Way Out West

"Come on up and Rock with me," coos old-time sex star Mae West on the cover of this Tower Records release. Way Out West is one of the quintessential "non-musician celebrity makes an album" records, with West stumbling through a series of rock tunes including Day Tripper, You Turn Me On, Nervous, Boom-Boom and my personal favorite, Twist and Shout. And when they said "Way Out", they meant it: Mae West appears here completely in character, applying liberal amounts of her usual schtick to all of these songs, often forgoing the real lyrics in favor of the purrs and slogans for which she is famous. I say that's far out.

Mae West aside, Way Out West is a suprisingly solid rock album. The band, identified in the liner notes as "Somebody's Chyldren", delivers exceptional covers with an authentic garage-rock feel, mixed down with a wide stereo separation reminiscent of early Beatles releases. The stark contrast between that sound and Mae West's persona only makes the result all the more ridiculous.

Album liner notes were never known for their modesty, but producer David Mallet must have had his gall meter turned up to the max when he wrote, "It is singularly appropriate that Mae West should be recording an album of rock 'n roll hits". Goes to show you how far men will stoop for a little cleavage.

Mimi Bobeck says:
Somebody did a good job putting this out on CD-R. The web site is called Sunpk.com and they seem to specialize in old camp. They charge $15 as opposed to $40 for the LP. (12-27-2008)

Jeannie says:
I think she was a female impersonator. It's obvious to me that she is a man under all that make up and fake breasts and elaborate costumes. Her voice, her size etc. She is an exaggerated example of a woman. I've seen female impersonators since then that are much better. (11-16-2008)

drum dude (dgr257@hotmail.com) says:
what is the movie where mae west is riding a float in a parade playing the drums and she takes a drum solo?
I think w.c.fields was also in the movie and it had something to do with alaska or the klondike.
I would love to have even just a picture of her drumming let alone the video or the whole movie.
any help!
dr (09-15-2008)

old timer says:
W.C. Fileds couldn't stand working with Mae West. She was "sexy" in her own way but Clara Bow, Jean Harlow and Barbara Stanwyck were sexier by today's standards. Mae West was born in, and is buried in Brooklyn, NY. (11-27-2007)

john page (london) (southlondonsw12@tiscali.co.uk) says:
the album "way out west" is good. but why cant the record company re-issue it on cd & mash it up a bit. i,m sure you can get PET SHOP BOYS to remix it. i wish i had the money. i would buy the rights & do it. advertise the re-issued cd in gay bars/clubs, news papers & the internet etc. not only would you make money. but this would be a great for the many fans of mae west. (09-04-2007)

scott says:
Considering MW was as old as my great-grandmother(and i'm no kid), she was one hot chick. However,
she was retro even in the 30's. Jean Harlow personified the 30's hot blond bombshell look,
WAAAYYYY more hip and svelte than Mae West. MW
seemed to have mysteriously projected herself
through time from the 1890's bordellos in
San Fran's Tenderloin district. She would have
fit in perfectly as a fan dancer at the 1893
Colombian Exposition in Chicago.....they
def broke the mold when they made her, that's
for sure! (04-21-2007)

michael kells (dallasforty@sbcglobal.net) says:
i am intrested in buying a copy of this album..
does anyone know where i could find a copy of this album.. the guitarist on the left front is my cousin.... thanks, michael (03-04-2007)

Saint Jude (saintjulian[at]yahoo.com) says:
Mae followed this album at least once. There is another that deals with the later Sixties fare - including a nice pop at "Light My Fire" of course.

These LPs are all good n' that, but it never completely clicks with me. The proposition, Mae West meets rock, is never more than the sum of its parts, as it promises to be.

This promise *was* finally fulfilled though. Just make your way through the disjointed, psychedelic mish-mash film, called "Myra Breckenridge" and you'll be rewarded with a showstopping rendition of Otis' "Hard To Handle". It turns out that all Mae needed was a suitable lyric, fat beats, and twenty virile young black gentlemen dressed in top hats 'n' tails.

