Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album

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Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album
Studio album by Monty Python
Released	1980
Genre	Comedy
Length	46:23
Label	Charisma Records / Arista Records
Producer(s)	Eric Idle
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Monty Python chronology
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)	Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (1980)	Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (or simply Contractual Obligation Album) is an album released by Monty Python in 1980. It contains a mixture of mainly songs, some new sketches, and some pre-Python work (rerecorded).

Contents 1 Controversies 2 Alternate versions 3 Track Listing 3.1 Side One 3.2 Side Two 3.3 2006 Bonus Tracks 4 Performers 4.1 Additional performers 5 Credits 6 Miscellanea

[edit] Controversies

Two tracks on the album caused controversy when first released.

The lead track, "Sit on My Face" was sung to the tune of "Sing as We Go", a song made famous by Gracie Fields, and reportedly its inclusion led to legal threats against the Python team for copyright infringement over the melody.[1] Nonetheless, the song was retained on the album and was later lip-synched by the troupe as the opening of Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl.

"Farewell to John Denver," which contained a few bars of Eric Idle impersonating John Denver singing "Annie's Song" (followed by the sound of the singer being strangled) was removed from subsequent pressings of the album on legal advice (reports differ as to whether it had to do with the licensing of "Annie's Song" or the depiction of the popular singer being murdered), and was replaced by an apology spoken by Terry Jones. Later CD releases of the album, however, reinstated the John Denver track.

[edit] Alternate versions

As noted above, some pressings of Contractual Obligation Album omit the "Farewell to John Denver" track. The original UK vinyl pressing also contained an unintentionally out-of-sync mix on the song "I'm So Worried" which was subsequently corrected.

In the U.S. there was no need to clear the John Denver sample, as both this album and the source of the sample—"Annie's Song"—came out on and were owned by the same label. The U.S. version of the album contains both "Farewell To John Denver" and the corrected version of "I'm So Worried".

A CD version was later released. Two versions of the compact disc exist.

The isolated CD release contains the U.S. version of the album, but the box set The Instant Monty Python CD Collection (1994) uses the UK second edition of the album.

Two versions of "Medical Love Song" also exist; the longer version, which can be heard on the compilation CD Monty Python Sings, contains additional verses. This is also the case with the song "Henry Kissinger".

The cassette version also has an additional track. Side 1 is several minutes shorter than side 2. At the end of Side 1, Michael Palin states that there will be a "short gap" before the tape ends. Several minutes of silence ensue, followed at the very end by Palin returning to state that the short gap was over and the tape may be turned to side 2.

Like all the EMI Monty Python albums Contractual Obligation gained a special edition release in 2006 with bonus tracks included. However, these tracks do not contain new material (which appears on some of the other albums) and just consists of two interviews, and demo versions of two songs.

[edit] Track Listing

[edit] Side One

1. "Sit on My Face" (Eric Idle & Harry Parr-Davies) – 0:44
2. "Announcement" (Eric Idle & Steve James) – 0:21
3. "Henry Kissinger" (John Cleese, Eric Idle, André Jacquemin & Neil Innes) – 0:48
4. "String" (John Cleese & Graham Chapman) – 2:19
5. "Never Be Rude to an Arab" (Terry Jones & André Jacquemin) – 1:00
6. "I Like Chinese" (Eric Idle & André Jacquemin) – 3:10
7. "Bishop" (Terry Jones & Graham Chapman) – 2:33
8. "Medical Love Song" (Graham Chapman, Eric Idle & André Jacquemin) – 2:09
9. "Farewell to John Denver" (Graham Chapman, John Denver & Terry Gilliam) – 0:15 (omitted on some releases and replaced by an Apology by Terry Jones)
10. "Finland" (Michael Palin & André Jacquemin) – 2:18
11. "I'm So Worried" (Terry Jones & André Jacquemin) – 3:18
12. "End of Side 1 announcement" (Michael Palin) (cassette version only)

[edit] Side Two

1. "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio" (Eric Idle) – 0:54
2. "Martyrdom of St. Victor" (Terry Jones & Michael Palin) – 1:41
3. "Here Comes Another One" (Terry Jones, Michael Palin, André Jacquemin & David Howman) – 1:58
4. "Bookshop" (Graham Chapman & John Cleese) – 4:22
5. "Do What John?" (Eric Idle & André Jacquemin) – 0:34
6. "Rock Notes" (Eric Idle) – 2:11
7. "Muddy Knees" (Terry Jones & André Jacquemin) – 2:10
8. "Crocodile" (Terry Jones & Michael Palin) – 2:34
9. "Decomposing Composers" (Michael Palin, André Jacquemin, Terry Jones, David Howman, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss & Johann Sebastian Bach) – 2:43
10. "Bells" (John Cleese & Graham Chapman) – 2:22
11. "Traffic Lights" (Michael Palin, Terry Jones, André Jacquemin & David Howman) – 1:55
12. "All Things Dull and Ugly" (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, André Jacquemin, David Howman & Cecil Frances Alexander) – 1:28
13. "A Scottish Farewell" (Terry Jones, Michael Palin, André Jacquemin & David Howman arr. Terry Gilliam) – 0:23

[edit] 2006 Bonus Tracks

• Contractual Obligation - Terry Jones And Graham Chapman Promotional Interview
• Radio Ad Obligation Promo
• Medical Love Song [Alternate Demo Version]
• I'm So Worried [Demo Version]

[edit] Performers

• Graham Chapman
• John Cleese
• Terry Gilliam
• Eric Idle
• Terry Jones
• Michael Palin

[edit] Additional performers

• Dirk McQuickly (vocal on "Henry Kissinger")
• Ollie Halsall (impersonating John Denver)
• Mike Berry (singing voice on "Here Comes Another One" and "A Scottish Farewell")
• The Fred Tomlinson Singers

[edit] Credits

• Eric Idle—producer
• André Jacquemin—assistant producer and chief engineer
• Rob Briancarol—assistant engineer
• Trevor Jones—musical production and arrangements
• Basil Pao—sleeve design
• Fred Tomlinson—musical director of backing vocals
• Kevin Hodge—mastering engineer

• Jim Beach is credited as "the lawyer the Pythons wronged"

[edit] Miscellanea

• The band Toad the Wet Sprocket drew its name from the Eric Idle monologue "Rock Notes" on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album, although the name was first featured in a parody of The Old Grey Whistle Test on Rutland Weekend Television in 1975.
• A version of the "Bookshop" sketch was later performed by Bob Hope on one of his mid-1980s TV specials for NBC.
• "Sit on My Face" and "Never Be Rude to an Arab" were performed as part of the film Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Years later, Michael Palin was filmed singing a verse from "Finland" during an episode of his 1992 travelogue series Pole to Pole during a segment in which he is shown travelling across ... Finland.