The Tubes

1	Up from the Deep 4:30
2	Haloes 4:55
3	Space Baby 4:26
4	Malagueña Salerosa 4:51
5	Mondo Bondage 4:34
6	What Do You Want from Life? 4:02
7	Boy Crazy 4:12
8	White Punks on Dope 6:45

Barnes & Noble

Al Kooper, he of the magic touch, produced the 1975 debut of the San Francisco-based Tubes, a band that defied rock 'n' roll convention with musically sophisticated, lyrically graphic satire and a Zappa-esque distaste for the mainstream (though its members would eventually reconcile with commercialism to achieve mainstream success in the early '80s). Led by the theatrical vocals of Fee Waybill and the skilled keyboards of Vince Welnick (who would've guessed he'd eventually join the Grateful Dead?), the Tubes combined the iconoclastic lyrical style of groups like the Fugs and the Mothers of Invention with an accomplished, damn near progressive instrumental attack. The carefully arranged synth and guitar lines on THE TUBES are perfectly contrasted by the levity natural showman Waybill provides on sarcastic epics like "White Punks on Dope" and the biting, absurdist social satire of "What Do You Want from Life?" The Tubes' lampooning style would never again be delivered with as much conviction or invention as on this classic recording. Jim Allen

All Music Guide

Produced by Al Kooper, this debut by the notorious San Francisco group is best known for the blazing anthem "White Punks on Dope." Although the Tubes' raison d'être was their shock-rock stage dynamic, Bill Spooner, Fee Waybill, and company could, on occasion, deliver some offbeat pop splendor. A good example is the song "Haloes," co-written with Kooper, a tough power pop jewel that sounds like Todd Rundgren colliding with Roxy Music. Also of note is "Boy Crazy," which shows off Spooner's guitar skills. But for every "Haloes" and "Boy Crazy," there's a novelty number consciously created for the stage and that ultimately embarrasses, such as "Mondo Bondage" and "Space Baby." Kooper's production is faultless, however, as are the horn and string arrangements by Dominic Frontiere (Frontiere did the original score for the '60s cult sci-fi show The Outer Limits). Peter Kurtz