June 1983
Reviewed by VegaNova
Segment 1
"Monkeyman Chewing Tobacco Skit"
"Redneck Friend"
Segment 2
"Country Bird Songs Skit"
"Country Medley" (Come On In, Heaven's Just a Sin Away, Good Hearted Woman, Hey Good Lookin', Looking For
Love In All The Wrong Places, Proud To Be A Rebel, Act Naturally, Mountain Music)
Segment 3
"Jackson Intro Skit"
"Jackson"
Segment 4
"You Never Even Call Me By My Name"
Segment 5
"Dixie Down Intro Skit"
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
Segment 6
"Presidential Skit"
"Guitarzan"
Segment 7
"Desperado"
Segment 8
"Stranded In The Jungle"
Segment 9
"Swingin Intro Skit"
"Swingin"
Segment 10
"Sixteen Tons Intro Skit"
"Sixteen Tons"
This is the Rock-afire's first attempt at doing actual country songs, as all previous tapes contained more Rock, Pop, and Oldies songs. A nice overall mixture of music with lots of surprises make this a very good tape. Mitzi and Dook's duet on "Jackson" is very peppy and fun, and the entire 3-stage version of "Guitarzan" is the show stealer for sure.
Special Cosmetics - The Rock-afire was dressed in full country outfits for this showtape.
You Never Even Call Me By My Name - The voice actors behind the Rock-afire Explosion never cared much for country music and much of that dislike is evident in the fact that many songs on this tape could be considered merely borderline-country. Also the version Billy and Looney perform of "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" further drive this point.
Sing It Again - Not often did the Rock-afire Explosion record the same song on multiple occasions, however this tape contains a few. The song "Mountain Music" appeared again on the Country #3 showtape as part of the "Cajun Medley" and although done 4 years later sounds nearly the same. Also the song "Swingin" was recorded again, but in a very bizarre futuristic style in 1984's Senior Citizens tape.
Elvira - The song "Elvira" was originally supposed to be included in this tape but was removed and became an outtake. The song would eventually be included in several compliation tapes.
Swingin - The song "Swingin" was preformed by Aaron and personally dedicated to his current girlfriend at the time - a model who appeared in Playboy magazine.
Guitarzan - "Guitarzan" was the only song that Creative Engineering ever paid any royalties for. Ray Stevens came to find that they were using his song and asked for only $100 just because of the principle that they were using his song. He was very flattered to see it used though.
Desperado - Shalisa learned this song from a scratch vocal recorded by Jeff Howell and not from the original Eagles song. To this day, this song remains part of her live performing repertoire.
Guitarzan - In this song Fatz threatens to break Rolfe's neck after Rolfe calls him a "Big 'ol fat monkey". Fatz has often ordered the audience to shut up, but this is his only real time threatening another character. He even sings about it later in the song about how much fun it's going to be. Funny stuff, but this would never fly today. Also Billy Bob miscues the final act of singing.
-4 out of 5 Tokens-
I'm not a very big fan of country music but I love this showtape. In true Rock-afire fashion, the talent behind this show compiled something to be enjoyed by all. From the country medleys and songs, to the fun "Guitarzan", Mitzi's powerful rendition of "Desperado", and Fatz's great version of the folk song "Sixteen Tons", this is one fun array of classic Rock-afire music.
Plus Billy Bob's performance of "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" is to die for. This version contains the verse about making it the most perfect country song ever - when Billy Bob breaks out with the lyrics "Well I was drunk, the day my mom got out of prison..." it's impossible not to laugh. A great little joke both fans and non-fans of country music would get a kick out of. The Rock-afire's first venture into doing a country tape ultimately becomes their best.
"Monkeyman Chewing Tobacco Skit"
"Redneck Friend"
Segment 2
"Country Bird Songs Skit"
"Country Medley" (Come On In, Heaven's Just a Sin Away, Good Hearted Woman, Hey Good Lookin', Looking For
Love In All The Wrong Places, Proud To Be A Rebel, Act Naturally, Mountain Music)
Segment 3
"Jackson Intro Skit"
"Jackson"
Segment 4
"You Never Even Call Me By My Name"
Segment 5
"Dixie Down Intro Skit"
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
Segment 6
"Presidential Skit"
"Guitarzan"
Segment 7
"Desperado"
Segment 8
"Stranded In The Jungle"
Segment 9
"Swingin Intro Skit"
"Swingin"
Segment 10
"Sixteen Tons Intro Skit"
"Sixteen Tons"
This is the Rock-afire's first attempt at doing actual country songs, as all previous tapes contained more Rock, Pop, and Oldies songs. A nice overall mixture of music with lots of surprises make this a very good tape. Mitzi and Dook's duet on "Jackson" is very peppy and fun, and the entire 3-stage version of "Guitarzan" is the show stealer for sure.
Special Cosmetics - The Rock-afire was dressed in full country outfits for this showtape.
You Never Even Call Me By My Name - The voice actors behind the Rock-afire Explosion never cared much for country music and much of that dislike is evident in the fact that many songs on this tape could be considered merely borderline-country. Also the version Billy and Looney perform of "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" further drive this point.
Sing It Again - Not often did the Rock-afire Explosion record the same song on multiple occasions, however this tape contains a few. The song "Mountain Music" appeared again on the Country #3 showtape as part of the "Cajun Medley" and although done 4 years later sounds nearly the same. Also the song "Swingin" was recorded again, but in a very bizarre futuristic style in 1984's Senior Citizens tape.
Elvira - The song "Elvira" was originally supposed to be included in this tape but was removed and became an outtake. The song would eventually be included in several compliation tapes.
Swingin - The song "Swingin" was preformed by Aaron and personally dedicated to his current girlfriend at the time - a model who appeared in Playboy magazine.
Guitarzan - "Guitarzan" was the only song that Creative Engineering ever paid any royalties for. Ray Stevens came to find that they were using his song and asked for only $100 just because of the principle that they were using his song. He was very flattered to see it used though.
Desperado - Shalisa learned this song from a scratch vocal recorded by Jeff Howell and not from the original Eagles song. To this day, this song remains part of her live performing repertoire.
Guitarzan - In this song Fatz threatens to break Rolfe's neck after Rolfe calls him a "Big 'ol fat monkey". Fatz has often ordered the audience to shut up, but this is his only real time threatening another character. He even sings about it later in the song about how much fun it's going to be. Funny stuff, but this would never fly today. Also Billy Bob miscues the final act of singing.
-4 out of 5 Tokens-
I'm not a very big fan of country music but I love this showtape. In true Rock-afire fashion, the talent behind this show compiled something to be enjoyed by all. From the country medleys and songs, to the fun "Guitarzan", Mitzi's powerful rendition of "Desperado", and Fatz's great version of the folk song "Sixteen Tons", this is one fun array of classic Rock-afire music.
Plus Billy Bob's performance of "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" is to die for. This version contains the verse about making it the most perfect country song ever - when Billy Bob breaks out with the lyrics "Well I was drunk, the day my mom got out of prison..." it's impossible not to laugh. A great little joke both fans and non-fans of country music would get a kick out of. The Rock-afire's first venture into doing a country tape ultimately becomes their best.