The Rutles 1996
The original Rutles album (released in 1978) had been kind of a mixed blessing
for Neil Innes. It was the most successful project of his career (both with the
Bonzo Dog Band and solo), but it also stirred up legal trouble. The then-owners
of the Northern Songs (who owned the rights to the Beatles' songs) sued Innes
for copyright infrigement. Innes argued that The Rutles was a parody,
and thus exempt. Warner Brothers decided not to back Innes, which cost
him a large chunk of the profits from The Rutles. Over the years, Innes
had been asked about a Rutles revival, and in 1996 he finally did so. Of the
four who appeared as "The Rutles" in the film (Innes, Eric Idle, Rikki Fataar,
John Halsey), only Innes, Fataar and Halsey played on the album. The "fourth
Rutle" on the album was guitarist Ollie Halsall, who died in 1992.
Innes reconvened the remaning trio and used a combination of leftovers from the
original project, "Rutle-ized" old songs, and wrote new material to build
Archaeology. "We've Arrived!" and "Now She's Left You" are outtakes from
the original album. In addition, "Unfinished Words" was an instrumental outtake
from '78 that Innes completed with lyrics in 1996. Part of the ideas in
"Rendezvous" are from an old, unused Bonzo Dog Band song. "The Knicker Elastic
King" and "Shangri-La" were released by Innes on solo albums, and "Joe Public"
an "Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Musik" were songs Innes had previously played
live.
Archaeology References
As I mentioned in the review, Archaeology is absolutely packed with
references to Beatles and Rutles songs. Some are blatant, like the opening
pair. Some are more subtle, a riff here, a quoted lyric there. For fun, I've
made a list of what I've found so far. If you've got changes, updates,
additions (or complaints), let me
know. I'm curious.
- "Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band"
- - "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" [general parody]
- "Rendezvous"
- - "With A Little Help From My Friends" [general parody]
- "Questionnaire"
- - (opinions?)
- "We've Arrived! (And To Prove It We're Here)"
- - "Back In The USSR" [general parody]
- - "Hey Jude" [the "la la la" part]
- - "Revolution 9" ["number two, number two"]
- "Lonely-Phobia"
- - "Things We Said Today" [overall feel]
- "Unfinished Words"
- - "Cheese And Onions" (from The Rutles) [lyric reference]
- - "Free As A Bird" [a partially finished track, finished for release]
- - "Colliding Circles," "Left Is Right (And Right Is Wrong)," "Pink Litmus Paper Shirt," and "Deck Chair" [lyric references]
This is a particularly subtle reference. The four songs listed above were reported to be Beatles outtakes. None
of the four actually exist, but Neil name-checks all four in the lyrics. See the page on
The Urban Legend Reference Pages (snopes.com) for more details.
Thanks to Bryce Rhude for the tip!
- "Hey Mister!"
- - "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill" [the drum triplet before the fast parts]
- - "Helter Skelter" [the comment at the end of the song]
- "Easy Listening"
- - "Don't Pass Me By" [overall feel]
- - "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" [lyric reference]
- "Now She's Left You"
- - any of the early pop songs [overall feel]
- "The Knicker Elastic King"
- - "Fixing A Hole" [melody, especially the ending]
- - "Yellow Submarine" [the muffled vocals]
- "I Love You"
- - "It's Only Love" [overall feel]
- "Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Musik"
- - "Come Together" [the bass-heavy intro]
- "Joe Public"
- - "Tomorrow Never Knows" [rhythm and instrumentation]
- "Shangri-La"
- - Oasis' "Whatever"* [the first part of the intro]
- - "A Day In The Life" [the second part of the intro]
- - "Penny Lane" [the piccolo trumpets]
- - "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" [the "circus music" section]
- - "Magical Mystery Tour" [the cries of "Roll up! Roll up!"]
- - "Dear Prudence" [the "all day long the sky is blue" section - Thanks to Paige for the tip!]
- - "Hey Jude" [the final, extended singalong fade out]
- - The Rutles' "Love Life" [background vocals during the fade out]
- - The Rutles' "Piggy In The Middle" [background vocals during the fade out]
- - Oasis' "Whatever"* [background vocals during the fade out]
- "Don't Know Why"
- - "Free As A Bird" [general feel]
- - "Hello, Goodbye" [lyric reference]
- - "Norwegian Wood" [lyric reference]
- "Back In '64"
- - "When I'm Sixty Four" [general parody]
* - Oasis' "Whatever" is itself a lift, from Neil Innes' "How Sweet To Be An Idiot". Call it payback.
[Back to 1996 Review]