BOOK REVIEW! DC SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX VOLUME ONE (DC Comics, 2005)

Never was a fan of comic book westerns. They didn't exactly settle well with my own sense of ranch house fun 'n jamz since westerns were obviously aimed at the rural kinda kids who liked to run, jump, play athletic games and climb trees 'stead of just loaf around in the bedroom eating Cheetos like I was wont to do. Good for them but for this suburban pudge it was superheroes and early Marvel Age monster reprints only, and for a change of pace there were a variety of efforts from the Archie Comics Group that usually helped put a smile on my puss after long hard days of all that psychic bending over I hadda do. Westerns though...maybe they were just too historical for me 'r sump'thin'.

An' as far as I know amongst my "peers" there weren't many other cowboy comic fans that I can think of. Being the seventies 'n all it was more'n obvious that tee-vee and theatrical westerns were in decline, and I'd gander that a fair enough portion of the audience for these kinds of sagas were either dying off or heading in other directions in search of their adventurous throb thrills. Only knew of one western comics fan and I used to thumb through her collection of Marvel reprints if only to gander upon the various by-now famous artists who lent their pen to the giddyap cause...Dave Berg, George Woodbridge, Russ Heath...

You can sure as shootin' bet that I can remember when the grotesquely scarred character by the name of Jonah Hex made his comic book debut given the ads hyping his arrival in quite a number of the DC titles that I just happ'd upon. Sheesh, with campaign like that who but some ten-year-old gal into the romance titles could ignore him, but even with alla the publicity directed at the guy I sure didn't take the bait---I passed on those ALL STAR WESTERNs that this obvious "anti hero" was popping up in whilst on my way to the latest MONSTERS ON THE PROWL even if the guy had somewhat of a gory appeal that would have perked the budding sadist in me. 

Like I said westerns just seemed outta my bailiwick and besides sheesh, weren't DC just plagiarizing themselves what with a character whose physical deformities were slightly similar to Batman's longtime nemesis Two Face? Seemed kinda unoriginal but since Sky Saxon was famous for swiping from himself after he swiped from the Kinks maybe it was on the level after all.

Hex's a true loner, a suspicious of everyone (with good cause) bounty hunter which was a profession that, at least according to a good portion of the tee-vee westerns I've seen o'er the years, was about one step below cleaning bovine foreskins. He was also a Confederate soldier who switched to the North and whose face got scarred after being branded with "The Mark of the Demon" which I guess was an Indian version of the old squealer zig-zag that was so popular in various New York City social circles. Well, that's one story, but whatever it sure does help out this pretty creepy (and thusly lovable in his own inimitable way) character's socio-comicology makeup rather swell. And even though he earns his living in ways that might have been taboo in societies both polite and impolite, you do get the feeling that he is a whole lot more moral than the denizens he frequently encounters, both polite and impolite at that.

I don't think I coulda handled these comics age twelve being such a nerve-frayed fear-crunched kid that I was. Now I can enjoy HEX frayed nerves and all. Way back when I woulda been bejabbered over the craven violence, heartlessness and the definitely cruel aspects of Hex. He makes his enemies go through the roughest of just desserts that are so extreme that he could even make Mr. A. shudder. In one of these sagas he gives a desperately ill guy a vial of medicine then shoots it out of his hand, and when another particularly evildoer is bitten by a rabid wildcat and pleads with Hex not to let him die alone, the scarred one tossed the corpse of the guy's brother at him! Ain't no shortage of gutbusting tragedy here...children drowned in quicksand, acres of Indians rotting in the sun, escaping Confederate POWs mowed down with gatling guns. Best part about it's that you could have bought an ish with enough pennies picked up off the sidewalk!

Fred Wertham was still around when these mags first hit the racks, and you know that he'd just die after a good five pages or so, it's that over-the-top violent and definitely against any code I can think of comics or otherwise! I'll tell ya, these must have been a quite refreshing (and needed) change from those heavy handed morality tales that were popping up in most all of the other DC titles of the day!

And oddly enough I like the art! "Oddly" if only because I never cozied up to alla them fine-penned Filipino artists that DC was pushing on us in the seventies, believing that their work was just too danged detailed and complicated for stories such as those seen in your standard comic book. However, original HEX artist Tony DeZuniga does a fantab job on this what with him capturing the whole filthy and definitely un-hygenic aspects of the Wild West, thankfully without piles of horseshit hunked up all over the place.

As a bonus DC stuck some pre-Hex ALL STAR WESTERN sagas at the tail end of the book. Good 'nuff with more De Zuniga art'n all, but the stories just don't hold up to the visage of HEX's merciless world. Like the breath mints at the restaurant they're free so don't complain.

Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Ameriga and all the shits at sea, it's BLOG TO COMM on the air once again trying to straighten out quite a few of you readers as to what REAL rock 'n roll scribing is s'posed to be all about 'stead of what you'd find in a good hunk of that college newspaper offal you've been subjected to all these ugly years. Remember, I said "trying", though whether I succeed or not is an entirely different question that's up to you to decide. Haven't had one of these "real deal" posts in quite some time so let me say 'tis sure grand meeting up with alla ya again and if you can't see the utter snark in that 'un I'm afraid you're even a more hopeless case than I'll ever be.

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One of the reasons this post took so long to get out was because of the arrival of the li'l beaut that you can see at your very left, the latest (#6) issue of FAUX WOOD PANELING which I must admit's the only magazine that I actually look forward to getting hold of in my greasy paws this far down the ol' lifeline. (The reason that this mag held up the post is because well, the only real reading time I get these days is when I'm on the commode and like well, even that can be limiting if you're on a strict diet.)  

Izzit my imagination or is this issue bigger'n the others? And if that ain't enough to get you all hot 'n bothered under the collar howzbout the contents of this mag which cover everything from Bon Scott and his involvement with and without AC/DC ('n a smart history too regarding those early days of struggle when the Easybeats connection really mattered to people like Greg Shaw) to famed Frenchman Claude Bessy, Robert Forward with his Cee-Dee burn empire and a whole slew of items both inside and out the realm of Meltzer. Even a Heavy Mother "II" tour diary pops up, just like the kind they used to have in alla them eighties "'zines". The thing even comes with a beaut of a flexidisc by some act called Mordecai which I am not going to listen to for reasons that should be obvious to longtime tuner-inners of this blog.

To put the icing on the ol' Ho Ho there's an additional magazine included with this 'un too. It's a biography written by one Timothy Buchanan, one regarding a jazztress named Una Mae Carlisle, a singer of some renown who probably gets the red carpet treatment here because she was born near FAUX WOOD PANELING's Wilberforce Ohio epicenter, mainly the tornado capital of that fair state known as Xenia (well, somewhere near its epicenter). It's a great and informative bit of jazz history to read and digest and like, if the world was a more real-deal kind of place for people like myself it would be stuff like this getting printed in bigtime magazines 'stead of the usual fluff that I assume pops up these days. If both Buchanan and Oberlin don't get any added bonus points from this when they cash their chips and meet Saint Peter I'll say there is no hope in this sad 'n sorry life of ours!

