about them, musically. Unfortunately, the bands on-stage antics always got more attention than their music, which is a real tragedy.

Prairie Prince is one of the greatest drummers alive, (Don't miss his playing in "Up From the Deep" and "What Do You Want From Life") and the playing of Roger Steen (lead guitar) and Vince Welnick (piano and keys) is unparalleled in almost any rock act- they are true masters of their instruments. Fee Waybill (lead vocals) and Bill Spooner (guitar, lead vocals) bring a vocal sound to the band that is raw and soulful. The band is rounded out by way-better-than-average bassist Rick Anderson and Synth player, Michael Cotten.

The first two records, this one and "Young and Rich," I think are must-haves in any serious collection.

Great stuff. The Tubes self-titled debut is definitely in my top 10 records, ever.

This is still their best work, with "The Young And The Rich" following in at a close second. The Tubes have always provided gifted, biting social satire in many of their songs but never as consistently (song-for-song) as they did in their debut album (ugh.... that word gives away my age!). The biggest reason for this I think is that as the years went by, the group was more interested in commercial success (by their own admission). That usually leads to small compromises that, over time, eroded whatever edge they had at the beginning.

"Songs like What Do You Want From Life?" and "White Punks On Dope" just DO NOT get any better. The former attacked in part the shallow, self gratifying attitude of the 70's while White Punks took dead aim at the excessive behavior of the angry young men and women of that decade. In fact, I smiled at the review just prior to mine because the attitude expressed through it was exactly the target at which the band was aiming with White Punks. These songs are still relevant over 20 years later and it's amazing to me that they are not included on some of the compilation "Best Of" cd's of The Tubes.

Plus, these guys knew how to ROCK. They were skilled musicians and they wrote catchy tunes that at the same time poked fun at some of the musical styles of the day. Listen closely to "Up From The Deep" and "Mondo Bondage". You will hear playful jabs at groups like Chicago, ELO, and Led Zepplin.

Terrific fun!

For one moment, they were it. The greatest. This album represents what they did when they were at their best. If they had MTV in 1977, they might have been unstoppable. The songs are funny, biting, and they rock - and with the stage show they put on... maybe U2's Zoo TV extravaganza could compare, but I wouldn't.

5 stars? Maybe it's because of what the album was to me when it was on vinyl (I wore out 2 copies - esp. side 2).

I still believe that Prarie Prince is the best drummer I ever heard. Buy it just for the drumming! You'll come back for the satire!

I hated the 80s Tubes. "She's a beauty" is an embarassing piece of kitsch that deserves any and all scorn heaped on it. And it works against me flogging this album to other people because that's all they know of the Tubes. This album is different. Yow. It's like another band entirely. Like no other band you have ever heard. Consciously overtop air-tight arrangements that baffle. Great musianship. Wickedly biting lyrics. I love this album.

Sex, drugs, violence, misspent youth, (poor) Spanish lyrics, S&M, the Tubes' first recording had it all. Parents were shocked, concert go-ers will never forget the live performances which showcased nudity, drugs, rock and roll and violence. AHHH San Francisco. This is the BEST A&M recording by the Tubes. If you like dirty rock and roll performed by fine musicians, get it. Kudos to Al Kooper for the production values he brought along into the studio, enhancing an already terrific set of songs.

Back in 1975, The Tubes had the most outrageous stage show this side of Alice Cooper. It was this reputation they'd gained for outrage and shock that made we want to buy this album back in the early seventies. It was worth every penny. I resist the five star rating because, quite frankly, it is the second half of the old LP that I wore out over and over again, and the artsy stuff on side one wore out its welcome quickly. But oh, what decadent glory these Tubes laid into their debut! It was as if Frank Zappa had become a chainsaw wielding dildo flaunting disaster of a rock extravaganza and took that show on the road.

The album's highlights were also the highlights of The Tubes' concerts from then till now, with the kinky sex anthem "Mondo Bondage" leading the way. Powered by a hard rock riff and nose-diving synths, this was what The Tubes were all about. It crashes into "What Do You Want From Life," a scathing rip of middle class Southern California complacency worthy of Zappa and The Mothers, the moralist rant of "Boy Crazy," and finally the anthem that brought them their first real taste of fame, "White Punks On Dope." If their satiric bent wasn't so obvious and their stage show so vaudeville, The Tubes might have been shoved into the oncoming punk movement. But since their music fell somewhere between Steely Dan and the aforementioned Mothers Of Invention, "The Tubes" remains a half an album's worth of music that was far enough ahead of its time to still stand above much of the "shock" genre almost 30 years later.

I was home from college in San Diego for the summer of 1975, listening to the radio when out of the blue they played WPOD. It was one of those rare times that I heard something on the radio that made me stop immediately what I was doing and rush to the record store to buy it. I took it back with me to PA to school where no one had ever heard of them, even the most avid music fans who "discovered" everything. I literally had people swarming to my dorm room to hear The Tubes.

I loved every minute of this album and still do. Probably one of my top 10.

Man, I love this cd.

A lot of the crap I was listening to back then has aged. Some of it sounds so DATED. Even stuff by MAJOR artists. But not this album. It is FRESH.

This album is pure magic. I make a living doing advanced analysis, but when I come home I like to chill out with music that just hits the spot. And this album I recommend for that. It's cerebral bliss and melodic fun rolled into one big imaginary spleef.

My gratitude to the Tubes and singer Fee Waybill for all the fun. God bless 'em.

This was the Tubes' high water mark. Forget the radio success they enjoyed later. This and The Young and The Rich were the last time, in my opinion, that the Tubes were true to themselves. Check out the Stools first CD, "Samples", for more of the same.