Bert's Blockbusters
By Bert / Sesame Street
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Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 Bert and Ernie - La, La, La
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songwriter
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- A2 Bert - The National Association of "W" Lovers
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songwriter
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songwriter
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- A3 Bert - Doin' the Pigeon
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songwriter
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- A4 Bert and Ernie - The R Machine
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songwriter
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- A5 Bert - Stop
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songwriter
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songwriter
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- A6 Bert and Ernie - Bert's Nap
- A7 Bert and Farley - Loud and Soft
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songwriter
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- B1 Bert and Ernie - Clink Clank
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songwriter
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songwriter
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songwriter
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songwriter
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- B4 Bert - I Want to Hold Your Ear
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songwriter
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Emily Perl Kingsleysongwriter
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- B5 Bert and Ernie - The Bath Story
- B6 Bert and Ernie - Bert Is Sick
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Review
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3 Issues
33 Reviews
The architect of the legendary "Muppetown" sound.
This album is THE greatest "best kept secret" in contemporary music history. Make no mistake, Bert is the true genius here but his best bud, Ernie is there to back him up all the way. Even though the hard-hitting rocker "Doin The Pigeon" was the only track that received any radio airplay, high points on this album for me are the poignant and heartbreaking "Bert Is Sick", the social chaos outlined in "The R Machine", and of course, the politically-controversial masterpiece, "The National Association of "W" Lovers". "The Bath Story" is an epic concept prog-rock suite that rivals anything by King Crimson, Yes or Gabriel's Genesis. Also not to be missed is the fabled "Sonic Trilogy", made up of "Loud and Soft", "Clink-Clank" and "High, Middle, Low", ground-breaking stuff. Just looking at the cover and seeing the lonely desperation in Bert's eyes as he sings "La La La" should be a big hint that you have picked up something truly special. "Pink Moon", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Revolver", "Velvet Underground & Nico", they are all great albums, but Jesus man, this comes from a whole other place. Jealous artists through the years have stolen ideas and copied styles from this innovative, striped-sweater wearing song-machine since the late fifties. Even though "I Want To Hold Your Ear" wasn't released until '74, it's obvious that Bert had been holding it back since the sixties, when The Beatles stole it to write "I Want To Hold Your Hand". Roger Waters shamelessly stole "Stop" for Pink Floyd's 1979 masterpiece "The Wall". There is no doubt to the rumor that Bert wrote the inspired bridge on "If Moon Was Cookie" by his longtime friend and collaborator, Cookie Monster on the 1974 smash "C is for Cookie", but it was left off of the final pressing. An inferior version later resurfaced on the 1995 release "C is for Cookie: Cookie's Favorite Songs"
This release finally puts an end to all the rumors and confirms the godlike-talent possessed by this brilliant, soulful poet and virtuoso. Seriously if you own ONE album, own this one!
This album is THE greatest "best kept secret" in contemporary music history. Make no mistake, Bert is the true genius here but his best bud, Ernie is there to back him up all the way. Even though the hard-hitting rocker "Doin The Pigeon" was the only track that received any radio airplay, high points on this album for me are the poignant and heartbreaking "Bert Is Sick", the social chaos outlined in "The R Machine", and of course, the politically-controversial masterpiece, "The National Association of "W" Lovers". "The Bath Story" is an epic concept prog-rock suite that rivals anything by King Crimson, Yes or Gabriel's Genesis. Also not to be missed is the fabled "Sonic Trilogy", made up of "Loud and Soft", "Clink-Clank" and "High, Middle, Low", ground-breaking stuff. Just looking at the cover and seeing the lonely desperation in Bert's eyes as he sings "La La La" should be a big hint that you have picked up something truly special. "Pink Moon", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Revolver", "Velvet Underground & Nico", they are all great albums, but Jesus man, this comes from a whole other place. Jealous artists through the years have stolen ideas and copied styles from this innovative, striped-sweater wearing song-machine since the late fifties. Even though "I Want To Hold Your Ear" wasn't released until '74, it's obvious that Bert had been holding it back since the sixties, when The Beatles stole it to write "I Want To Hold Your Hand". Roger Waters shamelessly stole "Stop" for Pink Floyd's 1979 masterpiece "The Wall". There is no doubt to the rumor that Bert wrote the inspired bridge on "If Moon Was Cookie" by his longtime friend and collaborator, Cookie Monster on the 1974 smash "C is for Cookie", but it was left off of the final pressing. An inferior version later resurfaced on the 1995 release "C is for Cookie: Cookie's Favorite Songs"
This release finally puts an end to all the rumors and confirms the godlike-talent possessed by this brilliant, soulful poet and virtuoso. Seriously if you own ONE album, own this one!
Published
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Beats: 2.0
Lyrics: 3.5
Bert can be pretty dope on tha mic, I'm feeling some of his flows on this. Some whack rhymes keep this from being a true 5 mic classic, yet tha production is lacking as well. Big Bird didn't come correct with da beats on this one, neither lo-fi nor polished enough. Some tired snares + weak instrumentation should turn off anyone expecting a more full sound, but da unorthodox flows will keep you shouting "hooooo!".
Found a 2nd copy in a thrift store this weekend, some kid had eaten thee cover 'n' drawn all over thee label with crayon. Didn't he know it was gonna be a recognized piece of thee canon in a mere 30 years? That guy's probably weeping now, while my 2nd copy sits securely within thee sleeve of Born to Add.
