COMIC BOOK REVIEW! MARVEL TALES #4, SEPTEMBER 1966 ISSUE (Marvel Comics Group)

Whilst immersing myself in all sorts of visual and aural stimulation during my just pre-pubesprout days, it was an unfortunate fact that by the time I became seriously involved in the early days of the Marvel Age of Comics these titles were all but impossible to latch onto. Sad to say, these much desired early-sixties Marvels that I had a hankerin' to read (especially considering the high regards I held for that period in time regarding music/art/television even at that early age) were long out of my reach and sheesh, for the most part even the reprint books that came in their wake couldn't be found in any of the comic book stacks that appeared in many a garage sale or flea market that I patronized. You can betcha bottom buckskin that such a predicament led to a whole load of heavy duty angst and anxiety on my part which I get the feeling has ruined me for the rest of my life...sheesh if I only had read these comics at the time when they were needed to help build me into the Complete Human Being that I so longed to be I just might have turned out a better person, or at least something passable. Who knows? But then again, maybe I might have turned out even more warped that YOU!

At least Marvel were still pumping out their various monster and fantasy reprint books which gave me a taste of what the early superhero entries were like what with that Kirby/Ayers and Steve Ditko artwork (not so much Don Heck although I don't like to pick on him the way many in the world of fandom did) that makes most post-1970s comic art look positively hackneyed. But on that rarer-than-rare occasion when some issue of MARVEL COLLECTORS ITEM CLASSICS or MARVEL TALES would manage to enter into my life well, you can be sure that I was happier than a bulldyke at an all gal high school track meet. Forget all of that OUR TOWN sappy go back in time for one day pablum that was made to appeal to the worst aspects in one's existence...if I hadda relive a day in my life it would be one where I did nothing but immerse myself in a whole stack of vintage 1962-65-era Marvels in my farted-up bedroom with doors bolted shut, and if someone wanted me to go to the store or take out the trash I'd make sure that the radio was on full blast thus to protect me from any extraneous noise! Sheesh but did I need that Kennedy-era fantasy and campy yet ingenious storylines that made these comics so different from the competition who were trying to ham it all up while falling flat on their faces I'll tell ya. 

Did I ever tell you about the time when the school was having one of those game of chances and flea-market-y type fairs being held in the gym and there was an old book booth with reading matter that was way up my thirteen-year-old expansive alley? Of COURSE I have but for those of you new to the blog well...while helping to set up for the fair I espied not only an early-sixties NANCY paperback that I wanted oh so badly given how much that gal was a fond companion ever since the haziest of my turdler days but MARVEL COLLECTORS ITEM CLASSICS #1 which was something that I most dearly needed in that very early teenbo tubbo existence of mine. Wanted to pay for 'em right then and there but was told not to because well...these turdburgers always had their own reasons for such strange rules so I decided to just stand RIGHT BY THE ENTRANCE and be the first in line when the fair officially opened and snatch these and other necessary items up before anyone else could, and boy was I ready to pounce upon 'em as soon as the go was given! 

However, when the doors were opened and I rushed to that old books 'n mag kiosk these two must-haves were NOWHERE TO BE FOUND!!!!! You can bet I was disappointed and even asked the proprietor of the booth what the fug was goin' on but got one of those weak-kneed responses, something like the donor wanted them back which I gotta say smells fishier than your cyster's underwear. Talk about being burned beyond burned! 

I assumed that somebody with clout greater than mine actually swiped these items for his own reading pleasure or (what probably happened) someone with a grotesque hatred of me (and boy were there many!) snatched these titles knowing how much I wanted them and did so just to burn my butt! Yeah, that's most likely what happ'd, though I was able to console myself by finding one of the very last issues of DC's JERRY LEWIS comics to possess for my very own. Yeah, some consolation though I will say that, for some strange reason, that joke on the text page (JERRY LEWIS not-so-surprisingly enough did not have a lettercol given it was a supposedly comedy-oriented title and who cares about those?) where a now strictly verboten mention about an Indian who liked to put cough syrup on his pancakes continues to stick in my cranium. 

As you all know, I hold grudges for a real long time and in this case things are NO DIFFERENT! I'm still miffed about this incident even to this day, but I eventually managed to get hold of both the COLLECTORS ITEM CLASSICS and the NANCY book (the first one within the year and the second one a good twenny-five years later). But sheesh, even to this day I am roasting mad that I wasn't able to pick these un's up when they were just within the reach of my grubby pre-adlo paws! 

Eventually, I bought up a whole bunch of these late-sixties Marvel superhero reprint titles given that the originals by then were even more far gone than these collections. I dug 'em, especially the earlier ones which used to reproduce the original covers albeit shrunk down considerably, and even to this day I still have quite a few of 'em that I've kept o'er the years rotting away in some corner of the hovel I call my home.

'nuff autobiographical goo in a hideously lame attempt for y'all to feel sorry for me but anyway, I got hold of today's subject in question very recently (and for a relatively good price) because the one I bought well over three decades back at some flea market actually had the Human Torch splash panel ripped out (t'was sealed and boy wasn't I such a trusting fanabla!). This 'un's intact and in pretty good condition, and considering that the tales featured in this one were only three years old when MARVEL TALES #4 came out it just goes to show you just how much in demand these stories for alla them Johnny-cum-latelies who were too poor or stupid (or in my case too turdler) to get these sagas when they first hit the stands.

The Spiderman story reprinted's features the return of Our Hero's old villain the Vulture that originally popped up late 1963, a time when alter ego Peter Parker was still wearing those unrealistic-looking round spectacles that would fortunately get broken in the next ish and left off his face permanently. To be honest about it I gotta say that I like the glasses because they gave Parker a Clark Kent sorta demeanor but otherwise well, this is a hotcha story that thankfully reflects an early/mid-sixties aura that I always liked (and still do) in my media. It's yet another early Marvel-era camp up which satisfies enough even if I continue to wince at the way Parker is pushed around by All Amerigan Turd Flash Thompson who, just like everyone with looks, status and High Stool Cred, deserves the severe thrashing that Parker keeps fantasizing about giving him (let's face it, Parker AIN'T John Morton). Well, Parker don't wanna blow his cover so he just has to suck it up way more'n even Georgina Spelvin could, and what pre-teenbo pudge couldn't relate to that!

For one reason or another the Human Torch had his own series apart from THE FANTASTIC FOUR that ran in STRANGE TALES, and if you ask me it was a durn good one at least until the Thing became part of the act and the entire series flopped worse'n your high-flying goldfish. In this particular series Johnny Storm is living with his big cyster Sue (the Invisible Girl) in some Long Island high-end suburb and supposedly trying to keep his true identity a secret which is weird because well, in THE FANTASTIC FOUR everybody knew who he was so why the big hush hush? Why the sibs are living the suburban slob lifestyle 'stead of in the Baxter Building I do not know but it does make a nice setting for this new series which concentrates on the Torch's teenbo lifestyle away from the rest of the crew. Anyway in this 'un (the second solo Human Torch saga in case yer keeping tabs) the kid's stacked up against a John Carradine-looking badski called the Wizard who not only has the abilities to make Houdini come off Third Grade Amateur Hour but's got a great hankerin' to put the Torch out of business because hey, why not pick on some random superhero to disgrace if you're an evil sort with loads of hoohah to your name?

Thor was also starting up 'round the same time and, other'n the story where Kirby was busy elsewhere so Stan Lee got future Spire Christian Comics mastermind Al Hartley to do the honors, the entire JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY run was what I'd call about as perfect as one could be. Yeah, the soap opera-y subplot dealing with Thor's love for nurse Jane Foster was something that shoulda been shoved into some girly romance comic, but as far as creepy badboys and twisto-changeo plots go these were fab. Here Thor, while helping the US gub'mint test out the new "C" Bomb, meets up with yet another totally bald madman from the future who steals the weapon with Thor following him a good three centuries in order to retrieve it. Lemme tell you, the year 2262 sure looks like a fine place to live...guess that between here and the future all of the detrimental to civilization ideas that we're now living through have been vanquished and the kind of ideal world I'd sure like to exist in actually is going to come to fruition despite the overwhelming odds. Sheesh, not a pink-haired (supposedly) female creature in sight!

I've been an Ant-Man fan ever since that story where he shrunk himself and was injected into the Vision's bloodstream, and I (do tell, do tell!!!) prefer him over the various future Henry Pym variations like Giant Man and Yellowjacket who seemed so one-D compared with the other Marvel heroes that were cluttering up the late-sixties and early-seventies. In this January 1963-dated story from TALES TO ASTONISH the midgie superhero is pitted against the Scarlet Beetle, an insect with the mind of a somewhat intelligent but not quite rational puny human who uses Ant-Man's growth gas to become human-size and turn Earth into an insect-ruled dictatorship (as if it already weren't as any hot summer day will tell you)! Not so surprisingly enough this story resembles those earlier Marvel monster sagas where some overgrown alien/mutant threat to society is unleashed upon us, only this time a superhero 'stead of some everyday fanabla saves the world and as usual gets not a shred of credit for his good deeds.

's all good stuff and a reminder of the days when not only did comic art look like what you would expect to be peddled to a suburban slob pre-pubesprout but the stories celebrated heroism and the problems that sometimes would go along with being one. After reading these I have come to the conclusion that Marvel really was at its peak until it became so conscious of its place in the world of comicdom and Stan Lee's head became even more swelled than previous (if that really was possible). For a guy like me who likes his comics the way they were back when the publishers actually strived for good visuals, interesting and engaging stories and best of all that pre-hippie era sense of morality and hope for a better world (and not the dystopia many people seem to be striving for today) these early Marvel sagas really do live up to their legend even if we all knew what kind of a jerk Lee coulda been at times.

BOOK REVIEW! THE CRICKET - BLACK MUSIC IN EVOLUTION 1968-69 (Black Forums Editions, 2021)

Back in the kulturally-vapid eighties I was bemoaning the fact that there was not ONE fanzine out there in notice-me land that was devoted to the avgarde/free jazz idiom, one that was done up in a definitely Bangs/Meltzer "style" where various New Thing players from the fifties onward got written up, perhaps with a nod towards the various rock 'n roll acts who actively took various jazz moves and incorporated them into their own ranch house suburban slob styles. Heck even I thought about diving deep into such an endeavor only that I was one who was wanting to learn more rather than disseminate the information, and besides it wasn't like I had the moolah to involve myself in such a worthy project given how all of my hard-begged was going towards my own publishing efforts. Then again none of YOU did either so one big fie o' thee! We sure coulda used one tho.

I wouldn't exactly call CRICKET a fanzine even though a good portion of its space was taken up with coverage of the late-sixties movement in jazz cataclysm (making it not that different from the vast assortment of jazz fanzines that have been up and about since the thirties). It was more or less in the "small press" category given the credo of the people involved, but it was a mag that I would have somewhat envisioned coming out a good fortysome years back had a person out there only had the wherewithal to slap something along these lines together. With more pictures perhaps and that hard gonz writing style, but still CRICKET is an interesting surprise for this guy who probably heard of its existence a good time back and naturally forgot all about it.

There's a lot in here, even stuff that white people can like if you're the kind of white person who goes whole hog into the variety of aspects that have been poured into the font of  sixties/seventies new thing expression. LeRoi Jones soon to be Imamu Amiri Baraka by the fourth issue was the brains behind this "Jihad Publication" so's you'll get an idea what to expect even if there's only one Jewish ref that I've caught in the entire run.  Loads of hefty opinions and deep thought regarding the late-sixties black jazz experience, along with some nice 'n cutting putdowns regarding some allegedly dire efforts from people these guys expected more of (Shepp, Ayler) and some downright crass yet truthful enough opines with regards to some of the whiter breed of sounds (even if done by definitely black people) that was coming out of the tear yourself apart unless you were living in Sharon PA year of 1968. Rec reviews, poetry, short sagas etc. pop up in these pages and even you won't be bugged by the overt pro-afro ideals put forth (these being the pre Negro fatigue days) because the force and drive of Baraka and crew including A.B. Spellman and Larry Neal are for the most part things that any fan and follower of the avgarde would be bound to take to heart.

Heck you get some surprise guest writers here from Sun Ra to a pre-stodgy Stanley Crouch talking about the jazz scene as it relates to the New Black ideal, and besides it's great reading rebuttals to former Ornette drummer and all 'round humongous jazz being Shelley Manne's putdown of his former leader's THE EMPTY FOXHOLE and ten-year-old Ornette Denardo's magnifico efforts therein, or Milford Graves on the news aspects of percussiondom and the fact that drummers can make their own time 'stead of keep it. Best of all, these Angry Young Afro-Americans had yet to really go full froth against everything and seemingly everyone so the cringe factor is way down there...non-blacks can read on without any damage to their own sense of well being.

Neat part...the ad for various Jihad books/movies/records that pop up at the end of each and every issue. Back then you could buy the legendary SONNY'S TIME NOW for a mere five smackaroos which is a whole lot less that what it would cost you these days ($1000?), though if you wanted to rent the film version of Baraka's DUTCHMAN it would set you back a good $100 and in there here and now you can watch it here for free. There's also a soul album featuring the Jihad Singers which sounds like something that might be big on the hit parade these days. I get the idea that a good 99.999...% percent of the people who were reading THE CRICKET could not even afford a dollar pamphlet let along a five dollar album so llike, who exactly out there was buying all this up. If it were rich white kids doin' the ol' purchasing power game I'll bet Baraka woulda been more upset about it than the time he discovered that a good portion of his readership were jews!

Dang that thing I have to go through called REAL LIFE! Its not only keeping me busier than usual but its keeping me away from my music which really does affect my inner gyroscope ifyaknowaddamean... And considering just how things are hoppity hooperin' 'round here you're sure lucky to be getting this megapost from the outer reaches of Western PA, far from the major hubbub of the various high class hotspots of music and artziness. But hey, ain't that the glory of it all not having to hear about music from someone I'm sure we'd all call downright snobbish (in that sophisticated my shit don't smell and my musical/sociopolitical tastes make me rise above all you peons...the fanzine world of the 80s/90s was FULL of 'em) who've been oh so common since the days when pampered upper class kids developed their superiority complexes that reached to heights previously unimaginable?

Despite the curse of modern day existence I do try to slip some enjoyment into the mix. When I do have the opportunity (usually on a Sunday afternoon) I try to cram as much music into my system as possible, and my reading time has fortunately been extended somewhat beyond my bathroom doodies. I do have a fine line of book reviews to toss your way every so often, though I'd like to do some additional scrutiny on 'em before making these things public (my failing eyesight coupled with increasing brain fogginess does call for more'n just a few spelling and punctuational gaffes [unintentional ones] these days as you might have noticed). Besides, most all of these writeups regard the more comics-oriented portion of this blog and I don't necessarily want BLOG TO COMM to be "fixated" in such a fashion even if I find myself quite content in ogling old drawings of Betty and Veronica in bikinis these days. Maybe that's why I'm going blind.

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Some reader who wishes to remain anonymous remarked in the last post entry's comment section about me not noting the recent passing of one David Thomas aka Crocus Behemoth aka Dr. Science, a person who as most of you know was a looming presence in the history of seventies Cleveland underground rock. Frankly I figured that by the time one of these real-deal posts hit the screens the news of his passing would have been older than Methuselah but since you asked for it well... What can I say but the guy was a complex and dominating figure in the annals of underground rock, a frontman of extreme talent and from what I've heard a man with a personality that really coulda sent the more sensitive amongst us directly to the nearest cliff.

