FRIGHT FROM THE BINS

Mae West
Way Out West!
(Tower) 1966

Here's a post-Mother's Day special from the last of the red-hot and bothered mamas.

"The voice is torrid. Her beat is sensational ... it's as if Mae was made for rock 'n' roll." Despite still boasting an hourglass figure in 1966, the sands of time were quickly running out on rockin' Mae, if her mangling of such beat faves as "Day Tripper," "Twist and Shout" and "You Turn Me On" is any indicator.

The front cover's legend reads "Come up and rock with me sometime" but more likely our li'l chickadee-turned-old hen is asking her pubescent backing band, Somebody's Children, "Is that a guitar pick in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" You may think you can listen to this curio without a camp counselor standing by, but it's a lot less fun than you think — sorta like expecting a peck on the cheek from Grandma but getting a wrinkled tongue rammed down your throat instead! Mae Day! Mae Day! —Serene Dominic

> Email Metro Times music staff