Overwhelmingly positive review of Greg and Walter #1

WTF...that host was...geez KILL YO'SELF!

Looking Back...

This November marks the 20th anniversary of blues semi-legend "Fortuitous" Fred Merman's death. In the spirit of moping about the house with a sullen disposition (and sticking it to his widow), a look back at the musician whose peers maintain, "never quite got it." Here, his top five essential albums.

Sweet East Hampton Sally

Merman's first major release stands as a tribute to his sunny childhood on the eastern tip of Long Island, NY. From his days at Merman Preparatory school (his great-grandfather founded the institution in the 1830s) to his extravagant courtship with the beautiful Sally Babson SEHS was the first blues album in history to be played entirely in major keys, although naysayers charge that Merman should have learned to actually play the piano rather than just stand near it.

Essential Tracks: "I'd Rather the Convertible"; "Absurdly Large Dowry Blues"


F.F. Merman's Greatest Hits

One of the earliest examples of a greatest hits compilation, Merman's second album came as a result of a particularly uncomfortable case of food poisoning that kept Merman out of the 1942 East Hampton Regatta. Faced with his own mortality for the first time, Merman simply re-released Sweet East Hampton Sally under a new name hoping to secure his place in history. A tribute to his cunning as a businessman, Greatest Hits stands nearly as tall as the album upon which it is based.

Essential Tracks: "I'd Rather the Convertible"; "Absurdly Large Dowry Blues"


Momma Said Harvard, Daddy Said Yale

Performed entirely in Latin, Momma Said focuses mainly on Merman's dual obsessions of boating and gymnastics. Critics call it his weakest album, both for its incomprehensible lyrics and total run time of eighteen minutes; however what the album lacks in quantity, it makes up for in elaborate gold leaf embossed velvet packaging.

Essential Tracks: "De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum"; "Beneficium Accipere Libertatem Est Vendere"



Many Moons

Upon Moons' release in 1957, slide guitarist Charlie "Chuckles" Watson famously quipped "this shit ain't even the blues" (always the kidder, that Watson!). Notable for its freewheeling, circus-like soundscapes and convoluted references to Christopher Marlowe, Many Moons was rumored to have been inspired by Merman's first of many trips to India in 1952.

Essential Tracks: "The Big Elephant"; "Is That Coolie for Sale?"


Daddy Don't Slum

Widely considered to be Mernan's "romance" album, Slum was released one song at a time via a cross-promotional deal with a local jeweler. As Fred neared middle age, he became known as a daring ventriloquist with an eye for real estate bargains and a taste for rare and exotic liquors. On display here are the man's overwhelming confidence and tales of good fortune. Of particular interest are Merman's verbose and telling song titles.

Essential Tracks: "My Baby and I Got Open Channels of Communication"; "The Trick to Avoiding Taxation on Inherited Land"



Blue Devil

Merman's final album, Blue Devil took twelve years to finish and features covers of blues classics such as "Gon' Down River" and "Baby, Please." While executives balked at the numerous copyright infringements, an aging Merman could often be heard to demand of his inner circle, "I want my teddy!" Intended as a glorious final curtain in a long career, Blue Devil would be all but unremarkable if it weren't for the forty-five minute closing track, "Fortuitous Fred Merman Takes a Bath." An innovator even to his death, "Fortuitous" Fred Merman will undoubtedly go down in history as a man who transferred his voice onto flat discs using available voice recording technology before retailing them in stores specializing in the sale of musical records.

Essential Tracks: "Twelve and a Half Bar Strut"; "Lake Geneva Part Two"