Madam Oink "Portrait" Showtape

Released: February 1978
Review by: VegaNova

Show Segments
"Frere Jaques"
"Thank Heaven for Little Boys / Baby Face"
"You Only Hurt the Ones You Love"
"Paris Songs"
"Three Ladies"
"Money Money" (Crusty Version)

It should be noted first and foremost that the tracks we have that include Crusty were obtained from the archives of Department 18. These tracks were converted to D2 Tape sometime in the past, so determining what tracks came from what reel is made by educated guessing, based on the particular audio clues of the individual tracks, and also the shreds of documentation that are available.

As such, even though the tracks from this reel were included on the archival tape described above, we know they were from the original Madam Oink "portrait" reel because they include Crusty the Cat who was only present at the Winchester store, along with Madam Oink who made her debut around February 1978. It's likely also that some of the other tracks from this archival tape (listed on the 1977 Crusty tape) were also used on this tape.

Madam Oink - Photographs tell us that Madam Oink existed as a wall-portrait character, and the public copyright records suggest that Madam Oink appeared in early 1978. It should also be noted that the early portrait version of Oink was spelled "Madam", while the later version from the balcony era was spelled "Madame".

Lady of Oink - Several of the tracks on this tape were retooled in the years following it's release, primarily to remove Crusty and dub Mr. Munch in his place. A handful of these tracks are recycled on Around the World with Madam Oink from 1980.

To be fair I don't even feel completely comfortable giving this tape a rating, considering the copy we have is incomplete. However, the tracks that we do have are quite good. The unbridled wise cracks at Oink made by Pasqually, Jasper, and Chuck E. are all hilarious, even if they wouldn't be considered appropriate by modern standards. And the version of "Money, Money" that includes Crusty is scores better than the later Mr. Munch overdub - hearing Crusty back up Oink with snarling meows in the last half of the song actually makes for a pretty awesome duet!

If you have the full tape or additional details about this material (reel, audio, video, whatever) please contact us!