Comedian sings with a smile
By Nick A. Zaino III, Globe Correspondent | October 1, 2004

Chances are, you've seen Neil Innes before, even if the name doesn't sound familiar. If you've seen Monty Python's "Holy Grail" or "Life of Brian" films, you've heard him taunting Eric Idle with "The Tale of Sir Robin" or seen him running for his life from a gladiator. If you're a connoisseur of obscure '60s records, you may have heard his groundbreaking Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, which simultaneously contributed to and satirized the British pop revolution.

You may even be a fan of the Rutles, the spot-on perfect parody of the Beatles, for which Innes wrote the music and played Ron Nasty, the John Lennon part.

What you might not know is that Innes is a capable songwriter in his own right, which he hopes to demonstrate when he kicks off his first solo acoustic tour of the United States with a show called "Innes Own Words" Wednesday at the Regent Theatre in Arlington. Songs like the Dylan send-up "Protest Song" and the Bonzo's "I'm the Urban Spaceman" are sometimes dismissed as novelties. But the parodies reveal Innes's keen ear for detail.

Every jazzy clarinet and horn and strumming banjo is in place in "Spaceman," every bleating harmonica line in "Protest." Then there are songs like "Slaves of Freedom" and "Give It Up," which provide laughs but are also smart, original compositions.

Innes likes to make people laugh, but looks for balance. "I'm probably greedy," he says by phone. "I did, in exasperation, once say Shakespeare was allowed to do drama and comedy, why can't I? In fact, that's what I do. I'm like Shakespeare, but with better songs." Though it has been nearly 10 years since he has released a collection of new material, Innes plans to mix some of his latest tunes with songs and stories from his Python, Bonzo, and Rutles catalogs on the tour. He has been working on a backlog of material for an album he hopes to release next year.

These days, Innes says he finds himself writing about an entirely new set of issues. "Really, I'm writing for my own age group again," he says. "I'm going to be 60 this year. I'm turning into the classic grumpy old man. But I still find things to sort of smile about. But some of them have got more depth than they used to now."

There are songs he calls "silly," like "Ego Warriors," before which the audience will be sworn "to defend self-esteem wherever it may be without ever becoming pompous or idiotic." But there are also songs like "Friends at the End of the Line," which Innes wrote about "being my age and noticing how many friends you're losing along the way."

Monty Python devotees tend to be the types who memorize every word of every sketch and turn out in droves for every screening. Even so, the work Innes did on the films and the last season of the TV show was mostly behind the scenes or in small roles, which has helped him escape the more fanatical elements while still making a living.

It's the best of both worlds for Innes. He thinks fandom can go too far. "There are die-hard fans out there," he says. "I think it should be discouraged. Get back to self-esteem. Enjoy and applaud good work, but there's no need to abandon your whole existence because something else is out there."