Born To Laugh At Tornadoes
	Produced by Don St. Was, David St. Was and Jack Tann
	Released on August? 1983
	US CHART POSITION #134
	Find it at GEMM
GHS 4016 cover in shrinkwrap

B oobytraps abound on Born To Laugh At Tornadoes. Funk, pop and jazz get rolled into a single album, pinned together only by the top-notch production of the would-be brothers Was. Although the two albums are dissimilar in many ways, this always reminds me of Godley & Creme’s Snack Attack, as both share a smartalecky wit and irreproachable pop sensibilities. However, where the 10cc refugees tried to go it alone, Was (Not Was) rolls out an illimitable red carpet for an army of accomplices. The revolving cast of vocalists alone would make the album eclectic, but Was (Not Was) are out to reinvent themselves with each song. Are they the intelligent R&B band of “Knocked Down, Made Small,” the cute pop band of “Smile,” the arty absurdists of “Man Vs. The Empire Brain Building?” A: All of the above. Only in the warped world of Was (Not Was) can Mel Torme (whose straight reading of “Zaz Turned Blue” is hilarious) out-cool Ozzy Osbourne (shackled here with the synthetic “Shake Your Head”). In fact, I don’t even know what Ozzy’s doing on here; maybe they had a compromising photo of him reading The National Review. Toss in a welcome reprise of the irresistible “(Return to the Valley of) Out Come The Freaks,” and Born To Laugh At Tornadoes is literally a whirling blender of fun. The prologue on the back cover between a poet and a clown seems to set the album’s tone: there’s a place for poetry and entertainment in the world. There’s certainly a place in my collection for an album this consistently eye-opening and entertaining. Unencumbered by image, freed from preconceived notions of what constitutes pop, Was (Not Was) released one of 1983’s real sleepers with this record. In my book, this easily outlaps The Golden Palominos experiment.

GHS 4016 back cover	GHS 4016 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. KNOCKED DOWN, MADE SMALL (TREATED LIKE A RUBBER BALL)    3:05
2. BOW WOW WOW WO    (Thomas Brzezina)    3:09
3. BETRAYAL    3:02
4. SHAKE YOUR HEAD (LET'S GO TO BED)    (Don Was/David Was/Jarvis Stroud)    3:52
5. MAN VS. THE EMPIRE BRAIN BUILDING    4:00
6. (RETURN TO THE VALLEY OF) OUT COME THE FREAKS    4:20
7. PROFESSOR NIGHT    (Don Was/David Was/Felix Morris)    4:10
8. THE PARTY BROKE UP    2:14
9. SMILE    3:12
10. ZAZ TURNED BLUE    4:18
    
    All songs written by Don Was/David Was unless noted

CREDITS

CAROL HALL -- background vocals
KATHY KOSINS -- background vocals
DAVID McMURRAY -- soprano and tenor saxophone, background vocals
LUIS RESTO -- Oberheim OBXA, acoustic piano, organ, Moog, vocorder, background vocals, Moog bass, synthetic trumpet, Emulator
DAVID WAS -- background vocals, flute, lead vocals, trumpet, Korg organ, vibes, harmonica
DON WAS -- clavinet, Oberheim OBSX, Oberheim OBXA, Linn drums, bass, Emulator, Simmons drums, lead vocals, Emulator horns, cello, tympani, background vocals, Moog bass, sea bell, bass drums, rhythm guitar, Oberheim bells, recording zengineer, mixing
Martin Alsop -- violin
Sweet Pea Atkinson -- lead vocal, background vocals
Red Banner -- bass
Chris Blackwell -- vocals
Puppet Blum -- background vocals
Susan Borey -- background vocals
Harry Bowens -- background vocals, lead vocals
Duane Bradley -- foot choir
Pam Brown -- background vocals
Rick Cioffi -- background vocals
Jervony Collier -- bass
Nikki Corvette -- background vocals
Marshall Crenshaw -- organ and vocal, lead guitar
Michael Edwards -- foot choir
Chris Ewen -- background vocals
Felix and Jarvis -- vocals
Doug Fieger -- lead vocals, background vocals
Larry Fratangelo -- percussion
Professor Goss -- background vocals
Ada Griffin -- vocals
Lynn Halper -- background vocals
Yogi Horton -- drums
Randy Jacobs -- guitar, background vocals, bass, guitar, foot choir
Jill B. Jaffe -- viola
Peter James -- ohh wah oohs
Lori Jeri -- ooh wah oohs
Anthony Kaczynski -- background vocals
Wayne Kramer -- guitar
Bob Kulick -- power chord guitar
Beverley Lauridsen -- cello
Valerie Ledbetter -- background vocals
Jay Leonhart -- bass
Joe LoDuca -- guitar
Branford Marsalis -- sax solo
Donna Ray Mitchell -- background vocals
Reggie Mocambo -- Simmons drums
Felix Morris -- Moog bass, bass
Bruce Nazarian -- guitar, overdub engineer
Mark J. Norton -- background vocals
Ozzy Osbourne -- lead vocals (4)
Roscoe Paradise -- guitar
Marvin "Hannibal" Petersen -- trumpet
Carol Poole-Gross -- violin
Larry Provost -- foot choir
Christine Reeves -- foot choir
Mike Renzi -- piano, arranger and conductor
Paul Riser -- string and horn arrangements
John Robie -- Prophet 5, Moog
Mitch Ryder -- lead vocals
John Sinclair -- background vocals
Mike Smith -- Simmons toms
Tom Swift -- Bavarian cheese cymbal
Fred Todd -- background vocals
Mel Torme -- lead vocals
Analisa Trajano -- Oberheim bells
Vinnie Vincent -- lead guitar
Evelyn Werner -- foot choir
Fred Zarr -- acoustic piano, hate synthesizer
Lamont Zodiac -- background vocals
Michael Zilkha -- executive producer
David Thoener -- mixing, overdub engineer
Duane Bradley -- mixing
Ken Collier -- mixing
Michael Brauer -- engineer, overdub engineer
Lincoln Clapp -- overdub engineer
Gregory Mann -- overdub engineer
Jon Mathias -- overdub engineer
Steve Guardigli -- overdub engineer
Jerry Thichaya -- overdub engineer
Mike Fuller -- overdub engineer
Jay Mark -- overdub engineer
Jeri McManus -- album cover design
Dan Chapman -- front cover illustration
Larry Williams -- back cover photo
Vickie Johnson-Was -- liner photo
Johnny "The Wolf" Goethe -- prologue

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