The Bonzo Dog Band

The Bonzos' third album is a bit of a retreat from the cosmic anything-goes atmosphere of their second LP (Doughnuts in Granny's Greenhouse), slanted much more heavily toward their vaudevillian trad jazz roots. Perhaps that's because Viv Stanshall and Neil Innes, who dominated the second album, contribute only three tunes here. Still, it's never less than entertaining and has some stellar moments, like the psychedelic African safari of "Ali Baba's Camel," the skit "Shirt" (another clear forerunner of Monty Python), and the British hit single "I'm the Urban Spaceman," produced by Paul McCartney. [The 2007 expanded reissue of Tadpoles contains five bonus tracks: "Boo!," the B-side "Readymades" (later covered by Yo La Tengo, as pointed out by Innes in his liners), the previously unreleased "Look at Me I'm Wonderful" and "We Were Wrong," plus "The Craig Torso Christmas Show," which interpolates "The Lady Is a Tramp," "The Last Waltz," and "Calling All Workers." As with all the 2007 Bonzo reissues, there are very good liner notes by Neil Innes, whose intro may be recycled through all five discs, but that repetition is redeemed by his fine track-by-track commentary, which covers the bonus cuts as well.] ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide