Spike Jones and his City Slickers brought their unique brand of musical madness to America during the 1940s and ‘50s, touring the country with their “Musical Depreciation Revue,” while also producing dozens of records, many of them parodies of well-known pop tunes. This boxed set collects four hours of their early ‘50s TV specials, two from The Colgate Comedy Hour and a pair from All Star Revue, that effectively capture the wacky joy of the band's raucous stage performances on hits such as “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth,” “Cocktails for Two,” and “Laura.” Broadcast live, these shows featured plenty of bloopers, but that just reinforces the sense of spontaneity and adds to the charm (the programs also include the original commercials—many with Jones and his band—title cards, and network signoffs). Judged against today's high-definition-shot TV shows, the image quality isn't great—in fact, it's downright primitive—but that hardly matters once Spike and his boys get revved up in these winsome specials that also feature vocalist Helen Grayco (Mrs. Spike Jones), and guest appearances by Liberace, Jim Backus, and (as a host) Mike Wallace. A third disc of bonus material includes a “Person to Person” interview with Spike and his family at their Beverly Hills home, an appearance by Spike as “Leonard Burnside” on The Ed Sullivan Show, and an interview with “Weird Al” Yankovic, who was clearly inspired by Jones. Finally, the set boasts a bonus audio CD with two NBC pilot radio shows featuring Spike and the band from 1945. Recommended. Aud: P. (E. Hulse)
Spike Jones: The Legend
(2007) 3 discs. 165 min. DVD: $49.98. Infinity Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Volume 23, Issue 2
Spike Jones: The Legend
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