The soundtrack LP was issued, but it's so rare we might as well forget I mentioned it at all. (11-22-2006)

JeanW says:
Mae West was a smart lady. She owned enough property in Hollywood that she was the Richest Star of her day.

Any doubts on her being cleverly unique, smart, and a woman men pantd over...read her book. Yeah, she could write too! (09-05-2006)

MrSoulSatisfaction says:
Not sure if it was mentioned here, but this album actually came with a poster of Miss West. Just thought I'd drop that bit of info on y'all. (07-21-2006)

Benlu 66 (neezerl@yahoo.com) says:
This is the best kind of rip-off beat music '66 which actually may have appealed to groovy cats and chicks.
It's far out in a non-head way. (07-02-2006)

Tom Morris (ommietay@aol.com) says:
It doesn't matter what Mae sings just as long as she sings it. When I play "Way Out West" for guests...they always stop to listen and (smilingly)always know who's singing. (04-08-2006)

Wonderful Somba (wondefulsomba@yahoo.com) says:
Mae West was and STILL IS the GREATEST SEX SYMBOL that EVER existed!! This album is FANTASTIC!!! NO ONE ELSE could have accomplished this at her age!! She was young looking as hell all her life without ever having a face lift or implants. She had the BIGGEST tits that EVER existed (real ones that is)! NO ONE but NO ONE can EVER top the FANTASTIC Mae West!!! (03-14-2006)

Hot Hunk says:
Of course those are Mae's huge tits! Even in "Sextette," her last movie at 85 she had the biggest and firmest tits of ANYONE around!!! She was fantabulous to say the least and the BIGGEST REAL tits that EVER existed!!! No falsies here and NO SILICONE!!! She also never had a facelift and she looked young as hell ALL her life. I guess from al that hot stuff she always did!!! What a BODY!!! What a TOP that has NEVER been TOPPED!!! Marilyn Monroe, Dolly Parton, Madonna, and ALL the rest would love to have had ALL this REAL stuff!!! NO WAY!!! WAY OUT WEST is GREAT!!! Mae had a voice for sure not to mention that AWESOME body and HUGE REAL TOP that has NEVER BEEN TOPPED!!!! At least not real tops!!! (02-20-2006)

C. Terentius Rufus says:
Truly horrible. But it turns out that the surprisingly competent "Somebody's Chyldren" was fronted by 15-year-old guitarist David Allen Clark. Clark went on to have minor sucess with the 70's prog-rock band "Carman," which attempted to meld rock and flamenco. He now lives in London where he's craved out a niche for himself in the photography business. (12-27-2005)

sky says:
of course Mae's breasts are real...that is the reason the navy calls its lifevests "mae wests" because they would inflate so big...even in the movie "sextette"...you can see her breasts are huge to the extent that some have said she had props under her dress to restrain them (and at 80 plus years to lift them as well...lol) (10-23-2005)

John-Niles says:
Mae West, like Nefertiti and Elizabeth Taylor and Isis herself, is a goddess! And she is worshipped by millions who believe it! I can just picture La West at her morning levee, as she lays in her mirriored bed, she hears the Beatles singing "Day Tripper" on the radio. Relating personally to the song, she thinks to herself that she can make the song more real with her own interpretation of it. So she decides to records it. And so Miss West has, in her own sexy version of "Day Tripper", shown us all that Mae West is THE "Day Tripper"! Mae West, I love you! (09-30-2005)

moomoo says:
mae west was born in 1892-not 1893. if mae west was a man then she was one hell of an actor. the tits and the hips were real - not real rubber. she was all heart. a soft touch for friends in need. she was beautiful til the end. she loved life and lived it to the fullest. tony curtis should keep his criticisms to himself. you ll always be bernie schwartz - no class. (09-21-2005)

Pardon Me While I Rock You says:
That's one mighty impressive drum kit there, kid. (08-11-2005)

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