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.

catherine of siena (kevinscort22@yahoo.com) says:
Is that really Mae's body? Notice that there is no cleavage showing so the watermelons are most likely 100% fake. Also the padded hips. Many have said that Mae was actually a man and we are inclined to believe that. (08-06-2005)

walter egielski (waleg59@yahoo.com) says:
the point is when Mae comes on there is no mistaking her for anyone else. everyone can imitate Mae but who imitates some of the celebrities today? there are plenty of actors but few unique personalities such as Mae, John Wayne, James Stuart all inimitable and imi-tatable. (06-08-2005)

Kitty Diggins (kdiggins@hotmail.com) says:

I think is is a BRILLIANT LP!!! I am glad she did something groovy before leaving this place with "Sextet". Gotta love the Queen!

In response to another comment,Mae West was never broke , but she had an Ego made of Iron Ore (04-28-2005)

Sabrina (saguilar@hotmail.com) says:
actually she wasn't broke, she made money on real state and oil wells...she had a 40 million fortune when she died. Guess it was for the pleasure (04-09-2005)

Turd Ferguson says:
How broke did Mae West have to be to do this? Kinda sad. What a tremendous rack though. (04-04-2005)

Hannibal (hanniballecturer@gmail.com) says:
I always wished that John Ritter would have done a version of Daytripper called "I'm Jack Tripper" (04-01-2005)

Pardon Me While I Rock You says:
I heard she had another "rock" LP too, although I've never seen it. And for the ultimate in self-inflicted torture, be sure to find "Sextette", her 1978 motion picture where she tries to seduce a pre-Bond Timothy Dalton. Yes, that's right, 1978 - when she was 86 YEARS OLD!!!! (03-28-2005)

Tom Sykes (Wildflower32817@yahoo.com) says:
Mae West stands alone as the Queen Of Camp! "Way Out West"; was: and is: Pure Entertainment!!!!

Tom (03-27-2005)

David Piercy (piercydavid@hotmail.com) says:
I think the MAE WEST lp is just great...I love every song and it shows that the older ladies can still sing...sorry she is gone, but I listen to her songs often. (03-15-2005)

DarkPhantom says:
All I can say is I have an autographed copy of this album that Mae West sent to me herself. Yes, I am a fan. I found the whole album very interesting and I have to say the song "Treat Him Right" is pretty damn cool! It was released as a single and did quite well. In fact, the whole album sold up in the hundreds of thousands, which is pretty darn good for a "celebrity album." This is a true classic and it is worth quite a bit too -- especially my autographed copy with Mae's autograph right on the front!!! I don't think I would EVER sell it!!! I also have an autographed copy of her first book, "The Constant Sinner." She was a GREAT star and there will never, ever be another one like her, and of course there will never be another like her extraordinary personality and EXTRAordinary, curvaceous, awesome bod! (02-04-2005)

Inga Tvivel says:
Mae West was all her life older than ANYONE. She was born in 1893... I hope no one contradicts me if I call her all-time Queen of Camp, or rather the very definition of Camp. She was by all means ´marching to her own drummer´. I love it! (12-03-2004)

J says:
So around 1935 she was around 30. In around 1965 she was...oh my god...old...a SENIOR CITIZEN
blahhhh-agah-glaa-ablah!!!!!!!!!! (12-02-2004)

KERRY & EDWARDS IN '04! says:
KERRY & EDWARDS IN '04! (10-28-2004)

fuck u fags says:
west was a great classic (10-23-2004)

Joli (purplevioletsquishies@comcast.net) says:
Look out Stevie Nicks. Baaaaaaahhhh. Who is Mae kidding? If you guessed herself, you win the prize. Not just a baaahhing sheep (which is a common denominator with most sheep) but a tone deaf baaahhing sheep. Baahh Ram U, Baahh Ram U, To Your Breed, Your Fleece, Your Flock Be True, Baahh Ram U. Ok, I lied, sometimes I do chant. But only when I am pretending to be a sheep. Oh no, that means I am a wolf in sheep's clothing. May it NEVER be. I for one, think outside the bun. I am actually an aardvark in sheep's clothing. Exactly HOW MUCH did Mae West have to PAY the Beatles for the rights to do covers on their songs? The cost would have to be nothing less than staggering at thrice the price only to be able, at the most, to turn around & sell her song takes at the "nice price." Mae West is SO FIRED when it comes to singing, not even the nice price would bring any takers. (10-14-2004)

Marlowe B. West (marlowebrienwest@aol.com) says:
...fuck allayaz...Mae West was my uncle... (10-10-2004)

Billy Walker (walker.b@sbcglobal.net) says:
C'mon guys, this is Mae West, not Janis Joplin. What did you expect? (09-24-2004)

john hennessey (lascondes111@aol.com) says:
I CAN'T BELEVIE MY EARS SHE SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO ACTING. (08-25-2004)

Dr. Cross says:
Little Richard Head, your dick is small but you mouth is big. (08-03-2004)

Advertise on this site