What turned out to be Bongwater's last album before the acrimonious end of the personal and professional Magnuson/Kramer
partnership was a sellout only in the sense of the slick cover art and
presentation, tongues firmly in cheek. Otherwise, the blend of folk,
shadowy psych weirdness, and satiric spoken word and lyrical jabs
against the state of the world, specifically America, run as rampant as
always. Rick was replaced on second guitar by Raymond Hudson, but this made little general difference to Bongwater's overall approach and Kramer's
distinct production style. The title track is one of their best, some
lovely guitar drones and singing bringing out the weird, gentle
melancholy of the song. Magnuson
as always has a great time with her inspired monologues. "What's Big in
England Now?" has her in sassy Noo Yawk voice talking about everything
from pudgy editors at Rolling Stone to Lenny Kravitz talking about mushy peas. "Celebrity Compass" is even sharper, her depiction of a teenager at a Led Zeppelin
party wondering, "Which one will take me away to live with him in his
castle in England?," at once hilarious and just a little unsettling. Kramer's
hero rock guitar in the background makes all the more sense. There are
a couple of interesting deviations from the norm: "Free Love Messes Up
My Life" keeps the duet singing prominent throughout, but the
arrangement and general groove is very '60s/easy listening, some years
before the big cult hype for that sound kicked in. "Flop Sweats,"
meanwhile, transforms Bongwater into a heavy blues/hard rock group, at
least up until Magnuson
starts talking about a performance artist who has merchandised and
licensed her name with frightening efficiency. A lovely cover of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talking," with additional ruminations from Magnuson, concludes this intriguing album. AMG