Lyrics: 3.5
Bert can be pretty dope on tha mic, I'm feeling some of his flows on this. Some whack rhymes keep this from being a true 5 mic classic, yet tha production is lacking as well. Big Bird didn't come correct with da beats on this one, neither lo-fi nor polished enough. Some tired snares + weak instrumentation should turn off anyone expecting a more full sound, but da unorthodox flows will keep you shouting "hooooo!".
Found a 2nd copy in a thrift store this weekend, some kid had eaten thee cover 'n' drawn all over thee label with crayon. Didn't he know it was gonna be a recognized piece of thee canon in a mere 30 years? That guy's probably weeping now, while my 2nd copy sits securely within thee sleeve of Born to Add.
Published
Bert's previous sprawling double album was excellent if a bit self indulgent. That album was almost like his "revolver" because new sounds popped up and mixed with Burt's tried and true formula of psychedelic beatlesesque melodies. Instead of trying to duplicate that effort Burt moved in an entirely new direction here and reached his creative peak. The risks paid off and we have an album that hasn't aged at all compared to other "influential" albums of the 70s (I'm looking at you Darkside of the Moon).
Some people attribute Bert's new sound on this album to heavy cocaine use at the time. While it's true that Bert was both taking and selling cocaine, I don't believe that has much to do with his creative juices. I think the real influence was David Bowie. Bowie's fingerprints can be felt all over this album. It's hard to picture the tape looped didgeridoo without Bowie's contribution and influence. Bowie not only served as Bert's musical mentor, but he was also his homosexual lover.
My favorite tracks? It's like picking my favorite child. I love all of them equally, except for that lazy eyed one. I love the mellotron on "Stop", the lyrics of "Pat Pat Patty Pat", the heart breaking homosexual references of "Bert is Sick" (very groundbreaking for the time), and finally Doin' the Pigeon. Rumor has it that Isaac Brock later wrote 'Doing the Cockroach as a musical tribute to Bert. In closing, buy it, best album of the 70s.
Some people attribute Bert's new sound on this album to heavy cocaine use at the time. While it's true that Bert was both taking and selling cocaine, I don't believe that has much to do with his creative juices. I think the real influence was David Bowie. Bowie's fingerprints can be felt all over this album. It's hard to picture the tape looped didgeridoo without Bowie's contribution and influence. Bowie not only served as Bert's musical mentor, but he was also his homosexual lover.
My favorite tracks? It's like picking my favorite child. I love all of them equally, except for that lazy eyed one. I love the mellotron on "Stop", the lyrics of "Pat Pat Patty Pat", the heart breaking homosexual references of "Bert is Sick" (very groundbreaking for the time), and finally Doin' the Pigeon. Rumor has it that Isaac Brock later wrote 'Doing the Cockroach as a musical tribute to Bert. In closing, buy it, best album of the 70s.
Published
I remember when I first found this in my uncle's vinyl record collection and gave it a spin just because I was intrigued by the cover. That was a lucky random choice! "Doin' the Pigeon" is what I remember most from that day, with its swirling, layered sounds and some of the finest male puppet vocal expression ever caught on record. But these days, as a more mature music aficionado, I find myself most impressed with the bold experimentalism of tracks like "Bert's Nap" and "Pat Pat Patty Pat". The only contemporaries of the Sesame Street puppets I can think of who even came close to this level of genius in creating challenging soundscapes would be maybe Can or the Velvet Underground (and let's face it, Lou Reed's solo career wouldn't have been anywhere near as lauded without his cover version of "C Is for Cookie.") This is one of a very few albums that _still_ sound ahead of their time. If aliens ever visit the earth and demand to judge our civilization based on our music, this is the one album I would suggest they hear in order to appreciate the creative brilliance and maturity of the human race.
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I was a kid when I had this the first time, so yeah, I got a soft place for it and share it with my kids, Which is better than this garbage they got today! (Kid A for Kids?!?) WTF?
Published
Well the internet has finally unveiled the secrets of this album. I got to say it was a whole lot more fun trying to find it than actually listening to it. If this is a great children record I wonder how awful a bad one would sound like.
Published
'Loud and Soft' would be a major influence on both The Pixies and Nirvana. Seminal.
Published
There are people on this website who doubt the genius that is Bert. His magnum opus, Bert's Blockbusters has just been overlooked as a mere "childs" album for almost 35 years. I think people have just begun to see the true brilliance on this record. The haunting blues on "Bert's Nap," the Hendrix beating guitar riffs on "The R Machine," and the awesome "I want to hold your ear," which Bert wrote in the 50's, and was shamlessly ripped off by the inferior Beatles as "I want to hold your hand." More hardcore than the Wu Tang Clan, more sincere than Elliott Smith, and more indie than Neutral Milk Hotel, this is a classic!
Published
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Catalog
4 Aug 2021
4 Aug 2021
3 Aug 2021
29 Jun 2021
22 Jun 2021
3 Jun 2021
1 Jun 2021
27 May 2021
8 May 2021
8 May 2021
3 May 2021
21 Apr 2021
16 Mar 2021
8 Mar 2021
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A6 Bert and Ernie - Bert's Nap
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A7 Bert and Farley - Loud and Soft
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B1 Bert and Ernie - Clink Clank
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B4 Bert - I Want to Hold Your Ear
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B5 Bert and Ernie - The Bath Story
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B6 Bert and Ernie - Bert Is Sick
28 Feb 2021
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