Born to Laugh at Tornadoes
| Born to Laugh at Tornadoes | ||||
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| Studio album by Was (Not Was) | ||||
| Released | September 1983 | |||
| Recorded | November 1982-June 1983; Sound Suite Recording Studios, Detroit | |||
| Length | 35:31 | |||
| Label | ZE Records, Geffen | |||
| Producer | Jack Tann, David Was, Don Was | |||
| Was (Not Was) chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| Robert Christgau | B+ |
| Rolling Stone |
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Born To Laugh At Tornadoes is a 1983 album by the art-funk band Was (Not Was). Rolling Stone declared it "conceptually, the best album of the year" shortly after its release. The advance publicity did not endear itself to the listening public at the time, and the album made little fanfare in a year dominated by Michael Jackson's Thriller and Prince's 1999.
This album boasted an impressive array of guest vocalists, ranging from hard rocker Mitch Ryder (on "Bow Wow Wow Wow"), heavy metal shock rocker Ozzy Osbourne ("Shake Your Head"), pop band The Knack's lead vocalist Doug Fieger (on "Betrayal" and "Smile"), Marshall Crenshaw ("The Party Broke Up") and torch song vocalist/songwriter Mel Tormé (lead vocal on the closing song "Zaz Turned Blue").
The album also displayed a wide variety of musical styles, ranging from pop love ballads ("Betrayal") to heavy metal ("Bow Wow Wow Wow"), psychedelic synthesized mod music ("Man Vs. The Empire Brain Building") to soft, easy listening cocktail jazz ("Zaz Turned Blue"), a ballad about a man who nearly chokes to death in a park ("Zaz turned blue/What were we supposed to do?/When Zaz turned blue?").
Also noteworthy is a credit to Robert Kinkel as Assistant Engineer, who went on to be the co-creator of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The front cover illustration, "After Compton's", was credited to Dan Chapman and Jeri McManus was the art director.
All tracks written by David Was and Don Was; except where indicated.
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