Inside Shabby Road: The Music Of The Rutles (2008)

[@gregsmith7949]

Any hard-core Beatles fan can't help but be blown away how the Rutles are so spot on without directly copying the Beatles. Pure genius. That's the key to the Rutles' popularity...if the music was off, then it wouldn't have worked. Spinal Tap have a huge debt of gratitude to pay, because the Rutles did it first.

[@hopebgood]

All you need is a love of music and a sense of humour 😀

[@paulg2733]

Neil Innes was an absolute genius, and sadly missed. Whenever i need cheering up the Rutles album gets a play, or any of the Bonzos first 3 albums.

[@10MinuteGuitarJams]

Had the pleasure of meeting him many years ago and told him as much. We were lucky to have him.

[@paultreneary]

'Let's Be Natural' is a truly, truly, wonderful song, that could easily have sat amongst The Beatles work and not have been overshadowed.

[@zenzen9131]

How Neil wrote all those songs off the bat like that was pure genius. I also loved his other stuff too. RIP Neil

[@EddieG1888]

As others have said below, Neil Innes was a complete genius. I always say to anybody who just calls the Rutles's music "copies" of the Beatles, try and write an album of songs that _sound_ like the Beatles without directly ripping them off, and see how far you get. That's an amazingly difficult task! My friend and his band backed Neil for a number of shows a few years ago, and said he had to be pushed into performing I'm The Urban Spaceman. I was lucky enough to see The Rutles play about a year before Neil passed, and its still one of the very best shows I've ever been to.

[@WaterShowsProd]

I wonder if that's the tour I saw. It was in 2005, I think, when Neil released his album "Works In Progress". It was an excellent show, at The Turning Point in New York.

[@sourisvoleur4854]

The only writer who can even come close to what Innes could do (emulating but not copying the Beatles), in the melody department anyway, is Christopher Cerf. "Letter B" and "Hey Food" (from Sesame Street) are frighteningly close to home.

[@amsedelm]

Loved loved love it. I met Neil at a Beatles convention more than twenty years ago and he was gracious and humble. I will always love The Rutles.

[@EJohnDanton]

They released "Archaeology" at the same time that Rutles tribute band released their Anthology. Worth a listen.

[@paulfitzgerald2673]

They were all fantastic !! Neil and Eric pure genius . Leppo Fantastic !!

[@johnmitchelljr]

Thank you. Words not enough.

[@patricktilton5377]

I Must Be In Love" could easily have been a Top Ten hit single had it come out in 1964, it's that good.

[@barnabyaprobert5159]

Neil Innis is such a GIFTED songwriter! His mashups of different Beatles songs are eerily like Paul & John's work!

[@FreihEitner]

Neil Innes wrote some amazing tunes for The Rutles which evoke the feel and often as well the sound of The Beatles. It couldn't have worked without both Neil's and Eric's contributions. Both were brilliant.

[@CliffMcAulay]

We saw 'The Rutles' play live at the end of2019..So brilliant there are no words.Only great memories. RIP Neil.

[@MirlitronOne]

Musical genius and sad loss, RIP Neil Innes. Saw him and the Rutles live many times. Thanks guys.

[@Fuzcapp]

Such silliness. Fantastic.

[@commanderstraker6732]

Glad I stumbled across this ! Massive Rutles fan ! "All You Need Is Cash" is a genius piece of work. I'm glad "Inside Shabby Road" took more than 20 minutes !!

[@tomwatson283]

Yes - fantastic. I also managed to stumble across it. Makes me wonder why these videos take so long to filter through.

[@commanderstraker6732]

@@tomwatson283 👍

[@taketwo-e5u]

I remember Do Not Adjust You Set and The Rutles. Their parody of the Beatles was just spot on. Love the idea that the Beatles were okay with this. That's what being British is .The end sums it all up, that they should have all got together to do something for a laugh. I love the way that The Rutles are the opposite of The Beatles like Let It Rot and Get Up an Go and Shabby Road.....just genius.

[@illuminotmereloaded6896]

The Shite Album. Most underrated joke in the documentary. George Martin must have loved that one.

[@beatrixwickson8477]

​@@illuminotmereloaded6896people say Evolution 10 is too experimental but I insist it is a groundbreaking artist milestone, which I just happen to skip every time.

[@manonymous4737]

This was lovely, a great tribute to a great tribute band.

[@edgeof60]

Great little doc, thanks for posting. Neil Innes was an unsung genius, when I learned of his passing a few years ago it hit as hard as when George Harrison passed.

[@robharrison8139]

That first Rutles album is legitimately great. Not as a parody or pastiche, or anything, but on its own, it's a truly marvelous collection of songs. The second one is good too.

[@HarborLockRoad]

I missed out on the chance to see Neil at the iron horse in Northampton Massachusetts a few years back... And now ill regret it forever. Rest in peace Neil, thank you for the music and humor. ❤️

[@erosmyers]

crap i didn't know he played there I lived in NOHO from 70 to 86 with some periods in Hadley & Amherst while i finished up my degree in Mass Communications at Umass and DJ at WMUA WOZQ & WAMH ( paid for my record addiction by cooking at Fitzwilly's & Packards and Dj at Pearl Street Shaheen's " North Start Seafood bar ( the Fishcoteque) and playing the dorms of Smith college etc. saw John Cale at Iron Horse i wish i didn't live so far away from Northampton in Metrowest now. i get into Boston often for big shows ( i shoot lots of video at shows look them up under rRickmyers)

[@joebovill9419]

Stumbled across this and so glad I did. Seen The Rutles live in recent years. Twice. Genius and 2 albums that I return to whenever I'm in need of a wee smile.

[@nathanmoak1515]

i bought the album as soon as i saw it in the store. i still listen to it today as the songs are similar but hold up as seperate songs on their own. frickin' genius!

[@ewetoo]

Rutles is one of my favourite albums, it's a very English idea, very much after the Beatles themselves who were masters of parody, something people to this day do not understand about them. Parody is a vital part of creativity, it is the antithesis of commercial copyright that is killing the music industry.

[@kathowed]

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

[@Eirran2]

In my mind the songs "Don't get me wrong" and "Fresh Wound" from the Bonzo's 1972 album "Let's make up and be friendly" are in fact the first Rutles songs. Being both a Beatles fan from the first time I heard them (Twist and shout was my first Beatles single) and a Bonzo fan (from Gorilla album) I just loved those two songs. R.I.P Neil Innes. You are truly missed

[@77hodag]

I heard that Beatles tribute bands love The Rutles & sneak Rutles songs into their sets & most audiences don’t even notice or can tell the difference😄

[@outtathyme5679]

Neil was the Hendrix of lyrics. A true RnR philosopher

[@inakicampo4922]

Eric Idle my fave Rutle. God bless him!

[@mpersad]

Joyous! Simply joyous.

[@PocketSunlight]

Fantastic parodist of The Beatles. Love his work

[@CaptainGanja]

Thank you for posting this. Totally loving it, man! 😎👍

[@brilton1]

I’ve waited decades to see a doco about this.

[@jonjuliecat]

I met him once. Nice bloke.

[@manolokonosko2868]

I never heard any Bonzo Dog band albums nor seen the "Weekend television" show, but the "All You Need Is Cash" and the Rutles album were and still are a masterpiece. Far superior than a lot of the crap that came after.

[@Phillyfan45]

If you see The Magical Mystery Tour film, you’ll see the Bonzos on stage with a stripper, performing Death Cab for Cutie.

[@tezzzier]

Rutles Forever!

[@wideyxyz2271]

just superb......

[@KingfisherTalkingPictures]

Such a huge fan of the Bonzos and Neil. I had the honor of meeting both Neil and Ricky at different times. Just two more to go.

[@canturgan]

Neil Innes is an incredibly talented geezer. He leaves nothing to the imagination.

[@scottericksonmusic]

was...

[@chasleask8533]

You can see everything.

[@briannewell6064]

The ultimate alternate universe film.

[@arricammarques1955]

Brilliant parody remains priceless.

[@tuskedbeast]

Wonderful.

[@gregorydavies4105]

Ollie Halsall google and explore about this wonderful musician... Leppo

[@smokinhalf]

It will all turn around when the world starts taking tea

[@Banglish123]

and biscuits.

[@gerardbramwell6783]

Never seen the beatles but seen the rutles enough said ❤

[@ADayInTheLifeofMrsPerkins]

Niel Innis as Ron Nasty was ny first crush❤❤❤

[@joelake7986]

At this point in my life, the movie gets tedious, but Neil's music still shines brilliantly.

[@deadpan80]

Most of those tracks could have been real songs, kinda like Spinal Tap. The humor of most are very subtle and have more to do with choice of lyric rather than being straight out jokes.

[@davidtymon8258]

I agree about the movie and the music. It really does shine. Along with Spinal Tap's parody of British heavy rock, the humour is so subtle you might miss it. Another wonderful parody is the soundtrack to A Mighty Wind which (like The Rutles and Spinal Tap) is an album I can listen to both seriously and with my tongue in my cheek.

[@pressureworks]

I guess your life is tedious.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

@@davidtymon8258 Totally with you on A Mighty Wind, 'Kiss at the End of the Rainbow' is an absolutely gorgeous song... 'Never Did No Ramblin', 'Old Joe's Place'... quality stuff on every level. Ricky Gervais did a film called David Brent: Life on the Road, a spin-off of the original Office show. Terrible movie. Brilliant songs.

[@gravl1]

I’d like to be a hairdresser, or two. I’d like to be two hairdressers.

[@kurtissjacobs5618]

Two months in, this is averaging 2 views per day. Come on, Rutles fans, spread the word!

[@mohammadseddon577]

Neil Innes (RIP) was a real genius!

[@KabobHope]

Is John Halsey Admiral Halsey from Paul's solo single?

[@petermaxwell2965]

Just watched this, loved the rutles and Neil Innes, just so Beatles without being too silly, sad that Neil is no longer around or ( George (Harrison) 👍🤟🎵😂

[@dogpaw775]

'Mike McGear', doh! only just got the gag, How many decades later?

[@npc3po301]

When Tracy Chapman shot Ron we knew there'd never be a reunion, may she rut in Hull

[@ClandestineRecords]

So right...

[@johnbarry1965]

Nasty only said that Tracy Chapman only wrote one good song - "Fast Car"!!

[@npc3po301]

@@johnbarry1965 Tracy was definitely being controlled by the MFI, it's no secret that furniture drastically changed after this

[@MikeGervasi]

The songs are brilliant. Without them the whole thing would have failed. And he was spot on with 3rd Bob Dylan. The 1st was Bob, 2nd was Donovan.

[@DruChestnut]

Neil Innes and Ollie Halsall were musical geniuses.

[@jaytroyer8590]

Love

[@piggyroo100]

I think it was the trousers

[@MuzacMark1960]

I was 11 years old in 1972 and the culture had a hole the size of Jupiter without the Beatles and the Rutles the Raspberries and ELO were just the tip of the iceberg for outlets of our loss

[@Maltloaflegrande]

18:20 Ironic that as he's saying how they had the right guitars for filming, there's a shot of him as Nasty playing an SG standard with a Bigsby on the Sullivan show. Lennon never played anything like that. otherwise, they got it pretty close, but that was well out. 20:28 A bit cheeky of Harrison to be insulted by Halsall's minimalist solo on "Love Life". His own one on AYNIL was evidently chocka with bum notes in the second half of it hence the orchestral arrangement having to take over.

[@simonm7133]

The film of The Rutles was made at least six years before Spinal Tap and was probably the latter's inspiration. George Harrison saw it before it was released, loved it and suggested to Eric Idle and Innes to show Lennon. He was equally impressed but warned them that Paul would hate it especially the pastiche on 'Get Back' - 'Get up and Go'. Ringo liked it but felt the send up of Brian Epstein was a little bit cruel and unkind. It is a rare film of utter comic brilliance but it is touching in that it is done with affection for the real 'Fab Four'. I loved the interjections from Paul Simon and Mick Jagger 'we heard it and... it was horrible'. A footnote to this is Eric Idle became a good friend of George Harrison and when filming for Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' was in jeopardy ( EMI's Chairman, Bernie Delfont, pulled the plug when he heard of the 'blasphemous' content) Idle went to George and asked him if he would finance it. Apparently Harrison had no hesitation and set up the production company Handmade Films to make it.

[@johnkilpatrick2343]

George was in All You Need Is Cash.

[@Ralphieboy]

They got every detail down, to the point of playing the same guitars on the same tracks they were parodying.

[@bigtone1348]

The yanks still love the Rutles / Innes / Bonzos.

