Similar Albums:
- Artist: The Fugs
- Rating:
- Release Date: 2001 09
- Type: Compilation (best of), Box set
- Genre: Rock
Review
According to the copious 40-page full-color liner notes that accompany this strictly limited-edition three-CD set, Electromagnetic Steamboat: The Reprise Recordings gathers "every unique master recording of the Fugs that was delivered to and survives in the Reprise [Records] archives." This includes not only the four long-players: Tenderness Junction, It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest, The Belle of Avenue A, and Golden Filth, but also an additional 40 minutes of material that never made it onto a standard commercial release. The Fugs first gained notoriety with their cerebral marriage of Lower East Side beatnik philosophies to electric folk music in 1964. This culminated in a series of definitive underground recordings on the New York City based ESP label. It was after a somewhat acrimonious split that the Fugs signed with the decidedly West Coast Reprise Records. The band's revolving door personnel features a few familiar session musicians during this era. Among the more notable names are Danny Kortchmar (guitar), Charles Larkey (bass), Bob Mason (drums), Richard Tee (organ), jazz legend Julius Watkins (French horn), and Ken Pine (guitar). Remaining at the inventive center of the Fugs are Tuli Kupferberg (vocals), Ed Saunders (vocals), and Ken Weaver (vocals/drums). Even with the lack of stability in the lineup, the nature of the band remained pure. In light of the political and social situations that the world faced in the late '60s, the Fugs' single-minded resonance of a Dionysian reality seemed practically surreal. The multi-dimensional "War Song" -- originally issued on Tenderness Junction -- acknowledges the duality of base gratification during wartime. Golden Filth is conspicuous as the only live album in the lot. Recorded at Bill "Uncle Bobo" Graham's Fillmore East, the set includes "I Want to Know," in addition to tracks from their ESP days -- including "Coca Cola Douche," which is titled "CCD" for obvious legal reasons. The original album art from Cal Schenkel is also reproduced within the memorabilia-laden liner notes. The bonus material includes a monophonic mix of "Tenderness Junction," as well as a unique edit of the "Divine Toe" medley, which was previously available on The 1969 Warner/Reprise Songbook -- a mail order-only promotional album offered from the record label. Additionally there is the "promo album version" of "Crystal Liaison" that was issued exclusively on the Some of Our Best Friends Are disc. Finally, the infamous five-track demo reel delivered -- but never issued -- to Atlantic Records is released here for the first time in its entirety. Electromagnetic Steamboat: The Reprise Recordings is limited to an edition of 5,000 and available exclusively through the Rhino HandMade internet-based music salon. For more information direct your browser to: www.rhinohandmade.com/RHIP/7759/index.html. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Turn On/Tune In/Drop Out | Ed Sanders, Timothy Leary, |
The Fugs | (4:44) |
| Knock Knock | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (4:20) |
| The Garden Is Open | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (6:09) |
| Wet Dream | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (3:21) |
| Hare Krishna | Allen Ginsberg | The Fugs | (3:24) |
| Exorcising the Evil Spirits from the Pentagon October 21, 1967 | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (3:18) |
| War Song | Ed Sanders, |
The Fugs | (5:24) |
| Dover Beach | The Fugs | (4:01) | |
| Fingers of the Sun | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (2:23) |
| Aphrodite Mass (In 5 Sections) 1 Litany of the Street Grope 2 ... | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (8:28) |
| Crystal Liaison | Ed Sanders, |
The Fugs | (3:10) |
| Ramses 2 Is Dead, My Love | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (2:50) |
| Burial Waltz | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (2:28) |
| Wide Wide River | The Fugs | (2:52) | |
| Life Is Strange | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (2:37) |
| Johnny Pissoff Meets the Red Angel | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (4:32) |
| Marijuana | Bob Dorough, Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (1:36) |
| Leprechaun | The Fugs | (:11) | |
| When the Mode of Music Changes | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (3:55) |
| Whimpers from the Jello | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (:21) |
| The Divine Toe, Pt. 1 | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (:37) |
| We're Both Dead Now, Alice | Ed Sanders, |
The Fugs | (:15) |
| Life Is Funny | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (:14) |
| Grope Need, Pt. 1 | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (:18) |
| Tuli, Visited by the Ghost of Plontinus/More Grope Need (Grope ...) | Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (:19) |
| Robinson Crusoe | The Fugs | (:17) | |
| Claude Pelieu and J.J. Lebel Discuss the Early Verlaine Bread ... | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (4:26) |
| The National Haiku Contest | Ed Sanders, |
The Fugs | (:24) |
| The Divine Toe, Pt. 2 | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (:47) |
| Irene | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (1:09) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| The Divine Toe, Pt. 1/Grope Need, Pt. 1/Tuli, Visited by the Ghost of ... | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (3:10) |
| Bum's Song | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (3:06) |
| Dust Devil | The Fugs | (3:18) | |
| Chicago | Ed Sanders, |
The Fugs | (2:14) |
| Four Minutes to Twelve | The Fugs | (5:40) | |
| Mr. Mack | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (3:51) |
| The Belle of Avenue a | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (5:42) |
| Queen of the Nile | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (2:46) |
| Flower Children | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (4:25) |
| Yodeling Yippie | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (2:19) |
| Children of the Dream | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (5:54) |
| Slum Goddess | The Fugs | (3:18) | |
| CCD | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (3:01) |
| How Sweet I Roamed | Ed Sanders, |
The Fugs | (3:31) |
| I Couldn't Get High | The Fugs | (4:15) | |
| Saran Wrap | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (3:50) |
| I Want to Know | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (2:41) |
| Homeade | The Fugs | (5:24) | |
| Nothing | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (5:01) |
| Supergirl | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (2:43) |
CD 3
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Knock Knock | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (4:34) |
| Wet Dream | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (15:02) |
| Carpe Diem | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (3:54) |
| Nameless Voices Crying for Kindness | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (2:54) |
| Aphrodite Mass (In 5 Sections) 1 Litany of the Street Grope 2 ... | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (9:47) |
| Turn On/Tune In/Drop Out | Ed Sanders, Timothy Leary, |
The Fugs | (4:41) |
| Knock Knock | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (4:19) |
| The Garden Is Open | Tuli Kupferberg | The Fugs | (6:08) |
| Wet Dream | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (3:20) |
| Hare Krishna | Allen Ginsberg | The Fugs | (3:22) |
| Exorcising the Evil Spirits from the Pentagon October 21, 1967 | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (3:16) |
| War Song | Ed Sanders, |
The Fugs | (5:22) |
| Dover Beach | The Fugs | (3:58) | |
| Fingers of the Sun | Ed Sanders | The Fugs | (2:21) |
| Crystal Liaison [Promo Album Version] | Ed Sanders, |
The Fugs | (3:34) |
