The Auto Body Experience - A Tribute to Carhenge - Dental CD 1015 (1999)
Used Carlotta - Reckless
Wheels - Planetary 9021 (2000)
Guess figuring out what this world is coming to is a
no-brainer when two bands’ names pay homage to motor vehicles. That’s really
all these two recordings have in common. That, and some fine listening.
The Auto Body Experience delivers goofball in he
Brave Combo-They Might Be Giants vein. The Experience tackles such weighty
matters as “(Who Took Your Pipe) Mr. Potato Head” and “Class Reunion” with a
rocky edge and unflinching sincerity. Other standout tracks include “X-Ray
Specs” and “(I’m Turning Into) Mister Wilson.” OK, so “All Your Friends”
tiptoes into the sordid, and “Crap” is over the line. And like the
aforementioned groups, these guys have the chops to pull it off with flourish,
replete with horn section – toy piano and dueling bassoons, even! See if you
don’t detect a touch of The Beatles and Queen. Good clean fun. Pass the Allen
wrench.
From the opening riff, you know used Carlotta is
gonna be…
-- Linda Dailey Paulson (Ventura, CA)
***
The Pioneer Press, Sunday, December 19, 1999:
POP
"A Tribute to Carhenge," the Auto Body Experience,
Dental Records [3 stars out of 4]
Auto Body CD puts all seriousness aside
While the
cover photo does, indeed, depict Carhenge, the bizarre Nebraska take-off on Stonehenge
constructed with wrecked cars, this CD is actually a tribute to all that is
frivolous and not worth taking seriously in American culture.
You can't make the Auto Body Experience string two
sober thoughts together; that's not what they got into the business to do.
Instead, guitarist/songwriter Scott Yoho and his mates devote their creativity
to examining the mystery of Mr. Potato Head's missing pipe; the possibility
that your father paid your friends to play with you; the chronic tardiness of
their bass player Tom Larson; the social embarrassment of trying to impress a
woman with a baggie of dog feces in your hand; and the process by which
formerly young people gradually turn into cranky neighbors like Mr. Wilson
(from the Dennis the Menace comic panel).
They also deconstruct high school reunions,
worthless gizmos purchased from comic book ads and odd experiments by famous
scientists. These ideas are presented in a variety of styles, from reggae to
calypso to straight-ahead Beatles-style pop rock. Because their palette is so
broad and their subject matter so endless, the Auto Body Experience could make
CDs like this forever -- which might not be a bad idea. Like all comedy
records, the jokes here would probably get stale after a while, at which point
your appetite would be whetted for another round of the band's catchy, witty
work.
-- Rick Shefchik
***
The Minnesota Daily, Thursday November 18, 1999:
The Auto Body Experience. Minnesota History Center.
8 p.m. $10; $8 advance. 651-699-6393. A band that sings about Mr. Potato Head just has to
be good - or at least full of zany lunatics. The Auto Body Experience is both.
The band sings quirky lyrics and cleverly twisted tunes. At the same time, The
Auto Body Experience performs with surprising agility, featuring a tight horn
section, smooth guitar solos, exotic instruments and the occasional twinkling
of a toy piano. Now you can witness their wackiness as they celebrate the
release of their third CD, A Tribute To Carhenge (Dental).
-- David Gustafson
***
The Star Tribune, Sunday, November 14, 1999:
THE AUTO BODY EXPERIENCE, "A Tribute to Carhenge"(Dental Records)
Nobody in Minnesota is making grander or sillier pop
than Scott Yoho, the persistent and self-effacing guitar hero who would rather
craft Velcro-quality hooks and tickle listeners' funny bones than flail away at
his fretboard with tawdry arena theatrics. There are precious few songwriters
who will tackle such important topics as growing old and grumpy ("I'm
Turning into Mr. Wilson"), comic book rip-offs ("X-Ray Specs"),
being a "responsible pet walker" ("Crap"), the travails of
Charles Darwin ("The Worms Don't Hear") or chronic tardiness
("Tom Is Late"). OK, Yoho's got a better shot of scoring time on the
Cartoon Network than on MTV, but that's not a reflection of his wondrous and
wide-ranging music skills. "A Tribute to Carhenge" sports peppy ska,
righteous reggae, bracing jazz, surprising salsa and loads of sensational rock
and pop moments. This CD will remind you of everybody from Frank Zappa
("Head") to the Beatles ("All Your Friends") to Yoho's
sorely missed compadres, Something Fierce ("Who Took Your Pipe, Mr. Potato
Head?"). And that's not too shabby. The Auto Body Experience performs
Friday night at 3M Auditorium in the Minnesota History Center, St. Paul.
-- Tom Surowicz
***
Juice Magazine, Issue #49:
THE AUTO BODY EXPERIENCE, "A
Tribute to Carhenge"(Dental Records) Smoking pot can be really fun, but it can also result in this record.
-- Robin