Best known for their deliberately off-rhythm, out-of-tune travesty of the Motown standard “Money (That’s What I Want),” which they recorded for only $14, the Flying Lizards’ 1980 debut may be the most fun experimental record ever. The “band” was a studio construct of London producer David Cunningham, and the music lurches from Chipmunk-pitched German cabaret to reggae-fied funk to broiled blues. It also grooves like an earthquake, especially on two riveting songs featuring music journalist Vivian Goldman (the Roots later sampled “Her Story”). On 1981’s Fourth Wall, expatriate American Patti Palladin took over as vocalist; the only evidence of goofiness is a chirpy synthesizer cover of Curtis Mayfield’s soulful “Move On Up.” Hallucinatory, ornately textured instrumental collages make up a lot of the album, but its highlight is “Hands 2 Take,” in which Palladin rages over film composer Michael Nyman’s cyclical orchestral riff.

DOWNLOAD “Her Story,” “Money (That’s What I Want),” “Lovers and Other Strangers”