Thank U Very Much - The Scaffold

 

Thank U Very Much

The Scaffold

Bell Records 6018

1968

I'm baffled as to how this ever got released in the U.S. much less on a crassly commercial label like Bell.  Like most non-British people I was attracted to this group because trio member Mike McGear was Paul McCartney's brother.  He shared his brother's good looks and fondness for music hall tunes but not his pop genius.  Which is fine, because the band was basically a comedy group that dabbled in music.  I have their 1968 English debut album, "Live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall" which consists largely of poetry readings and comedy routines.  Bell cobbled this album out of the group's British singles, it has no British equivalent.  The title track was a big hit in England and I'm guessing Bell thought they could break it here as well but it never came near the top 40 here and I'm surprised it even made it as high as 69 on the Billboard chart.  The album opens with "Long Strong Black Pudding"which was the b-side of the group's second single released in 1966.  It is delivered acapella in the style of a Gregorian chant.  It is presumably intended to be humorous but I just find it annoying.  "Goodbat Nightman" was the a-side of the second single.  Mercifully it features musical accompaniment.  It is driven by a staccato riff that seems to be inspired by Neal Hefti's theme song for "Batman" which is fitting since the song is about the "Batman" character and borrows from the TV show's tropes.  It is one of my favorite tracks on the record.  "2 Days Monday" was the a-side of the Scaffold's debut single from 1966.  It is a music hall style song in the vein of a silly children's song working through the activities of a week delivered in a Cockney accent.  "3 Blind Jellyfish" was the flipside of the first single.  It is another silly children's song using the music of "Three Blind Mice."  "Thank U Very Much" was the group's third single released in 1967 and it made it into the top ten in England.  It was penned by Mike McGear in music hall style featuring silly lyrics and is very catchy, to the point of ear worm status.  I can hear why it became a hit but I also understand why it flopped here.  "Ide B the First" was the b-side.  Much like the a-side it is a music hall style song with silly lyrics, but is not nearly so memorable.  Side two opens with the band's fourth single "Do You Remember?" from 1968.  The piano that drives it is straight out of the music hall, although the song has some contemporary pop touches that I find appealing.  "Knees Up Mother Brown (Knees Down Mother Brown)" made its first appearance on this album.  It is built around the 19th Century pub song of the same title, but Roger McGough has built up a framing story about a disastrous Oxford graduation.  I find it more amusing than most of their stuff.  "1-2-3" was the band's fifth single released in 1968.  It is an inane bubblegum song that seems like a blatant attempt by McGear to repeat the success of "Thank U Very Much."  It does build to a kinetic climax which is the closest this record comes to rock and oddly peters out with a sitar which I presume is satirical rather than an attempt at hipness.  "Today" was the b-side of the fifth single.  I prefer it to the a-side even though it almost as dumb, but it has a jazzy flavor as well as some nice contemporary pop touches that show some of the McCartney pop smarts rubbed off on his brother.  It is one of my favorite cuts.  "Please Sorry" made its debut on this album.  It is another McGear retread of "Thank U Very Much" that mixes music hall with contemporary pop and a bunch of childish silly lyrics.  "Jelly Covered Cloud" also premiered on this album.  I believe it is a satire of psychedelia and although it doesn't jettison the music hall entirely it has some British psych-pop flavor.  It is one of my favorite tracks and gives the album a pleasant conclusion.  I'm not a big fan of these guys but they are definitely different and they mix music hall with contemporary pop about as well as anyone I've heard, although I'm not sure that is actually a good thing.  I frequently find their songs a little irritating, but they never bore me.  McGough was a bona fide intellectual and they all seem like clever lads which makes their penchant for childish nonsense lyrics surprising, but I assume it is an attempt at humor.  I generally don't find their comedy routines very funny and their songs even less, but I'm happy to have some of their albums.  Recommended to Bonzo Dog Band fans who hate rock.