Monday, May 21, 2012

Vintage Dynosaur Art: Dynosaur Dance

Here's a change of pace for these posts: an obscure slice of novelty pop released in the late eighties called "Dynosaur Dance." Reader, contributor to the VDA Flickr group, and official Friend of the Blog Terry Thielen recently picked it up, and we're richer for it.

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Released by Blast Records in 1987, it is credited to "Dino and the Dynosaurs," and appears to have been recorded by a line-up of session musicians led by a man with the suspect name "Dino Pizzarelli," (which nevertheless seems to be an actual name given to an actual person). Production is credited to two industry veterans, Glen Kolotkin and Benny Kay. I am sure that nothing on their combined resume matched the pleasure of recording this record; Louis Armstrong, the Ramones, Pete Seeger, the Lovin' Spoonful, Captain Beefheart or Bonnie Raitt couldn't possibly have offered the kind of artistic satisfaction "Dynosaur Dance" did.

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The credits and center label continue the ramshackle comic look of the album cover. My favorite is definitely the doofy sauropod above. "Goot!"

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Enough about the album art, though. What you really want to know is how it sounds, right? It sounds like this.



Sublime, isn't it? Just smacks of some family member of someone at the studio getting a huge favor. Thanks for sharing this, Terry!
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8 comments:

  1. Christina WilsdonMay 21, 2012 at 10:36 AM

    LOL! Has a hint of Talking Heads added to Doug and the Slugs to it, doesn't it. And if Dino Pizzarelli sounds like a suspect name, check out Lance Romance further down the list of credits....

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  2. NateeMay 21, 2012 at 10:47 AM

    Hahaha, marvellous.

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  3. Mark RobinsonMay 21, 2012 at 11:35 AM

    Thanks for that. Shame that the music is so truly awful - the absolute nadir of factory produced tween-pop - from the insipid beat with the unimaginative percussion from a Casio "My First Keyboard" to the hookless chord progression and stock-standard treble flourishes to the uninspired and poorly executed counterpoint vocals capped by the off-key, almost shrill, vocal backdrop highlighting in the chorus. I didn't last past 2 minutes. I know it's aimed at kids but they deserve better than this.

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  4. ferwenMay 21, 2012 at 6:45 PM

    hahah,awesome

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  5. Michael DamboldtMay 21, 2012 at 11:53 PM

    Oh wow, it sounds like the 80s threw up.

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  6. tnthielenMay 21, 2012 at 11:55 PM

    Hey awesome! Someone else thought it sounds kinda like Talking Heads too! Glad everyone is getting a kick out of this!

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  7. SharonMay 22, 2012 at 12:12 AM

    I don't know what "Goot" means, but I think it's my new favorite word.

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  8. davorMay 22, 2012 at 10:52 AM

    Those terrible jokes at the end of the song deserve mention, too. Dinosaurs didn't have fingers!

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