Los Cochinos | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1973 | |||
Recorded | 1973 | |||
Genre | Comedy | |||
Length | 42:39 | |||
Label | Ode Records/ Warner Bros. Records/ WEA | |||
Producer | Lou Adler | |||
Cheech & Chong chronology | ||||
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Los Cochinos | ||||
Los Cochinos ("The Pigs") is a 1973 comedy album recorded by Cheech & Chong. The Spanish term cochino is a derogatory way of referring to a pig, as it also means "dirty", in contrast to cerdo, a more neutral word for a pig as an animal. In this context, "cochino" ("[dirty] pig") equates to the American derogatory term "pig" for "policeman".
The album cover of Los Cochinos had concept origination, design and art direction by Peter Corriston. The package design was nominated for a Grammy award. The first production release of this album on long playing vinyl was an example of the elaborate album art of the era. The packaging of the first release included a die cut cover showing a car door, and another die cut cardboard inner cover showing the usually sealed parts of a car door (which contained baggies of marijuana); the cardboard edge of the opening of the cover was cut decoratively around the windshield in the upper right corner. Subsequent re-pressings of the recording have not replicated the die-cut packaging.
The credits and track listing consisted of a black and white photograph of hand written graffiti also on a car door (four pairs of feet suggestively situated in the driver's side window) enclosed on a single sheet in the album. Additional graffiti includes the early 1970s arithmetic statement:
2 Good
+ 2 Be
________
4 Gotten,
a "↑ Made in U.S.A." and the classic "Wash Me!"
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
In a review of the album published in Rolling Stone , Janet Maslin found Cheech and Chong's humor to be running thin by this point, asking, "is this really the best we can do for comedy? (...) There's nothing funny about it." [2] Nevertheless, the album not only matched the chart performance of Big Bambu by reaching #2 on the Billboard Albums Chart, but also earned the duo their one and only Grammy for Best Comedy Recording at the 16th Grammy Awards.
All material written by Thomas Chong and Cheech Marin.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Sargent Stadanko" | 6:31 |
2. | "Peter Rooter" | 0:20 |
3. | "Up His Nose" | 3:24 |
4. | "Pedro and Man at the Drive-Inn" | 12:44 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Strawberry Revival Festival" | 3:24 |
2. | "Don't Bug Me" | 1:27 |
3. | "Evelyn Woodhead Speed Reading Course" | 0:36 |
4. | "Les Morpions" | 5:55 |
5. | "Cheborneck" | 1:12 |
6. | "White World of Sports" | 3:02 |
7. | "Basketball Jones by Tyrone Shoelaces and Rap Brown Jr. H.S. Band" | 4:04 |
This track is a parody of the numerous speed reading courses available in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, written by Cheech and Chong. The title specifically refers to the Evelyn Wood course.
Voiced by Cheech Marin, the piece begins with the words delivered phonetically:
Ever since I took the Evelyn Woodhead Sped Riddin' course, my riddin' has [Cheech carefully sounds out the syllables somewhat incorrectly] im-PROVVed one hunert percent [pause] and "comprenshun" has increased "won-der-full-lee". I recommend the Evelyn Woodhead Sped Riddin' course to all mah friends out there, and you tell 'em you heard it here first on Roller Derby .
The short spoken word testimonial style skit was an efficient parody of commercials that were prevalent on the television and radio stations in that era.
The album's final track, "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces", is a music track which features George Harrison on guitar, Carole King, Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voormann, Nicky Hopkins, Jim Karstein and Tom Scott, with Darlene Love, Fanita James, Jean King, Ronnie Spector and Michelle Phillips (The Mamas & the Papas) as cheerleaders.
Animated in 1974, parts of this music video were featured in the 1979 movie Being There . This track was also released as a single and reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #36 in Canada.
Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo founded in Vancouver and consisting of American Cheech Marin and Canadian Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug and counterculture movements, most notably their love for cannabis.
The 16th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1974, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1973.
Darlene Wright, better known by the stage name Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist.
Son of Dracula is a 1974 British musical film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. It was produced by Starr and released in 1974 by Apple Films. It is also the title of a soundtrack released in conjunction with the film.
Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor, musician, and activist. He gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez, on Nash Bridges. He has also voiced characters in several Disney films, including Oliver & Company, The Lion King, the Cars franchise, Coco and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. He also played as Padre Esteban in the 2009 film The Perfect Game.
Extra Texture (Read All About It) is the sixth studio album by English musician George Harrison, released on 22 September 1975. It was Harrison's final album under his contract with Apple Records and EMI, and the last studio album issued by Apple. The release came nine months after his troubled 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar and the poorly received Dark Horse album.
Up in Smoke is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Lou Adler and starring Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tom Skerritt, Edie Adams, Strother Martin and Stacy Keach. It is Cheech & Chong's first feature-length film.