If you want one, click on the link at the left.

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Trying to keep this blog somewhat uppa date and current affairs-related well, all of this talk about the sleepy town of Springfield Ohio and the Haitians o'er there who have reportedly been swiping dogs, cats and geese for their din-dins reminded me of my own tangles with the city! T'was during the summer of 1976 and well, the folk were scheduled to do an antiques show/flea market thingie in that very city on a Saturday, only the day before the two of 'em got into a heated argument and Dad says he was definitely NOT GOING to help Mom in any wayshapeform...he was actually that steamed over something that I have forgotten about after all these years! Not having planned to go with the rest of 'em, I was more or less drafted into doing so even though I had some serious plans for that Saturday, mainly spinning records and acting like the total jerk kid I was and in many ways shall remain.

Anyhow I was awakened at two in the morn, got dressed and had breakfast as the tee-vee played THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. The final segment where all the guests gathered to sing "The Sound of Silence" still reverberates in me, and not exactly in a positive way at that. (If any of you biographers want to actually pinpoint the exact day we made the trek to Springfield I'm sure this little fact should help you out somewhat.)

So right when the television station was signing off we left in our dilapidated second-hand 1972 Ford Torino station wagon with me in the back all buried in antiques while Mom and Cyster stayed in the front. Mom drove and Cyst commandeered the radio meaning I hadda put up with repeat after repeat of Peter Frampton singing "Baby I Love Your Way" which probably encouraged my disdain for the tune even more. I remember my mother saying that she actually liked the song which surely proved that she didn't know what "your way" meant.

We arrived about daybreak, set up and well, thankfully the day was nice and sunny. I don't remember how we did sales-wise but I do recall romping about the show looking for things to ogle at. Someone was offering the original printing of THE MAD READER, the one with the "What's My Shine" story that was excised from later editions, but it was somewhat tattered so I passed (I regretted not getting it for years until the story was eventually reprinted years later and to be truthful about it the thing wasn't funny a'tall). Also espied an 8-track of the Blues Magoos' PSYCHEDELIC LOLLIPOP but since I didn't have an 8-track player I figured to save the moolah. It might have been a quarter-track...you used to see lots of those at these kinda affairs.

Anyway we packed up 'round five and got home about 9:30 in the evening or so because I remember my father was watching THE BOB NEWHART SHOW when we arrived. He seemed to have calmed down somewhat but was still slightly miffed. And of course I was tired, but it was like one of those satisfying kinda tireds you used to get after a long day at the amusement park (as if I would know since we hardly ever went to any). It was fun, and I don't recall seeing any Haitians or pets for that matter anywhere around.

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Interesting "fact" (via an ebay listing) that I never knew of regarding the infamous NUGGETS collection:

This is a must-have for any serious music collector. The two-disc set features a unique blend of psychedelic rock and garage rock, with tracks from various artists such as The Velvet Underground and The Stooges (my emphasis). The vinyl material ensures high-quality sound and the 33 RPM speed provides a smooth listening experience. The record label, Sire, released this album in 1976 and it remains a classic to this day. The black color of the record adds to its aesthetic appeal {? sez me}. The album is in near mint condition, making it a great addition to any collection. Get your hands on this rare piece of music history today!

Ya learn something new every day!

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Some sad if waywayWAY belated news to report --- do you remember a DC-area rockscribe named Elizabeth "Libby" Hatch, the very same Libby Hatch who contributed some interesting music screeding (even if I didn't especially care for her Laurel Canyon and Women's Lip opines) to the likes of HYPE(RION) and CREEM?  Y'know, the same Libby Hatch who played bass guitar with such Dee-Cee acts as the Shirkers and Tru Fax and the Insaniacs and was also known far and wide in the area for being tangentially involved with other local aggregations like Black Market Baby? Sad to say, but I just discovered that she died in a motorcycle accident during December of 1998, and although I'm sure you readers could care less I thought I'd mention her even if I didn't especially cozy up to things like her review of OUR BODIES OUR SELVES or singer/songwriter rah rahs. Well, at least this certain fact has egged me on into reading her contributions to the music press with my rockist pride hanging at half mast.

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Now for a brief interlude, the Alice Cooper Toronto Revival Festival show from September 1969, a performance so off the wall insane that it kinda makes me wonder just how Alice could end up becoming a sad shell of his former self crooning such utter snooze as "Only Women Bleed", "You and Me" not to mention that ultimate gut-wrencher "I'll Never Cry"! As far as his dismal ABC television special promoting his LACE AND WHISKEY album with that forties private eye schtick (and believe-you-me, I tried watching it!) the less said the better...

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And now for another brief interlude, a performance (I posted another one a decade or two back) by the infamous (to those "in the know") Tielman Brothers, the should be legendary in the USA Indorock band who proved that there was life in Holland long before Focus! After watching this all I have to say is...have we really progressed?

 

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The miracle of AI roars on! Gotta say that I really dig these "Super Panavision" refabrications of old tee-vee faves done up in ways I'm sure a lotta you more imaginative kids out there woulda like 'em  to have been the first time 'round! In fact I myself has gotta admit that I like the following two efforts so much that I even requested that these people do an H.P. Lovecraftian take on GREEN ACRES!:

There are at least five FLINTSTONES AI redos that I know of!:

Ditto THE JETSONS:

The Popeye one doesn't work though...he has teeth, both eyes and sheesh where are those malformed arms and legs?!?!?!:

These videos prove that one can play with energetic life forces and actually get away with it. I have great hope for AI, imagining that it can not only create interesting and unique television and motion picture entertainment for our own personal use (once the technology dribbles down to peons like myself who will be able to master our own realities without the interference of higher sociopolitical influence) but can conjure anything from long lost songs by unrecorded acts to decayed cinematic excursions that are over 120 years old! Maybe the future actually will be more Gerry Anderson and less Aldous Huxley after all!

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Tried to keep the reviews short and succinct this time but of course I will fail in my attempts, run of the mouth keyboard bornado that I was, am and shall remain. Thanks for the freebees Paul McGarry, Robert Forward, Thierry Mueller, Wade Oberlin and no one else this time!

The Unholy Modal Rounders-UNHOLIER THAN THOU 2-CD-r set (originally on Don Giovanni Records)

Lessee, I already used the Real Amerigan Folk Music line in an earlier Rounders writeup, and I don't think that you're gonna buy the schtick about these guys being part of the general mid-seventies NYC underground rock scene either (even if for all practical purposes it is true). But whaddeva, this is the Unholy Modal Rounders live at the Bottom Line in New York City doing their psychedelicized mountain man music coming off like what I wished ALL of those down-home whole wheat granola types from the seventies woulda. If music like this had only gotten out a little more back then would we have hadda put up with John Denver? Of course we woulda...people are assholes.

