User:Nick12345213/Draft of Taller Than Jesus
| Taller Than Jesus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 20, 2008 | |||
| Genre | Comedy rock | |||
| Length | 50:38 | |||
| Label | Chow Fun Records | |||
| Producer | Jon Spurney | |||
| Sean Altman chronology | ||||
| ||||
Taller Than Jesus is the debut album by the Jewish musical comedy act Jewmongous, the occasional nom de guerre of singer-songwriter Sean Altman.
Title and song inspirations[edit]
The title song of the album is 6' Altman's tribute to John Lennon's 1966 misunderstood declaration that the Beatles were "bigger than Jesus." He pokes fun at the controversy and speculates that Lennon meant they were physically bigger, and therefore taller, than Jesus Christ was, as the average man at the time of Christ was 4'9" to 5'5".[1] The album's dozen original songs, produced by Jon Spurney, include the fractured Passover story song "They Tried to Kill Us (We Survived, Let's Eat)", which was featured on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross; the Irish drinking song ode to the infamous Blood Libel "Christian Baby Blood"; the venomous anti-Jews-For-Jesus punk anthem "Jews For Jesus"; the ska-inflected "What the Hell is Simchas Torah?"; the bluesy "My Pact with Satan"; the longing crooner ballad "Another Inch"; the cowboy romp "Long-Tongue Shloime"; the dysfunctional Bar Mitzvah anthem "Today I Am A Man"; and the swinging "Blow, Murray, Blow!", about a Yom Kippur shofar blower so virtuosic that his playing purges listeners of all their sins, no matter how despicable. The album's only cover song is a semiticized version of the Ramones' classic "I Wanna Be Sedated", as Altman believes that Joey Ramone (born Jeffery Hyman) would have wanted it sung that way.
Reception[edit]
Taller Than Jesus has been critically acclaimed to be:[2]
“The tunefulness of the Beatles and the spot-on wit of Tom Lehrer.” (Boston Globe)
"Tuneful and sharply witty.” (Los Angeles Times)
“Catchy melodies, clever arrangements and lyrics that yield satiric gems... Bawdy with a wicked, modern streak." (Washington Post)[3]
"Wildly funny... Part of a new breed of Jewish hipster comedy that includes Jon Stewart, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sarah Silverman..." (Philadelphia Daily News)
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Sean Altman, except where noted. Italicized song titles denote short, non-song introductions
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What The Hell Is Simchas Torah?" | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Intro: Today I Am A Man" | 0:16 |
| 3. | "Today I Am A Man" (Written by: Sean Altman, Rob Tannenbaum) | 3:58 |
| 4. | "Be My Little Shabbos Goy" | 3:20 |
| 5. | "Christian Baby Blood" | 2:58 |
| 6. | "Intro: Jews For Jesus" | 0:30 |
| 7. | "Jews For Jesus" (Written by: Altman, Tannenbaum) | 4:40 |
| 8. | "Blow, Murray, Blow!" (Words by: Altman, Tannenbaum, Music by: Altman) | 4:22 |
| 9. | "Long Tongue Shloime" | 4:03 |
| 10. | "Another Inch" | 4:13 |
| 11. | "They Tried To Kill Us (We Survived, Let's Eat)" (Written by: Altman, Tannenbaum) | 2:49 |
| 12. | "Taller Than Jesus" | 4:14 |
| 13. | "My Pact With Satan" | 4:13 |
| 14. | "Just Too Jew For You" | 4:08 |
| 15. | "I Wanna Be Sedated" (Written by: Dee Dee Ramone, Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone) | 3:30 |
Personnel[edit]
- Sean Altman – vocals, guitar, Irish drum, shofar
- Deni Bonet – vocals, violin
- Inna Dukach – vocals
- Jacob Garchik – trombone, trumpet
- Bob Golden – drums
- Roger Greenawalt – guitar
- Julian Maile – guitar
- Joe McGinty – keyboards
- Mike Mendyke – vocals
References[edit]
- ^ Hume, Mike (2007-12-19). "Press Pass: Jewmongous". Falls Church News-Press. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Jewmongous Press". Jewmongous. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Joyce, Mike (2007-12-21). "JEWMONGOUS "Taller Than Jesus" Big Sean Music/Chow Fun". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2011-10-20.