Remote Control (Remastered) The Tubes

• 1 Turn Me On 04:11
• 2 TV Is King 03:08
• 3 Prime Time 03:16
• 4 I Want It All Now 04:27
• 5 No Way Out 03:26
• 6 Getoverture 03:22
• 7 No Mercy 03:25
• 8 Only The Strong Survive 03:50
• 9 Be Mine Tonight 03:28
• 10 Love's A Mystery (I Don't Understand) 03:34
• 11 Telecide 05:42
• Total Runtime 41:49

Info for Remote Control (Remastered)

Remote Control is the fourth studio album released by the Tubes. This was their first to be produced by Todd Rundgren (the other being 1985's Love Bomb). It is a concept album about a television-addicted idiot savant.

"With Todd Rundgren at the production helm, this unpredictable group has become much more accessible on this outing. There's a lot of highly infectious and textured rock throughout, motorized by stinging electric guitar work. The group, however, still retains a somewhat campy and irreverent approach with the major theme here seemingly the pervasiveness of television. Best cuts: "Prime Time," "Turn Me On," "Only The Strong Survive," "TV Is The King," "I Want It All Now," "Be Mine Tonight." (Billboard)

"Their knack for songwriting always surprises me, because they deserve worse, and on this album they provide it, drenching their material in the grandiose harmonies and pomp-rock keyboard textures that thrive in the Midwest, where many poor souls still regard these transparent cynics as avatars of the new wave. You think maybe Patti Smith would do "No Mercy"? (Christgau's Record Guide)

"After stunning the rock world with their memorable debut in 1975, the Tubes ran into trouble. Although Young And Rich and Now had fine moments, they were uneven and left many rock pundits wondering if the Tubes had anything to offer besides shock value. They got their answer with the release of Remote Control, a cohesive and surprisingly thoughtful concept album. On this 1979 outing, the Tubes enlisted the services of wunderkind producer Todd Rundgren to create a concept album that skewers the television generation. The choice was a wise one - Rundgren helped the group harness their satirical bite and love of pomp-rock excess to create a sharp and engaging collection of songs. As they chronicle the life of an average joe whose life and dreams are swallowed by his television addiction, the Tubes lead the listener through a dazzling array of musical styles that include new-wave, lounge pop, reggae, and even full-throttle punk. Highlights include "Prime Time," a song that utilizes an effective combination of lounge-lizard atmosphere and new wave synthesizer textures to convey its portrait of television's seductiveness, and "Love's A Mystery (I Don't Understand)," a surprisingly straightforward ballad about romantic loss that features a truly heart-rending vocal from Fee Waybill. The group also gets a chance to show off their formidable instrumental chops on "Get-Overture," a tight instrumental that goes from atmospheric prog-rock to driving hard rock as it cleverly weaves together snippets of all the other songs' melodies. In short, Remote Control proves the Tubes were more than a bunch of musical jokesters. The end result is the band's finest hour and a treat for concept-album fanatics." (Donald A. Guarisco, AMG)

Fee Waybill, vocals
Bill Spooner, guitar, vocals
Michael Cotten, synthesizer
Mingo Lewis, percussion
Prairie Prince, drums
Roger Steen, guitar, vocals
Re Styles, vocals
Vince Welnick, keyboards
Rick Anderson, bass
Additional musicians:
Todd Rundgren, producer, guitar, keyboards

Produced by Todd Rundgren

Digitally remastered

The Tubes
were arch satirists of popular culture whose outrageous performance art concepts -- which swung wildly from softcore pornography to suit-and-tie conservatism -- frequently eclipsed their elusive musical identity. The beginnings of the group originated in Phoenix, Arizona in the late '60s, where guitarist Bill Spooner, keyboardist Vince Welnick, and bassist Rick Anderson formed as the Beans (alternately billing themselves as the Radar Men from Uranus). After moving to San Francisco in 1972, the Beans recruited guitarist Roger Steen and drummer Prairie Prince (from Red, White & Blues), and later became the Tubes with the addition of Michael Cotten on keyboards and former roadie Fee Waybill on lead vocals.

Over the course of the next few years, the Tubes earned a devoted cult following on the strength of Spooner's parodic songs and the group's surreal live shows, which featured Waybill adopting a variety of personae including the "crippled Nazi" Dr. Strangekiss, country singer Hugh Heifer, and Quay Lewd, a drug-addled British pop star. After signing to A&M in 1975, they released their self-titled debut, followed a year later by Young and Rich; while both failed to transfer the manic energy and theatrical complexity of their live set onto record, the single "White Punks on Dope" became a minor hit and a radio staple.

NowAfter 1977's failed concept record The Tubes Now, the group toured England, where a series of banned performances made them a media sensation. However, during the recording of the concert LP What Do You Want from Live?, Waybill broke his leg on-stage while acting out his punk character Johnny Bugger; the remainder of the tour was canceled, and with it died the band's chart momentum. After returning to the U.S., they recruited producer Todd Rundgren and recorded 1979's Remote Control, a concept album exploring the influence of television; when it met a similar commercial fate as its predecessors, the Tubes were dropped by A&M.

The Completion Backward PrincipleAfter signing to Capitol, they recorded 1981's Completion Backwards Principle, an album based on an actual sales training instruction manual; both "Talk to You Later" and "Don't Want to Wait Anymore" earned significant radio play, and the LP became the Tubes' first Top 40 hit. Thanks to its provocative video, the single "She's a Beauty" reached the Top Ten, and pushed the 1983 LP Outside/Inside into the Top 20 Albums chart; after 1985's Love Bomb stiffed, however, the Tubes disbanded, and Welnick later joined the Grateful Dead (long suffering from depression, he committed suicide in June 2006).

Genius of AmericaIn 1993, the Tubes reunited; consisting of Waybill, Steen, Anderson, Prince, and new keyboardist Gary Cambra, they toured the U.S. and Europe before releasing a new LP, Genius of America, in 1996. Spooner also issued his own solo record, Mall to Mars. In 2000, the Tubes embarked on another extensive tour, issuing the live greatest-hits album Tubes World Tour to commemorate the event. The band appeared at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire in December 2004, and the show was documented on the CD Wild in London, released the following year.

This album contains no booklet.