AMG Review of Over the Edge, Vol. 4: Dick Vaughn's Moribund Music

Ned Raggett
All Music Guide

Of all the various characters that the Over the Edge radio show has helped spawn, arguably the most beloved -- if that's the correct term -- is Dick Vaughn, star of the Helter Stupid album and one of the many creations of Richard Lyons. Lyons' skill at portraying astoundingly unctuous characters -- witness Pastor Dick or the blandest of political commentators on "Body English" from Jamcon '84 -- came together perfectly for Vaughn, an effortlessly smooth and oily radio DJ dedicated to public profiles (namely his own) and a suffocated pleasantness. As a parody of the likes of Dick Clark or Casey Kasem, as well as their various wannabes, it couldn't be better, and both the original tape and double-CD re-release of this compilation are pure, twisted fun. The latter version is definitely the one to get, containing all the original material and going for broke from there, covering everything from Vaughn's debut turn as a smarmy DJ on "The California Superstation" to his unfortunate death as reported by the band during their 1993 tour. "The California Superstation" itself is an amazing hour-long sequence, combining extremely curious station promos and IDs (sample: "Don't touch that dial, it's got Dick on it!") with chopped-up and treated bits from actual radio PA announcements and efforts. Vaughn barely evinces any discomfort when things go "wrong," even when KPFA listeners call up to protest violently about the station's apparent format change to Top 40. A "Ringo Is Dead" sequence bit is also a treat, but the heart of it all is the "Moribund Music of the '70s" presentation itself, with countdowns of past "classics" and a series of aggrieved phone calls adding up to a passel of confusion -- of an entertaining sort, of course -- which Vaughn mellifluously oversees.