Was Not Was

Was (Not Was) were an open group from Detroit formed by two brothers (David Weiss and Don Fagenson), joined by players of trumpets, horns, synthesizers, piano, saxophone, percussion, guitar (even Wayne Kramer), mandolin, and so on. Their first hit, Wheel Me Out (1980), was a concerto for little and big voices performed by a mini Afro-Caribbean orchestra.

Was Not Was (Ze, 1981) contains a series of absurd skits and disco-tempo parodies, including the hallucinogenic funk hit Out Come The Freaks, the exotic heavy metal/doo-wop hybrid Carry Me Back To Old Morocco, the fierce and rhythmic soul of Go Now, the slow nightclub rhythm and blues of Where Did Your Heart Go, and the mosaic ballet of rap, Latin, and dissonance Tell Me That I’m Dreaming, featuring actual vocals by President Reagan—tracks that oscillate between Zappa-like caricature and the sardonic histrionics of Clinton, between sugary melodic soul and militant Detroit-rock excesses.

Don Was was among the first in the disco era to properly re-evaluate the subversive charge of hard rock. But Fagenson (his real surname), having settled in Los Angeles, soon became one of the most sought-after producers for rock stars, and this came at the expense of his own artistic output.

Five years pass between the success of Born To Laugh At Tornadoes (ZE, 1983), which featured an extraordinary array of guest stars for the lively, melodic funk of Professor Night, Shake Your Head, and Smile, and the next album, What Up Dog (Chrysalis, 1988), which—drawing on years of experimentation as a producer (and supported by an army of “side-men”)—refines a cadenced, sensual, slightly parodic electronic sound. These are smooth, flowing compositions that nonetheless redefine black music in technological terms, from blues (11 Mph) to doo-wop (Boys Gone Crazy), from rhythm and blues (Spy In The House Of Love) to soul (Out Come The Freaks) and funk (Walk The Dinosaur). It is another extraordinary record, but (once again) from the standpoint of the producer, not the author. The Was’ music becomes increasingly narcissistic, devoid of emotion.

Are You Okay (Chrysalis, 1990) also relies on a vast number of prestigious guests, though it emphasizes the comic side of the project and therefore privileges lyrics over music (David over Don Was). The title track (a “sweet soul” piece with an almost house-like rhythm) represents the state of the art in production, but the duo’s philosophy is best revealed in the Zappa-like nonsense that runs through puzzle-like tracks full of inventive twists such as I Blew Up The United States (spoken blues, voodoo chorus, dissonant keyboards, “industrial” cadences, android saxophones), I Feel Better Than James Brown (rap with chorus and Brazilian percussion), and Elvis’ Rolls Royce (a surreal story told in a cocktail lounge atmosphere). From the hip-hop of Dressed To Be Killed to the pop-soul of Just Another Broken Heart, all genres of Black music are revisited and recycled in an ultra-modern context. The peak of their experimentation is You You You, a dialogue between two street drunks left floating in a jazz maelstrom with dreamlike, psychedelic effects. Sometimes the arrangement obscures the melody, as in How The Heart Behaves, where the theme is submerged under three overlapping and interwoven keyboards, double percussion layers, and a jazz trumpet solo; but most of the time it is the only reason to listen to a track.

Every one of their albums has been an event in modern pop—perhaps also because every one of their albums is the negation of modern pop.

Boo (2008), the first album in 16 years, was impressive in that their style and their wit had remained pretty much the same.

Pick Of The Litter (2010) is a career retrospective.

Don Fagenson, aka Don Was, became a famous producer and an occasional deluxe bassist. He also recorded in a duo with Bobby Weir the album Live in Colorado (2022).