I no doubt about it prefer the man's seventies persona back when Thomas was fronting Rocket From The Tombs and the original Pere Ubu, creating the sort of cataclysm music that made the seventies underground rock era the equal of various late-sixties eruptions that I'm sure at least a few of you readers would be familiar with. And to be about as upfront about it as I can I'm gonna admit that I never did care for the more, er, "sunshine happy" music Thomas produced as we all snuggled into that horrid period for music otherwise known as the squeaky-clean eighties. Sheesh, I find myself pretty much cringing when I hear such Ubu efforts as NEW PICNIC TIME and SONGS OF THE BAILING MAN and yeah, I know that groups have to explore and grow beyond their original parameters as a whole load of useless rock critics would tell us, but the direction that Thomas and the Ubus were heading didn't quite jibe with my own sense of rockist pleasure. But that's my problem being so out of sorts with the times and all and THANK HEAVEN FOR THAT!

Not to say that Thomas totally went full force Pepperland as time went on because I have given some of those later Pere Ubu recordings good write ups. Just check out this blog for a number of examples if you aren't lazy enough to do the googlin'. But when the thrust of the 1964-1981 era of rock creativity waned I did find the man's work somewhat less than enthralling and perhaps even embarrassing considering all of the hope and promise many of us saw in groups such as his. Then again, when 1980 clocked in it seems that just about everybody was making lousy records which might have been bad for my listening experiences but good at least for my bank account.

Maybe I shouldn't be so rough considering this is supposed to be some sort of eulogy (I think)...when Thomas and whatever group he was in back in the seventies cranked out on all cylinders they ranked amongst the best that rock 'n' roll ever had to offer. Maybe I should get the thoughts of the Pedestrians and Wooden Birds (groups I only recall briefly hearing but what I had heard did not exactly please my personal tastes) outta my mind and concentrate on the high energy...the wailing howls that typified Thomas' vocalizing on such trackage as "I'm Never Gonna Kill Myself Again" or the beyond belief intensity of the original "Modern Dance" with Alan Greenblatt's masterful leads (if only he joined Pere Ubu and ditched the idea of linking up with big bux makers Jonah Kolsen's Breathless!). That stuff'll never be matched again and like, I'm thankful that I was alive back when it was up and about 'stead of soak it up long after the plain ol' fact.

Also gotta mention the passing of former Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Take a shit in a sandbox in his memory.

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ANOTHER BLOG TO COMM AI EXCLUSIVE!!! Here's Screamin' Jay Hawkins greeting only a scant few of his 57-plus children on Father's Day:

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A HEFTY BELATED THANK YOU TO TOP CAT JAMES for the bottles of HP Sauce the guy sent me seemingly ages back. I opened the first of 'em just very recently to splatter on top of this Irish mashed potato, cabbage, cheese and bacon (used the fake turkey stuff due to the threat of cardiac clog up) casserole that was so bland that I took the YouTube cook's advice and used the stuff to spice it up so-to-speak. The HP helped a whole lot although the dish could really use something else to make it quite more tasty like some Louisiana Hot Sauce or a pile of sliced pickled jalapeno papers, but it must have been good since I used the entire bottle on the thing. Gotta thank you in a way only I can Top Cat, though I'll need an address first.

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As usual credit goes where credit dues. Bob Forward sent me a lovely bunch of coconuts although I already had a good bunch of what he had sent already which I guess is bad for me but good for Brad Kohler. Paul McGarry and Wade Oberlin did some too, though I'm keeping all of these so no good for Brad.

MX-80 Sound-BETTER THAN LIFE CD-r burn (originally on Feeding Tube Records)

The final outing by longtime underground rock fixture MX-80 Sound sure is good and in fact my fave bit of MX-80 since 1981's CROWD CONTROL. Them 80s/90s/00s MX recs were pretty on-target mind you, but other'n some of those spinoffs like O-Type and Half Life I found them not quite as attention grabbing as the Ralph-era releases were. BETTER THAN LIFE is a pretty close approximation of the group's early-80s sound and feel what with that heavy metal roar (BOC taken to the extremes I wish they would have reached) meets a 70s fusion done with a definitely non-DOWN BEAT demeanor really brings back fond memories of why I liked this group in the first place.

Gotta say that I felt that Rich Stim's narration (as opposed to his talk-singing) wasn't exactly a plus, and not only that but the concentration on various filmic autobio spew was a li'l bit too much of for my tastes even if it was to b expected considering previous trackage such as "Orson". However, Bruce Anderson's guitar is as satisfying as ever and when all of the essential elements get slapped together well, you can bet this tops just about ever other slab of music made by groups that supposedly took some cues from MX-80 and various other 70s/80s trailblazers o'er the years. A joy for these here ears especially after the bombardment I used to get from beyond pallid amerindie alterna-post-whatever I've been subjected to for longer than I care to imagine.

For a swan song it sure is a fond farewell. If I were you I'd drop any horribly negative opinions you have of me and like latch onto a copy or three. Available at all online sites that cater to such a breed of sonic reduction.

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Devo-SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY CD-r burn (originally on Booji Boy Records)

The title's sure tempting me to insert an obvious but still somewhat "funny" joke in this here review but I will refrain. Won't even mention that dirty Angela Lansbury movie of the same name. Actually this 2013 album by one of the first new unto gnu wave aggregations doesn't offend my sensibilities the way too many of these acts who decided to substitute genuine wit for superficial art project glitz had for a longer time than I care to imagine. Actually this ain't bad...some of this is well-written and performed with actual attempts at capturing some sort of rock drive that I would have associated with the various cold wave acts of the seventies like Pere Ubu or Debris, but if there would be anything here that would actually make me was to return to it I've missed it. 

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The Cramps-LIVE AT CLUTCH CARGOS CD-r burn (originally on Stay Sick Records)

So many of these things out there...and frankly I don't mind even if in no way could I afford to latch onto every live Cramps album extant. But if anything this shoulda been legendary live set (which I heard ages back) is probably the first place to go in case you're hankerin' to hear some early-eighties Crampsian escapades. 

As if I had to explain to any of you what transpires on this live '82 effort given your long-standing penchant for fifties/sixties low-fi rock 'n roll that definitely is to sonic vibrations what Shake-a-Puddin' was to food or SUPERCAR was to tee-vee ranch house suburban slob living. The kinda music that makes me wanna hit the local department and look for a Lincoln Futura model kit that comes with airplane glue.

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Chuck Prophet-BROTHER ALDO CD-r burn (originally on Rough Trade Records)

Former Green on Red member seems to be reaching for the New Country Rock brass ring on this 1990 effort but his arms just ain't that long. Sounds like Prophet's more or less trying to become the new Gram Parsons but misses by a mile judging from these tracks which really don't capture the depth and spirit that the former Burrito was deft at. Well, I'll 'fess up to the fact that it's miles ahead of that whole Eagles denim 'n dope scene that seemed to penetrate the karmic consciousness of quite a few people during my own growing up days (even if I gotta admit I dug "Witchy Woman" when it came out which goes to show you what an all-encompassing doof I coulda been! Well, it wasn't that bad but you gotta consider all of the guilt by association the Eagles name continues to dredge up...). 

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Crooks-JUST RELEASED CD-r burn (originally on Blueprint Records)

I'm a guy who didn't even dabble a pinkie toe in the waters of the early-eighties mod revival, so something like these Crooks doesn't hit any particular rockist g-spots on any part of my musical corpus. More of that music that I find interesting in small doses though an entire album gives me one of those spiritual diabetic shocks that needs me to do a good 'nuff detoxing of my system with something quite gnarlier. If you spent them days of yore buying badges out of the pages out of TROUSER PRESS you'll go for this.

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Chris Farlowe-LIVE AT THE BBC 2-CD-r set (originally on Repertoire Records, Germany)

Mixed feelings here, what with the guy's musical moosh seemingly one of those white guys trying to sing like a black guy and fool all the blacks into buying his records before they find out the truth and stop doing it (happened to Frankie Laine). But I gotta say that Farlowe does deliver on some powerful trackage that actually might make you listen up more whilst reading your entire collection of Hot Stuff comics. A nice 'nuff collection of BBC sessions etc. complete with some interesting twixt song interviews, but if I hadda buy this one on my lonesome well...I wouldn't. 

