Flight of The BumBillB is the latest release from Buffalo native Bill Bachmann. This is the third full length album from the multi instrumentalist songwriter, who plays every instrument on the album’s 14 songs. Bachmann is a true wordsmith who expertly uses wit and humor in his music.
Flight of The BumBillB lands between Weird Al Yankovic and Bob Dylan and somewhere between the city of Buffalo and the heart of Appalachia – Bluegrass, Americana, DooWop, Blues and even a parody of a Christmas classic, it’s all in there.
“Size Don’t Matter on a Banjo” kicks off the album and is a tone setter for the humor and music that is about to come. In a song that would fit perfectly in Disney’s Country Bear Jamboree, Bachmann takes shots at lawyers, harmonica players (who only suck half of the time), and even himself.
The jazzy and funky sounds of “I’m a Real Man” are a stark contrast to the Bluegrass of the opening track. The lyrics are almost pure stand up comedy and some of Bachman’s finest on the album. Couples beware! You will relate to this one, and that’s where it’s beauty truly lies.
As the title suggests, “Telecasterbatur” is full of sexual innuendos and double entendres. Bachmann is not very subtle on this not for kids tune which features some nice slide guitar.
“Big Bad Josh” is a parody of Jimmy Dean’s classic “Big Bad John”. Big Bad Josh is in fact Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and this tune sounds like it could be heard around tailgates and bars in Buffalo. Bachmann professes his love for his hometown team and predicts The Bills in “The Big Game” and Josh Allen heading to The Hall of Fame…maybe next year.
Bachmann gets back to comedy through the middle of the album with parodies of “Turkey in The Straw” and “Blue Yodel”, the latter singing the laments of a big trust fund.
“Double Negative” has a classic folk sound and lyrics like “How Much I Do Not, Not Love You.” A simple ditty that’s either a grammar teacher’s dream or worst nightmare.
“Buffalo To Washington” is a musical journey from Buffalo, New York south through Pennsylvania and Maryland enroute to our nation’s capital and features a very catchy sing-a-long chorus.
Nine songs deep into the album “Full Moon” finally delivers a serious love song. The production on this one sounds very modern, almost garage band like or “band in a box”. The production, or lack of, seems to take away from the classic style of “Full Moon” which harkens back to great songs like “Blue Moon” and other classics from The Great American Songbook.
Things seem to get a little jumbled and repetitive heading into the final stretch of “Flight of The BumBillB”. “Girls and Boys in The Ivy” is a parody of The Drifters classic “Poison Ivy”, taking shots at Ivy League students “memorizing elements and fighting about statistics”. “Male in The Czech” sounds like it could be a Monkees song with a bad punchline and “Pissed Off at Christoph” seems to miss the mark.
What starts as a parody of “Ghost Riders In The Sky”, “Check Writers in Disguise” soon becomes a very uncomfortable and almost vulgar bio of The Kennedy Family. Blaming Marilyn Monroe’s death on her singing “or the drugs”, Hush Money, Harvard scandals, and the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick leading to a “permanent senate seat” for Ted Kennedy are just a few of the ways Bachmann shows his disdain for the Kennedy Family. A song that is irreverent at the least, crosses any line appropriateness with the songwriter’s account of a rape on the beach. This song is vulgar and politically incorrect with total lack of taste and empathy. It is the only track on the entire album which evokes any real thought or emotion other than the occasional chuckle. In today’s watered down, politically correct “Me Too” world is this true art or just shock value amid an album of fluff?
Flight of The BumBillB concludes with “Santa Claws Are Coming To Town”, Bachman’s dark twist on the holiday classic.
You can find Flight of The BumBillB on streaming platforms including Bill Bachman’s YouTube page and his official website BillBachmannMusic.com.
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