''It Crawled into My Hand, Honest'' is the second 1968 studio album by

The Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy Modal Rounders. Kupfer ...

, a band composed of anti-war poets. It was released in the US by record company

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

. As of March 2009, the album is not currently available as a stand-alone CD, but the tracks appear in the 2006 3-CD box set, ''Electromagnetic Steamboat''.

History

When poet and publisher

Ed Sanders Edward Sanders (born August 17, 1939) is an American poet, singer, activist, author, publisher and longtime member of the rock band the Fugs. He has been called a bridge between the Beat and hippie generations. Sanders is considered to have be ...

established a bookstore next to the apartment of

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

poet and publisher

Tuli Kupferberg Naphtali "Tuli" Kupferberg (September 28, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was an American counterculture poet, author, singer, cartoonist, publisher, and co-founder of the rock band The Fugs. Biography Naphtali Kupferberg was born into a Jewish, Yi ...

in 1964, the two decided to form a band,

, writing 50-60 songs between them prior to asking Ken Weaver to join. In subsequent years, this core trio worked with a number of musicians as they produced a series of albums in quick succession. ''It crawled...'' was their fifth studio album. The band built up a cult following, gaining admiration from counter-culture figures such as

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

and

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading propone ...

. They were known especially for their pro-

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

stance, use of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

in their music, and large number of sexual references in their songs. Due to their overt sexual content, The Fugs were at risk of censorship. However, while on Reprise Records, the company president Mo Ostin showed a willingness to release Fugs material uncensored. This era of freedom began with the release of the album ''

Tenderness Junction ''Tenderness Junction'' is a 1968 studio album of The Fugs, formed in 1964 by anti-war musician/poets Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg and Ken Weaver. It was released in the U.S. by record company Reprise. A stand-alone CD was released by Wounded Bir ...

'', released in early 1968. Work on ''It crawled..'' began straight after. The album was The Fugs' most expensive, costing around $25,000. The working title was ''Rapture of the Deep''; this along with ''Tenderness Junction'', and "It Crawled..." demonstrate The Fugs' enjoyment of including thinly-veiled sexual references in their work.

Musical style

In 1967, The Fugs' sound had developed considerably from their early works such as ''

The Fugs First Album ''The Fugs First Album'' is the 1965 debut album by American rock band the Fugs, described in their AllMusic profile as "arguably the first underground rock group of all time". In 1965, the album charted #142 on Billboard's "Top Pop Albums" ch ...

'', with several complex and interesting compositions. This was partly due to personnel changes; Charles Larkey, an excellent bassist, and Ken Pine, a skilled guitarist were added in 1967 and played on both this and the preceding album ''

''. Session musicians also added to the depth of the work; Band leader Sanders later stated:

For back-up harmonies, we used some fine singers who had worked as Harry Belafonte's harmonists. You can hear them, say, on "Wide, Wide River," and "When the Mode of the Music Changes".

Described as "ambitious and extravagant sounding", ''It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest'' takes the form of a

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or Musical composition, compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as Photomontage, ...

with tracks linked by snippets of chants, prayers and exorcisms.

Kris Needs Kris Needs (born 3 July 1954) is a British journalist and author, known for writings on music from the 1970s onwards. He became editor of proto-punk and early punk rock ''ZigZag'' magazine in August 1977 at 23 and has since written biographies ...

of ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' describes the album as a "total collage assault". Chuck Foster of ''

The Big Takeover ''The Big Takeover'' is a bi-annual music magazine published out of New York City since May 1980 by critic Jack Rabid. History Establishment Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing ''The Big Takeover'' in May 1980 as a fanzine dedicated to N ...

'' highlights the eclectic nature of the first side of the album, veering between

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

, blues and

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

, while drawing attention to the "strange sound collage of songs and vocal snippets" that forms the second side. Sanders said he intended the second side of the album be a "like a long collage".

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

said that the integration of a "side-long suite" was comparable to

the Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

's ''

We're Only in It for the Money ''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left- and right ...

'' and

the Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who began performing together on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1960s. Their unique blend of folk music reviva ...

' '' The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders'', both also from 1968. Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, he similarly said that the album beings with "five discrete tracks" before moving into a "cut-and-paste of tracks varying in length from three seconds to four minutes, the stylistic jump-cuts similar to those employed by the Mothers of Invention in the same era." Among the diverse styles explored on the album include satirical country music ("Ramses II Is Dead My Love"), grandiose classical music ("Burial Waltz"), comedic

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

("Wide Wide River"),

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk music, folk and rock music, rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the American fo ...

("Life Is Strange") and

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...

("Marijuana"), with

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

backing vocals throughout. As with ''Tenderness Junction'', the album begins with a psychedelic rock track, "Crystal Liaison". The love song, which has been compared to

the Bonzo Doo Dah Dog Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band or The Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde art ...

, was released as a single. The album also introduces Sanders'

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...

character Johnny Pissoff, who represented a musical style described by Sanders as "beatnik country"; another example of the Fugs working in the genre is "We Don't Allow No Robots in Sunday School". One track recites the word "marijuana" in the style of a Catholic Latin hymn. There were some discarded songs, including "Beautyway", a lengthy song written with composer

Burton Green Burton Green is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of the county of Warwickshire, England, some northwest of Kenilworth (where the population can be found in Abbey Ward) and southwest of Coventry. It is mostly residential, surrou ...

that was named for a

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...

advert, and "The Vision of William Blake's Garden". A lengthy, intricate piece named "Magic Rite" was recorded earlier in 1968 for the album but only appeared in snippet form, under the name "Irene (Peace)". The Fugs also introduced the use of a pair of drummers at this period: founder member Ken Weaver plus new recruit Bob Mason. Despite the changes, the underlying approach of The Fugs remained irreverent and humorous. The album featured a high number of short tracks, many included for their comic value, such as "National Haiku Contest", a teenager's surreal

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, ...

in response to an unwanted pregnancy, and "Robinson Crusoe" a sketch on sexual frustration featuring

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tr ...

and

Man Friday Friday is one of the main characters of Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel ''Robinson Crusoe'' and its sequel '' The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe''. Robinson Crusoe names the man Friday, with whom he cannot at first communicate, because they f ...

. In supporting tours, founding band member

Kupferberg Kupferberg () is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Frankenwald, 9 km northeast of Kulmbach. Notable people * Joseph Gabriel Findel Gottfried Joseph Gabriel Findel (born 21 October 182 ...

used a wide range of unusual costumes, and punctuated performances with wild dances and witty satiric routines. Political and social commentary also remained highly prominent, with tracks such as the pro-drugs eulogy "Marijuana", the

satire "Johnny Pissoff Meets the Red Angel", and the pro-peace chant "Irene".

Track listing

Side A #Crystal Liaison :17#Ramses II Is Dead, My Love :55#Burial Waltz :31#Wide, Wide River :58#Life Is Strange :40Side B #Johnny Pissoff Meets the Red Angel :45#Marijuana :43#Leprechaun :15#When the Mode of the Music Changes :59#Whimpers From the Jello :24#Divine Toe, Pt. 1 :42#We're Both Dead Now, Alice :18#Life Is Funny :17#Grope Need, Pt. 1/Tuli, Visited By the Ghost of Plotinus/More Grope Need :43#Robinson Crusoe :21#Claude Pelieu and J.J. Lebel Discuss the Early Verlaine Bread Crust Fragments :41#National Haiku Contest :28#Divine Toe, Pt. 2 :52#Irene :14

Personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

* Ken Weaver -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

*Ken Pine -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

Danny Kootch Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

*Charles Larkey -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

Produced by Richard Alderson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest The Fugs albums 1968 albums Reprise Records albums Transatlantic Records albums Albums produced by Ed Sanders Sound collage albums