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by todd hunter (todd) - Apr 01, 2007
The Elastik Band - The Elastik Band Disclaimer: The Elastik Band is known for the 1967 single "Spazz." If that makes you want to file a lawsuit forty years after the fact, forget this and go on to the next review. How would Dr. West's Medicine Show & Junk Band have sounded with Frank Zappa instead of Norman Greenbaum? No one can say for certain, but the self-titled album by The Elastik Band is full of surprises. Surprise #1: The Elastik Band sounds more often like a jug band than like a garage band. Surprise #2: The Elastik Band has enough material for even half an album. The Elastik Band issued seven songs in its heyday. The "Spazz" single is a collector's item. The "I Would Still Love You" single, bouncy pop that was briefly a hit in Arizona, is the only one easy to come by. That there are twenty songs, all originals, is as much a revelation as that they are more in line with Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults than Nuggets, Vol. 2: Punk. "Spazz" is hardly the only oddity. "Popcorn" is about the fair and sounds like The Kingston Trio with Jew's harp and kazoo, not to mention mooing. "Mrs. Pig" is stranger still: is that a sitar? is that a typewriter? is that a child told to shut up? "Call Me Over" starts as standard sixties fare but for the big finish adds an old-fashioned telephone to a tapestry of come-ons. "Turn Your Head" is the best of both worlds: good early psych-pop with good male-female harmonies. The rest is pleasant enough pop that every now and then employs accordion, cowbell, or fuzz guitar. If fans of "Spazz" require more, though, the last track is the 1968 2UW broadcast of "Spazz" by a very unhappy John Thompson. Contrary to myth, he did not pull the song after one minute; it was more like two. |