COVER OF THE WEEK

#9 is "Born To Laugh At Tornadoes" by Was (Not Was).

Here's a cover and a title that caught my eye back in 1983 and I just had to buy the record even though I had never heard of the group and had no idea what to expect. But I figured that if I liked the cover chances were that I'd like the music as well. So what did I get?

The opening punch of a pop/rock melody, singer Sweet Pea Atkinsons raspy vocals and the dark but funny lyrics of "Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like A Rubber Ball)" convinced me; I had made a wise decision buying this album!

Some would say it's an unfocused album, with different sounds, different type of songs. But I heard it as a creative and ultimately fun record that I keep playing to this day.
You get songs about weird, offbeat characters trapped in a normal, everyday life or about "normal" persons in weird and offbeat situations.

The guestlist is "eclectic": Doug Fieger from 80s group The Knack, Mitch Ryder from MC5, Ozzy Osbourne (who's vocals on one track replaced Madonna's!), Branford Marsalis and even Mel Tormé.

ODD FACT #1:
President Nixon was apparently asked to play piano for "(Return To The Valley Of) Out Come The Freaks", but refused.

ODD FACT #2:
Mell Torme was lined up to record a version of Dante's Inrferno with Was (Not Was) to be called either "Mel In Hell" Or "Torme In Torment".

Neb Stephenson