Mae West & W.C. Fields – “Side By Side”

The Sleeve:

The Liner/Sleeve Notes:
 “An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises – Mae West

 BONUS CAPSULES
 On health:
 “I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast” – W.C. Fields
 “A thrill a day keeps the chill away” – Mae West
 On love:
 “I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink  – ’tis the only thing I’m indebted to her for” – W.C. Fields
 On ambition:
 “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.” – W.C. Fields
 On appearance:
 “I’ll be sober tomorrow, but you’ll be crazy the rest of your life.” – W.C. Fields
 “It isn’t what I do, but how I do it. It isn’t what I say, but how I say it, and how I look when I do it and say it.” – Mae West
 On each other:
 “Mae West? Ah, she’s as solid as a brick telephone booth.” – W.C. Fields
 “Moral rearmament is just the thing Mr. Fields needs. Give it to him in a bottle and he’ll go for it.” – Mae West

 No doubt about it. It all began with Adam and Eve. Not just the human race, but the saga of man and woman, two separate souls, braving the elements of time and togetherness with a sense of humor and a tough upper and lower lip.
 Through the ages there have been other outstanding couples: Samson and Delilah, Napoleon and Josephine, Bonnie and Clyde, Liz and Richard, and of course, the illustrious W.C. Fields and Mae West. Today, thirty years after their one and only movie appearance together, in “My Little Chickadee,” they are still (as they say in the gossip columns) being linked as “an item.”
 It is also not unusual to find a whole new generation tuning into the fabulous put-on, pop-poster pair. In their prime, W.C. Fields add Mae West were years ahead of their time.
 So here they are – back to back and glorious spaced-out in song and vocal comment – Mae West and W.C. Fields.
 Shaun Considine”

Personal Review:
 I bought this album for two reasons: W.C. Fields and to hear Mae West sing.

 So, A-Side is Mae West songs, and it opens with the track “A Guy What Takes His Time” (why does that seem even more grammatically incorrect than the title of this website?) and well, it starts off with what I can only assume was moaning before Mae begins to sing, and it’s okay, Mae does have a good voice. Then after that comes the track “Easy Rider’s Gone” and well, it’s an okay song, and Mae does have a good voice… I really don’t know how to interpret this album so far… “I’m No Angel” comes next, and it’s slowly starting to grow on me. I do like Mae West, she was very beautiful. Then comes the song “They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk” which opens with some spoken word part, and then Mae begins to sing, and well it’s okay. I’m not liking this album too much. The A-Side closes with the song “I Found a New Way to Go to Town” and well, it’s an okay song, but eh… I’m not too fond of this album so far.

 The B-Side opens with a live recording of W.C. Fields “Temperance Lecture” and well, as typical as W.C. Fields is, it’s about being drunk and drinking. Everyone laughs at his drunk jokes. I really don’t find drinking jokes funny, but it seems that this whole skit seems to be about drinking and getting drunk and alcohol. Then comes the second track “Promotions Unlimited” which features the musical piece, “There’s a Tavern in the Town” – and well, it’s basically a skit, I guess this what radio shows were like. There is some joke about Russian Wolfhounds… Yea, not overly interesting. The album ends with the track “The Pharmacist” and well, it has some sort of jokes and stuff, and W.C. Fields talking, I think I’m done with this album…

Interesting Facts:
None.

Track Listing:
A1 – A Guy What Takes His Time
A2 – Easy Rider’s Gone
A3 – I’m No Angel
A4 – They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk
A5 – I Found a New Way to Go to Town

B1 – The Temperance Lecture
B2 – Promotions Unlimited
B3 – The Pharmacist

Label:
Harmony Records

Catalog Number:
HS 11405

Studio Musicians & Other Album Credits:
None.

Other Albums I Own by Mae West:
None.

Other Albums I Own by W.C. Fields:
“The Original Voice Tracks from His Greatest Movies”
“Poppy”

Released:
1970

Related Vinyls:

Rudy Ray Moore – “Close Encounter of the Sex Kind” Al Clouston ‎– “Spinnin’ Yarns From Newfoundland” Erick & Beverly Massegee – “Amen!” Burton Cummings – “Dream of a Child”