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RADIO NAPALM - ROKY ERICKSON (1947-2019) CD-r burn

Here's some internet radio show thingie that was done up by a guy called Tim Napalm, a name that somehow rings a bell. There's nothing here that probably hasn't graced your ears before but you KNOW that you can listen to all of this over and over and it always will sound fresher than an atomic douching of a menstruating whale. Anyone with the cranium to tune into the blog already knows what a high-class rock 'n roller Roky was and like, telling any of you people about the greatness of this music would be akin to telling any of you people the greatness of ME. I mean ya already know.

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The Collins Kids-THE ROCKIN'EST CD-r burn (originally on Bear Family Records, Germany)

Y'all know that I'm not exactly whatcha'd call as much of a rockabilly follower as I am of other rock 'n roll subgenres 'r whatever the effete snobs call 'em, but that doesn't mean I have to LOATHE it. This brother and cyster team up produced some rather boff sides that say as much about the late-fifties music and fun zeitgeist as any choice tee-vee series or automobile of the day could. Big cyst Lorrie sounds quite, er, MATURE for her mid-teenage years 'n it's no wonder that Rick Nelson took such an interest in her vocal abilities, amongst other things I imagine. Kid brother Larry sure plays his double-necked guitar like a well-honed grownup and, I'm positive, if given the chance woulda made some of those "nostalgia" oriented fifties practitioners seen for over a half-century run home cryin' to their James Dean posters. When I want to hear something other'n the usual other-worldly sounds that have made up a good part of my life its stuff like this that gets the ol' juices squeezed.

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TSUSHIMAGERU CD-r burn (originally on Mojor Records, Japan)

On first listen this reminds me of some 12-inch post-new wavey disc that you'd see listed in them early Rough Trade catalogs, records that were being sold at those exorbitant prices only you rich kids could afford. Played at 78 rpm that is. High-pitched Asian gal sings and rants over a frenetic backdrop of what sounds like circa. 1982 dance music taken to some pretty frightening heights. Surprisingly enough, this 'un's pleasing to the more feral side of one's existence and the best part about it is that TsuShiMaGeRu are a popular 'nuff group and have even acquired what one might call a fan base that I'm sure hangs on their every note and vocal utterance. Never thought anything like that would ever happen again!

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Do yourself a favor for your dad this Father's Day...mainly KILL YOURSELF! If you don't feel like taking my ridiculously juvenile joke to heart you might want to go the safer route and buy him some BLACK TO COMM back issues! Then HE'LL kill you!

 

BOOK REVIEW! ANOTHER TUNELESS RACKET --- PUNK AND NEW WAVE IN THE SEVENTIES --- VOLUME FOUR : THE AMERICAN BEAT EAST by Steven H. Gardner (Noise for Heroes, 2025)

Given the massive size (683 pages) and the diligence and detail thrown into it, I just wonder how jam-packed with information the other three volumes (and upcoming ones) in this series covering the various local (national and elsewhere) underground rock scenes of the seventies are. Sheesh, after even a few pages of this effort your head's gonna be swimmin' from all of the information to the point where it'll swell even more than Yacoub's --- it's that ratta-tat-tat machine gun firing off the facts and anecdotes which'll even give the most devout of seventies-era Underground Rock fans more'n just a mere run for the rock history money.

It is quite worth whatever cranial crunch your mind will go through for Steven Gardner of NOISE FOR HEROES fame has written an extremely exhaustive overview of just what was going on in that scene they used to call punk (somewhere before it turned into punque) and various related hangers on and offshoots resulting in this particularly informative if exhausting (but a good exhausting) read. In this particular volume of the ANOTHER TUNELESS RACKET series Gardner sets his etapoint aim on the eastern seaboard and inland regional underground rock scenes that was transpiring throughout the Golden Age, going up and down the coast giving more than just an overview of the goings on that went on during a time in music that (I assume) captured more'n just a few of you readers' hearts but most likely minds. With a passion for diligence and detail rarely seen in rockscribing (at least these days), Gardner roars on like Sherman to the sea going from New York during the height of CBGB/Max's Kansas City madness upwards to Boston's fertile stomp and then over to Ohio where I understand a few musical movements of interest were happening. After that its way down yonder, Gardner writing up the movers and shakers of these scenes and doing so even to the point where you almost feel as if you were right there at some leaky urinal at the club of your choice emptying your bladder right next to Lux Interior or Willie Alexander.

IT'S THAT DETAILED AND THOROUGH cramming more information into one mere paragraph than you're bound to find in a whole year or two of this here blog and yeah, although Gardner's telling us all about a time in music which was pretty much DOA thanks to everything from local media censorship to titanic ego clashes and changing "tastes" etc. it sure is grand that the stories are once again coming out and have been recorded before all of the minds who were involved frazzle off into the realm of dementia ne'er to be recollected again.

You get the once in a blue moon gaffes for the immature amongst us to feel superior to, plus a few of Gardner's views and omissions might not quite jab with your own but so what. I mean yeah, true the guy couldn't list EACH AND EVERY musical act of worth and note and although I sure think that Von Lmo and some of the other less-visible no wave acts cluttering up NYC during them days deserved some space here he obviously didn't, and so what. Brian Sands with his various projects which did amount to more'n what any of the Cleveland chattering class types of the day would have led you to believe would have made the Ohio chapter somewhat more "fulfilling" but Gardner didn't bother give mention...won't fault him one bit because for every under-the-underground snub made in this book you get a whole slew of info on some of the groups, second or third tiered at that, who didn't get their share of the much-needed press back then even if they sure deserved it. Sure is swell to see some of the less-noticed acts in New York (Speedies, Poppees) and Boston (Third Rail) finally get more'n just a few footnotes considering how lesser talents were getting the bigtime coverage from a rock "press" that frankly didn't know up from down let alone an X-Blank-X from an Insanity and the Killers (for you who don't know, Cleveland underground rock at its finest versus a corporation made idea of what a new wave musical entity should have been like...just ask Anastasia Pantsios). 

Yeah. I could get nitpicky 'bout various personal disagreements with the author's opinions and "asides" to be found within but why spoil what would otherwise be a pretty positive and straightforward writeup with such inanities. The head's still doing orbits given all of the information that has been crammed into my head reading this, and if the rest of it (more volumes are planned) is as detailed and (hopefully) as accurate as this entry then Gardner should be up for some serious book awards...that is if this were a world where rockist screed is treated with the same kindly kid gloves as the usual cut 'n paste hack. Other volumes just might be up my expansive alley and who knows, I might even BUY those on my lonesome (this copy came courtesy Jim Ellis to whom a big thank you has been issued).

Later'n usual true, but at this point in blogdom does it really matter? And although it lacks a whole lotta polish and is just brimmin' with rough edges I sure put a lot of heart and soul and gosh-darnedness into it so you BETTER like it! Actually, just tell me that you like it even if you don't --- personally I find my writing extremely wonky and off kilter here and downright awkward at spots. I do get the idea that some of you out there might find at least a scintilla of something worthwhile within these words, but then again I get the idea that some of you out there think a good time consists of shoving knitting needs up and around your rectum a la Albert Fish so wha'd I know?

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Here's one they don't show on Boomerang or any streaming service or off-channel that I know of for some obscure reason or another so I thought I'd shove it here. One of my mother's favorites because it was promoting classical music to us stoopid suburban slobs, but despite all that (entertainment that's supposed to be educational and all that hokum) I like it anyway. Sure beats the slop out of FANTASIA...

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For those of you who can't get hold of Cheerwine, Dr. Pepper with Cherry just might fit the bill. Not quite Cheerwine-y but good enough for a change from the usual. Avoid the Dr. Pepper Cream Soda and Strawberry flavors, both of which taste like a reverse high colonic.

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This week's AI surprise! A pic of Mister Rogers
back when he was a US Marines sharpshooter
in Vietnam.

