Vivian Stanshall: vocals, ukelele
Neil Innes: piano, organ, heavenly sqwarking
Bubs White: electric guitar, Spanish guitar
Andy Roberts: fiddle, mandolin, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, heavenly sqwarking
Dennis Cowan: bass, slide guitar, voices
Dave Richards: bass, empyreal screeching
Dick Parry: sax, flute
Hughie Flint: drums, percussion
Rodney Slater: in spirit (12, 16)
Roger Ruskin Spear: vocals, sax, xylophone (4, 12, 14, 16)
"Legs" Larry Smith: drums (4, 6, 12, 16), vocals (6)
Tony Kaye: piano, organ (6)
Produced by Innes/Stanshall, except (6) by Smith/Kaye and (12) by John Walters
Mixing and arrangements: Innes
Engineers: Tom Newman & Phil Newell, except (12) by Tony Wilson
Recorded at The Manor, Nov 1971
2007 re-release:
Project co-ordination: Tim Chacksfield
Sleeve notes: Innes
CD package design: Phil Smee
Tracks:
Side A:
1. The Strain [Stanshall]
2. Turkeys [Innes]
3. King of Scurf [Innes]
4. Waiting for the Wardrobe [Spear]
5. Straight from My Heart [Stanshall/Innes]
6. Rusty (Champion Thrust) [Kaye/Smith]
Side B:
7. Rawlinson End [Stanshall/Innes]
8. Don't Get Me Wrong [Stanshall/Innes]
9. Fresh Wound [Innes]
10. Bad Blood [Stanshall]
11. Slush [Innes (melody based on Albinoni's "Adagio")]
Bonus tracks on 2007 re-release:
12. Sofa Head (BBC recording) [Stanshall]
13. Jam [Tom E Cross], released by Topo D Bil
14. I Love to Bumpity Bump [Spear], released by Roger Ruskin Spear
15. Lie Down & be Counted [Innes], released by Neil Innes
16. The Bride Stripped Bare (by the Bachelors) (early version) [Stanshall/Innes]
17. No Matter Who You Vote for the Government Always Gets In (demo) [Stanshall/Innes]
Notes: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band were a humorous avant-garde act formed in the 1960s, beloved by The Beatles and associated with Monty Python. The band had split up in Jan 1971, but reunited for this album on discovering their contract meant they owed the record company United Artists 4 more tracks. The album was recorded at Richard Branson's then-new The Manor studio in Oxfordshire.
(12) is a 3 Aug 1969 BBC recording from their "Top Gear" show. The band toured with The Nice and Yes in 1969.
The performance credits in the album's liner notes do not appear to cover the three tracks released by band members as solo projects. "Jam" features Smith, Spear, Cowan and, it is rumoured, Keith Moon. It is the b-side to Smith's 1969 single, "Witchi Tai To", released under the name Topo D Bil, the first single on the Charisma label. Kaye had played on "Witchi Tai To" before re-uniting with Smith on Let's Make Up.... "Witchi Tai To" was released as a bonus track on the 2007 re-release of the Bonzos' Keynsham. (HP, 1 Sep 2012)