Was (Not Was) - What Up, Dog? (1988)

I picked this up out of a used bin because I dug the single, Walk The Dinosaur, and respected what producer Don Was did with Bonnie Raitt. I was initially disappointed as the whole album struck me as odd, but eventually changed my opinion. Sure, the album lacks focus, but if you take each song on its own, turns out there's some good stuff here if you program it correctly. My preferred track sequencing (your mileage may vary): 14, 13, 3, 6, 1, 2, 12, 5, 9, 15, 16.

In its list of Top Albums of the '80s, Rolling Stone magazine put this one at #99.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #43

Tracks: With its funky bass line and Jerry Hey horns, Walk The Dinosaur is the star here, but also good are Boy's Gone Crazy, the smooth Somewhere In America There's A Street Named After My Dad, the driving Spy In The House Of Love, the cover of Otis Redding's I Can't Turn You Loose, and the unofficial theme song of Walmart: Out Come The Freaks. As you'll notice from my above sequencing, I usually skip several of the tracks (not surprisingly, the ones that focus more on lyrics than music). My exception to that is the final track, Dad I'm In Jail, which I find hilarious.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  I have vague memories of my first year of teaching with a weird sitcom assortment of character, but that's a story for another time. In addition, I had the pleasure of seeing Lyle Lovett in concert in 2002 and his male backup singers were Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens, the lead singers on this Was (Not Was) album.