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QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE LP (Capitol Records)

I've tried avoiding this group's "official" efforts after year upon year of hearing about just how flatso these guys sounded in the studio as compared with their various live traipses, of which some early ones have been issued legit-wise o'er the past few decades. Those efforts capture the essence of the entire San Fran ballroom scene before that petered out into drug casualty haze, but coming upon a free copy of their '68 debut I decided to cast a whole lotta "I told you so!" to the wind and find out that well, these naysayers were quite correct. 

Not really, since QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE does show some spark of promise on the second side with the extended tracks allowing the group to stretch out into jazzy improv, but otherwise this is just downright dull. Then again I usually have to adjust my listening parameters to eke any sorta enjoyment outta most of these late-sixties psychedelic efforts so why shouldn't this 'un be any different? Well, it was better'n anything that the corpse of the SF scene was cranking out by the turn of the decade and we should be thankful for that!

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David Bowie-STATION TO STATION CD-r burn (originally on RCA Records)

Brad Kohler wants me to send him all of them Cee-Dee-Are burns that I don't want hanging around the BTC office, but when I offered him STATION TO STATION he balked because he already bought the thing for a whole dollar at the local Starvation Army. Thanks a lot bud, now I'm STUCK with this turdburger!

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Thee Headcoats Sect featuring Don Craine-HEADCOATS ON! CD-r burn (originally on Hangman Records, England)

Pshaw! These tracks featuring Downliners Sect maniac Craine also pop up on that ELEMENTARY HEADCOATS Cee-Dee I reviewed sometime back. Nevertheless this 'un's mandatory listening for any of you who were all out for the Sect ever since you found out about 'em via a variety of early-seventies fanzines, At least I get to hear that Snagglepuss impression once again.

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Lou Reed-CLEVELAND MUSIC HALL, CLEVELAND OHIO APR, 26, 1978 CD-r burn

As I've said many-a-time before, I am so glad that I was too poor to buy all the records like you rich kids sure could (hadda play the ones I did get on an ancient, dilapidated stereo as well!). Thankfully the depression-era wages I hadda subsist on saved me from having to hear some rather unappetizing records like TAKE NO PRISONERS. I assume this recording from roughly the same time is a whole dang a lot like that 'un, and if so I'm glad my $8.98 went towards other worthy goop 'stead of that mess. Somehow I get the idea that if Lou had followed Elvis' lead and went Vegas this is what his show woulda sounded like. I'd like to know which comedian Reed woulda gotten to open the show --- I think Don Rickles woulda been perfect zingin' them insults at Reed before getting strangled!

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THE TONY JACKSON GROUP CD-r burn (originally on Estudio Records, Colombia)

Haw! Have a humongous hit and then leave your group right in the middle of alla this success! Anyway that's what this Jackson guy did and well, if you happen to think that the Searchers just weren't the same without his unique nasal blare (not that any of us in the US of Whoa would know) he sure didn't do so hot on his own! Sheesh, being reduced to re-doing his big hit really must've been a comedown par excellence, but otherwise these tracks are pretty hotcha for those of you who are still enamored by sixty-plus-year-old British Invasion moves and generally moving/shaking songs both original and cover. Not a bad 'un if you're keen for these sounds.

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Michel Pagliaro-LIVE SALOON 3-CD-r burn set

I never cozied up to Pagliaro the way many adherents of the seventies power-pop Greg Shaw "it's all coming back" rah-rah club sure did, and the first disque-and-a-half sure didn't make me regret my choice one bit. By the time the famed Montrealer got into his seventies hits it all tumbled over me like a stack of back issues. Now I can hear what the likes of Jymn Parrett and a whole bunch of under-the-covers rock 'n rollers did at a time when music like the kind Pagliaro churns out on this acoustic live get-together wasn't exactly lighting a fire under the asses of the dulled out Pantsios-bred FM rock types. The extended 'tween songs French patter didn't hinder this either, sounding almost as musical as the actual tuneage.  

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Various Artists-KEB DARGE & LITTLE EDITH'S LEGENDARY WILD ROCKERS CD-r burn (originally on BBE Records, England)

I didn't think any of these early rock 'n roll compilations could get any wilder but this 'un sure does reach for levels of musical insanity. Hotcha collection of early rockabilly, plain ol' rock 'n roll and rhythm and blues that fits like a jigsaw because it sure is tuned into the better aspects of late-fitfies unto pre-Beatles sixties Amerigan doof. Most of these are new to my ears but there are a few recognizable classics such as Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads' better-be-legendary-by-now "Goo Goo Muck", not forgetting Kai Ray's "I Want Some of That" which helped put Minneapolis on the rock 'n roll map! Well, maybe not as much as the Fendermen or Trashmen did but still... A release that keeps up the energy level, but why the stoopid tiki cover anyway?

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Sun Ra-FRIENDLY GALAXY CD-r burn (originally on Leo Records, England)

A just pre-stroke Ra does fine returning to the late-fifties Arkestra style, sounding somewhat tired and ragged but still spirited enough to put on a fairly good performance. Some unfamiliar trackage here as well as a few "hoary old chestnuts" as they like to say. At least he didn't go outta this mortal coil reducing himself to Chuck Mangione dribble the way I'm sure many a record label mogul woulda wanted. Not a mandatory one, unless you're a Sun Ra fanatic and I just know there are many of you out there who are (or better be!).

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A WHOLE BUNCHA RADIO AIRCHECKS CD-r burns

Robert Forward sent these right under the ol' electro-charged wire and well, all I gotta say is what a way to top off a blogpost! The Chicago radio one featured nothing but some guy driving 'round talking about exchange students and Brazil (prolly a mistake on Forward's part), but the rest were hotcha enough in the ways they conveyed just how the concept of FM radio went from freeform entertainment to AOR pandering to the dullest aspects of doofus 18-34 years old Ameriga. Believe-you-me, I hadda LIVE through it all and you all know how much I get STEAMED!!! and wish for not only the dee-jays who played that musical mulch but their teenbo clientele to die long, painful deaths!

Tom Donahue's San Fran show from '68 was particularly boss what with his truly freeform playlist and intelligent 'tween song patter, but the "Brother Love" show on WAMO in Pittsburgh from 'round the same time was a real deal surprise for this particularly holed up in the bedroom dip of a blogschpieler! Imagine that Tim Leary type from DRAGNET uttering poster shop slogans along with guest Raymond the Condemned while Blue Cheer and Great Society tracks spin and you'll get an idea of just how cornballus something could be on one hand yet high-lariously in-tune on the other. Just take a listen to "The Museum of the Straight" and hope your name is not mentioned!