***

'n after all that piddle it's time for the writeups, and some good writeups they are I'll tell ya. If you don't think that the following reviews are the best thing that you will read ANYWHERE these days regarding that once-potent but then easily co-opted thing called rock 'n roll screeding then you might want to check in with your own personal guru, but anyway thanks to Faddensonnen and Paul McGarry, the latter who sent me some rather familiar seventies-vintage offerings that passed me by during my depression-era wages days.

The Bolan piece is one that I've worked on for quite some time. I've been spurred on into catching up on the various Tyrannosaurus Rex efforts that have passed me by (and given the way the Bolan catalog has exploded since his own passing boy is there a ton of it out there!) and I must say that it was a big joy for me to listen (and re-listen) to a whole load of the guy's efforts and lay down to type my various opines which might get'cha a cup of coffee if you also have a dime. And remember, you read it here last.

Tyrannosaurus Rex/T. Rex- UNICORN CD (Castle Communications, England); A BEARD OF STARS (Expanded Edition) CD (A&M Records, Japan); A BBC HISTORY CD (Strange Fruit Records, England); THE SLIDER CD (Demon Records, England); THERE WAS A TIME CD (TAG/Alan Walls Records, England), Steve Peregrine Took THE MISSING LINK TO TYRANNOSAURUS REX CD (Cleopatra Records)

The Marc Bolan story's probably the biggest if not one of the biggestbiggestBIGGEST tales of too much too soon, or better yet "wha' 'HAPP'D???" Up from the underground with a slew of albums one could easily say were some of the better rock 'n roll spinners to grace the early-seventies, soon it all tumbled like Harlan Ellison's ROCKABILLY come to life to the point where Bolan became a bloated image of his former self doing coke lines in fleabag hippie hangouts while his old fans were doing the har-de-har-hars behind his back and don't tell me Marc didn't know it!. And in typical fickle finger of fate fashion right when the guy's on the verge of a comeback complete with his own tee-vee series he gets himself killed! And of course we can speculate as to what might have been but at least we've got what happened, and diligent me in trying to keep up with all that I don't have and have otherwise missed out on decided not only to settle down with the platters I already have but fill in some of those gaps and other bits I somehow missed out on because like, well life is short and it ain't like I want to fill up the rest of what I have of it listening to J. Neo Marvin.

Wouldja believe that I've had a love/hate/love affair with Bolan for a longer time than I'm sure most of you fans and followers would have ever thought? There was a time when I dismissed a whole load of the Tyrannosaurus Rex catalog ('r at least what I've heard given my limited financial situation) as more hippie mewls before coming to my head and realizing the utter genius of Bolan's straightforward pop inclinations and the fact that English hippie was a whole lot more palatable than what passed for Amerigan early-seventies "right on" sloganeering and "look how full of virtue I am" pose.  As you can guess Bolan is to me here in 2025 what Syd Barrett was in '24, and as of these past few months I've been solidly in tune with Bolan's acoustic phase figuring that the guy put his own electricity into the Tyrannosaurus Rex catalog. When the guy eventually did switch back electric guitars well, you could say that it was the next logical step.

Wouldja believe that I never ever heard UNICORN until the here and now? The thing just slipped by my penny-pinching fingers for years on end and like eh, there always seemed to be more important things to do with my kopeks than pick up an album with as boring a cover as this 'un sports. Too bad on my own frugal part, for UNICORN's what I would call a bridge between the acoustic rock 'n roll of the first two Tyrannosaurus Rex platters and future rock 'n roll glories what with the use of chord organ and phonofiddle adding some interesting "color" to the proceedings. 

Not only that but "Cat Black" features a full rock 'n roll group concept with heavy duty grand piano courtesy producer Tony Visconti. It wouldn't have been out of place on ELECTRIC WARRIOR or at least a non-LP flipster from the same strata, and the track proves that Marc knew exactly where he was going and how to do it right. Really, anyone who would have been startled over the change in direction must've been a stoop given these early signs of the glory that was about to be!

In retrospect I think I shoulda splurged on the expanded edition with the bonus tracks but I can't have everything I want. In fact it wasn't until recently that I could have ANYTHING that I wanted!

I still can't get over my teenbo-era STUPIDITY with regards to dismissing A BEARD OF STARS as just more Donovan folkie fizz because well, once I entered into my twenties I surely regretted my decision to dump my copy and since then this album has become one that really makes me sit up and listen whenever I slap it on the ol' Victrola. Bolan's foray into electric guitar wasn't as premature as the guy would have led you to believe...sheesh, but wasn't "King of the Rumbling Spires" one hotcha slap of late-sixties downright English punk pop that would have rivalled if not surpassed all of the music comin' outta the place had it only got a li'l nudge? 'n hey, as far as elpee closer "Elemental Child" goes well, I'll rank it up there with the Stooges and a whole load of that sixties/seventies cusp cataclysm music that continues to mystify and astound this particular peon long after everyone else on the planet seemed (hoped?) to think it was long dead and buried!

This Japanese expanded edition's got a load of goodies tacked on at the end from songs that didn't make the cut to alternate takes guaranteed to sate the lusts of even the more iffy Bolan buddy. Believe it or not but this 'un has become a frequent spinner during those scant few minutes when I just don't feel like reviewing some of the offal that gets tossed my way.

The first two T. Rex proper albums I've mentioned many-a-time (or at least I have ELECTRIC WARRIOR which was definitely the best rock 'n roll platter to make it bigtime during the singer/songwriter saturated year of 1971) and since I haven't any recent new and updated editions to write about I'll just skip over to THE SLIDER which is yet another masterpiece from a time when the concept of rock 'n roll was definitely sliding into areas that seemed stickier than the La Brea Tar Pits. This might be considered the end/beginning of the end/beginning for Marc 'n company what with some of those later platters like TANX reportedly coming off so self-parody that all of the naysays have scared me away for seemingly ages. 

Maybe someday I'll tackle those efforts but at least for me THE SLIDER comes off like the even further next logical step into a phenomenon that by this time was going into supernova mode. The numbers that pop up here lack the intensity and overall mood of those on ELECTRIC WARRIOR, and although its packed with plenty of single material potential and Flo and Eddie t'boot there just ain't anything here that can live up to "Get It On" or "Rip Off". "Buick MacKane" does make it with its heavy metal barrage and the songs that did make it big o'er there shoulda been hittin' in the US of Whoa but well, I guess Ameriga wasn't quite ready (or mature enough) for the big onslaught. 

But when stacked up against a whole slew of them records that were filling up not only the album bins but the bedrooms of teenage pimple-thighed gals o'er here THE SLIDER was a definite winner which shoulda gotten Bolan the Sky Saxon award for best self-plagiarism by a rock band for the year of 1972. Shoulda held out for some deluxe edition with a whole string of outtakes (I mean, I've owned the original for ages) but hey, at this stage in my life its like I can't read the fine print no' mo'.

And if it is in fact true that "Baby Boomerang" was written about Patti Smith as Paul Morley once conjectured, maybe that guy wasn't the jerk too many wonks were making him out to be once he hit the heights he was soon to drastically fall from.

Anyone who made it through the previous barrage and found it all enthralling should OBVIOUSLY want to check out the Tyrannosaurus/T. Rex BBC collection gathering what someone out there at Strange Fruit Records considers the "cream" of the groups' various BBC sessions. Yeah, these sure sounded better in their raw 1967 taped off the radio state with John Peel's intro/outros left intact but for alternative versions as well as new to my virgin ears material this Cee-Dee is probably the best place to find a good portion of the group's appearances on that thing some call "the beeb". I'd take a 1979 bootleg Japanese two-LP collection of the same over this but until that 'un passes these parts I'm sticking with this.

You might also want to make yer way through THERE WAS A TIME, the first ever Tyrannosaurs Rex gig --- well, not the six-piece group who got booed off the stage a few months prior to this September 23 1967 show but the first two-piece 'un showing the early loose ends 'n all before they got a nice trimmin'. Some old Johns Children tracks pop up as well as first elpee efforts, and although the sound is rougher'n a cat's tongue you history buffs'll sure wanna eat this 'un up. As a bonus for everyone who made it through the show there are some early John Peel efforts for being such nice boys and girls.

