Vivian Stanshall is the face of The Bonzo Dog Band, but in truth, there is also the musical talents of the late Neil Innes, and then someone called Roger Ruskin Spear. Mr. Spear played sax in the band and wore silly outfits. One wonders what a solo album would be like from this artist (visual as well as aural). The music is very tightly arranged, humorous (of course), and a glance back to the music hall days of Britain, but with a straightforward approach to (kind of) 1950s rock. The appeal for me is the intelligence behind his work. Spear knows his music history, in the same sense as someone like Roy Wood. The fact that he has Andy Newman (of Thunderclap Newman) on piano, and two music journalists serving here as musicians. The main cut here is "Patrick Moore" which has this great Joe Meek tribute in the middle of the song, and serves as the chorus.
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