Kronomyth 14.0: THE THINGS THEY DO FOR CASH. Shenanikanz the Klown and I are being shaken down for money by the Mercury agents while the LoveMeHateMe Dolls behind them coo “kiss me, cut me” like sirens and I’m reminded of how mercurial this gig can be sometimes, especially when the people who already spent what you gave them want more more more. When we finally get past them, it’s faded flowers and stale chocolates and middle-roaders in their halfway-hippie hair sliding twenty-dollar bills discreetly out of their wallets to avoid the family photos. “S to the K,” I say, “let’s say we stack up every Doll in here and give them names that end in Y.” “Why not,” he says, and so we stack ‘em Queeny, Meany, Deany, Money, Silly, Minny, Dreamy, Arty, Mandy, Honey, Funky, Sappy, Dopey, Poppy, Weepy. In remastered form, they’re better than the original soundtrack that was running through your head until now, but these Dolls don’t hold any surprises or answer any secrets. To the faithful, they’re homewreckers, tearing apart a happy family of How Dare You or Deceptive Bends with an irresistible offer of the sweet stuff sans the commitment. Maybe they don’t mind, these middle-roaders, the cold comfort of predictable pleasure where the hits come on time, in order and never misfire. But I remember the old Dolls in their odd shapes and sizes, from “The Worst Band in the World” to “Rock ‘N’ Roll Lullaby,” and I’ll take a tune with a slight limp and a sweet smile over a barbie-doll hit parade any day. If, however, you’re the horrible kind of person who would think of buying Paul McCartney’s greatest hits and stopping there, then this compilation might be your best shot, though you’re only cheating yourself.
The Songs
1. Donna (Kevin Godley/Lol Creme) (2:54)
2. Rubber Bullets (Kevin Godley/Lol Creme/Graham Gouldman) (5:17)
3. The Dean And I (Kevin Godley/Lol Creme) (3:03)
4. The Wall Street Shuffle (Eric Stewart/Graham Gouldman) (3:52)
5. Silly Love (Eric Stewart/Lol Creme) (3:57)
6. Life Is A Minestrone (Eric Stewart/Lol Creme) (4:40)
7. I’m Not In Love (Graham Gouldman/Eric Stewart) (6:05)
8. Art For Art’s Sake (Eric Stewart/Graham Gouldman) (5:52)
9. I’m Mandy Fly Me (Eric Stewart/Graham Gouldman/Kevin Godley) (5:20)
10. The Things We Do For Love (Eric Stewart/Graham Gouldman) (3:31)
11. Good Morning Judge (Eric Stewart/Graham Gouldman) (2:53)
12. People In Love (Eric Stewart/Graham Gouldman) (3:45)
13. Dreadlock Holiday (Eric Stewart/Graham Gouldman) (4:59)
14. For You And I (Eric Stewart/Graham Gouldman) (5:18)
15. Cry (Kevin Godley/Lol Creme) (3:55)
The Players
Lol Creme (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Kevin Godley (vocals, drums, percussion), Graham Gouldman (vocals, bass guitar, guitars), Eric Stewart (vocals, guitars, keyboards). Compilation produced by Bas Hartong and Bill Levenson.
The Pictures
Essay by Chris White.
The Plastic
Released on compact disc on June 17, 1997 in the US (Mercury, 536 007).
