P'ag - the Michigan Daily - Tuesday, June 7;1983
Records

The Fugs - 'Greatest Hits,
Vol. 1' (PVC)
Allen Ginsberg - 'First
Blues' (John Hammond)
I have seen and heard the best musics
of past generations go to pot and the
grave and empty popdom (McCartney)
and general nostalgic nowheresville.
Howl for the Lennons and Morrisons
and Slys and Otis and Lester Bangs.
Howl for old Beatnik poets who bemoan
their homosexual rejections and
general American cultural dysfun-
ctions.
They made a lot of fine listening back
in the turbulent days: Hendrix, Who,
Beatles, Stones, Dylan, The Fugs, Gin-
sberg. You remember the Fugs, one of
the more memorable basement
(location and language) bands of New
York in its '65-'69 Columbia brand
unrest prime. And Allen Ginsberg: He
was that poet fellow with the beard who
accompanied said Fugs as they mar-
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ched up 5th Avenue, singing in-
spirations to a cast of some.
You may be vaguely familiar with the
three Fugs albums, all featuring
irreverent lyrics, seemingly improm-
ptu musical arrangements, a few
tongues in cheeks (and a few in other
places), and a message of universal
peace and love. But what you probably
didn't know is that having gotten a taste
of the recording life in a few Fugs
sessions, Ginsberg had a few tape
sessions of his own, spanning from 1971
through a couple years ago.
These two compilation albums aren't
for everyone, but they will provide the
musical sociologist with a fun-filled
view of alternative culture. To be sure,
the treatise is not complete ("Coca Cola
Douche" is noticeably omitted from the
Fugs LP). Nonetheless, you won't get a
lyrical tour of the opium trade in
Southeast Asia (complete with actual
names, places, and international in-
trigue) anywhere but in Ginsberg's
"CIA Dope Calypso."
The Fugs album is more consistently
funny than Ginsberg, who gets
somewhat self-indulgent at times. Ed
Sanders' compositions ("I Feel Like
Homemade Shit," "Coming Down,"
"Slum Goddess," and "We're the
Fugs") established him as lyricist first
class, although my favorite track is

Allen Ginsberg: irreverence isn't dead.
Tuli Kuferhes' ode to your friend and
mine, "Supergirl."
The real surprise, however, is Gin-
sberg's double album tour through a
decade of poetry, up and down (bi-)
sexuality, political beratements, and a
circus crew of musicians. Bob Dylan
plays guitar on the first three songs (in-
cluding a catchy bit of salsa, "Vomit
Express"), and Peter Orlovsky sings
lead on the '81 recording of "You Are
My Dildo," (You are my tofu/Twice
the amount of protein too). Even
poet William Blake makes an ap-
pearance, albeit a less enthralling one,
on "The Tyger."
Having muddled through some Gin-

sberg poetry in the past, I didn't expect
to be able to take four sides of him - and
it's not all good, certainly - but songs
like "Hardon Blues" (Blues is like a
hardon, it comes right in your
mouth) and "Everybody Sing"
(Everybody's just a little bit
homosexual/whether they like it
or not) keep things interesting. There
are blues and ballads and some decent
(ha ha) modern gospel, and more. Mr.
Ginsberg could never claim to have the
most melodic or sweetest voice, but
he's learned to enunciate, and that's
more than you can say for Mick Jagger.
Both compilations include insightful
liner notes worth noting. Note
especially supercritic Lester Bangs'
notes for the Fugs (written before he
died).
You might want to consider these
people space odditys, or leftovers, but
they're still around and producing. Gin-
sberg did some celebrated work with
the Clash for Combat Rock. And the
Fugs? Well, if "New Amphetamine
Shreik" doesn't do something for you,
"Boobs A Lot" (plaintive celebration of
maternal anxiety fixation objects) will
still elicit a smile. Give 'em a try.

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- Ben Ticho


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