Little Criminals is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman. Like most of Newman's work, the album eschews traditional pop-music themes in favor of musical story-telling, often featuring quirky characters and cynical views. The first song on the album – "Short People" – became a hit single in its own right. The album itself peaked at #9 on the US Billboard 200 chart, Newman's highest-charting album to date.
Lester Louis Adler is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of high-profile musical artists, including The Grass Roots, Jan & Dean, The Mamas & the Papas, and Carole King. King's album Tapestry, produced by Adler, won the 1972 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and has been called one of the greatest pop albums of all time.
"Photograph" is a song by English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the lead single from his 1973 album Ringo. Starr co-wrote it with George Harrison, his former bandmate from the Beatles. Although they collaborated on other songs, it is the only one officially credited to the pair. A signature tune for Starr as a solo artist, "Photograph" was an international hit, topping singles charts in the United States, Canada and Australia, and receiving gold disc certification for US sales of 1 million. Music critics have similarly received the song favourably; Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic considers it to be "among the very best post-Beatles songs by any of the Fab Four".
Concert for George is a live tribute soundtrack album in honour of George Harrison, recorded on the first anniversary of his death, and issued in 2003 in conjunction with the simultaneous DVD release of the same name. Featuring performances of many of Harrison's best-known songs, played by his closest musician friends, Concert for George is considered a fitting and heartfelt celebration of Harrison's considerable career.
Louder Than Live is a home video by the American rock band Soundgarden, featuring songs performed live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, California on December 7 and 10, 1989. It was directed by Kevin Kerslake, and released on May 22, 1990.
"(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna" is a song written by John Lennon, and released by Ringo Starr as the opening title track to his 1974 album Goodnight Vienna. A brief reprise closes the album. Released as the third single, this version is a medley combination of the two. The single was released in the US on 2 June 1975.
"Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces" is a song by Cheech and Chong that first appeared on the 1973 album Los Cochinos.
Where There's Smoke There's Cheech & Chong is an anthology album by Cheech & Chong. Released in 2002, it collects the duo's most popular comedy routines and songs from their eight studio albums, and additional rare material, including tracks that are exclusive to this set, including radio commercials for the film Up in Smoke, "(How I Spent My Summer Vacation) Or A Day At The Beach With Pedro & Man" and "Santa Claus And His Old Lady", which were previously only released as singles, and a live recording of the duo performing the "Old Man In The Park" sketch.
"Evelyn Woodhead Speed Reading Course" is a parody skit of the numerous speed reading courses available in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s written by Cheech and Chong that first appeared on the 1973 album Los Cochinos. The title refers to the Evelyn Wood course. Introduced by Tommy Chong, the piece begins with the words delivered phonetically by Cheech Marin:
Ever since I took the Evelyn W-Woodhead sped reddin' course, my... reddin' has [Marin carefully sounds out the syllables somewhat incorrectly] im-PRO-v'd 100%, and also... com-PREN-shun has increased won-der-FULL-y. I ricommend the Evelyn Woodhed Sped Reddin' Course to all my frens out there, and you tell 'em that you heard it here first... on Roller Derby
My Name Is Buddy: Another Record by Ry Cooder is the thirteenth studio album by Ry Cooder. It is the second social-political concept album by Ry Cooder. Cooder has described it as the second in a trilogy that began with Chávez Ravine and concluded with I, Flathead. The album is packaged in a small booklet that includes a brief story and drawing to accompany each song. Both the songs and the stories relate tales from the viewpoint of the characters, Buddy Red Cat, Lefty Mouse, and Reverend Tom Toad. The liner notes ask listeners/readers to join them as they "Journey through time and space in days of labor, big bosses, farm failures, strikes, company cops, sundown towns, hobos, and trains... the America of yesteryear."
Solitaire is the thirty-first studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the fall of 1973 by Columbia Records and was an attempt to move away from his formulaic series of recent releases that relied heavily on songs that other artists had made popular.
"Tired of Midnight Blue" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1975 album Extra Texture . It was written after a night out with music-industry executives in Los Angeles – an event that Harrison found particularly depressing. The recording includes contributions from Leon Russell, on piano, and Jim Keltner, who plays drums and percussion.
The Tin Man Was a Dreamer is a studio album by English musician Nicky Hopkins, released in 1973 on Columbia Records. While Hopkins had long been well known for his distinctive, melodic style on piano and Wurlitzer electric piano, the album provided a rare opportunity to hear him sing, unlike his earlier solo releases The Revolutionary Piano of Nicky Hopkins and Jamming with Edward! The album was co-produced by Neil Young's regular producer, David Briggs, and featured contributions from George Harrison, Mick Taylor, Klaus Voormann and Hopkins's fellow Rolling Stones sidemen Bobby Keys and Jim Price.