While I'm at it why shouldn't I give Steve Peregrine Took some space here as well? Given the guy's erratic behavior which was so outre even a free spirit like Marc Bolan hadda fire him perhaps he should have been a strong contender along with Iggy and Lou for the punk of the year award! Although his post-T. Rex time seemed to be one big fall into drug addled numbness the guy sure was the perfect fit for the Pink Fairies crowd that he would eventually worm his way into, and whaddaya know but this spinner's got the fruits of that wonderous mishmosh!.

This Cleopatra release ain't anything that's gonna light any fires under some if not any of you reg'lar readers, but as far as a "document" of historical rockist value it does its duty and does it well. The Fairies make for the ideal backing band to Took's astrolysergical meanderings, and if you were one of the many who thought that Shagrat was a hearty enough backing group for Took you should be eating this up like psylocibin. The presence of some "Crazy Diamond" does churn up in the mind that the (apocryphal?) real deal Syd Barrett did pop up here somewhere, and considering the state of mind Took must have been in during these sessions the company you could say that they were pretty much peas in the ol' hackneyed pod. Yeah it meanders, but its like a meander one can really sink his psyche into!

I might as well mention this nifty collection of rare Tyrannosaurus Rex snaps that their Appreciation Society released way back in the early nineties. It's nothing but pix of either Marc on his own or with Took taken during the early days, but as you'd guess it's sure cool lookin' at the two acting a whole lot snattier than most bands have since. Its arity and you might be able to find some of these photos on-line for free, but if you're in the middle of an OCD Bolan binge like I am you'll probably want to settle back with these pics and glom on while your turntable's spinnin' some rarity or another by the man. There are also more Bolan fanzines and books out there than anyone can imagine in case you have an equally-rabid fasciation, and deep pockets for that matter.

Two different sources (who in no way know who each other are or who each other may be for that matter) have compared Tyrannosaurus /T. Rex with the Troggs as far as Anglo punkoid thrust and general attitude go. That never did occur to stoopid me who couldn't see the similarities in each group's abilities to sashay between the pop and hard rock contingents and produce what I would call downright classic single sides that were timeless in their own punkitude. What else can I say but we should be grateful that this planet was blessed with Marc without whom the early-seventies might just have been totally bombarded with pathetic introspection and Jesus Christ Superstar snooze all aimed to numb teenbo minds that were flatlining enough to being with. Some might have found this glam slam a total embarrassment to the entire concept of rock 'n roll but the above spinners sure prove to the contrary. Listen in and for once realize that T Rextacy was definitely the saving force for teenbo brain-popping music at a time when it very well might have all tumbled into peace 'n love shucksterisms supposedly speaking for (and to) the kids of the day. And, thankfully, some youth did know better. If only they slaughtered the stupider ones...

And now for a brief musical interlude:

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Curtis Mayfield-SUPERFLY CD-r burn (originally on RCA Records)

Like with the ROOTS album reviewed last autumn there's a whole turdload of early-seventies AM radio trackage here that does more'n just remind me of how fun it was listening to the transistor while reading comic books during them pre-pubesprout days of discovery. SUPERFLY also reminds me of just how mighty the AM band was after a few years of somewhat staid playlists, only to be followed by what seems like an eternity of horrid slop that the genre never did recover from. Pretty hotcha soul that's well-crafted, tasteful and dareIsay "mature", only in a way that woulda appealed to a slew of suburban slob comic books and candy on a summer day sorta kids. I believe that I wasn't the only one and that here were many more like myself way back in those better'n it coulda been worse days. Any of you out there care to prove me right?

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Cheap Trick-HEAVEN TONIGHT CD-r burn (originally on Epic Records)

You KNEW that the late-seventies were repressed beyond belief if the kidz thought music like this was either born of the devil or (worse yet) an insidious attempt to betray the true spirit of rock 'n roll (Bee Gees, Frampton, Warrant and the usual Chuck Eddy fodder). Those are the kind of SFB's I hadda put up with for more'n just a few years and I still hope that each and every one of 'em have died long, agonizing deaths!

Good thing that I don't believe in karma, and good thing that McGarry sent a copy of the third Cheap Trick platter my way, Yes, Cheap Trick were just what the youth of them days really needed what with their high energy pop rock sounds that took up the slack left by the demise of such Third Generation stalwarts as T. Rex and the Sweet. Obvious refs. include the Move (as you woulda guessed given the spiffy cover of "California Man"), pre-it all went to his head Todd, Sparks, the Raspberries and, considering the somewhat close proximity twixt the two acts locale-wise, Pezband. And sheesh, given the quality of the teenbos I hadda encounter during those days of aural suppression all I gotta say is it sure was a miracle this slab of pure hard pop would make ANY impact on the Kiss Army rejects I hadda put up with!

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Doctor Feelgood-BE SEEING YOU CD-r burn (originally on Parlophone Records England, reissued as SHM Remaster in 2014)

Not as raw and as under-the-underground 1975 fanzine writer desirable as DOWN BY THE JETTY, but I sure can dig the dickens outta these retro-scrunged up English rhythm and blues efforts as I can similar soundscapades from everyone from the Count Bishops to Little Bob Story. As with the Cheap Trick platter this is more of that power-punched sound of pure energy that the doofs I've mentioned used to poo-poo in favor of some of the worst music to hit the airwaves, at least until the eighties, nineties...

(Continuing with my reminiscences of horrible music days gone by...) Y'know, it kinda bothers me that there were way too many evil spirits throughout history who were never brought to justice and it burns me up no end that the idiot AM/FM deejays and their fans who made living in the tri-county area so dismal never did get their what fors either. Fortunately most all of those responsible are still alive and unfortunately breathing which is something that really frosts my babymaking machine. If any of you out there are willing to revenge rock 'n roll in the face of all the ruination these arbiters of taste have bestowed upon us names and addresses can be furnished. As for the beyond retarded fans of that spew well...maybe it would just be easier to carpet bomb the area, as long as you tell me when yer gonna do it so I can do a quick skedaddlin'! Whatever, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT FIT TO GO ON LIVING UNPUNISHED!!!!!

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John Blum Quartet featuring Marshall Allen-DEEP SPACE CD-r burn (originally on Astral Spirits Records)

Allen's gonna be hittin' the 101 mark pretty soon if not already so why not celebrate in your own fart-encrusted bedroom way by giving this particular sesh a go 'round? Dunno who this Blum guy is (I fear he is no relation to Handsome Dick Manitoba) but he's a good piano tinkler. Not as good as former Allen boss Ra but I would say decent enough in a neo-Cecil Taylor fashion. And I don't know who Elliot Levin on tenor and flute is (well, that name sounds somewhat familiar) or drummer Chad Taylor for that matter but they also do swell. Allen's the real star of this session what with his "Electronic Valve Instrument" creating a whole load of Ra-esque interstellar sounds and his alto's very good, especially for what I woulda expected from any 98-year-old (the age Allen was when he recorded this) still able to pick one up. Sounds just as exciting as I would have expected any random pick from the old NMDS jazz catalog back in the late-seventies to have been.

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Vibracathedral Orchestra-BLAST MOTORCYCLE LP (VHF Records)

Nothing that I'm liable to toss the confetti over, but still a fine stream of free rock that doesn't sound like hippoid excess down on the front porch chooglin'. Comes close to a wide variety of one-LP soundflow that's been released since the wild-eyed days of the late-sixties (even though this does consist of a variety of tracks, but YOU tell me when each one begins and ends), making for good settle back 'n kick up your heels after a hard day at the salt mines listening.  I won't be spinning this with the same frequency that I do Syd or Marc, but deny it's a spinner of value and worth? No way!

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Camper Van Beethoven-LA COSTA PERDIDA CD-r burn (originally on 429 Records)

Not as pallid as I remember their earlier efforts to have been (of course it's been about thirtysome years since I heard any of 'em), but I still find Camper's brand of Amerindie stylings (with some "hip" references to earlier accomplishment) not quite the way I would like to spend my life-support days listening to set on "repeat". Somewhat smart mid-seventies rock formations "updated" for the 21st century rockist sophisticates out there, and nothing I would care to toss in the trash even if I doubt I'll ever spin this again.

