Ian Dury and the Blockheads: Laughter

Ian Dury and the Blockheads: Laughter

1980

Stiff/Epic Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Superman's Big Sister  2. Pardon  3. Delusions Of Grandeur  4. Yes And No (Paula)  5. Dance Of The Crackpots  6.  Over the Points  7. (Take Your Elbow Out Of The Soup) You're Sitting On The Chicken  8. Uncoolohol  9. Hey, Hey, Take Me Away  10. Manic Depression (Jimi)  11. Oh Mr. Peanut  12. Fucking Ada


Yes! I like this one very much...The follow up to "Do It Yourself." This is one of those albums that I don't think was overall as good as its predecessor but it has songs on it that blow away anything on the better album...I think it boils down to me being a fan of the consistently murky disco party aspect of "Do It Yourself." "Laughter" is a lot more diverse; more of a pub rock/funk/music hall thing that shifts from song to song...But boy, there are some songs on here...

"Superman's Big Sister" is one of my favorite Ian Dury tracks...Just a catchy, stomping, good-time single that makes great use of Ian's off-the-cuff vocals and a feverish string section that seems to be there only to heighten the absurdity...Pure brilliance. I had to listen to "Pardon" a couple of times before it grew on me, but now I can see the glory in the normally roughshod Ian apologizing poshly for two and a half moments straight...

To be honest, I found some of the stuff in the second half of side one a bit rote, but side two is nothing but wall-to-wall glory...I think this is where the real theme of the record begins to sink in...Song after song of despairing struggles with depression and alcohol set to some of the bounciest, most fun music imaginable and slapped with the title, "Laughter." The band even write their "Hey Jude" with "Fucking Ada," or to be more precise their "Hey fucking Jude."  Nothing but foulmouth grandeur...

It's Friday, right? Let's make this short and cut straight to the brew-ha-ha's ...We should probably put on some music though...Here's the video for "Superman's Big Sister" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads...Enjoy...