Published on Mar 21, 2008
This CD crossed my desk several weeks ago, and the song titles immediately caught my attention: “William Howard Taft,” “My Baby’s Off The Market,” “On The Badminton Court,” “Dippin’ Sauce” and more are bound to arouse the imagination and attention of just about any music lover.
So here I am on vacation, soaking up the sun on a cruise ship off the coast of
The Two Man Gentleman Band are made up by Andy Bean, who plays banjo, lead kazoo, sings and writes all the songs, and Fuller Condon on double bass and tenor kazoo. The best way to describe the duo’s sound is to think of the British skiffle group sound of the 1950s. Tracks such as “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor on The Bed Post Overnight” and “Rock Island Line” would fit The Two Man Gentleman Band well. My other thought was that once in awhile, they sound like Leon Redbone on uppers.
Their first song, “William Howard Taft,” establishes their musical style with its clever and frenetic vocals that tell a simple story, backed primarily by banjo and kazoos on the breaks between verses.
Such songs as “I Ain’t Gonna Eat Your Meat Without No Dippin’ Sauce” and “Heavy Petting” have no obscene lyrics but still manage to tell off-color stories. It’s all very clever and interesting in a weird sort of way.
In defense of the Two Man Gentleman Band, the lyrics are well-crafted and the production is solid. Andy Bean is one of the better banjo players that I have heard in a long time, and the kazoo playing is, well, kazoo playing. How do you tell a good kazoo player from a poor kazoo player?
Heavy Petting is unique and vastly different from most of the music being produced today. The Two Man Gentleman Band may never have mass appeal, but this album nevertheless provides a good place to dally for an hour or so.
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