Who Put The Benzedrine In Mrs. Murphys Ovaltine?
is a great treat. He can put more expression into a phrase with his raspy, Louis Armstrong sounding, voice then any emotionally overwrought pop singer you’d care to match up against him. He wasn’t only writing songs about the joys of recreational drug use either, which in the “Just Say No” era of Regan’s United States took some nerve; he had a wonderful sense of humour that was put to good use as well. “Get Hip To Shirley MacLaine” is a part mocking, part respectful take on her New Age proclamations of the 1980s. “Dig what I’m saying/It’s all in the brain/When you don’t have nobody else/You always got your higher self” is delivered in a tone of voice that invites you to laugh, but at the same you’re not quite sure if the old “Hipster” isn’t quite taken with the idea of never being alone again, or the fact that he could have been here before and loved you since 1448. The live cuts on the disc aren’t of the greatest sound quality, but what they’re really good for is giving you a glimpse
