| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft | | | | | |
| 2. California Jam | | | | ||
| 3. Anus Of Uranus | | | |||
| 4. Sub-Rose Subway | | | | | |
| 5. True Life Hero | | | |||
| 6. Doctor Marvello | | | | ||
| 7. Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby III | | | | | |
| 8. Little Neutrino | | | | | |
The debut album by Klaatu will always be remembered less for its music than for the absurd hoax which developed six months after its release. In a classic "truth stranger than fiction" scenario, this unheralded Canadian group was believed by many to have been The Beatles, reformed under the guise of anonymity. Although the group had no hand in creating this rumour, the record company allowed it to perpetuate for several months (during which time the sales of the record increased substantially) before finally revealing the true identities of the lads at the end of 1977. Naturally, their career was essentially ruined by this bewildering escapade.
The idea of Klaatu having been the Fab Four seems rather far-fetched in retrospect, though one can easily appreciate how over-eager fans might have jumped to the conclusion. Their debut album contains no mention of the band personnel, for instance, despite the otherwise detailed nature of the liner notes. And, given John Lennon's departure from the public eye, it isn't inconceivable that he could have created some secret, anonymous project of this sort (with other ex-Beatles and friends joining in as required).
Aside from these (rather tenuous) reasons, though, it seems difficult to believe that the hoax could have lasted for so long. It's certainly true that the music on Klaatu sounds significantly like that of The Beatles -- in fact, they seem almost completely derivative at times. But all this really suggests is that they were better imitators than others of their ilk. Such blatant recreations would seem an unlikely endeavour for a reformed Beatles -- particularly when groups of this general sort tend to fall into the "dime-a-dozen" category. Regardless, the theory was disproven years ago -- to dwell on it for longer than three paragraphs seems rather unnecessary.
A more pervasive rumour, lasting to the present day, is that Klaatu were a progressive band. ;)
There is some justification for this theory, of course. The keyboard effects used by Dee Long were fully consistent with the sort of thing that Larry Fast was doing at about the same time, and the faux-orchestral grandeur in some tracks on this release suggests some progressive tendencies were dormant in the Klaatu soil. But does this make them an actual prog band? In the mind of this reviewer, the answer is no. Prog-related, yes. Worthy of discussion on rec.music.progressive, sure. But really on the same wavelength as any of the subsets of the progressive genre, no. One might claim that they straddled the line between "rock" and "progressive rock" somewhat, but they certainly didn't make it all the way over.
As far as actual music goes, Klaatu falls somewhat short of its legend. Some decent material can be found here, but too many of the numbers seem like total or partial throwaways -- and even the best songs aren't quite world-class.
The albums begins with its best number, "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft", which is unsurprisingly about an encounter between mankind and an alien race. The naive lyrics (celebrating the arrival of "World Contact Day") aren't worthy of extended analysis. Musically, it's a bit more interesting -- after a proto-ambient intro involving footsteps through a marshland (with ducks audible in the background), the actual song features vocalizing not unlike modern Brit-pop, and proggy keyboards not unlike those found on Abbey Road. This particular number is so Beatle-esque that it's scary -- the mix of vocals is quite akin to Lennon & McCartney (especially the latter), and the "I Am The Walrus" references in the rhythm section can't possibly have been accidental. Taken on its own, this song might have justified the Beatles rumours (and it's a pretty good number too). But the other tracks are a bit different ...
"California Jam" begins the tendency to sub-par Beatles-based rock that taints too much of the album. After the Beatles-esque introduction, the track turns into a bland rock number (the blatant reference to "Get Back" by Draper on drums is amusing enough, but not terribly substantial; the Harrison-esque guitar solo is okay). It simply isn't possible for this reviewer to take a line about "mythical Malibu" seriously -- and the rest of the song doesn't help matters much either.
Aside from the "Old Brown Shoe" reference in the lead guitar riff, "Anus Of Uranus" is pretty much a total disaster from beginning to end. The music is lame corporate rock from the dawn of AOR, and sounds more like Joe Walsh than The Beatles. Lyrically, well ... I suppose it could have been worse, given the title: Anus of Uranus is the name of a extraterrestrial who takes our protagonist on a joy-ride through the universe. Not even amounting to much as a novelty track, this one deserves to be skipped over.
"Sub-Rosa Subway" (a minor hit for the band in America) is better. The lyrics tell the story of Alfred Beach's construction of America's first subway, verifying in the process that hagiography is truly a comic art (the absurd trumpet arrangement which accompanies the details of Beach's accomplishments is rather amusing as well). The bass playing and vocalizing at the end of the track ("to Brahmsian tunes...") are worthy of special mention. Not a bad number at all, actually.
The lame rock stylings return on Side Two with "True Life Hero", a truly insipid number about the ordinary heros that make our lives safer and longer (lifeguards, etc). The music is generic "classic rock" again, featuring a few neat instrumental shifts which ultimately fail to negate the near-worthlessness of the song. More Walsh-isms punctuate the disposable nature of this number.
"Doctor Marvello" features better music, due to the more prominent keyboard presence (and sitar effects -- could they have worn their influences any more openly?). Studio trickeries make it worthwhile, thereby filling the deficiency in the lyrics (which apparently refer to attempts to find a cure for impotence ... either than or an LSD experience ... or perhaps both). Ringo fans might note that the phrase "sentimental journey" appears in the lyric.
In contrast to some other numbers here, the humour value of "Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby III" is deliberate. This jolly sea shanty (with some proggisms) tells the story (in three acts) of the titular hero, and his ultimately successful attempt to be the only man ever to sail to Hell and return to tell the tale. The vocals (presumably by Woloschuk) sound more akin to Jim Henson than Ringo Starr, with a definite bent towards soccer lout/pirate stereotypes. The perfectly melodic female backing vocals add to the absurd effect. A triumph, of sorts.
And, finally, we have "Little Neutrino". After a sinewave intro, the track is dominated by keyboards, space effects, guitar, and rather silly computer vocals (from the "voice" of the neutrino, describing its course through the universe). The theme of the track walks the thin line between clever and stupid on a step-by-step basis, and the similarity to "Dear Prudence" in the vocal line is quite pronounced. There's no doubt that this mini-epic has cleverness and grandeur, but one might wonder at the level of substance behind it. The album concludes with a brief reprise of the nature sounds from the first track.
Klaatu is neither as good as its legend might suggest, nor as bad as some might fear. Not an essential album by any means, this features enough decent material to keep fans of "art-inclined pop" happy ... but only just. For progressive fans, it shouldn't be anything too important.
The search for a first-rate Canadian band from the first wave of prog continues ...
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 11 May 1998)