What better way to promote ' spinning blender of demented than ? The band's fourth album (and second with producer ) is chock-full of great ideas, including the overseas hits and With delivering the lyrics in his rapid-fire falsetto, the lyric sheet is a necessary compass, as the clever wordplay is a key to discovering what these pranksters are up to. 's skewed take on relationships ( ) are nearly upstaged by the hyperactive arrangements, but when the words and the music click, it's pure magic. In fact, might be the most sublime song they've ever written, teetering between genuine pathos for and lampooning of the plight of those left behind by and his ark. Other highlights include (about, you guessed it, catching a cold) and in which uncorks the opening lines "You got a cigar, here's a couple more/Because the offspring are springing through swinging doors" in a few seconds. The torrential outpouring of words and ideas, underscored by guitars and keyboards with oft-shifting rhythms, either repels or attracts listeners. Though the similarities to are sometimes striking, they eschew that band's seriousness and epic guitar work, favoring hit-or-miss observations that suggest a cross between and the of the late '70s. remains one of ' brightest achievements, brimming with a loopy charm that continued to captivate the open-minded English listeners, if not their close-minded countrymen in the U.S. [Note that European CD reissues in the late '90s include non-album B-sides from the record's two U.K. singles as bonus tracks: ] ~ Dave Connolly