or hundreds of years, composers have been writing melodies that extoll the virtues
and dangers of imaginary trips to the heavens. Most of these tunes have been
presented as anthropocentric excursions, with bold explorers journeying into
an uncharted Universe. Yet by the 1950s, terrestrial tensions like the Cold
War (which prompted fears of both overt and surreptitious enemy invasions),
coupled with humanity's first faltering steps toward actually reaching the
stars, spurred songwriters to consider the possibility of
otherworldly beings visiting Earth.
Highlighting such works as the movie-inspired novelty hit "The Blob" and
Bobby Pickett and Peter Ferrara's Star Trek send-up "Stardrek,"
They Came From Outer Space: The Alien Songbook presents 16
compositions that clearly espouse a "we are not alone" outlook. The collection features both classic
and relatively contemporary cuts, including The Mello-Tones'
obscure 1951 recording "Flying Saucers," a ditty issued in 1975 from The
Undisputed Truth titled "UFO's," and the tongue-in-cheek "Slime Creatures
From Outer Space," released by "Weird Al" Yankovic in 1985.
The liner notes, written by well-known radio personality Dr. Demento, provide
interesting details about each selection, while the track listing on the back
of the jewel case offers original catalog numbers and, where appropriate,
Billboard chart position data. The booklet accompanying the CD also features
reprints of trade ads for three vintage singles.
Loony tunes
Whether seeking relics like "Flying Saucer Rock and Roll" from Billy Lee
Riley and His Little Green Men or "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"
by Klaatu, They Came From Outer Space supplies a reasonably
satisfactory sampling of SF music. Given the large number of alien-oriented
pop melodies issued over the past five decades, the overall quantity of
tracks heard here could easily have been increased. But those cuts that are
represented do furnish some limited insight into the public's continuing
appetite for compositions examining extraterrestrial topics.
Regrettably, the song sequence is rather scattershot, resulting in a
package that lacks meaningful historical or sociological context.
Additionally, a few works, such as "Stardrek" and Bill Mumy's
pseudo-autobiographical "The Ballad of William Robinson," are thematically
out of place, focusing more upon iconic TV characters than honest-to-goodness
alien entities.
Nevertheless, such loony tunes as "The Martian Boogie" by Brownsville
Station and Sheb Wooley's famous "The Purple People Eater" are guaranteed to
elicit a smile from youngsters and old-timers alike. And solemn selections
like Jefferson Airplane's "Have You Seen the Saucers" will cause thoughtful
listeners to, at least briefly, ponder what's really "out there." They
Came From Outer Space is far from perfect, but fans of both bug-eyed
monsters and far-out music should find the CD moderately entertaining.
