Guide to British Music of the 1960s

April 1999

CD Review

The Rutles - The Rutles

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Without doubt one of the defining groups in the history of pop music, the Rutles' influence on music was so immeasurable that no-one bothered to measure it. Even during the 1960s, the Rutles saw their share of copycat groups who imitated the Rutles' sound but never reached their peak.

This compilation CD covers the Rutles' great years with a selection of classic tracks spanning their career. Goose Step Mama reminds us of the group's early days at the Cavern Rutland and, naturally, the Ratkeller in Hamburg. This was always a crowd pleaser and this version, previously available only to bootleg collectors comes from the famous Silver Rutles sessions.

We are then taken through a "Tragical History Tour" of Rutles favourites. We remember Number One from the Royal Variety Performance in 1964 where Nasty dedicated the song to a very special lady in the audience- Barry's mum. Hold My Hand is best remembered by listeners in the US where it helped to break the band.

Everyone claims to know where they were when they first heard the ground-breaking Sergeant Rutter's Only Darts Club Band. This CD contains two songs from that album including the controversial Good Times Roll, with its alleged references to drinking tea, even with biscuits. Love Life is taken from the live satellite broadcast, made shortly before the Rutles received the sad news about their manager Leggy Mountbatten.

The Rutles' career after Leggy's loss has been the subject of much debate and they seemed to lose some of the drive and enthusiasm. Also, there were a number of projects that did not have the control of Leggy. Consequently, the Rutles had to cope with failure for the first time. There was the aforementioned Tragical History Tour and then there was Rutle Corps. However, the Rutles still turned out some excellent songs after this time. On this CD we have the psychedelic Cheese and Onions from the cartoon film Yellow Submarine Sandwich. Also available on the CD is Get Up and Go, renowned for being played on the roof of Rutle Corps during the group's last performance.

All in all a fine record for a near-forgotten but still semi-legendary group.

mp, March 1999

Essential Tracks:

• I Must be in Love
• It's Looking Good
• Get Up and Go

Track Listing:

1. Goose Step Mama
2. Number One
3. Baby Let Me Be
4. Hold My Hand
5. Blue Suede Schubert
6. I Must Be In Love
7. With A Girl Like You
8. Between Us
9. Living in Hope
10. Ouch!
11. It's Looking Good
12. Doubleback Alley
13. Good Times Roll
14. Nevertheless
15. Love Life
16. Piggy in the Middle
17. Another Day
18. Cheese and Onions
19. Get Up and Go
20. Let's Be Natural