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Hokay, here's yet another end of post come on for back issues of BLACK TO COMM that I know you're gonna keep on ignoring. But eh, what else would I expect given all of that wonderful, enriching and knowledgeable rock writing one can find on the web for free. Have fun googling "Foreigner Rock Hall of Fame"...boy will you get the kind of rock news I know you're just looking for!

SHEESH, NOT ANOTHER SINGLES GOING STROONAD SO SOON???

Here's more of them singles/EPs/what-have-yous randomly dragged outta the boxes and piles, listened to and approached as if they were fresh produce to encapture (made that word up right onna spot and I hope it sticks like Warren G. Harding's "normalcy" did!) the garden of my mind. Some surprises here too, or at least they are to me given my typically sieve-like brain!

The Mystery Trend-"Mambo For Marion", "Words You Whisper"/"Empty Shoes" (Sundazed Records)

Early San Francisco beat pre-San Francisco bleat. 

The Trend kept up the trend towards the SF infatuation with British Invasion pop and general goodtime auras in the same vein as the Vejtables, the Mojo Men, the original Flamin' Groovies and Moby Grape, a group I never did cozy up to until somehow it all hit me like a slab of concrete. Maybe even v. early Jefferson Airplane when they had that gal who got knocked up in it. 

A boff selection featuring Ron Nagle and the rest romping through an authentic mambo, not to forget some straight-ahead pop rockers that I could just imagine woulda made its way to the gal with the chubby thighs that rub together and make pimples's portable record player. Heck, "Empty Shoes" has the same rhythm and romp as "Last Train to Clarksville" which says just as much good about the Trend as it does the Monkees!

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The Rocks-"The Gardens Outside"/"I'll Never Be The Same Again" (Love Records)

Yeah, another one of those eighties-era homemade singles done up by someone who almost immediately vanished into thick air. Some of these outta nowhere spins were good, others bad and if I'd have to rank this 'un I'd say it definitely was of the former variety. These Rocks guys got the garage production thing down snat enough making this record sound about as authentic a sixties/seventies local rock release as you can get. Of course the singer's crazed nasal whine helps out, echoing the unrequited longings of suburban slob teenbos who ain't gonna get no gash no matter how hard they tried! 

A-sides kinda/sorta reminds me of late-sixties Rolling Stones when they were starting to get a somewhat country twang while the flip actually recalls those House of Guitars Kack Klick/Churchmice singles which sounded so swell mixed in with the likes of the Novas and Ralph Nielsen and the Chancellors. Whoever the singer for this group was, he coulda been the eighties answer to all of my favorite rock primitives from Bernie Joelson to Magic Michael.

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The Prime Movers-"Change For The Better"/"1-2-5-" (Moulty Records)

I can sure remember when a whole load of these locally-produced records by locally-produced rock 'n roll bands on locally-produced record labels were actually worth purchasing! Later on it was like "hey you groups, go out and make a ton of records before you get your act together enough to give us something worth listening to", but at one time the more of these spinners that were comin' out the merrier because they really had something important to say as far as the continuation of a rock credo went! 

These Bostonians ain't no exception even though they unfortunately fizzled out just like all of those other neat eighties groups that gave doofs like me so much hope. "Change" is a pretty good fast-paced pop-rocker that not-so-surprisingly reminds me of something the Droogs might have been able to (and might still be able to) whip up for a nicer-than-nice a-side. The by now familiar Haunted song on the other side is good but not anywhere as good as the original. But then how many of these retro-covers have reached the same pinnacles of fantabulousness of the originals anyway? An "A" for effort anyway. Get it, only TRY finding it (which you just might!).

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Patti Smith Group-"Hey Joe"/"Radio Ethiopia (Live Version)" 12-inch 45 rpm single (Arista Records, France)

Here's one classic that I haven't spun in quite some time, the France-only reish of "Hey Joe" with a live segment from a '77 live show containing a whole number of tuneage drifting and intertwining in ways that the Grateful Dead never woulda dreamed of! 

What else can you say about the a-side which shows Smith at the beginning of her prowess weaving the teenbo anthem of 1966 into her patented mythology involving Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army. Tom Verlaine lays down some rather spidery guitar work that I'm sure made more'n a few folk in on the game hungry for some actual Television wares at a time when them Eno demos were making the rounds and getting more'n a few rock fans drooling uncontrollably. 

Flipster's the real surprise what with the tail end of some Velvet Underground-riffed number (faded in) leading to a reading of "Radio Ethiopia" leading into "Rock 'n Roll N-word" (y'see, it's OK for Patti to use "that word" but me? ARE YA KIDDIN'?) and "Land" with lotsa Smith talk in and between. Sounds so swell, especially the no-waveish guitar duel twixt Smith and Lenny Kaye which I sure shoulda liked to have gone on for a whole lot longer'n it did!

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Love-"Feathered Fish"/"It's The Marlin, Baby"; "Gethsemene" (LSD Records bootleg, Australia [yeah, right!])

In what purports to be a bootleg from a group who I thought would have been bootlegged long ago, this under-the-counter effort does the group Love swell enough even when you consider that it came out a good thirtysome years too late. Actually the a-side's Arthur Lee with some relatively "new" psychedelic act called Baby Lemonade doing the infamous Sons of Adam single side, but it captures the essence of what the original Love version would have sounded like even if it does show strains of post-sixties polish. Flip's got a side off the once-rare pre-Love American Four single which reflects the 1964 dance craze and cars attitude more than it does the 1966 expand your mind and eventually end up like David Crosby one. "Gethsemene"'s nothing but a segment of "You Set the Scene" played backwards which somehow makes sense but don't ask me how.

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Syd Barrett-FINAL SESSIONS ABBY ROAD STUDIOS 1974 7-inch 33 rpm EP (Magic Mushroom Records bootleg)

To be frightfully honest about it, I'm positive that most of you readers'll think there's nothing special about these (I think) recently-unearthed backing tracks laid down during Barrett's final session. As usual I disagree---on this nicely packaged EP (a bootleg so you know that the quality's gone into the production!) Barrett kneads out various blooze riffs (one entitled "John Lee Hooker") and other quite promising instrumentals that I get the feeling even Syd knew never were gonna see the light of day --- until now that is. It's fractured like anything and pretty much of historical value only, but oh what a history! (By the way, I reviewed this 'un exactly fifty years and three/four days since its recording which is something that should make anyone who was coming of age and discovering musical life in other forms via word of mouth and the import bins feel rather ancient!)

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Xanadu-"No Change"; "Time Bomb"/"Switch the Topic" EP (Black Hole Records)

A Destroy All Monsters-related effort that was released by the same bunch (mainly Cary Loren) who put out that boffo Monsters EP with the Virgil Finlay cover. Some turdburgers might have said that the Detroit Sound was dead and buried by the time these tracks made their way out, but it's more'n obvious that the spirit of the late-sixties was shinin' on what with records like this and groups like Sonic's Rendezvous Band up and about. 

