4.19.2005
The World of Gorillas and Monkeys
Brian Ingland The World of Gorillas and Monkeys (Mala)
Yes, the world's best Planet of the Apes song. I know, I know. That is a very controversial statement. Up until now, many of you thought that the Mummies' You Must Fight to Live on the Planet of the Apes was the ultimate POTA anthem. So did I. At least until I dug up this little gem.
What makes this Brian Ingland song a masterpiece? First off, while it is a novelty song, there is no tongue in cheek. I am sure that the Mummies were POTA fans, but, unlike Mr. Ingland, they did not try to deliver a message. The message here is the same as the movie: War is Bad.
While the Mummies' classic is a great piece of garage punk, POTA or not, Ingland's music is better - at least as far as matching theme to tunes. The World... starts of with a nice little piano part, Ingland warning us about the future in that "Hey Kids, wanna learn something new" voice that aging teen idols tend to use, and, with the blow of the famous POTA war horn, a kinda Vegas pop band plays Shaft while rigor mortis sets in kicks in. Every major chord change is uber emphasized. The backing vocals are extra urgent. And the topper is the final line of the chorus "All human beings will be flunkies / In a world of gorillas and monkeys." The song mellows into the piano part and then goes back into full paranoid mode. And there's also science fiction-like synth sound effects. At the song's end, all one can do is sit back amazed. Then you turn the record over to "One of These Days (We're Gonna Blow Ourselves Up)" and it is the instrumental version. How cheap! How excellent! Again, amazement is mandatory.
# posted by Scott Soriano : 19:51
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Note that this is similar to--and perhaps even the same track as--the slower and, unfortuntely, apeless, "Journey To the Moon" by The Sound of Genesis on Buddah. "Ape Shuffle" by Lalo Schifrin (b-side of "Esacpe from Tomorrow," the theme from the POTA teevee show) is another must have. I believe the b-side of Gary Knight's "Greta Green Grass" (Phillips) is called simply "Planet of the Apes," it's okay, sort of in that later 60s music hall vein. I also have a not terribly distinguished Dutch issue early 70s funk 45 either by or titles Ape Planet (three guys in rubber ape masks on the sleeve), but I'd have to have it at hand for details ...
My friend used to have this on a 45, handed down to him from his parents. This song is really obscure. I'm very surprised to see it mentioned anywhere on the internet. I haven't heard the song since 1983-4, but I still remember the opening statement, followed by a blast of horns. I was searching for the name of the artist, so I could then find an mp3 of it. If you are interested, I found this page here.
I do not think that this will be the instrumental version. The link is to a google cache, because the server appeared to be malfunctioning while writing this.
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I do not think that this will be the instrumental version. The link is to a google cache, because the server appeared to be malfunctioning while writing this.
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