Two of my favorite things in the world are Monty Python and The Beatles. There are a number of interesting connections between the two: both were incredibly groundbreaking groups in the late 60s from England, they were big fans of each other, Ringo made a cameo appearance on an episode, and George Harrison launched a film company (Handmade Films) solely to enable the Pythons to make “Life of Brian.” I could go on, but I think you get the point.
Anyway, among the many interesting connectors, one of my favorites is Neil Innes. You know Sir Robin’s minstrel in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail?” That’s him. He also played with Monty Python on tour a fair amount, and even wrote a couple sketches with them. And, along with Eric Idle, he developed the movie “The Rutles,” a satire/homage to The Beatles, that follows the career of the pre-fab four. It’s definitely one of the funniest music-related movies of all-time, parodying many of the big moments in Beatles history.
On top of that, it had a great pseudo-Beatles soundtrack recorded by Innes.
Another Day
This is my favorite song from the soundtrack. It doesn’t feel quite as overwhelmingly reminiscent of The Beatles as some of the other songs (one of which was even pulled from the film because they were worried it sounded too similar to “Get Back”), but it definitely has a Beatles vibe. Maybe a darker “Martha My Dear.” It’s a very simple and short song, but hauntingly beautiful. For a joke album, Innes clearly put a lot of work into making genuinely good music. I think it just shows how awesome The Beatles are that their spoofers can write songs that are among my all-time favorites.
Cheese and Onions
This song, a take-off on “A Day in the Life,” actually surfaced in the early 80s in a number of places with people claiming it was a lost demo of John Lennon’s. The mistake is understandable. His voice is eerily similar to Lennon’s on this track, and the lyics (goofy and weird) and psychedelic swirlings definitely suggest him as well. It’s also just a great little song, something that Lennon probably wouldn’t have been ashamed to have had in his catalog. My favorite part is the Day in the Life-esque buildup that is broken by a single piano note lasting about 2 seconds. Contrasted with the majestic fade-out of the original, it’s pretty funny.
I’m The Urban Spaceman
Still want some more Beatles connections? Well, alright. Innes’ original claim to fame is through The Bonzo Dog (Doo-Dah) Band, a late-60s post-art school, post-jazz, post-psychedelia group, and they scored a minor hit in 1967 with this song, which was produced by, guess who, Paul McCartney under the pseudonym “Apollo C. Vermouth.” I may write about the Bonzos in more detail later, since they were pretty darn interesting in their own right, but this song will serve as something to whet your appetite until then.
Oh, and as a final note, if you’ve ever wondered how Death Cab got their name, “Death Cab for Cutie” is an Elvis-spoof song by The Bonzo Dog Band.