The Tubes - The Completion Backward Principle

My first exposure to The Tubes came with "Talk to Ya Later" a song so good even Gil Fisher, The Fishin' Musician had them up to Scuttlebut Lodge to play it for his television viewing audience. It was at that moment I realized The Tubes weren't like most other bands as they opted to play "Sushi Girl" and not the big hit - that to me was cool.

The Completion Backward Principle was the band's first release on Capitol, and was produced by David Foster, who wasn't yet known as the king of schmaltz, also co-wrote some of the best songs on the album. Those being "Talk to Ya Later" and the incredible "Don't Want to Wait Anymore" a song so good it's mind boggling that it was a massive hit - Bill Spooner took lead vocals on that one, and absolutely killed it - no small feat as I consider Fee Waybill one of rock's greatest vocalists. No, I'm not kidding.

This was where I started with the band, so like any starting point it tends to weigh disproportionately when viewed against the band's back catalogue. It's also the reason why I'm so partial to the Kansas albums with John Elefante. The experimental and theatrical side of The Tubes was not the side of the band I was familiar with, or wanted to hear - sure the hybrid of quirky and rock was fun, and at times really clever, but not what initially drew me to the band. I wanted to hear finely crafted rock songs, and The Tubes could deliver - when they felt like it. More often than not they'd write about whatever tickled their fancy. The Tubes were flirting with being commercial and being cheeky about it.

To that end The Tubes were the masters of the bait and switch. The album starts off with a sonic nut shot with "Talk to Ya Later" that features an incredible guitar solo by Steve Lukather - one of my favourite players. This was the lead into "Sushi Girl" and they approached it with the same vigor, it was a song that took me a while to appreciate, but I eventually got there. The album would seemingly alternate between rock and absurd.

The whole thing was played straight and very serious which is why so much of it worked. Even a weaker song like "Power Tools" is just fine when taken in context with the rest of the album, and by the time the album closes out with "Let's Make Some Noise" a song I shouldn't like as much as I do, it's a satisfying end to a really great album - and yes, I did manage to find the time to play both sides in one meeting.

Finally the band was reaching a wider audience, no doubt messing a lot of people up in the process. They would release Outside Inside a couple of years later, also produced by David foster, and it would feature one of the best pop songs ever in "She's a Beauty" complete with another Steve Lukather solo. Sadly it would essentially mark the end of the band's golden run. The Tubes would be back in 1985 for one more album on Capitol this time with Todd Rundgren producing, who'd last twiddled the knobs on Remote Control back in 1979. Love Bomb (what a shitty cover) was incredibly hard to find when it came out - at least where I lived, I think I saw a video for one of the songs, and I thought it was cool, but never got the record - can't get what you can't find. It would be decades before I'd find a copy. As you probably guessed the album bombed.

I do love this album though, time enough to spin it once more before putting back in its sleeve. Let's make some noise. That's all for now ... talk to ya later.