Page 6 Retriever American Parody and Travesty spoofs Hefner

by Tony Sclafani is a new publication from those same fellas Included is "Wrestlingate," a 13 year study of entitled Playbore and it's a zany offshoot of, professional wrestling, which concludes (hold Remember those great Mad Magazine umm, Reader's Digest...no PlayboyW. your breath) it may not be...real!!! What is Ric takeoffs on TV shows, books and all other This one looks pretty good, even to my eyes Flair and Jimmy Snooka gonna say? And what aspects of our society? Remember how they were which are supposed to be over critical and jaded about the Magnificent Morocco and the Von suprisingly on the mark but you were too so listen up. If not for the sake of my review, for Erich brothers and The Fabulous Freebirds and ashamed to admit it because no one, I mean no the sake of your mother who might be featured in Captain Redneck and Sargent Slaughter one reads Mad past the age of 13? Then National one of the spreads for all you know. and...oh sorry, digression. Anyone who saw the Lampoon turned satire into an art with its daring Playbore,X\V& its Journal and Times kin, looks recent Cap Centre steel cage match with Andre New reunion disc showcases parodies of tragically hip topics like sex and identical to its target publication in layout, style, the Giant and Big John Studd know how real the religion. cover, and probably even texture and smell. The sport is but A. Craig Detrius' article is amusing. Before you could say "John Belushi" every Burdon's blend of Animals cover girl is Barbi Benton, the former flame of Then there is the movies section, with reviews from Animals, page 5 like an autobiography of his last 10 years in the hack that didn't have an original idea for him- Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Her look on the of Jaws 4: My Dinner of Andre and "War music business. / herself was on the street corner (or on TV or in a cover (indifference to the wilting rabbit) sums up original Animals again in 1977 with a poorly Crimes—teen computer whiz discovers a way to The second side opens with "The Night," the mag or writing their own trashy book) making the authors' intended message: after 30 years send Henry Kissinger to jail." received (and poorly selling) album, Before We fun of something. True, there is a need for this Playboy may be losing its touch. Other special features include a naked X-ray of Were So Rudely Interrupted. album's shot at a single. The song is musically sort of thing in this stuffy, self-important society, Six years later they are making yet another balanced with the vocals never dominating the and some forms of satire (early "Saturday Night attempt to hit the charts. Their newest effon. instruments. Live" and the Deceiver, hint, for example) were Ark, finds the original Animals displaying their "Trying To Get To You" is one of the group's very successful and even funny (imagine that!) talents to the fullest. Burdon's vocals have best blues works ever. Standard slow-moving but on the whole it is much easier to make fun of ripened with age and are strongly complimented music cuts into backstreet New Orleans jazz com- someone or something than it is to have your by and guitarist . plete with barroom piano, sax and lots of brass. own idea or creation. PLAYBOREL] The other two members, drummer John Steele The next song, "Just Can't Get Enough" dem- Think about it. I could sit here for a half hour and bassist Bryan "Chas" Chandler, provide a onstrates Price's predominant keyboard talent, rhythm that has never been achieved in the giving him a shot at Motown piano mixed with and go off on all sorts of topics to make fun of Or as editor and publisher Jerry Vare says, Princess Di, a sex survey which finds people still (politics, music , drugs, sex, food, cars, should I believe the old wive;.' tale that pregnancy is the Animal's songs of yesterday. brass. Burdon takes a backseat to Price and all "Playbore is an early birthday present for Play- At first look by the buyer, the album cover is that's missing is a few Four Tops "Do-Wops." go on?) but when it comes down to the nitty gritty boy [which celebrates its 30th anniversary in result of intercourse, paintings like Blue Boy and not very appealing. (In fact, I found the promo "Melt Down" has Burdon stepping back into no one is gonna want to read that sort of thing for November] though it may not be the birthday Mona Lisa improved upon by Playbore's house sticker on the plastic more interesting). The cover the saddle, but the rest of is not to be too long, unless I have some extraordinary talent present they bargained for....It should amuse not painter, eating Nastassia Kinski (sorry you'll in writing that sort of thing, in which case I would only the Playboy reader but just about anyone have to read this one for yourself) and of course is a cartoon drawing of a futuristic Noah leaving forgotten. Every wail is supported, complete probably be writing something else or at least who thinks that our attitudes, fears, and obses- everyone's favorite comic strip "Little Andy his Ark (get it, Animals!) to blast a threatening with echoing guitar riffs from Valentine. somewhere else. You can't sustain an entire sions about sex are good for a laugh." Fanny." sea monster. Granted the cartoon is drawn quite "Gotta Get Back To You" might sound at first career on someone else's ideas. Or can you? Quick, somebody get that sex counselor on Playbore's editors include Lewis Grossberger, well but Dr. Seuss could have developed a better like an old Animals'remake but it develops into a The people at American Parody & Travesty cable channel 10. coauthor of The Non Runners Book; Kurt And- concept sketch. They may have caught more of sound never heard from them before. This is Corp. evidently think so because their Off the So just what is contained in this bogus Play- erson (The Real Thing); Steve Christ (the real fhe public's attention if the picture on the back followed by "Crystal Nights," another track fol- Wall Street Journal and Not the New York boy?! Well there are titles like "Girls of the PLO" New York Times); and Daniel Menaker (New cover would have been used as the front. lowing the "Light and Dark" concept. Every- Times (two one-shot mags modeled after the real (today's Arab women resist easy stereotyping) Yorker, etc.). Writers include Bruce McCall— No matter the choice of the covers, the con- thing here sounds like an older Animals tune; the thing) were very successful in the year or two and a Playbore interview with Jesus Christ (sam- formerly a writer for "Saturday Night Live," and tents are a completely different story. The album sixties sound is back and Eric is shown at his best. passed. ple quote, Jesus on his good tan-"I burn not, nor Ellis Weiner who wrote National Lampoon. So if opens with a track entitled "Loose Change." It's Overall, Ark is well produced. The group Personally, 1 can't remember seeing either of do I peel). There is, of course, the "Placemat of you think Playbore is a good idea throw caution an excellent cut with Burdon showing his vocals seems to have had the time to sit back and reflect them; but in between being caught up in the the Moment": this week's model is none other to the winds and pick up the 98 page glossy for talent from the start. His middle-eight screams on the sounds of the last 17 years. Much of this is fishbowl environment of the UMBC dorms and that Crispie Hepner (sic) who comes complete $2.95 "for the first half hour (more if all night)." and Jagger-style pronunciation gives the fan an shown in the handling of the music but Burdon is living in Columbia that's not hard to see why. with her own ridiculous quotes a la the real Play- And if you don't think it's funny there's always instant shot of the Burdon we once knew. still Burdon and he is a talent the band cannot The little tip sheet they gave me says "best selling" boy. If this is your cup of meat keep on reading Mad magazine. Following this song, show them- command. It's a pity the album may not sell well so I must have missed something. Well now there it gets better. selves as being more diversified than just a blues because of a lack of air play or the late release band. "Love Is For All Time" gives the audience date (after the tour), but it's worth a listen. No a taste of Animal reggae. Burdon's voice at this matter, the Animals are back, and in top form. point has not overpowered the music but has Belew squawks and squeals his way to the top molded the music around it. Overpowering comes on the next track. from Belew, page 5 picked out a beat and the entire band began tion or slapped heavily over a blistering rocker, "My Favorite Enemy" is probably the best the high points in the performance came as he improvising around the loop. It was surely one of these arresting effects make one sit back and grin song on the album, Burdon's voice has not mel- explained to us how he puts together some of his the most amusing experiments ever attempted by "Goddamn. This guy is good." lowed in the ensuing years. His vocals start off as work. "This black box here," he began "records a performer in front of a packed house, and the The only real drawback to the show was its a soft whisper and transform into a strong wail what I play digitally and repeats it as a loop." He crowd ate it up. scant length, only about an hour and 45 minutes by the song's middle, drowning out the music. demonstrated by stretching strings for a few bars Another popular number was the new "Ideal or,so, but if one can't have both quality and The audience is only kept in touch with the and sliding down the neck. Woman," wherein Belew accompanied himself quantity, then you take what you can get. "You instruments by Price's transfixing keyboard On command, the lick was replayed consist- on tape while splicing in man-on-the -street inter- pays your money, you take your chances," and in work. ently at a steady rhythm. "Now...," he continued, views of what qualities the ideal woman would this case the chance was definitely worth taking. "Prisoner of the Light" is an excellent antithe- adding another riff, this time a roar, "...let's see.." have. The ensuing opinions prove to be totally The Wax Museum is an excellent hall for rela- sis to the current single "The Night." Following It played back one riff over the other, repeating ambiguous and make an obvious point clear tively unknown acts, and its small size gives you this is "Being There" which is dominated by Bur- both. "And let's try..." This time a wail from while affording us some chuckles. an immediacy not often felt in larger don's vocals and Chandler's heavy bass riffs. It's some primordial bird. After five or six passes, he But, without question, his true specialties are auditoriums. amazing the way Chandler handles this piece let the entire loop playback, clutching the sides of the Animal Sounds. Belew has spent some time It is sincerely hoped that finally, after a high- after retiring from music for seven years. Superb! his head as it grew in insistence. "My God, I've developing literally dozens of techniques that energy solo tour, Adrian Belew will sell some The final song on the side sounds like a newer created a zoo!," he laughed, genuinely delighted. effectively mimic birds, cats, rhinocerii, ele- records, even if he may never become a house- kind of Animal. "Hard Times" treats the listener Not content with this, he had the box play it phants, lions, and in one hypnotic number, blue hold word. Perhaps he should try working with to the sounds of the inner city. Burdon's lyrics backwards, and after a few bars, the drummer whales. Whether tucked neatly into a composi- Michael Jackson. Indeed... (on one of the few songs credited to him) sound

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