| Born to Laugh at Tornadoes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1983 | |||
| Recorded | November 1982-June 1983 | |||
| Studio | Sound Suite Recording Studios, Detroit | |||
| Length | 35:31 | |||
| Label | ZE, Geffen | |||
| Producer | Jack Tann, David Was, Don Was | |||
| Was (Not Was) chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Robert Christgau | B+[1] |
| Rolling Stone | link |
Born to Laugh at Tornadoes is a 1983 album by the art-funk band Was (Not Was). Rolling Stone declared it "conceptually, the best album of the year" shortly after its release.[2] Despite the glowing reviews, Tornadoes made little commercial impact in a year dominated by Michael Jackson's Thriller and Prince's 1999. (It did manage to become the band's first release to make it onto Billboard's album chart, peaking at #134 in a nine-week stay in the fall of 1983.)
This album boasted an impressive array of guest vocalists, ranging from hard rocker Mitch Ryder (on "Bow Wow Wow Wow"), former Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne ("Shake Your Head"), rock band The Knack's lead vocalist Doug Fieger (on "Betrayal" and "Smile"), Marshall Crenshaw ("The Party Broke Up") and torch song vocalist/songwriter Mel Tormé (lead vocal on the closing song "Zaz Turned Blue").
The album also displayed a wide variety of musical styles, ranging from pop love ballads ("Betrayal") to rock ("Bow Wow Wow Wow"), psychedelic synthesized mod music ("Man Vs. The Empire Brain Building") and even easy listening cocktail jazz ("Zaz Turned Blue", a ballad about a man who nearly chokes to death in a park).
Also noteworthy is a credit to Robert Kinkel as Assistant Engineer; Kinkel went on to be co-creator of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The front cover illustration, "After Compton's", was credited to Dan Chapman in 1953 and Jeri McManus was the art director.
Track listing
All tracks are written by David Was and Don Was; except where indicated
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like a Rubber Ball)" | Sweet Pea Atkinson | 3:07 | |
| 2. | "Bow Wow Wow Wow" | Thomas Brzezina | Mitch Ryder | 3:10 |
| 3. | "Betrayal" | Doug Fieger | 3:06 | |
| 4. | "Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)" | David Was, Don Was, Jarvis Stroud | Carol Hall, Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne | 3:55 |
| 5. | "Man vs. the Empire Brain Building" | Ada Griffin, Carol Hall, Chris Blackwell, Felix & Jarvis, The Was Bros. | 4:02 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "(Return to The Valley of) Out Come the Freaks" | Harry Bowens | 4:22 | |
| 7. | "Professor Night" | David Was, Don Was, Felix Morris | Harry Bowens | 4:10 |
| 8. | "The Party Broke Up" | David Was | 2:14 | |
| 9. | "Smile" | Doug Fieger | 3:15 | |
| 10. | "Zaz Turned Blue" | Mel Tormé | 4:19 |
Personnel
- David Was - vocals, Korg organ, vibraphone, harmonica, flute
- Don Was - Oberheim Obsx synthesizer, Moog bass synthesizer, emulator synthesizer, Clavinet, bass, rhythm guitar, cello, timpani, Linn drums, Simmons drums
- Sir Harry Bowens - vocals
- Sweet Pea Atkinson - vocals
- Marshall Crenshaw – organ and vocals on "The Party Broke Up"; lead guitar on "Smile"
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
- Mitch Ryder – vocals
- Vinnie Vincent – second lead guitar
- Joseph LoDuca – guitar
- Mel Tormé – piano, vocals
- Carol Hall – vocals
- Wayne Kramer – guitar on "The Party Broke Up"
- Marin Alsop – violin
- Chris Blackwell – vocals
- Jervonny Collier – bass
- Michael Edwards – vocals
- Doug Fieger – vocals on "Smile"
- Kathy Kosins – vocals
- Yogi Horton – drums
- Michael "Smitt E. Smitty" Smith – Simmons drums
- Bob Kulick – power chord guitar
- Jay Leonhart – bass
- David McMurray – soprano and tenor saxophone
- Bruce Nazarian – guitar
- Luis Resto – acoustic piano, Moog synthesizer, Oberheim Obxa synthesizer, vocoder, synthetic trumpet
- Paul Riser – horn & string arrangement on "Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like a Rubber Ball)"
- John Robie – synthesizer
- John Sinclair – background vocals
- Randy Jacobs – bass, guitar, background vocals
- Lawrence Fratangelo – percussion
- Fred Zarr - acoustic piano, synthesizer
- Felix Morris - bass
- Technical
- Debbie Caponetta - production co-ordination
- Michael Zilkha - Executive Producer
- David Thoener and The Detroit Wasmopolitan Mixing Squad (Duane Bradley, Ken Collier and Don Was) - mixing
References
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (January 24, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Born to Laugh at Tornadoes". Rolling Stone. 1983-10-13. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-29.