Although
Spear's solo album was reasonably witty, it often sounded like a sketchbook for
Bonzo Dog Band ideas that would have been far better if they had been filled out to something more substantial, perhaps with the aid of his ex-bandmates. If you like the Bonzos a lot, you will appreciate the humor at work here, which simultaneously mocks and pays homage to music hall-type styles, irreverently mixing in modern sound effects, rock instruments, and weird tongue-in-cheek lyrics. It's best on the opening "All By Yourself in the Moonlight," where some old coot harmlessly warbling away on an old standard suffers the protracted indignity of hard-rock instruments invading his tune. Also give credit to
Spear for hijacking passages from
Joe Meek's "Telstar" in "Patrick Moore," long before it was chic to dig Meek. A 1998 CD reissue on DJC adds four bonus tracks from the Rebel Trouser EP. ~ Richie Unterberger