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Former child star Bill(y) Mumy (Lost in Space, Bewitched, Alfred Hitchcock Presents) has quite the illustrious C.V., building on his early years to continue as an actor (Babylon 5, Superboy), voice artist (Batman: The Animated Series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Ben 10), author, and musician.  His musical endeavors have been many – playing with such bands as The Jenerators and Seduction of the Innocent – but he may be most beloved in music as one-half of Barnes & Barnes with his late friend, Robert Haimer.  As Art Barnes and Artie Barnes, twin brothers from the fictional land of Lumania, Barnes & Barnes recorded an array of songs that blurred the lines of art rock, novelty records, comedy, new wave, and synthpop.  The duo remains most famous for the delightfully bizarro “Fish Heads” which became the most-requested song in the history of The Dr. Demento Show and earned them a gig on Saturday Night Live.  Earlier this year, their original 1987 compilation on Rhino Records came back into print on LP and CD from Liberation Hall alongside an accompanying special (first released the same year on VHS) on DVD.

Zabagabee – The Best of Barnes & Barnes is a wild and wacky trip back to the days when MTV reigned supreme and everyone had a VHS player.  As enjoyable as the CD collection is, the full Barnes & Barnes experience is best enjoyed on the DVD.  A procession of tongue-in-cheek celebrity cameo testimonials are interspersed with the duo’s delightfully outré music videos.  The celebs in question are simply too many to mention but include such happily diverse artists as Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America (they even sing a bit of “Fish Heads,” America-style!), Mark Hamill, Rosemary Clooney and Jose Ferrer, Shaun Cassidy and Shirley Jones, Stephen Stills, Mumy’s Lost in Space co-star Jonathan “Dr. Smith” Harris, and “Weird Al” Yankovic.  Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel even makes an appearance.  (The interviews were co-directed by the late Miguel Ferrer, son of Rosemary Clooney and Jose Ferrer.)

It doesn’t appear that much, if any, restoration has been done on the video quality, but that only contributes to the kooky, DIY charm of this release (though a commentary track would have been a most welcome addition).  Beyond all of the joking – and it’s considerable! – Mumy and Haimer understood the fledgling music video form.  A young Bill Paxton is featured in “Soak It Up,” “Love Tap,” and “Fish Heads,” and even co-directed the video for the latter.  The goofily jubilant “Party in My Pants” boasts both stop-motion animation and an appearance by a pre-fame Teri Hatcher.

While the surreal “Fish heads” remains the duo’s signature earworm (earfish?), the musical pleasures on both the DVD and companion CD are many, from the lo-fi comedy rock of “Love Tap” to the catchy and even commercial (gasp!) “Soak It Up.”  The sleek “Blithering” (produced by Gerry Beckley, with lyrical name checks to Rod Serling and Walt Disney) and droll “When You Die” are among the tunes that conjure up a blend of “Weird Al,” Devo, Frank Zappa, Allan Sherman, and Beach Boys Love You.

The CD offers additional tracks not on the DVD including the hazy, dreamy (and Sparks-esque) “Life Is Safer When You’re Sleeping,” the burbling, electronic “Unfinished Business,” and a carnival-esque spin through Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What’s New Pussycat?” produced by Devo’s Bob Casale which just happens to follow B&B’s “Pussy Whipped.”  Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, Steve Perry, Jay Gruska, and Joseph Williams all join the choir on “Don’t You Want to Go to the Moon.”  The CD package includes lyrics but, alas, no liner notes or new commentary from Mumy and company.

With gonzo lyrics married to infectious melodies, both formats of Zabagabee offer a fine introduction to Barnes & Barnes’ brand of underground, or outsider, music.  Kudos to Liberation Hall for dusting these off for a new generation of visitors to Lumania.  Soak it up!

Zabagabee – The Best of Barnes & Barnes is available at the links below.  (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)

Zabagabee – The Best of Barnes & Barnes (Liberation Hall LIB-2173 (CD)/2183 (DVD), 2026)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD (Originally released as Rhino RNCD 70836, 1987):

1. Fish Heads
2. Blithering
3. Soak It Up
4. Ah A
5. Boogie Woogie Amputee
6. Life Is Safer When You’re Sleeping
7. Unfinished Business
8. Pussy Whipped
9. What’s New Pussycat?
10. Party in My Parts
11. Don’t You Wanna Go to the Moon
12. Pizza Face
13. Love Tap
14. I Don’t Remember Tomorrow
15. Cemetery Girls
16. When You Die

DVD (originally released as Rhino RNVD 1903, 1987):

1. Fish Heads
2. Love Tap
3. Soak It Up
4. Ah A
5. Party in My Pants
6. Pizza Face
7. When You Die