The ugly side of life in New York's East Village provides the source material for Takeoff Artist Song, with Stampfel plotting serious revenge on the perpetrator of a hostage where's the drugs and money? situation. Honky-tonk piano, and stoned semi-coherent ramblings towards the play-out after the stated intention to put drano in his dujis (should sort him out, that one) and afterwards piss on his tombstone/desecrate his grave. Having read the explanation in the liner notes I suspect I'd have done the same.
The cover of Michael Hurley's Werewolf, as stated above, found its way into the repertoires of certain Townsville bands, and is done acapella since there were issues with the instrumental accompaniment. The feral yowl continues to deliver much pleasure as a vessel for deranged self-amusement to this day.
Interlude, a heavily treated keyboard interpretation of The Stars and Stripes Forever clocks in at not very long, but was frequently used as a transition between songs in a twelve- to fifteen minute set on Bowen community radio.
Dame Fortune (actual title, Song of Courtship to Dame Fortune) is a rather wonderful number, a rare collaboration with Stampfel's words added to a Weber guitar instrumental. There's a certain charm to observations like life's an easy hurdy gurdy.
Mobile Line (should've been Mobile Line Gonna Carry Me Away From The Curse of the Bullfrog Blues) starts out as the familiar jug band standard covered by, among others the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, but rapidly moves into unfamiliar and relatively uncharted territory, while the 22-second Duji Song (duji = heroin) represents a brief intermission between ridding oneself of the bullfrog curse and the mental disintegration of My Mind Capsized.
Or is it actually mental disintegration? Lines like the law of gravity's a friend of mine/It's a sensible law. I think it's fine represent a sensibly well-grounded orientation.
At least they do to me.