This record is one of my prized possessions.
When I was a youngster, you couldn’t beat MAD Magazine. I haven’t picked up a copy in years, but I’m confident that they’re still churning out the same biting social commentary that they always have. In fact, I’m counting on it. Do kids still read MAD? I sincerely hope so. If not, we’re in trouble. I truly believe that there is no better way to prepare a child for the harsh realities of the real world than by getting them a subscription to MAD Magazine. Alfred E. Neuman is a hero and should be treated as such. You’ll thank me someday.
I found this one while digging through crates in the basement of Harvest Records in West Asheville. I think I got if for a quarter, or something ridiculous like that. My copy has never been played. It still has the protective acetate sticker on it and is in damn good shape considering that it was pressed on paperboard in the mid-sixties.
It’s just got the one song, “It’s a Gas!” but it’s a swingin’ sixties rocker featuring a demonic sounding Alfred E. Neuman continually belching throughout. How can you go wrong with something like that? It’s simply amazing. I own a lot of records, but this one is so strangely special to me that I have it on display on the front of my shelf. I guess I’m still a 10-year-old at heart, and I make absolutely no apologies for that. The world needs more genius like this.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.