A little background, to begin with. Fraggle Rock was a successful children’s program on HBO back in the 1980’s. Much like the Muppets, Fraggle Rock was produced by the late Jim Henson. The Fraggles were quirky puppets (some call them the Muppets on acid) that lived underground and had many a wacky adventure. I did watch a bit of the show, but remember little about any episode. They didn’t last very long, only about four seasons, but have gained a cult following. Which is where my story comes in.
My friend Adam has had aspirations of working with the Henson company, or at least any job dealing with puppets, for a few months. In this time, he has assembled mix CD’s of the many songs on Fraggle Rock, and practices the characters’ voices. Usually he does this when I’m around, so I’ve been hearing many of these tunes quite a bit. This review page is up by his request (NOTE: I usually do not take requests period, but this wasn’t unsolicited and I know Adam quite well), so enjoy!
Oh, here’s some of the main characters:
Gobo- The ‘leader,’ who wants to be brave like his uncle
Wembley- The wacky, zany Fraggle with a lovely catchphrase: ‘HOOOO!’
Boober- The neurotic, OCD, paranoid, psychosomatic, manic-depressive...well you get the point. Not a party man.
Mokey- The mystical Fraggle, who always acts like she’s on some wonderful drug. Give me some of that!
Red- The hyper tomboy of the group. Loves swimming and pigtails.
What a Funny World (4/5)- We start off with the tune sung by villains who captured Mokey. They don’t have a sense of humor, but they try and act like they do here. I guess they are the Ben Steins of Fraggle Rock. Sort of an industrial-sounding tune, cool and deadpan.
A Friend is a Friend (3/5)- Wembley was a true friend. When Gobo was humiliated, Wembley helped out by taking advantage of Gobo’s problems. It’s typically upbeat for the Fraggles.
Around the Universe (1/5)- Ugh! Even though Fraggle Rock was very much a product of the ‘80s, usually they DIDN’T sound like that decade. Why did they do that here??? Synth-bells, drum machines, a crappy melody. What were they trying to do?? Get a #1 hit and knock off Mike and the Mechanics??? Gobo’s uncle’s travels deserved better than this.
Beetle Song (3/5)- Mokey and Red observe a beetle on a stone. It starts off mellow, then dissolves into a quick-paced tongue-twisting exercise. Mokey is obviously more adept at this than Red.
Bring Back the Wonder (2/5)- Red sings a guitar ballad. Ehhh.
Cadence (3/5)- A brief snippet of the Fraggles clapping and singing about.....???? to the tune of “I don’t know but I been told.” You know, the army march chant.
Catch a Tail By the Tiger (4/5)- A cool reggae tune about Gobo inspiring us all to mix up metaphors. Because people living in stone houses shouldn’t throw glass. And if you can’t stand the kitchen, get out of the heat.
Children of Tomorrow (2/5)- I don’t care for this Wembley-Doozer duet. Doozers, by the way, were hardworking miniature creatures in Fraggle Land. They made lovely towers that were gobbled up by the Fraggles. It tries to make an epic statement, but ends up drowning in its repetitive melody.
Convincing John (4/5)- Jim Henson lends his voice (and puppet talents) to a nutcase by the name of Convincing John, who tried to scare the Fraggles from eating Doozer towers. I like the piano-retro rock sound going on here.
Do It On My Own (2/5)- I don’t connect with Red’s sprightly tune. Too kiddie for me. A good some for kids to sing after being toilet trained.
Dream Girl Lover (3/5)- A ‘50s-style doowop tune of longing for true love, as sung by the eloquent Jr. Gorg. Gorgs were giant creatures, and Jr. always wanted to snatch a Fraggle. Or as he would say, a Fwaggle.
Duet For One (3/5)- Poor Wembley, he needs a friend, and everyone is teasing him. This explains the contrast between the sad verses and “La Bamba”-esque breakdowns, which obviously irks Wimbledon.
Follow Me (3/5)- Uncle Matt tells his nephew to follow him, and explore the world. No ‘80s production this time, just a nice acoustic sound. I still prefer the Lyme and Cybelle song of the same name.
Fraggle Rock Theme (5/5)- Of course, man!!! Every child of the ‘80s knows this rocking theme! Let the music play, down at Fraggle Rock! And watch out for Jr. Gorg.
Fraggle Rock Theme (long) (3/5)- Never played on the show, it almost has a techno beat at parts, and tends to drag in the middle. Too much Jr. Gorg this time.
Fraggle Rock Rock (4/5)- Gobo cops the “Jailhouse Rock” melody into a catchy tune about breaking out of jail with his fellow Fraggles.
Free and High (3/5)- Not sure of the plot here, since I’d have to see it. I think some puppet is teaching Wembley to fly. Whoever it is, the song has an ‘80s John Denver sound to it. When he tried to be pop-country. Why do I know this?
Friends ‘Til The End (4/5)- I like this bouncy song better than “Friend is a Friend.” Gobo and Wembley sing about being friends, and there’s no humiliation involved. Dig the spelling breakdown in the middle.
