After
Spike left RCA Victor, he moved to Liberty Records and, determined to stick it to his former label, came up with this parody of their then-popular 50 Years of Music America Loves Best series, right down to a painting of
Jones on all fours in front of a gramophone, just like RCA's Nipper. This was
Jones' later orchestra, "The Band That Plays For Fun," a tamed-down version of the City Slickers, and the music herein reflects this change. Everything gets the
Jones satirical needle injected into it here, from rock & roll and teenagers ("Pimples and Braces," "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb") to novelty tunes ("Mairzy Doats," "Three Little Fishes," "Hut Hut Song") to polka bands ("Strip Polka," "Melody of Love"). An interesting album from the last days of the bandleader's career, and for almost anyone else dabbling in musical parodies and send-ups, this collection would be a major concept album. But in the recorded history of
Spike Jones, this simply does not stand up against his best work from the 1940s and early '50s. ~ Cub Koda