Child's Play (album)

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Child's Play
Country Joe McDonald's studio album

Publication
(s)

1983

Label (s) RagBaby Records

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

Country rock, ballad

Title (number)

9

running time

45:55

production

Country Joe McDonald with Bruce Walford, Trevor Lawrence and Bill Belmont.

Studio (s)

Fantasy Studios, Berkeley and Crystal Sound Studios, Los Angeles

Child's Play (also: Childs Play ) is an album by Country Joe McDonald from 1983.

background

The album was created over a period of several years at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley and Crystal Sound Studios in Los Angeles . It was released on McDonald's own independent label RagBaby Records.

In it, sixteen years after his first successes and fourteen years after Woodstock , McDonald reinterprets and adds a number of earlier titles.

Overall, the music is rather soft to rocky with a strong influence of electronic and other effects. The artist tried a humorous approach and worked increasingly with sound effects.

At the time of its creation, Country Joe McDonald's career in the United States was lying idle. The singer-songwriter was only successful in Europe. Accordingly, the album was not very successful in the United States.

The album was released on CD in 1997 by the classic rock label One Way Records .

Track list

(all songs by Country Joe McDonald, except Star Yeck , the latter with Trevor Lawrence and Jay Graydon)

  1. Not in a Chinese Restaurant - 4:50
  2. Power Plant Blues - 5:02
  3. Picks and Lasers - 9:00 am
  4. Ice Pack - 4:15
  5. One More Year of Good Times - 3:20
  6. Vietnam Never Again - 4:10
  7. America My Home - 6:25
  8. Star Yeck: Voyage of the Good Ship Undersize - 6:03
  9. Wed Corazon - 3:20

To the individual titles

The opening song Not in a Chinese Restaurant is an example of Joe McDonald’s country humor, which mimics the performance in a Chinese restaurant in the piece. Chinese voices can be heard in the background throughout the song. They get into an argument and suddenly explosions and fighting noises can be heard while Country Joe McDonald just keeps singing. The title is otherwise identical to the sentimental country joe song Sure Cure for the Blues .

There is an instrumental piece with acoustic guitar and bass ( Ice Pack ) and an almost instrumental piece ( Mi Corazon ). For One More Year Of Good Times will hear statements of the government, with which he disagrees. The refrain reads: “A year of good times is more than what I can afford.” A short time later, the declaration of love for his homeland America My Home follows - a comprehensive list of everything that makes the USA , with a spectacular accompaniment by Chicken chatter and other animal noises. Star Yeck: Voyage Of The Good Ship Undersize contains a spaceship Enterprise - Parody : Six minutes you can experience a series with McDonald in the role of Captain James P. Jerk and his team.

occupation

The album was created with the help of a number of session musicians:

Not in a Chinese Restaurant :

  • Peter Walsh: bass & vocals
  • Garry Goodrow, Jim Cranna, Nancy Fish, Lisa Eunson: Voices

Power Plant Blues :

Picks and Lasers :

  • Peter Walsh: guitar
  • David Hayes: Bass
  • Jeffrey Myers: drums

Ice Pack , One More Year of Good Times , America My Home :

  • Peter Walsh: Bass

Vietnam Never Again

  • Greg Douglass: electric guitar
  • David Hayes: Bass
  • Tom Dollinger: drums
  • John Allair: piano

Star Yeck: Voyage of the Good Ship Undersize

  • Gary Goodrow as Mr. Spot and Lt. Ungawa
  • Howard Hesseman as Mr. Jeckoff and The Computer
  • Jim Cranna as Spitty
  • Dr. Don Rose as the Space Garbage Monster
  • Jay Graydon: guitar
  • Mac Cridlin: Bass
  • Bill Cuomo: piano
  • Michael Boddicker: Sound Effects

Mi Corazon

  • David Hayes: Bass
  • Peter Walsh: guitar
  • Jeffrey Myers: drums

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Andrew Darlington: I was Elvis Presley's Bastard Love-child & Other Stories of Rock'n'roll Excess . Critical Vision, 2001, ISBN 978-1-900486-17-0 , pp. 82 ( google.de [accessed on March 3, 2018]).
  2. ^ Country Joe McDonald, Something Borrowed, Something New. In: Country Joe's Place. Retrieved March 3, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Jack McDonough: Country Joe Comes Back . In: Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc., May 4, 1985, pp. 4 ( google.de [accessed on March 3, 2018]).
  4. ^ Country Joe McDonald - Childs Play. In: Discogs. Retrieved March 3, 2018 .
  5. ↑ COUNTRY JOE McDONALD / CHILDS PLAY. In: Jeff Porcaro Session World. Retrieved March 3, 2018 .