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The Del-Lords-ELVIS CLUB CD-r burn (originally on Megaforce Records)

Sure the Dictators were one of the boffest rock 'n roll bands to make their way outta the best/worst of time days that was otherwise known as the seventies. But sheesh, some of the groups these ex-members eventually made their way into just don't live up to the ideals that the Dics were known to promulgate amongst a whole load of people who sure did need being promulgated! This Del-Lords spinner sounds like just about any random "mersh" AOR FM album that I had the misfortune of hearing whether I wanted to or not (more likely the latter) what with its ballad-y downer groove and patented chord changes that were overused even forty years back! Sheesh, I kinda wish that none other than Handsome Dick Manitoba were around to knock some sense into Top Ten's head before this thing ever made it to light.

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Its once again time to do my usual begging and PLEAD for you to buy some (or more hopefully all) of the BLACK TO COMM back issues that have been available ever since the Days of Diluvium only you tighwads were too cheap to snatch any up. Believe you me, I've tried to eat these and although they do provide the proper fiber I'd rather have 'em turned into hard cash so I can buy something more nutritious at the supermarket. So if you're concerned with my dietary intake do me a huge favor and please take a whole load of these out of my cellar and out of my life for that matter. 

COMIC BOOK DIGEST REVIEW! THE VERY BEST OF DENNIS THE MENACE (Marvel Digest Group, 1982)

You can betcher booties that I was front and center when comic book digests began hitting the newsstands (talkin' the USA ones since these books were crawling all over Europe long before!) way back during my just pre-pubesprout Obsessive Comics Disorder days. Didn't go anywhere near the Gold Key Disney ones (tho I wanted to get this anniversary Mickey Mouse edition which contained ancient reprints but wasn't lent the money necessary to latch it up because...well, you already know why!), but when ARCHIE COMICS DIGEST #1 popped up at a local drugstore I snapped it up like potrzebie. This kinda pub was something just custom made for a diehard fan of comics both old and new (I rightfully feared the future) with then-(somewhat) current sagas intermingled with fifties-vintage Archie in bow tie and sweater efforts that harkened back to an older, more interesting time as far as the "quaint" art and typically teenage stories went.

So this early-eighties DENNIS THE MENACE book is something that I must say really caught my eye and dragged it at least twenty feet as Emo Phillips woulda said. Dennis' tenure at Marvel Comics has been discussed on this blog o'er the years, but I never knew that they also published a digest containing those old Pines and Fawcett-era stories re-packaged for a new generation of comic book kiddos. Of course by that time I was too immersed in the under-the-underground music that was sneaking about so this 'un went right past me, but all these years later (and with a renewed interest in such suburban slob time-wasting) I must say that I was more'n just "somewhat" curious about this 'un.

Judging from the artwork these stories were taken from across the Dennis comic book span of malicious funnies. There are a lot of early 'un's here which have that quite fancy upper-and lower-case lettering (the earlier the story the wilder) as well as more contemporary efforts like one from the mid-seventies where Dennis pisses off a load of truck drivers via. Mr. Wilson's C.B. and just guess who's in for a beating! Now, although there's nothing in this 'un that comes close to Dennis walking into the house with Mr. Wilson's skull at least you get a fairly good share of senseless mayhem for one to enjoy. Stuff like Dennis smashing a parking meter for cash and out-fishing his father and Mr. Wilson, turning a square-dancing class into a brawl, things like that. Fun enough reading that'll remind you of a time when there were actually things like kids and not just small adults waiting to enlarge. 

There are a few li'l surprises here/there. Gina makes an early appearance back when she wore a sailor suit dress and talk-a like this. And believe it or leave it, but Dennis even does right such as when he thwarts some cattle rustlers while vacationing at an actual cowboy ranch, and exposes a variety of carnival scams resulting in a few armfulls of free food given in order to hush things up (all of it was eventually handed over as a bribe to an angry cop which is something I'm actually amazed passed the Comics Code! Frankly I doubt they even scrutinized these 'un's. Fawcett didn't adhere to the Comics Code anyway and besides, if Casper, Wendy and Hot Stuff could make it why not Dennis?)

One bad thing 'bout this digest...print can get too tiny for mine eyes causing some definite headaches. Tried a magnifying glass which helped some but otherwise you might want to buy one of those large-sized monstrosities they sell on tee-vee to the old fanabla types watching ADAM 12. You'll feel like Mr. Wilson with one of these hanging around your abode, but then again have you realized that by now you're just as OLD as Mr. Wilson? 

Well, here I go once again rereRE-hashing the same old 'n tired beyond belief diatribes and daggers complete with the usual hagiographical droolathons (or cruel and meaningless dismissals depending on what's playin' at the time) that I have been tossin' at'cha for the last XXXXsome years. Shee-yucks (or "it" if you prefer), but I'm also rereRE-hashing my rereRE-hashing opening line which might go to show you just how much this blog has been runnin' on bowel gas fumes! Whadja expect anyway given that I've milked myself dry and it ain't like I can be Ogden Nash witty all the time!

And to alla that I have nothing to say but GOOD THING because like, despite my seemingly terminal rut-ness who ELSE is out there in notice-me-land who is even slightly attempting to revive the Golden Age of Fanzine Snark and General CREEM (really!)-inspired seething that has been sadly missing from not only rock screeding but rock 'n roll (and a whole load of other musical styles that have gone from mayhem to moosh) for way too long? Be thankful that I am up and about in the here and now, for if it weren't for me and this very blog all that you'd read'll be...well, I don't want to traipse into the personal destruction of those I happen to loathe the way they would successfully destroy whatever I tried to build up lo these many years.

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Of course there's nothing totally new 'n refreshing to talk about (remember, this is the year 2025). In fact the only reason that I'm unleashing this post on you today is to not only clue you in on a number of items that I got and you don't (nyaah!) but to print the timely AI creation you can see directly below. But don't worry true believers (all three of you), for I'm working up some real doozies that I know you will be most anxious to ignore just you do everything else that I've been dishing out for years on end.

I tried to get AI to make me a pic of the Easter Bunny murdering children with an axe at an egg roll, but this is the best they could come up with. Yet another contribution of mine to the FUNZIE New World that suburban slobs like myself have been hoping for lo these many years!

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A bit of interesting if mostly ignorable happenstance---while looking through the folks' pile of albums containing a slew of WEST SIDE STORY soundtracks, operas, scratchy Voice of Firestone Christmas efforts and budget re-dos of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, I found a cover-less copy of MEATY BEATY BIG AND BOUNCY (VG+ condition stored in a flat stationary store styled paper bag with the title of the album printed in pencil) if you can believe that! I don't recall ever buying this (well, maybe I do have some extremely faint recollection of picking it up at a flea market during my teenbo days but I'm not 100% certain) but in fact if this record was part of their album collection I gotta say they were a whole lot hipper 'n I ever gave 'em credit for being!

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And now for the female (and back door boy) portion of our audience:

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Once again I try to take up the baton that was dropped by way too many a rock scribbler long ago and lay down some opinions I would say are really not worthwhile considering what has gone down back when the giants roamed the earth. I still think you'll get a kick outta what's in store. Paul McGarry and Robert Forward...well, you know what their place is in the BLOG TO COMM universe is already so I'll dispense with the usual golly gush thank you's at least this time.
 

The Pink Fairies-AT THE BBC 1970-1972 LP (1960s Records, England)

You don't care 'n hey, even I will admit that there are more pressing things to worry about in this life other than that the entirety of the Pink Fairies' BBC seshs have finally been slapped together onto one beaut of a longplayer. But since we're talking BLOG TO COMM and you know the shallowness that is oft associated with the things that I write about so why shouldn't I come out and say that this is one mighty fine package.

