I don't really have a category for these guys - and who does? The Bonzo Dog Band broke the mold for what passed for rock 'n' roll, or comedy, or theater, or whatever, in the 60's. Their lunatic takes on skiffle, blues, folk, jazz and (especially) progressive rock were part of the British comedy vanguard that came to full flower with Monty Python. I mean to say, this ain't no Weird Al Yankovic... Leaders Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes (later of the Rutles, a Spinal Tap-style parody of the Beatles that predates Spinal Tap by a decade) seemed barely in control of their troupe as they skewered every hip genre of the day. Monty Python, certainly, and our entire modern sense of humor owes a debt to these guys.

Their recordings survive largely on two British imports, History Of The Bonzos (hits, if you can call them that) and Anthropology (rarities, which they certainly are). To hear the Bonzos piously introduce their musicians on "Intro And Outro" ("Eric Clapton on ukulele") is just a scream (Mike Oldfield employed Stanshall to do the same on Tubular Bells, apparently without irony); their "ballad," "Canyons Of Your Mind," will put you on the floor. Other more popular tracks like "I'm The Urban Spaceman" almost, but not quite, approach normalcy. One of their songs, "Trouser Press," lent the leading (but now defunct) punk rock 'zine of our times its name.