f. 1989
When songwriter Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) graduated
from the University of Winnipeg, Canada, with an honours degree in English
literature. he was still a dedicated student, planning to taje a Ph.D. and
become a professor. His chronic asthma and penchant for the lyrics of XTC's Andy
Partridge did little to dispel his
'college geek' image. However, when the band he had started with friends in the
mid-80s took off, his academic interests had to be suspended. Building an
impromptu get-togethers as a group formed at an after-hours club in Winnipeg,
the name Crash Test Dummies was eventually selected. When record company
executives heard some of Robert's demo tapes (which he had been using to try to
secure the band festival gigs), the interest encouraged him to concentrate more
fully on music. The band comprised Roberts, his younger brother Dan (bass),
Benjamin Darvill (mandolin, harmonica, additional guitars) and Ellen Reid
(piano, accordion, backing vocals). Their debut, The
Ghosts that Haunt Me, rose to number one on the Canadian chart on the
back of the hit single "Superman's Song". A blend of blues-based rock
'n' roll and folk pop, its best moments occured when Brad Roberts's strange
vocal amalgam of Scott Walkerand Tom Waits combined with Darvill's harmonica.
However, despite selling over a quarter of a million copies domestically, the
rest of North America remained uninterested. The situation was radically amended
with the release of God Shuffled His Feet, which introduced drummer Mitch
Dorge and was co-produced by Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison. Their breakthrough
arrived with another distinctive single, "MMM MMM MMM MMM", with its
stuttering title as the song's chorus. A catchy, radio-friendly novelty
song,it was only partly representative of the band's more astute and perky pop
compositions. Nevertheless, it rose to number 12 on the Billboard
chart in March 1994. God Shuffled His Feet was a strong album,
although occasionally its references to literature and school of philosophy,
such as Dada, cubism and Sartre, overbalanced some of the songs. A Worm's
Life contained more wonderful lyrics about God and life but the songs they
accompanied were indifferent, and the momentum gained by the second album was
lost when this album failed to sell.