Basically the core of the '77 Destroy All Monsters without Niagara and Michael Davis but with minimal help from Ron Asheton, and if you liked the Monsters' high energy romps there's no reason why this ultra-obscurity shouldn't be in your collection. If you can only find a copy that is because even when I snatched this 'un up it was rare (check Youtube and burn one if it's up and about)!

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The Valentines-"Juliette"/"Hoochie Coochie Billy" (Philips Records, Australia)

What was Bon Scott doing before lending his tonsils to the likes of AC/DC? Singing in this group that has about as much to do with Scott's later act as Vanessa Del Rio has to do with the Anti-Sodomy League. For a guy who was pretty much down and dirty with the legacy of seventies hard rock these sides sure come off soft and creme-filled center, nice enough pop that might be good for a few spins now and later but nothing you'd want to be inundated with when you could spend your time listening to something more soul-searing, like early AC/DC f'rinstance. Proof that Australia was once a pretty nice and hopping place for music and other things, although as we all know that has unfortunately changed.

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The Del Monas-VOLUME 2 --- HELLO WE LOVE YOU EP (Big Beat Records, England)

Billy Childish's female auxiliary playing the sixties beat right around the same time music in general became so dudsville that even listening to an interpretation of Beethoven's fifth played through my gaseous colon would have sounded better. 

Flashy takes on the Doors and Henry Mancini (btw my uncle "knew" him when the two were growing up in Aliquippa Pennsylvania and unc said that everyone thought he was a fag walking around with his violin case'n all. And we all know who had the last laugh on that!). While this is not exactly the sorta music I'd wanna listen to while locked in a room for twennysome hours straight it sure is a nice switch of modes for my own satisfaction.  

I have the feeling that Paul McGarry has a poster of the Del Monas pinned up somewhere in his shack and he has to take it down every time the wife walks into the room!

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Metal Mike-"Wig Wam Bam"/"Letter From Lou" (Sympathy For the Record Industry Records)

On this early-nineties effort Saunders proceeds even further from the metallic screech of the Angry Samoans. Done up during the height of his seventies AM pop immersion, the Sweet classic is remade/remodeled in a way that wouldn't suit any fan of the group but wha' th' hey. Flipster eludes me with the reversed backing track and dialogue I assume has something to do with the then not-so-late Mr. Lou Reed, although back when this was unleashed some thirtysome years back I probably knew what it was all about and coulda cared less. Here's a fact that'll make a lump in your throat...Metal Mike is now a whopping SEVENTY-TWO YEARS OLD which I think is about the same age Charley Weaver died. Don't think that Mike's walking around in suspenders and a funny hat yet.

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The Screamin' Mee-Mees-HOME MOVIES EP (Bag of Hammers Records)

This be the second Mee-Mees EP that, as if you didn't know awlready, didn't make it out '78 way due to lack of funds. Better late'n never I guess, although I know all of you rock-starved maniacs who were up and about back then woulda loved to have had this 'un spinnin' on your Hitachi or even hibachi for that matter. Reviewing this is (just like I am) useless considering how each and every one of you who tunes into this blog knows the whys and wherefores of this group, so come to your own conclusions and remember them days when records by groups like this 'n Half Japanese sure did their darndest to re-introduce trash aesthetics into a world where "hip" kids would hang mouths agape when hearing the sound travel from one speaker to another.

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Guess Who?-"Shakin' All Over"/"Till We Kissed" (Scepter Records)

A-side's such a bonafeed classic that even Rush Limbaugh used to use it as bumper music. A definite "nugget if you duggit" that made that punk rock tape compilation in FUSION (which might be the kinda "mixtape" you should have in your very own collection, and cook one up for me while you're at it!). The other side's a definite Merseysound ripoff but like you in the bathroom it holds its own. A fine slab from a rock group who sure did the world swell before making that anti-Amerigan rock record that got all of those hippie kids buyin' it up while mom 'n pop fumed.

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Donny Osmond of the Osmonds-"Sweet and Innocent"/"Flirtin'" (MGM Records)

One of those reminders of why I hated listening to the radio until I heard "Get it On (Bang a Gong)" during my pre-pubesprout days of duh. The gurls used to wax eloquent about Donny and Crew but I held my nose at least until that one single about Skylab that I kinda liked, but anyway here's that hit which is so treacly sweet that I'm finally gonna get that Ozempic Rx filled after the insurance company said nada because I ain't a full-fledged diabetic. One more record for kid brother to go stompin' on while prowling through big sis's room.

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Chad and Jeremy-"Donna Donna"/"If I Loved You" (World Artists Records)

Gotta admit that I prefer Chad and Jeremy to their one tall guy and another with glasses doppelganger Peter and Gordon, but this particular slice just ain't as juicy as I would have hoped. The a-side sounds somewhat like a commercialized Fairport Convention and the flip's too string gloss mooshy to even be a good enough get yer gal into the mood tit squeezer. Eh, it's way more listenable than anything that is deemed listenable these days so why should I quarrel? They sure were good on the Van Dyke show though.

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Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde-"Yesterday's Gone"/"Lemon Tree" (World Artists Records)

Gee, can't seem to shake these two off! Anyway here's their first hit, the only one to make it big in England while becoming a monstrous hit leading to many others over here in the United States of Acne. I ain't got not complaints about this 'un as far as being a middling British Invasion track --- sure the Sonics or Kinks woulda blown 'em off the stage but you can enjoy it in its own teenybop way. The other side has a laughably gloppy version of that Peter Paul and Mary hit you older turds were forced to sing in music class, something which I'm sure should get you more riled up than me having to sing "Up With People!".

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Johnny Tillotson-"Talk Back Trembling Lips"/"Another You" (MGM Records)

The "Earth Angel" guy creating more music with those gloppy strings bound to get the bras off and the tits squeezed (unlike "Donna Donna"!). Since it wasn't as big a hit as the Ernest Ashworth version I get the feeling that there were more bras left on and a whole load of unsatisfied suckems out there which is too bad for the gals. Well, at least the radio might played "Theme From a Summer Place" later on...that was always one that got the libido bubbling full blast for alla them susceptible teenbos!

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The Wailers-"Mashi"/"On The Rocks" (Night Club Records, Germany)

I might've written this 'un up onna blog earlier but if I did so what, you get ANOTHER review of it goody goody you. A-side's that wild instrumental from the WAILERS AND COMPANY/TALL COOL ONE album and it still rages hot early-sixties drive that stood in the face of all the droopier music that was supposedly ruinin' things for all those rock 'n rollers just waiting for the Beatles (believe-you-me, there was enough good rock 'n rollin' stuff comin' outta the early-sixties to counteract all of the horrid mainstream moosh once you get down to it and study a few charts of the day!). The flip's another version (I believe the '64 mini-hit remake) of "Tall Cool One" under its original title. It is good enough even if this take lacks the slow moody drive of the original but better this onna charts than "Roses Are Red". Overall this is some pretty hotcha early punk rock that makes a good portion of the punk that came out post-eighties sound mighty petunia-esque!

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Lucky Wray with Link and Doug Wray-"Teenage Cutie"/"You're My Song" (Starday Records)

One of them early sides by Vern Wray and what used to be known as the Palomino Ranch Hands, here doing a rockabilly bopper driven by bro Link's humpin' sound. Considering what I know about Vernon's career as a pop crooner type (never did hear any of these sides so I'm going by mere hearsay) this does come as somewhat of a surprise, almost as much as when the once-slick Vern went the Willie Nelson route in the early seventies and grew his hair long with a beard to match! The other side's a slow mover which I get the feeling sounds close to the Ray Vernon style of classic teen croon that even got Dick Clark hypin' him (well, Mr. Clark dug the Wraymen too which is at least one good feather in his somewhat empty cap!). As far as Vern's and Link's subsequent output goes, this might have been the danged start of it all.

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The Three Stooges and Orchestra-HAPPY YULETIDE FAVORITES EP (Golden Records)

Given the general beat-upness of this 'un I get the idea that the original owner got quite a few Christmas spins outta the thing. I also get the idea that the same guy now belongs to some crazy religious cult that doesn't believe in celebrating Christmas which is why I'm now in possession of this beaut! Too bad for the grandkids (who are probably locked in some closet) but great for me given how starved for Stoogemania I was during my groaning up days (folks too cheap to get an antenna high enough to draw in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh indie stations that were showing the Stooges because they thought the antenna would keep blowing over and they didn't wanna dish out the money in case it did, and besides I watched enough tee-vee as it was and you wonder why I grew up so frustrated!).

It's the revival-era Stooges, toned down a tad but still hitting the sparks for the spoiled brat generation. It may not quite translate to record the way it did to tee-vee and the theatres but its good 'nuff to at least ooze some kidtime frolicking feeling outta you.  If you were the type of ranch house kiddie who was front and center for these guys whether they were popping up on ED SULLIVAN or the afternoon kid show you'll get a kick outta it. Give it a spin, and while yer doin' it pause for a moment and think of all the suburban slobs (or at least me) who were denied growing up with these guys because of budget conscious parents and local stations who would rather show Merv Griffin or some rerun of a series that didn't need to be aired the first time around for that matter!

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The Voodoo Dolls-"I'm Coming Back To Haunt You"/"This Town Makes Me Feel So Lonely" (Stanton Park Records)

By the time this single came out (1989) there were many self-produced small label efforts by the usual "underground rock" suspects to choose from, that is if you were a fan of the rockin' Big Beat. Unfortunately a good number of the records that were getting unleashed weren't worthy of anyone's time and thankfully got washed down the drain of "who cares" (see Prime Mover review above), but this rarity is one that really was savable if you were might picky about what was allowable in your collection. Not that the Voodoo Dolls were whatcha'd call jaw-dropping inspiring, but they could sure punch out a song in ways that your local REM wannabes never could fathom. Straight ahead rock 'n roll without the frills (think the New York Dolls without Johansen's pout), the kind they used to call "punk" before that term became one of eternal pariahdom. Not bad really.

It has been awhile. Well, it's not exactly like I'm champing at the bit anymore to get these posts out to you given just how much most readers of the very few rock blogs out there could care less, but the usual delays and real life deals always do get in the way. Besides, I thought that my recent scribblings really were hitting the "number two" category to the point where even my earliest submissions to various outlets (which many of you readers actually liked, go figure!) seemed profound in comparison. I always sometimes on a rare occasion strive for quality in my writings, and what I had been laying to pixel just wasn't cutting even the ol' cheese. Hope this heavily remade/remodeled batch of writeups fits the bill, and I gotta say that I think maybe a tad of it does.

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Biggest kultural happening as of late has to be the bright idea (no sarcasm here --- I mean it!) at FETV to bring back not only the color DRAGNETs to the cathode tube but drag HIGHWAY PATROL outta the mothballs for a good re-eval. The late-sixties DRAGNETs are always a ball to watch what with Jack Webb as Joe Friday delivering the monotone nasal moralizing and witty comebacks as he takes on not only the new morality but all of those ditzy Los Angelinos he has to question. Pretty brazen stuff especially these days where life has 180'd and the inmates are not only running the asylum but re-enacting the Red Terror, an extremely refreshing change from all of that "entertainment" I've been trying to avoid as long as I can remember. One major quibble tho --- remember that episode when Friday and Gannon go after a high school gang of shoplifters who wore garish "mod" garb stolen from the Sears Tiger Shop? Well, the opening schpiel that the head of the department gave to Friday and partner Gannon re. the change in values at the time was HEAVILY EDITED leaving out the mention as to how drugs, free sex and even homosexuality are now starting to be accepted! All I gotta say to FETV is...cluck cluck cluck!

Never saw HIGHWAY PATROL but now I have, and this crazed fan of classic pre-hippie tee-vee realism really is pleased as paunch as Don Fellman would say.  Broderick Crawford doesn't look or even act like the kinda leading man for a rough and tumble series like this but he works out swell overweight and craggy as he is. The show, or at least the episodes I've viewed, go on at a rapid pace and given that my only knowledge of HIGHWAY PATROL was an old MAD spoof I can finally see where all the humor that went over my head way back when came from...I mean Crawford's offhand responses are the total antithesis to Webb's downright cutting putdowns! "Oh well", "that's the way the ball bounces" etc.! Eh, so what if Crawford can't crank out the witticisms, HIGHWAY PATROL's a quite good and driving series that keeps up the pace whether they're on the search for a honeymooning sailor with meningitis or stomping a murderous confidence team.

By the way, someone once said they thought I looked like Crawford which I thought was cool. However another thought that I looked (and sound) more like Jack Weston which I think is even cooler perhaps because I'm more familiar with Weston's work than I am Crawford's! Yeah, I could go on and lie to you about how some people think I look like Paul McCartney or Superman for that matter, but have I ever led you astray?

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Here's a FERD'NAND that got me not only thinking about cheap electric guitars but Stone the Crows...

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Hey, whatever happened to acid rain?

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And while I'm at it, did you ever realize that the old term "our fine furry friends" has a totally new meaning these days?

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A reader has informed me that he was totally unable to leave a comment on the blog which I thought rather odd since I did a "testing one-two-three" myself and sure 'nuff the comment did appear. If you are trying to leave a message and find it extremely difficult to do so well, tough turds.

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Current fave thrill...watching tutorials on Youtube on how to use breast pumps given by young, thankfully non-lactating Japanese maidens who have no shame pulling their squeezies out for all to see. Sure beats videos on irrigating your garden.

