David Tynan O'Mahony (6 July 1936 – 10 March 2005) was –
certainly until the 1980s - Britain's most controversial comedian. His relaxed,
intimate style (on TV he would sit on a high bar stool, smoking and sipping
from a glass of what looked like whiskey, but was in fact ginger ale) charm and
besuited respectability allowed him to get away with more than any other
comedian had dared do before – especially on prime time television. A religious
sceptic, religion (and especially Roman Catholicism) was an important subject
for his humour, mocking church customs and rituals rather than beliefs.
So it’s a bit of a surprise to discover that the great man
released this piece of sentimental claptrap.
Called a ‘somewhat whimsical but certainly sincere
counter-cultural contribution timed to coincide with the moon landing’ by Allen’s biographer Graham McCann, The Good
Earth uses the image of an astronaut looking down upon our planet, a
very contemporary message at that time. Written by Ben Nisbet, The Monkees also
recorded the song during sessions for their 1969 album the Monkees Present, although their version remained unreleased until
Rhino Records reissued the album on CD in 1994.
The B-side, A Way Of Life, is worse: to the tune of Greensleeves, Allen recites a ridiculous
poem which offers up such homilies as ‘listen to others, even the dull and
the ignorant: they too have their story’. The writer credit on A
Way Of Life reads ‘Martin/Kelsey’ however
the words are actually by the American poet Max Erhman and, correctly named Desiderata, would provide an enormous international hit a
couple of years later for Les Crane. Calling it Spock Thoughts, Leonard Nimoy also performed the poem on his 1968
album Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy.
Unsurprisingly the record was not a hit. Allen went back to
comedy, leaving this sole disc an obscure footnote in an otherwise remarkable
career.
Goodnight, and may your God go with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment