5 out of 5

Label: Sony Wonder; Enjoy The Ride Records Enjoy The Toons Records

Produced by: Charlie Brissette, Vanessa Coffey

Notes on the edition: This is actually my third go-round on this album, from cassette to CD and now vinyl. Setting aside the bias that probably already suggests, ETR really did an amazing job of re-presenting this. The sound comes through perfectly, and it’s stepped up from feeling like a budget release to something more premiere, just by dint of the booklet – once black and white – now being in full color. No other bells and whistles, but they weren’t really needed: random offerings like this on first-time vinyl are treats as-is, as long as they sound good and give us all the original material.

On with the review!

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While I have conflicted feelings about Ren & Stimpy the show, that’s not the case with the (essentially) soundtrack to the show: You Eediot! I can very unconflictingly say that it is amazing. That’s it’s, like, upsettingly good, because these are songs about peeing on electric fences and logs, and yet main composer Charlie Brissette (along with a ton of other talented contributors) has made sure to back each and every one with the most boogie-st, funkiest, catchiest ditties.

For viewers of a certain age, if I may generalize, I think you either didn’t watch Ren & Stimpy, or you loved it. And I know, for me, a huge part of that instant appeal – the feeling that this was something different – was cued by that opening track, which features this killer surfish / punkish intro that morphs into a pokey lil’ folk number. It is cool as hell, but does not clash with the goofy / outlandish visuals, or the generally overblown style of the show it preceded. The same goes for the outro tune, which was this slinky bit of a blues lick that just made you feel like you were part of the “in” crowd; both of these songs feel paired with something like Kids in the Hall’s opening and closing tunes in terms of being super cool on their own terms while not alienating one’s inner dork from vibing with the show’s camp.

And then extend that to the album’s contents, which pair all of the most notable singalong tunes (such as the afore-alluded to Log and Don’t Whiz on the Electric Fence) to expanded takes of said tunes, perfectly blended with voice clips. Purists will mention that Billy West and Bob Camp had to redo some of John Kricfalusi’s voicework, as he wasn’t on the show at that point, but I don’t feel it truly diminishes anything; I’m more amazed at how well integrated all the vocals are, with the tracks never sounding like a clip show. (Rather, you’d buy that this is how all of this was intended to be heard, although I’m sure my nostalgia fuels some of being able to laugh out loud at this silliness, with the show’s context playing in my memory.)

So instead of a passing listen – an album I’d originally bought as a fan of the show, expecting a novelty thing when I wanted to giggle at how inventively nonsensical dumb-smart the writers on R&S could be, reflected in the songs lyrics – it’s something that has provided music that frequently gets stuck in my head, and easily winds up being a front-to-back listen, when I just intend to hear a track or two.

Campground singalong shtick, blues, and folk dominate the sounds, leaning in to being a pastiche of “golden age” media, but the production and players and composers balance the shtick with professionalism, and ding-danged catchy songs.

Note that this album is actually “credited” to Ren & Stimpy, as the other albums that came out after this would be as well.