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A video from back in them days when they sure had more of an impact on the core of rockist desires than those artzy things that ruined music and for good. The Spotnicks with "Rocket Man" (alright --- the Rocket Man, and I think it's gonna be a long long time before people start to give this one the time of day and forget the Elton John song of the same name):

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Oh boy, time for the reviews! Thanks to Forward, Mueller and McGarry! No thanks to YOU...

David Bowie-YOUNG AMERICANS CD-r burn (originally on RCA Records)

I'm sure glad that I was too poor to buy records back when this turdburger came out. Bowie goes disco in between stints as a glitter rocker and a kraut/avgarde composer, and this music does nothing but remind me of just what a huge bummer the radio scene was at a time when you really hadda look hard for some sorta music that was in tune with your own nervous system. An extremely tiresome exercise in gettin' down with da bro's, blackface with neutral shoe polish.

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Doug Hammond-REFLECTIONS IN THE SEA OF NURNEN CD (Octave Lab Records, Japan)

IN THE "YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY" DEPARTMENT: Here's a spinner that I've recently discovered under the strangest of circumstances, and as to why I snatched the thing up in the first place well... just read on and decide for yourself just how skewered the cogs of cohesion are in my messed up beyond belief brain.

Much of the time context, circumstance and situations surrounding the song or performers have as much to do with me enjoying music as the actual sounds do themselves. It might sound silly to you, but I'm very susceptible to hints and offhand remarks/comments/asides that stick in the fertilizer of my mind and grow like that legendary mustard seed as the old saying goes. Sometimes there might be some artist or recording that doesn't quite jibe with me, but I'll discover some seemingly extraneous fact related to the music or artist that adds a unique dimension to the process that makes me enjoy it via a quite different frame of ears. Or I find out that a certain person was in a group I previously haven't given the time of day and start searching out their back catalog for a new throb thrill in listening. Or even something silly like discover some obscuro act who played one of the NYC rock bistros of the seventies and all of a sudden a curiosity overcomes that'd kill off a house full of cats. 

And that's exactly the thing that happened when I did some research on this particular act I knew nada about and discovered that one new and different thing I tend to learn as each day crawls on. Something that would get me to want and go hear said act, of course which is pretty difficult given that a good portion of the obscurities that have made legendary music in the sixties and seventies will probably never be heard because their creators prefer to let the tapes rot in some sock drawer.

And so I snatched the Cee-Dee in question up if only because of the title's appearance in an old CBGB listing which can be seen on the right, picking it up like a racetrack reg'lar'll bet on a horse on a weird hunch (like I would do with those who had double-entendre names, though it never did work!). The time, venue, title and a promise of some new and hopefully soul-shattering sounds had me dishing out the dinero, but will I get stuck with yet another turdburger like I have on previous hunches or will this 'un be the kind of spinner that'll reach into the depths of my psyche and do things that only philosophy major undergrads could explain with the usual obtrusive language that comes with these specimens?

So what's this about? I think the sounds that appear on REFLECTIONS IN THE SEA OF NURNEN (not a Tolkien fan so the mystic vibes of the name are lost on me) is now tagged as "Spiritual Jazz" because it ain't quite new thing yet it ain't bop. Rather "modern", even pop at times, but thankfully with this underlying bared wire stream of intensity running through it that makes the listening more enticing even if you aren't a fan of any interesting jazz developments since the mid-fifties. Good enough though, since even the vocalizing with all of that get down brothers for the cause messaging doesn't make any of you whiteys wanna puke. The electronic interludes "Space II" and "Space I", in that order) date this in quite a good way too, reminding me of the kind of extraterrestrial sounds that I used to enjoy hearing on the radio and such and even inspired me to write the term paper with that "Sien Ra" gaffe I'll never get out of my brain.

Really not bad in the way it moves and doesn't get lumped up in the intestines of your mind. I wonder how this was performed at that CB's gig and I get the idea that the crowd thought is swell just like they would with a good portion of WHATEVER was transpiring on the stage in combination with a variety of libation and chemical boosters.

Even though I don't have to write a term paper on this 'un I think some research re. group leader Doug Hammond (who handles not only the vocals but the drums, ARP and a melodica!) and where he was and perhaps even IS and if in fact he has croaked you could say he lives on via this rather top notch effort that I'm sure glad didn't get any felines killed --- maimed maybe but not killed.

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Mike Nock-ONDAS CD (ECM Records, Germany)

Haw, was Meltzer pulling our leg 'r what when he dropped that Throbbing Gristle comparison in some early eighties CREEM "Rock-A-Rama" writeup! Still, you might enjoy this 'un at least for Nock's evocation of a scant few yet potent enough Paul Bley stylings and a moody groove that doesn't drift into gnu agey territory like a good portion of eighties "jazz" seemed to. Otherwise this woulda sounded much better had it been recorded for 1965 ESP rather than 1982 ECM, who by this time really did settle into their slick it up beyond belief groove custom made for the boring beyond belief college jazz radio show of your choice.

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Marco Angius Ensemble Prometeo-JOHN CAGE-IMAGINARY LANDSCAPES CD (Stradivarius Records, Italy)

It's sure grand that John Cage recordings are readily available in this day and age because, back when I was discovering the music of the avgarde during my later days of teenbodom these records were harder to find than Scotsmen tossing money out the window. Years later my curiosity as to what those early Cage compositions sounded like has been sated thanks to albums such as this dago effort, one that captures the sound and spirit of classic Cage rather spiffy-like. The entire run of "Imaginary Landscapes" presented out-of-order (but for a good reason --- I think) along with "Sixteen Dances", and it'll probably bring up more old tymey memories of what Sunday Morn television used to be like other'n with alla those religious shows and old cartoons. Whatever happened to curled pinkies and snob culture anyway?

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Wild Billy Childish-I AM THE OBJECT OF YOUR DESIRE CD-r burn (originally on Friends of the Buff Medway Fanciers Association, England)

Best thing I heard from Childish since his last best thing. Hefty royalties should be paid to the Downliners Sect what with all of the ideas that were swiped from 'em (well, Sect member Don Craine does pop up here somewhere so maybe he's getting some monetary reward). Best part's the rather realistic recreation of pre-stereophonic low-fidelity complete with scratches, pops and skips. Well, I THINK all of them scratches/pops/skips were done ON PURPOSE...

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THE MARZETTE WATTS ENSEMBLE CD-r burn (originally on Savoy Records)

It was so difficult (make that IMPOSSIBLE) locating a flesh and blood copy so I am grateful to Paul McGarry for burning this somewhat legendary free jazz effort. Not as urban revolution tense as Watts' ESP effort but still powerful in that great orbit of late-sixties new thing. Some notable names are backing him up here along with a slew of who are they's, and the presence of Amy Sheffer (here "Shaeffer") cooing on Bill Dixon's "Octobersong" and Patty Waters singing her own lyrics to Ornette's "Lonely Woman" makes me wish this 'un had gotten around a whole lot more'n it did. Was this ever reissued, legit or otherwise?