[@markvonwisco7369]

Kids, don't drink tea! It's a gateway drug!

[@jackspringheel9963]

Leads to tea and biscuits!

[@EJohnDanton]

Stay off the loose-leaf, kids! 🫖

[@charlierumoldboi3939]

I played cricket against Neil Innes in the early 90's, and clean bowled him first ball. Now how many people can say that.

[@KatsuRutles]

Wow! Did you get to speak with him?

[@charlierumoldboi3939]

@@KatsuRutles yes, and Barry Wom (John Halsey) was the landlord of our local pub, and Neil lived down the road so saw them quite a lot

[@KatsuRutles]

@Charlie Rum old boi! Oh how wonderful! Wish I could've met him! I've heard he was a very nice man.

[@tomlangron2532]

​@@charlierumoldboi3939I'd like to be a landlord. Or two. Yeah, I'd like to be two landlords.

[@reuvengershon6625]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@charmerci]

And yet, Inness was still made to give co-writing credit of all the Rutles songs to Lennon and McCartney. :-(

[@henrykujawa4427]

Only the ones on the LP. The songs added to the later CD weren't. So, ironically, the song that sounded the closest, "Get Up And Go", was one excluded from the lawsuit.

[@Monkofmagnesia]

I had heard that the real reason Ollie did not plat Dirk was because Ollie always closed his eyes when he sang, and they could not have that.

[@tomandaj1]

I miss Neil Innes

[@Mikevdog]

It looks like a Beatles type band

[@taketwo-e5u]

The third Bob Dylan........Neil never stopped being funny......or modest.

[@rockahbilly76]

KIngs.

[@seerofallthatisobvious1316]

The Rutles are bigger than Jesus.

[@edgeof60]

Actually they claimed to be bigger than God.

[@Noycey64]

@@edgeof60 I thought it was bigger than Rod. 😂 I.e. Rod Stewart

[@piggyroo100]

Not bigger. Taller.

[@johnbarry1965]

Nasty really said "The Rutles are bigger than Cheeses"!

[@minstrelofMir]

my whole family calls my brother Stig everyone he meets does,since 1979,we started a beatles copy band when i was age12 in 1976,i had twisted hands that didant really open,,so thats my story how the beatles saved my hands,mad on them ive played every day since 76,no i didant get fame,,but we have 4 generations of singer song writers alive in my family now,youngest my granddaughter summer who will be age15 in a month (shes on youtube age3 playing guitar(trying all the way through) +making up a song,,oldest my dad,same age as goerge harrison... summer age3 making up a song kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2qZpXyLobybeM0

[@grokeffer6226]

Jolly good show. 😑😐😔

[@chrisnewman7281]

Beatles rutles oasis in that order

[@hopebgood]

I'm fine with that 😉

[@rgaleny]

copy? see Yankee

[@Hartley_Hare]

More than anything else, things like the Bonzos, Beatles, Rutles, Pythons and lovely, lovely Neil Innes make me rather like being British. And then I look at all the nastiness that often comes with it, the Nigel Farage, racist provincial solicitor nastiness, and feel a bit sad. Hey ho.

[@chasleask8533]

That's a bit nasty bud. Keep it up. I like it.

[@specialroy6087]

Isn't that the Mother Superior from Trainspotting?!!

[@marknewbold2583]

No

[@transferdatathreewally24]

Theres a whole lot of futling going on...

[@shuddupeyaface]

They ripped off the " groovaliscious dancing woodlice trio". Very big in Sweden at the time. I'll never forgive them.

[@timholder6825]

I wrote a rip off song around "Let's Be Natural" having only heard the snippet in the Rutles movie. I didn't do a bad job, expanding on the theme from just that snippet. When I heard the whole track, I thought, yeah, I didn't do a bad job and, though different lyrics, it's not far off the theme/feel of the Neil Innes original. Not a bad effort considering I was only working from the 4 lines from the film.

[@stoopsolo4187]

How derivative. How could anyone Stoop Solo?

[@garyowens1517]

I always found this pointless.

[@neilritson7445]

Assume thats irony? Of course it's pointless - thats the point. Oh no...I....well....er...

[@iadorenewyork1]

Dada is the point.

[@neilritson7445]

@@iadorenewyork1 The point of DADA is that it’s pointless!

[@Zif-the-Old-Herring]

Love.