Alfred E Neuman: It's a Gas (1963)

There's the widely held if rather snooty view that fart noises and belching are only amusing to adolescent boys. This rather ignores the obvious: that there will always be adolescent boys, and even more people who have been adolescent boys.

Which perhaps explains the enduring if low appeal of this outing by Mad magazine's Alfred E Neuman.

Mad did a number of such spin-off projects (none were commercially successful according to Mad founder Bill Gaines), and the early albums which appeared tended to be heavy on parodies of pop and rock styles (She Got a Nose Job, She Lets Me Watch Her Mom and Pop Fight) or, in the case of this song, appealed to adolescent boy.

Later they parodied The Girl From Ipanema (The Boy Form . . .), Bob Dylan in his "protest" period (It Ain't) and disco (Disco Suicide). Got into a little political satire too.

But purists prefer the early period in which whoever was making the music was just plain stupid and having fun. As on It's A Gas.

There are perhaps few redeeming features about this song (unless you like to laugh shamelessly) but in the interests of elevating its inclusion at From the Vaults we note the saxophonist on the sessions was the great King Curtis.

So if you have an adolescent boy in your house (or one inside you) we present  . . . 

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