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SHOW BUSINESS GIANTS CD Let’s Have A Talk With The Dead
June 6, 2008 |
‘Let’s Have A Talk With The Dead’ is the definitive Show Business Giants album, with 18 diverse songs chock-full of pop-cultural references, zany hooks, and masterful rock riffing. From the opening ‘The First Pygmy In Space’ to the finale ‘Wake Up & Roar Bachelor God’, Holliston and his band show an adept ability to mutate elements of funk, punk, metal, reggae, doo-wop, and boogie into a highly-listenable concoction. Topics include homages to minor television icons (Russell Johnson, aka ‘Doc’ on Gilligan’s Island; Wendy Mesley, a CBC newscaster; Mothra, winged nemesis to Godzilla, and Star Trek’s ‘Other Side of Mr. Sulu’), self-disparagement (’I've Got Gingivitis’, ‘I’m the Lickspittle of the Animal Kingdom’), and even a straight-forward cover of ‘Sugartown’. The absolute killer though is the hilarious musician in-joke parody ‘Sound Check’, with a brilliant Jello Biafra impersonation leading us through a ridiculous routine. The original pressing is out of print, but it has happily been reissued. An excellent introduction to the group, and a must-have for fans of wacky independent rock and NoMeansNo completists.
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