Search - Rod McKuen :: Beatsville [ENHANCED CD]

So quotable -- absolutely a must-have!!

D. Frades | Snowy Plover Bay, CA | 07/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Get this one now before it's out of print. Rod sold millions of records, but good luck trying to find his stuff on CD. Some of it he released on his own label -- maybe burning them at home or something, since they are all sold out, then sold on Ebay used at twice the price.Okay, yeah, I get the joke of Rod McKuen, if there is a joke. Rod's such a mystery, it's hard to know where to begin. He was apparently a sort-of abused orphan who did time in Korea writing "propaganda" or something with the intelligence service (hard to say for sure, since the autobio he promised has yet to surface), then re-emerged, young, gangly and talented, a teen idol, in a couple '50's rock-and-roll movies ("Rock Me, Baby"), then is suddenly a beatnik poet, then after a while, he's a composer, singer, poet, you name it. He starts off getting a boost from his friend, Phyllis Diller (?!), then over the next 25 years does everything from weird country albums to "In Search of Eros" to producing gay Spanish disco hits to voiceovers for "Little Mermaid." Was he a teenage gay gigalo, as so many songs seem to imply? A teary-eyed loner, despite his fame? A cynical imposter? Every conclusion runs up against another discovery about the man. And there's not much solid biographical info out there, for someone this famous.This has nothing to do with this CD, but at one point Rod even had his own clothing line. I only know this from an ad being sold on eBay. He also put out calendars, "book of days" book-diaries and so many books it makes my head spin every time I visit the thrift store and think I've already collected them all. All that marketing takes a lot of work, but you'd never know that from seeing Rod's trademark "alone" image out there on the beach. Back to this album. Classic. Rod effortlessly spins up either authentic beat generation poetry or a slick parody -- who can tell? There's the flute, the slick guitar, the 10 second poems, the bongos. And no matter how hard you try, some of it will strike home and make you realize you wish you were more romantic and could say things like "there's nothing as beautiful as your black hair" with the same sincerity. Then again, you can tell your friends, "They call me the bird boy, because I chase the gulls about the beach all day." Hey, who wouldn't, given the chance?This CD is indispensible. And if it doesn't resemble the later McKuen, well tough. It's up to you to decide whether he sold out early then got introspective in the '70s, or started raw and later went commercial. But whether I'm laughing at the schmalz, or feeling some real bohemian inspiration, Rod's the man."

Funky, but cute, different, but definatly "Classic Rod"..

Stephen P. Rusk | Elkin North Carolina | 03/10/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"****1/2 This is an unsual album for Rod, but for his loyal fans, it is "Classic Rod McKuen". I like it because there are only two renditions that are repeats from other albums....As I said in the Above summery..."Funky, but Cute"..."

This CD is a worn out LP transfered to CD...

Jamie Tate | Franklin, TN | 11/29/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"They took the audio from a worn out record and then tried to clean up it with digital noise suppression. It leaves the whole CD sounding murky and without any life whatsoever. It's unfortunate that all the intrusive noise reduction artifacts make this CD an unpleasant listen. It could've been a cool experience.



I wonder what happened to the original tapes? Couldn't they even find a copy or safety somewhere? Unfortunate."