Friendship Song (3/5)- Another Gobo/Wembley song? Nope, it’s Red and Boober, singing about how their friends used to help them. Before they became complete jerkheads. Another guitar-based ballad, musically.
I Can Still Remember (5/5). I love this one!! Wembley and Boober are lost, and trying to remember a song. They end up falling flat on their faces, embarrassing themselves. I just love hearing Boober go ‘na na na na something’ over and over. Very catchy and singalongable. Wow, that word made no sense.
It Could Happen To You (2/5)- In this unusually dramatic song, Red warns the Fraggle community about the Ben Steins who took Mokey, and anyone could be next. Even you, the quiet kid from Moline.
Let Me Be Your Song (4/5)- The minstrels mix a haunting melody (and lovely flute part) with lyrics about singing. See, they were all about spreading music in everyone’s life. A really good message.
Lover Lover #9 (3/5)- The all-knowing trash heap offers a love potion. A blatant ripoff of the ‘50s tune “Love Potion #9,” but it’s all good.
Muck and Goo (2/5)- Sorry, I’m just disturbed by this twisted two-chord singalong. The Fraggle clan wants to be covered with muck and goo, AND guck and gore. Gore??!! You mean bloody body parts? Yuck!
Music Makes Us Real (5/5)- Our friends the minstrels outdo themselves. An unbelievably catchy ode to music, and each minstrel has a solo! From an acoustic intro to an all-out rocking chorus, this song has it all.
Our Melody (3/5)- Based on individual parts coming together, this gets a bit repetitive after a while and is too slow. The melody in question is pretty simple. They’ve had better songs about music (‘The Rock Goes On’).
Pass It On (4/5)- The Fraggles’ swinging ode to karma. Pass on good things, and they will come back to you. Wembley is at his most hyper here, too. Nice wakeup after the previous track.
People Don’t Know (2/5)- Red does reggae about being crazy. Pass.
Pukka Pukka Squeetily Boink (4/5)- Hyper Wembley’s signature song, in my eyes. He believes in magic words, and in yelling ‘Hooo!’ You also have to love the xylophone part, since xylophones are so underused in songs!
The Remembering Song (4/5)- Not quite as good as "I Can Still Remember," but a different scenario. Boober has amnesia, and people are trying to get him back to his old neurotic self. Doesn't work here, as Boober mixes it all up.
Share and You're Not Alone (3/5)- In a warm and upbeat song, Mokey and Red say that their home is your home. With plenty of drugs to boot!
Sir Blunderbrain (2/5)- Adam loves doing the Storyteller’s voice. Me, I don’t care too much for this acoustic ballad of a Fraggle meeting his match with a hungry tunnel. It needed a Scarlet Rivera violin counterpart, much like Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane.”
Sleep By the Light of the Moon (2/5)- Only Wembley and a mellow guitar, as he sings about sleeping outside. Another rare, subdued moment for Wimbledon.
Sunlight and Shadow (3/5)- Mokey’s all by herself, and sad as can be. At least we didn’t have to hear Christine McVie croon this dreary acoustic song.
The Rock Goes On (5/5)- Gobo and company offer an enthusiastic retro-sounding song about, well, singing. Their best one, as even Boober sounds like he’s having fun. He probably isn’t, but I’ll never know.
There’s a Rhythm (3/5)- They sung about music a lot, didn’t they? Not a bad melody, but this is a bit too repetitive and brief for me.
Time To Live As One (2/5)- Mokey has a nice voice, but it doesn’t lead itself to anthemic build-up songs like this very well.
We’ll Be Back (2/5)- I believe from their final episode? It’s too depressing and acoustic, and the melody is right off of “Children of Tomorrow.” Dig Boober’s Carol Channing impression though.
Welcome Back, Uncle Matt (3/5)- An uptight choral conductor tries to lead the chorus into a energetic Welcome Back song for Uncle Matt. You have the choir, some boings and ding-a-lings, and wordy verses. It sounded good, but the conductor thought it was off tune? Everyone’s a critic.
Wembley Wembley #9 (3/5)- The love potion from “Lover Lover #9” gets in the air, and everyone ends up with jungle fever for Wembley. They sing “Lover Lover #9” except they say Wembley instead of Lover. Pretty silly stuff.
Who Knows (4/5)- Boober and his alter-ego Sidebottom sing about getting along, to an odd keyboard backing and typical happy melody. See, Sidebottom actually has a life and Boober’s too scared to live his. My goodness, that sounded like Dr. Phil.
Why (2/5)- Another Mokey song, as Miss Mystic wonders about Doozers. Same mellow mood as “Sunlight and Shadow” What IS up with them? Do they like their towers being eaten 24/7?
Workin’ (5/5)- Each Fraggle sings about their jobs. My favorite part is where Boober sings about liking work that’s boring. Very upbeat and happy, even though it is about working. Like several other songs, the melody sounds like an offshoot of the theme. But I’m not caring!