In order to be current and uppa date and all that, here are a few things inna news that I'd like to comment on if only to disprove to my myriad assortment of enemas that I'm stuck in this weird Twiblight Zone of fifties kultur focused through sixties tee-vee and seventies underground rock concerns. And no Beaver, I ain't using that "The Indians predict a severe winter" old standby either.
Lessee, who should I start with...howzbout Cecil the Lion? Yeah, howzbout him?!?!?!? Really, I haven't heard this much of an uproar over a dead pussy since Savannah died! Sheesh, I dunno why anybody cares about that 86'd cat anyway...I mean the guy who shot him wasn't as much at fault as the guide who said it was hokay to fire away at this protected specimen and really, don't you think it's ridiculous seeing all of these aminal lovers boo-hooing over this not-that-tragic event while they wouldn't dare sniffle one gob o' goo over alla those kids who got sick on macaroni and cheese last year??? Now if Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent was offed I'd be wearing my underpants at half mast, but some dumbass lion? No way Chollie!
What else inna news has caught my eyeballs? Well, not the prez hoopla or normalization of relations with Cuba or any of that other brainy stuff you can read about all over the place. However, the saga about that feminist who ran the London Marathon while having her period but without a cuntplug did inspire me...to fits of outright disgusto pukeo rage that is. Dunno what this (probable) carpet muncher (with ketchup!) was trying to prove, but when I first heard about this 'un you can bet I saw red! I hope you appreciate me italicizing and using bold for the word "red" lest you not get the gag...after all, I get the impression some of you reg'lar readers do need a li'l help ifyaknowaddamean...
Of course almost as bad is that new trend amongst our "moral and intellectual superiors" (mainly radical college kidz!) for the female of the species to dye their pit hair different colors for some occult political reason or another! I dunno if I'd want to dwell further into this phenomenon because hey, it's not like I'm gonna (or wanna for that matter) do any personal checking myself! C'mon, don't ya know that these womyn have an aversion to deodorants or body washes of any kind which would certainly keep my nostrils away from their bodily functions at all costs! Interferes with their feminist mystink, or something like that. So all I gotta say is...if you see some young women's lib type wearing a tank top shirt and wanna rob her, whatever you do don't say "STICK 'EM UP!" lest you get an eyefulla pit brillos you'll wish you had never seen.
A big hefty thanks to Mr. Bill Shute,.Mr. Bob Richert, Mr. Hozac and the equally important to the BTC scheme of things Mr. Fadensonnen for the contributions. Between them, me and the ever-growing pile of platters in my bedroom you can bet that there's gonna be a whole lotta fresh material hitting this blog for at least the next three weeks! And while you're at it, pray for more records (archival and by new acts of worth) to come out with an alarming frequency. Well if you're gonna pray for something, why waste it on world peace?
The Jazz Destroyers-LIVE @ JB's, Kent Ohio, 9-4-1981 CD-r burn (courtesy PD Fadensonnen)
This one has been floating around in Soundcloud format for a few months already but it's sure great hearing it all in one place and in one package. The infamous Dave E's equally infamous early-eighties group the Jazz Destroyers never did make it as big as they shoulda, but at least they left that ol' timey impression on those who were lucky enough to see 'em while they were around (which didn't include me despite various tries). Sparkling originals the likes of "Have a Nice Day" and "Bagful of Garbage" intermingle with not only TWO Ramones covers ("Sheena" and "Here Today Gone Tomorrow", both perfect for Dave E's particular form of tonsilizing) but a slewfulla Electric Eels faves I'm sure many people thought they would never get to hear again. In all, this performance somehow seem to signal the end of the Great Cleveland era of Underground Rock (1974-1981) even more than the great exodus of local talent to New York did. The backing band is quite copasetic to Mr. E's vocal abilities and there's nary a sour note to be heard literally or figuratively. If this had only gotten out a lot sooner than it did maybe we wouldn't've had to spend the earlier portion of that decade so bummed out over the loss of seventies underground aesthetics like I most certainly was.
England's Glory-"City of Fun"/"Shattered Illusions" 45 rpm (Hozac)
Of course you long-time fans of Peter Perrett's pre-Only Ones outfit have the a-side adorning the group's sole album and have cherished it for years, but feast your ears on the flipside, a previously-unreleased number that somehow or other missed being on the album but deserves all of the fan adoration that has been dumped on the rest of this group's output for years. Still can't see how Nick Kent coulda been duped (even for a minute or two before he caught on) that he was actually listening to some rare Velvet Underground demos when these tracks were played for him, but I gotta say that Perrett and band did have a good go at emulating that hard to copy that specific quality Lou Reed used to have in the sixties! Nice imitation Europeon-styled picture sleeve too!
Bob Taylor and the Counts-"Taylor's Rock"/"Thunder" 45 rpm; Bob Taylor and the Counts-"Don't Be Unfair"/Bobby Fuller-"Say Honey" 45 rpm (Norton, see link on left for ordering instructions)
While waiting for the opportunity to tear into my El Paso Rock platters (inspired by the beaut of a Bobby Fuller bio written by Miriam Linna in conjunction with Fuller's brother Randell) I thought I'd give these two singles a spin in order to "whet" my appetite, or my pants for that matter. And what pant whetters (sic!) they are, for the Bob Taylor and the Count numbuhs are total pounding late-fifties fun, the kinda garage band sides you've always trusted Norton to put out (or at least sell ya!). No wonder this group had been denounced by a few local pulpits what with the hard-drive band crankout these guys did...if you go for similar late-fifties releases by the likes of the Jokers, Crazy Teens and a variety of local downhome bands that were fortunate enough to release a record or two before petering out into the greasepit of eternal rockist happiness you'll go for this. Pick up the "Taylor's Rock" single as soon as you can get your mitts on some hard-begged.
