Bonzo Dog Band ‎– Keynsham (LP)

Keynsham was The Bonzos second album release of 1969 and the material sounds rushed and lacking both sarcastic subtlety and musical interest. There's no doubting the talent involved but the heart's been sucked out of the band.

What's left are a number of occasionally funny songs without the clever insightful digs at society and the stupidity of life itself. Oh, there are commentaries on the absurdity of performing on the British club circuit – "The Bride Stripped Bare (By The Bachelors)" – and an amusing piece on the artificial poses and voices of lounge singers – "Look At Me I'm Wonderful". But the impression created is they were choosing easy targets that were close to their hearts for the simple fact they were the cause of their discontent. As you would expect from a songwriter of Neil Innes' calibre, there is a lovely ballad on Keynsham called "I Want To Be With You". It's written from the point of view of the band to their wives and partners and there is such genuine sentiment in the lyric it's plain that the constant separation is beginning to take its toll and a break from the band is long overdue.

The Bonzos continue to impress musically – even when deliberately trying to sound naff. "Notes From The Leg" sees Roger Ruskin Spear trying manfully to get a tune out of a theramin. (By the way, for stage shows the theramin would be placed inside a false leg hence the title of the track). Equally impressive are the handbells used in "Sport (The Odd Boy)".

Label: Sunset Records

Country: UK

Media Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)
Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)

Reissue.