Friendly Rich and the Lollipop People

The Sacred Prune of Remembrance

BY Scott A. GrayPublished Oct 18, 2010

Canada's zaniest ringleader has conjured another musical journey through seedy flights of mad fancy. This time, Friendly Rich has cast himself as a greasy televangelist and the wardrobe of musical styles he draws from to act out his elaborate satirical sales pitches is deeper than ever. Backed by the immaculate malleability of the Lollipop People, Rich sells swamp boogie shuffle, bizarre circus punk sideswiped by a rabid take on big band jazz, silly hillbilly stomp, an inspired cover of the Residents and a flood of demented yet deviously calculated tomfoolery over the course of slightly more than a half-hour. Musically, the entire group have never sounded more confidently experimental, but Sacred Prune lacks some of the narrative flair that made previous albums so absorbing. It's just Friendly Rich playing with form though ― the entire Prune experience is a singularly well-orchestrated episode in his demented kaleidoscope view of the world.
(Pumpkin Pie)

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