Output from The Muppets has always been stop-start, highs-and-lows (though even the lows are only just not as high as the highs), constantly reworking the puppet ensemble that got its start way back in the seventies, when or before when you were a kid. That’s continued after they were bought by Disney, with short-lived attempts to put them on ABC (The Muppets), then Disney+ (Muppets Now). But now the House of Mouse has managed a whole new angle, by focusing on the group’s house band, Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem, giving them their own streaming series, Muppets Mayhem (QRO trailer review), complete with its own Original Soundtrack – somehow the venerable act’s first album.
That’s the plot of the series, trying to herd the eternally good-natured but out-of-date outfit to finally make their record, but the Soundtrack is more than just a collection of songs from the series. The Electric Mayhem get to pull out brand new numbers, funky ‘up with people’ ditties that perhaps only The Muppets can make sound not-cheesy. Yes, there are numerous pieces with messages like “Rock On”, “Gotta Be” me, “Join Together”, “We Are One”, and more. But the positivity is positively infectious, and instrumentation much better than you’d expect from felt. Okay, none can match classic “Can You Picture That?” (which, yes, is on the album), but can you picture any song that could?
There are also a number of classic covers, which showcase the group’s range, if get a little outside of their wheelhouse. Singer/bassist Janice sweetly sings Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors”, with Dr. Teeth himself asks you to “Have a Little Faith In Me” like Joe Cocker. If those and covers of Beach Boys “God Only Knows” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” are more pauses for breath, you need The Electric Mayhem to “Rock and Roll All Nite” in fine KISS fashion – and all you need is them playing The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love”.
Interestingly, there are almost no guest stars (aside from a short, random appearance from Sofia Carson on “Makin’ Mayhem”), from icons who could have recruited as many as Dolly Parton [note: the series does not skimp on the great tradition of Muppets guest humans, even leaning in by focusing on fellow musicians who are their greatest fans]. The extended streaming version ends with five instrumentals from the series from television music god Michael Giacchino.
Already having the greatest band name in the world, but also the mystique of being an ensemble-inside-an-ensemble, it is wonderful that Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem are finally getting to shine on their own.
