CD review: The George W. Bush Singers

I recently picked up a unique CD by a group of people calling themselves "The George W. Bush Singers". From the name of the group, the CD warning label ("Explicit Grammar") and song titles such as "Nucular" and "Commiserate/Not Commiserate" you might expect the band to be blatantly anti-Bush... Well, they might be, but after a couple of close listens they seem to be mostly making fun of his grammar. They do make his "Bushisms" look ridiculous (thereby making him look rather idiotic at times) with some of their arrangements.

Listeners should check out the acapella spiritual-style choral rendering of Dubya's famous "There's an old saying in Tennessee..." mishap. "There ought to be limits to freedom", "put food on your family" and other gems are included in this collection. The singing is better than average, and the vocal group does well in setting Bush's neologisms and strange grammatic constructions to music. Actual sound bytes are heard from Bush, then the singers "answer" him in song. What I find especially fun is that if Bush stutters or repeats a few syllables... the singers do the same! "Uh, uh, uh..."

This CD is "ingrinable". Styles range from gospel to funk to reggae to old Mitch Miller-ish stuff. Whether you despise Bush or whether you adore him and find his Bushisms to be the stuff of cutesy cuddly folksiness, you will probably enjoy this disc. Warning: it is only about 30 minutes long. It bears repeated listening during the election season, although I would guess only the strongest Bush-haters will listen to it if Kerry wins in November. If Bush wins (perish the thought) this one might never leave my CD player as I anxiously await the release of a sequel!