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Various Artists-THE LONDON R&B SESSIONS --- LIVE AT THE HOPE AND ANCHOR 1979 CD-r burn (originally on Albion Records, England)

Never ever thought of buying these Hope and Anchor platters back when they were first up and about so this effort could be considered a nice li'l inclusion into my collection. A mix of names familiar, not and who cares, the selection is potent enough to the point where you do kinda feel pangs of guilt for ignoring a good portion of it. Big names include Lew Lewis, Wilco Johnson's Solid Senders, the post-Johnny Kidd Pirates and (Count) Bishops, not to mention others I know nada about. Nothing to slouch at either!

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The Battered Wives-LIVE ON MOTHERS DAY CD-r burn (originally on Ready Records, Canada)

Maybe you remember the controversy surround this group what with alla them freaked out women's shelter types who were oh so offended by their name to the point where they showed up protest signs and all to display their hurt feelings for the six o' clock news? Well, with a moniker like the Battered Wives I would have expected this to be some cruddy fly-by-night punk rock group trying to capture just as much publicity as they could via controversy like a small-scale Dead Kennedys're somethin'. 

Surprisingly enough (at least for myself) the Battered Wives were a pretty straightforward rock 'n roll group closer to the early-seventies hard-edged version of the Flamin' Groovies than to Jello Biafra's gang, a band that worked the audience over with a slew of keen covers mixed with spot on originals all done up in a way that you knew that them FM-bred dolts who surrounded you woulda said they hated it even though music like this very well woulda been up their not-so-expansive alleys. Don't miss their durty version of "Great Balls Of Fire" that closes this mess out! 

And as for the name well, them wives who did get the rough treatment from their spouses probably DESERVED whatever they got! Y'know, unmade beds, lousy dinner, forgot to douche... Women today...shee!

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Various Artists-ACID VISIONS VOLUME 8 : TEXAS SIXTIES GARAGE PUNK CD-r burn (originally on Spalax Records, France)

This volume consists of only three groups, the Nomads, the Brix and the Chapparals, but it is nice to have these tracks grouped together for scrutiny 'stead of spread out over a few dozen of these collections. Some bonefeed classics here (the Nomads' "Three O'Clock Merrian Webster Time") mixed up with some (let's just say MOST) tracks that are new to my lobes, and they all got that edgy intense sound that you all know was birthed from the addled genius of the 13th Floor Elevators with sidesteps into everyone from the Kinks to the Association. A reminder of just how rich a movement like rock 'n roll was before social upheaval eventually turned it all into James Taylor and Carole King mewl made for the same sorta gals who were spinning the Seeds only a few years earlier. And I hope their kid brothers stomp all all of their Cat Stevens albums!

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Black Flag-WASTED...AGAIN CD-r burn (originally on SST Records)

By the time this comp came out I was so awash in too many real life dealings/tragedies that it wasn't like I could work myself up over possessing a rec such as this. Actually it wasn't like I could afford a rec like this given how a load of my "earnings" were going towards not only my much-loathed crudzine but a good thirtysome years of backlogged albums I had missed out on. 'n hey, why'd'ja think I was doin' all that beggin' at the time anyway, for my HEALTH???

Now that so much has passed me by in the realm of life I finally get my mitts on a burn of this and well, I gotta say that it's pretty neat as far as capturing a nice slice of the Black Flag "legend" what with that driving wall of blare that said more about the positive aspects of the eighties than any of the happyhappy swill being gobbled up during them days sure did!

Not being as well-versed in the Black Flag canon as all you rich kids are, this was a nice slice of their oeuvre that thankfully reminds me of some of the highlights of that dank decade the further we get from the better.

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Various Artists-ROCK AND ROLL VIXENS --- 25 BLACK WOMAN SINGER MOVERS & SHAKERS CD-r burn (originally on Koko Mojo Records, England)

A gaggle of tracks both rare and not (the Cookies) that at least for me sums up the fifties/early-sixties femme r/b oeuvre about as much as it can be. Good bunch too...not all of the vocalists are of the female persuasion but they dominate and as you'd expect most of these are so good you kinda wonder why they didn't top the charts way back when. A fair enough change from the same old. Interesting enough track --- Luther and Little Eva's version of "Ain't Got No Home" sounds remarkably like the original and I highly doubt that this Little Eva's the "Turkey Trot Gobble Gobble Diddilit" one.

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Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra-STRANGE STRINGS (EXPANDED VERSION) CD-r burn (originally on Cosmic Myth records)

One of them "remastered with even more bonus tracks than the last reissue" releases which might make those of you who dished out for the one on the Unheard Music label mad but hey, I got mine free so fooey on you! Here's what I wrote about the original reissue:

I haven't been buying let alone listening to many of the recent Sun Ra digups outside of those boffo Norton reissues of early r&b/doo-wop single sides, but the idea of Ra and band working out on nothing but stringed lutes, lotars, kotos and other pluckers kinda got the best of me so what else could I do but plunk down my precious hard-begged! This '67 session does typify the Arkestra of the day sounding rather ESP-Disk in approach, though by the time the band pulls out the twangers this gets to be one of the more atonal, barbaric and downright brain-scrambling Ra releases I've had the pleasure to hear. Imagine "Interpretation" from THE SOLAR MYTH APPROACH VOL. 2 taken to even more frightening levels of incomprehension and you'll know what this, bonus track and all, sounds like. I was spinning it while reading some old CREEM mags last night and the effect was so intense that for a minute I thought I was Dave Marsh getting my cajoobies stuck in a meat grinder! Now how about that!

Now add even more numbers and you'll have all you need to know before buying this spinner. I sure wish this came already expanded way back when but ya gotta admire these people in the way they get you to re-buy the same stuff over and over again!

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SUNDAY/MONDAY MORNING HANGOVER 8/8-9/11 2 CD-r burn set

More of the same type of radio throb thrills that I reviewed last bigtime post, though not as exciting. Sopwith Camel yeah, sitar music no, rock musician anti-drug spots are about as sincere as you. Electronica profundo. Too much Hollies as if we haven't heard enough of 'em in our lifetimes, but the death songs (even the overplayed ones) got me alive! Eh, if I actually heard this onna real deal radio I probably wouldn't change stations.

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Prices are going up, but as for now these old issues of BLACK TO COMM still seem to stay the same. Meaning you'll really be getting more booty for your buck if you buy a whole bunch of 'em up now before the prices do go up and you'll wish you bought them now when your pennies are going a whole lot farther than they'll be when you eventually will get hold of 'em. Or something like that. Anyway they're here for you, and if you don't have any in your greasy paws well, you don't.