Was (Not Was)

WAS (NOT WAS)
"BOO!"
(Rykodisc, 2008)


"Crazy Water"


I was never much of a fan of this group back in their late-'80s/early-'90s heyday, although I was passingly familiar with their bigger hits like "Walk The Dinosaur" and "Spy In The House Of Love". Nevertheless, when I saw this CD on display last weekend (on my Record Store Day visit to the local shop), I was intrigued enough -- and got enough of a pang of my own personal musical nostalgia -- to call it up on the listening station ... and, as you probably guessed from its presence here on my blog, I ended up coming home with the CD.

This disc starts out strongly with "Semi-Interesting Week" (clever song titles usually make me want to check out a CD), occasionally swerves into avant-garde oddity (the trippy robotic dialogue "Needletooth" and the half-spoken-word closer "Green Pills In The Dresser", featuring country legend Kris Kristofferson), and also features a nice ballad ("From The Head To The Heart"). But it's on the abundant upbeat numbers that the group is at its best -- especially "It's a Miracle", "Forget Everything", and "Mr. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore".

They've gotten a bit more serious with age -- back in the day, Was (Not Was) possessed a bit of an off-kilter whimsy not unlike the B-52's -- but their spirit is as strong as it ever was, and they've piled on the funk, soul and disco grooves in such a way that it sounds like they'd been keeping it bottled up for all of the 18 years that have passed since their last album. To borrow an advertising slogan, "Boo!" is such a chunky, funky stew that you'll be tempted to eat it with a fork.