Crash Test Dummies

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
With their clever, smug lyrics and cloying folk-tinged melodies, the Crash Test Dummies were a perfect rock band for affluent 90s college students and yuppies. Their first album was a huge hit in their native Canada, but only gained a small cult following in other parts of the world. Thanks to former Talking Head Jerry Harrisons clean, radio-friendly production, the follow-up, God Shuffled His Feet (1993), broke big in the States and, in turn, Europe. The first single from the album, MMM MMM MMM MMM, became a worldwide Top Ten hit, making the group a minor sensation with their self-consciously bizarre lyrics and singer/songwriter Brad Roberts deep baritone. A Worms Life followed in 1996, and three years later the Crash Test Dummies resurfaced with Give Yourself a Hand. Frontman Brad Roberts resurfaced in fall 2000 with a solo album, Crash Test Dude, a collection of acoustic hits from the Crash Test Dummies and eclectic covers. It was also during this time that Roberts suffered a serious car crash, almost losing his arm. Seven months later, however, Roberts returned to the Crash Test Dummies circuit to issue I Dont Care That You Dont Mind, a brand-new batch of songs written with lobster fishermen/musicians whom Roberts met during his rehabilitation. Late 2001 and early 2002 saw more solo albums from members (Ellen Reids Cinderellen and Mitch Dorges As Trees Walking) and the Dummies became more Brad Roberts project than a traditional band. A new three-piece unit with Reid, Brad Roberts and original bassist Dan Roberts released the Christmas album Jingle All the Way in late 2002 but limited distribution made the album hard to find. The album was reissued in late 2003 along with a new album, Puss n Boots, with Reid and Dan Roberts adding to what was originally planned as a Brad Roberts solo album.