MacLean & MacLean - Bitter Reality

They say you can't go home again - mostly because once you move out, it isn't your home. Still it's fun to go back to visit, raid the fridge and leave without doing the dishes. When I was a kid there were a couple of acts who managed to become legendary by only hearing about them second hand: Nestor Pistor and MacLean & McLean. When I got a Bill Cosby record, my cousin Jeff was playing George Carlin. One of those was safer than the other ...

Over the last couple of years I've picked up a couple of Nestor Pistor albums, and had my expectations dashed. Maybe they were funny once. Not to say there weren't some amusing moments, but on balance I just couldn't figure out how this stuff became the stuff of legend.

Here I am with Bitter Reality, the second album by MacLean & MacLean released in 1976, although the copy I have was on El Mocambo and was dated from 1980. At the time I had no idea that Burton Cummings was on the album, although apparently his management tried to block it due to some of the content ... they weren't successful. Jack Richardson, who produced so many great Guess Who tracks, was on board for this album - a mixture of live and studio cuts.

As I mentioned comedy albums can be tricky. I have a number of comedy albums that have aged like a fish in the sun. While this one certainly was tasteless at times, there were some little nuggets here and there that were pretty funny. The songs about pubic hair were great, and the :46 seconds of "Ken and Barbie" was more entertaining than the movie. The highlight on side one is "Frankie Fontaine (King of Genital Rock)" where Mr. Cummings more than acquits himself. I didn't want to laugh at "Shit" but I found myself getting actually laughing at one point.

At the time it didn't take a lot to be taboo and the guys went after everything. Not everything stuck to the wall, and frankly I get the sense most of what was being thrown around wasn't meant to - if it stuck great, if not the next one might. It's interesting to listen now and realize that audiences in 1976 weren't any more accepting than they are now ... the difference is that when people are offended now they have to let everyone know they're offended.

So while a good chunk of the album wasn't really all that funny to me, it was kind of comforting to realize that the more things change the more they stay the same.

Both Gary MacLean (1944–2001) and Blair MacLean (1942–2008) have long since passed on. I suppose they'd take some comfort knowing that while they never became comedy royalty they still left their mark. Excuse me while I go and change my pants.

Comments

6 Cylinder

As a kid we had one radio station, not counting CBC, and generally there was very little that was worth listening to, although there were times something would come on that would make you pay attention. It was 1979 and on a couple of occasions I heard "There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" and it cracked me up, and I always wanted to get a copy for myself. A few years ago when my niece was dancing, they did a performance to this song, and now I can't separate my niece from a bunch of dancing chicks in chicken suits. Such is life. When I found this in the dollar bin I actually let out a little chirp, my goodness could it be? It was, and it was in great shape - including the inner sleeve. Score. I had no idea what to expect, for all I knew there was only one song worth listening to, and if that was the case it was still a dollar well spent. If I could buy an album by Showdown and enjoy it, odds are I'll find something to enjoy here to. Before I put this on I...

Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

File under: TLDR Note to the reader. First sorry, second not really, but I am sorry I don't have the ability to edit. Oh happy Valentine's day. To celebrate let's take a gander at Meat Loaf's 1977 Bat Out of Hell. Over forty three million people disagree with me but for decades I thought this album was, and continues to be, one giant disappointment. I'll be the first to admit that despite decades of baggage the overwhelming power of nostalgia managed to erode even the hardest of convictions and I found that Bat Out of Hell was one of those albums I wanted to have in my collection, but I wasn't looking all that hard. It was an album I knew more about than I actually knew about. So at this moment in time I'm still holding firm on my long held opinion. But before I get into things, it's time for some meanderambling blurbage ... I remember seeing the cover when I was a kid and thinking it was the single greatest cover I had ever seen. What wonders were to b...

Garfield - Strange Streets

I'd seen this before in the bin, but kept flipping through the stacks. I'd see it a few more times, each time stopping to look at it a little more. There was something kind of cool about the cover where the stylized Celtic knot had the dotted yellow line - it was a strange street for sure. I pulled the record out of the jacket and I was struck by the centre image. There was the familiar Mercury label, the same one I'd seen a thousand times on BTOs Head On album. Well, I'd bought things based on odd associations before - like when I had to buy anything that Solid Rock Records released (this was generally a good thing) who knows maybe this was a hidden gem. There weren't any real scratches or rash, just a lot of dirt and dust - it seemed to clean up okay, but we'll see how it goes. The album opens with the title track, and this wasn't straight ahead pop, or rock. It was leaning to the progressive, but with a pop bent. Oddly enough the vocals reminded me of Mi...

Old Enough to Forget

Search This Blog