The cover is of a thick 'n sturdy high quality (if you care about that stuff but then again I don't mind at least a little CLASS in my life once in a blue moon), sporting a snap of the band I never saw before and boy is it a doozy what with them smack dab in front of some church as some old crone walks by! And hey, there are even some liner notes on the back (you won't learn anything new but eh!) and if you're into such things the sound quality has been boosted from all of those other Pink Fairies sesh sources that have been flying around for quite a long time. That early 'un with their version of the Jefferson Airplane's "3/5th of a Mile in Ten Seconds" (and a better one than those hippoids did) still sounds somewhat muddy what with the middle part all distorted but eh, that distortion sounds clear so if you like your garbledness Hi-Fi 'n all boy are you in luck!

Heck, there are even some new entries I've never heard like a particularly driving "Walk, Don't Run" which even outdoes the one on WHAT A BUNCH OF SWEETIES as far as somewhat keeping the spirit of the psychedelic era alive. If you're a Pink Fairies fan well, I suggest that you engage in a quick and immediate snatch-up from the on-line dealer of your very own choice! 

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Golem-ORION AWAKES CD (Lion Productions Records)

OK,  I fell for it. Not the first time I thought some recently released effort was an archival dig up from the sainted sixties or savage seventies but sheesh, for being fakes ya just gotta give Genesis P. Orridge and the rest of 'em all a whole load of credit for putting out something that is as authentic sounding as this 'un.  What it is, is definitely Teutonic space rock jamz that sound like one of them Connie Plank (or was it Dieter Dierks?) things that came out as the Cosmic Jokers without anyone who participated knowing that they were ever gonna be released --- if I had only heard those albums in the first place that is! Sometime funky, sometimes orbiting Jupiter, sometimes meandering. But whatever it is this is one of those platters that's good for a once in a lifetime spin and if you think I'm never gonna dig this out for future reference well --- you just might be right.

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Steve Reich-OCTET/MUSIC FOR A LARGE ENSEMBLE/VIOLIN PHASE CD-r burn (originally on ECM Records) 

A good hunk of this sounds like Philip Glass before the accolades and hanging out with the Dalai Lama and various other chi-chi cause types went to his head (and composing abilities), while some of it even gets close to a Mother Mallard/krautrock electronic growl you paid heavily inflated prices for back in the late-seventies (when this 'un came out!). A better than even I would have thought effort from one of those avgarde classical composers who, had he only grown his hair real long and got signed to some hip "progressive" label like Harvest or Vertigo, coulda passed his sounds off as "rock" and made a whole pile of money in the process. Eh, that didn't work for Karlheinz Stockhausen and it probably wouldn't have worked for Reich either so what'm I say'n anyway.

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Big Sandy and his Flyrite Boys-WHAT A DREAM IT'S BEEN CD-r burn (originally on Cow Island Records)

Remember when Big Sandy was first thrust upon the retro-fifties rock (as in real exciting music and not nostalgic moosh) scene such as it was way back inna eighties? Like, who knew the guy would have such lasting power and make it big at least in the rockabilly consciousness --- not me, but it ain't like I'm up on what you young'uns think is hotcha or not these days. 

Not being a front line aficionado of his music like I believe many of you readers would be, I ain't gonna be spinning this with the same frequency I do various 60/70s cusp cataclysm sounds that seem to be occupying my time. But boy, is this downright entertaining and real life flesh and blood music that sounds authentic and inspirational at a time in man's destiny when the concept of being inspired in the first place seems quite verboten. For those of you who (like me) loathe that seventies HAPPY DAYS concept of the fifties as some whitebread ginchy gooey time this'll snuggle up to you pretty snat-like.

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ARTFUL DODGER CD-r burn (originally on Columbia Records)

Way back when, in fact on this very blog, I reviewed the Dodgers' then-recent live collection thinking it was just too much commercial (in a way that woulda gotten your average AOR fan all moist in the BVD's) pop slop. Funny, but this '75 debut sounds closer to the hard pop AM hitmaker matter of it all than that other 'un did. 

Practically downright enjoyable for those of you who loved the Raspberries and their various pop brethren of the day and, sadly enough, a sound that we sure coulda used a whole lot more of way back when considering how AM pop was dying a slow death with the better aspects of the form being replaced by disco and singer/songwriter snoozerama. 

OK, it does get somewhat over-testosteroned in spots (sorta echoing various eighties AM atrocities like "Eye of the Tiger" even!) but otherwise I give these guys all the huzzahs that a whole load of AM pop purveyors at the time sure 'nuff did a good fifty years back.

Guess I'll have to dig up that live disque for another eval. Sheesh, I mean I should have loved the dickens outta stuff like this but given the horrible time I was having in life when I heard that 'un it's no wonder why I tossed it off in favor of some soothing industrial music! Gotta stop letting reality get in the way of enjoying life.

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Sun Ra-THE CYMBALS CD-r burn (originally on Modern Harmonics Records)

Catch up I must, and THE CYMBALS is at least one good and once rare Sun Ra album of which there are so many that only the millionarest of you readers could enjoy 'em all.  In order to save a li'l space just re-ponder the past dozen or so Ra reviews that have appeared on this blog because well, I don't want to get TOO redundant which is something I've been guilty of while spewing considerable froth re. various musical legacies which have affected me for ages.  

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Various Artists-VOLCANIC TONGUE - A TIME TRAVELLING EVANGELIST'S GUIDE TO LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY UNDERGROUND MUSIC CD-r burn (originally on VT Records, Scotland)

Anyone who tuned into the early days of this blog knows just how much the Volcanic Tongue m.o. biz was essential in filling in a whole load of gaps not only in my music collection but the musical knowledge in my mind. And keeping the stories about ripoffs and other bad business practices out of the equation its sure nice to hear that they're still in some sorta existence as the presence of this compilation would attest to. 

This actually is a nice batch of wide-ranging tracks that feature music that was once part and parcel to the VT catalog, ranging from "post-punk" gunk (but fun gunk --- Scrotum Poles) followed by the late-sixties psychedelic folk rock of the Bachs which in turn's followed by Fil Que Mousse's abstract whatchamacallit and well, this ain't no NUGGETS but it sure makes for a swell listening experience as it shifts from one mode to another catching your lobes by surprise. 

I for one wish they woulda programmed the music played on my local FM station way back when this way. Pretty good, even if that Simon Finn track sounds like warmed over Donovan and the original guy was bad enough. Anyway, I now know what alla that music that VT were sellin' that I passed on sounds like!

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PAPER JAYS CD-r burn (originally on ESP-disk Records)

The revived ESP's still up and runnin' and not only that but they've supplied us with this new act. Paper Jays is a duo who play their acoustic guitars like John Fahey and Robbie Basho fighting each other for steel string supremacy, and doing a good job of it with some added percussives here/there giving the proceedings an additional air of Eastern Spells. You may call it World Music but this music's too good for a term that has been used to describe a whole load of fluff that I imagine only some timid soul trying to stretch out beyond "Mairzy Doats" would like. Sheesh, a whole lot of this even reminds me of Sonny Sharrock's "Blind Willie" which is one thing that definitely keeps this 'un out of the don't scoot it off to Brad Kohler pile.  Who knew that listenable music could have been made in the mid-twenties? Not I!

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XTC-ORANGES AND LEMONS CD-r burn (originally on Virgin Records)

If Paul McGarry were to have sent this to me back when in came out '89 way I'd probably bop the guy inna beezer. Nowadays I'd just write him a nasty letter. Not offensive tho...if I can make my way through some of the other late-seventies new unto gnu wave efforts that have passed my turntable I can make my way through this somewhat interesting rehash of late-sixties English pop. Another one of those (maybe only) one-spin items to occupy whatever's left of my measly existence.

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If you missed out on the salad bar days of BLACK TO COMM you should be getting your just desserts! However, these available back issues should make for a quite appetizing change of course from the usual sub zero rock writing you've had to put up with ever since the great switch from gonz to hypesheet cut and paste occurred way back in the eighties. C'mon, you could do worse and if you've read any of the competition you have!