BGO Records
1974
The History Of The Bonzos
About This Album
Originally released in 1974, two years after the greatest comedy rock band in history discovered that, contrary to the title of their reunion album, they couldn't make up and be friendly, The History of the Bonzos has long been one of the most fondly remembered compilations of the age. Like the Beatles' red and blue collections, the Rolling Stones' Hot Rocks, and the Who's Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, albums that so effortlessly absorbed the oeuvre that a discography seems

incomplete without them, the two-album History of the Bonzos was conceived, designed, and universally lauded for delivering precisely what it promised, a seamless history and a priceless artifact. Drawn from (but not restricted to) across the Bonzos' years with Liberty, which in turn sums up their entire career bar three odd singles at the beginning, History runs from the psycho-sleaze drama of "Big Shot" to the compelling inanity of "Jollity Farm," from the turbo-charged psychedelia of "Mr Apollo" to the fey denouement of "Narcissus," and onto a selection of post-split singles by Viv Stanshall, Roger Ruskin Spear, and Neil Innes. And it is nigh-on perfect. Obsessions trail like running jokes -- a hint of music hall madness, a healthy disrespect for cabaret, a tearful, fearful recollection of school, and a positive hatred of societal stereotypes.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1,7,9,11,12 and 14)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 9,11,14 and 16)

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