Various Artists - Tales from the Rhino 2 (CD)

All Music Guide

Tales From the Rhino 2 gathers more of the label's favorite singles, which range from the bizarre (the Qworymen's "Beatle Rap," the Temple City Kazoo Orchestra's "2001 Sprach Kazoostra," and Fred Blassie's "Pencil Neck Geek") to the underappreciated (Steve Wynn's "Carolyn," the Honeys' "Running Away From Love," and Roky Erickson's "Bermuda"). Though most of the novelty singles that make up the bulk of this double-disc set were released on the label's various Dr. Demento collections, songs like Julie Brown's "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" and Rockin' Richie Ray's "Baseball Card Lover" are still fairly entertaining. Ideally, Tales From the Rhino 2 would have included more of the obscure groups and singles the label has resurrected with series like Poptopia and D.I.Y., not to mention their numerous blues and jazz compilations. Though the Weirdos' "Helium Bar," the Pandoras' "In and Out of My Life (In a Day)," and Rank File's "Black Book" are included, the collection could have used m...ore tracks along these lines. Tales From the Rhino 2 attempts to paint an eclectic portrait of Rhino's offerings, but unfortunately the results are too biased toward their novelty rock output. - Heather Phares, All Music Guide Read more Less