The "Don't Be Unfair" side is tame in comparison, but maybe that's because it's a vocal track that doesn't have the overdrive scream mode of a Sonics or Iggy for that matter. Still a good spinner, as is the flipster featuring some early Bobby Fuller recording done during that strange grey area time in rock history that was supposed to have been all Bobbys and Frankies until the brave and decisive rock of Melanie came to rescue us all. And even though these probably can be found on other records Norton or not it's sure nice playing these singles in the exact same portable teenage turntable fashion that you did when you were a mere five, though please take more care of these'n you did those yellow Peter Pan platters you still can't give away at the flea market no matter how hard you've tried.
All of Thus-1966 cd-r burn (courtesy Bill Shute)
Haw wotta buncha teenage turdburgers! Betcha the gals at school hated 'em until they grew their hair long, took up instruments and started making recordings featuring hotcha covers of the Byrds and Dionne Warwick. Then it was THEIR turn to put the gals down...dontcha like happy endings like that???
But for a buncha nowhere guys with long hair All of Thus were a really top notch teenage bunch in that mid-Amerigan garage band tradition that still seems to resonate even fifty years down the line. Quality is AM flat but that only helps the music out, and the performances are rather professional to the point where the low-fidelity studio these guys used doesn't ruin 'em at all. The originals are as boffo as anything else that was coming outta Nuggetsville at the time and the downturn negativity really does reflect a more Long Island (or New England) than NYC approach but I ain't knockin' it one bit. Nothing to sneeze at...in fact All of Thus had the 1966 folk/punk ethos down pat and for that they should get some personal award from Lenny Kaye and I do mean yesterday!
The Gizmos-WORLD TOUR 2014 CD (Gulcher)
Aww chee...MORE aged guys getting back together to play forty-year-old rock et roll. Ain't that GREAT???, because if it weren't for old guys playing rock et roll these days there would be NO rock et roll!!! The crusty core of the originals (Highland, Flowers, Niemec, Coffee) show up here doing the same Gizmos racket of yore with additional goodies like a spirited "Black to Comm" and it all settles just as well inside your CREEM-reading mind as it did way back when every fanzine was touting the Gizmos line as if it were the only line to be touted. Also features a certain Craig Willis Bell on bass guitar, and boy must that guy be busy what with his playing not only with these guys but Rocket From The Tombs, Ex-Blank-Ex and who knows who else!!! You can go home again, and frankly if you decide to pass this true rock artyfact up may you once and forever be banished to Camp Penis!
Daevid Allen and Euterpe-STUDIO REHEARSAL TAPES 1977 CD (Voiceprint UK)
Better'n the actual GOOD MORNING album if you really wanna know my humble opine. Backing band Euterpe really bring out the nutziness in Allen (who's never sounded more Barrett-ish than he does here) with a folk-y approach that is kinda progressive rock in the standard sense but not overbearing as in 2000 keyboards powered by the sun. Gilli Smyth is also onhand with her space whispering, and the overall results should satiate not only the standard Gong aficionado but reg'lar rubes looking for a little more kick in their listening experiences. If you were one of those fanablas (like myself) whose mainline to the British Isles was MELODY MAKER (forget SOUNDS and NME which were like impossible to find) and you were keeping an eye on the import bins for the latest post-psychedelic flash, this might strike a chord with you.
The Moving Sidewalks-THE COMPLETE COLLECTION 2-CD set (RockBeat)
There's gonna be a lotta Texas psychedelic rumblings in these thar pages the next few weeks, for right now I'm on a rather hunkerin' huge jag for the same sorta screech that was birthed from the mind of Roky Erickson and sorta went off on some strange tangent once the seventies began to get in gear. And hey, what better place to start'n with this collection of EVERYTHING (even the early Coachmen stuff!) by Billy Gibbons' pre-Z.Z. Top act the Moving Sidewalks, a group that seemed too embarrassing for the standard set of seventies FM-bred music listeners but heck, we knew better alla time!
Disque #1 contains the entire FLASH album, a platter that I never did cozy up to that much upon first listen way back when but here in 2015 it sure sounds a whole lot better'n the stuff that replaced this! Which replaced some other stuff which replaced a whole slew of things which some ignoramus deemed was good enough for us while this hard psychedelic blooze sure wasn't. Not being that big of a fan of the whole white blues guitar stud thing I probably shouldn't like it, but when mixed with that Texas lysergic style and a healthy Amerigan garage band aesthetic I can't see but not grooving to the neo-Elevators ebb and flow the Sidewalks ooze. Even the obligatory freak out track ("Reclipse") echoes a strong Greek Fountains via Red Krayola sense of mental breakdown that I certainly can't complain about considering this kinda music is definitely what my own nervous system sounds like!
The other un's got the rarities from the infamous "99th Floor" single to a bunch of discarded takes that were never meant for us to hear, and (as you'd guess) even those early Coachmen sides show the roots of all of this psychedelic madness that was up and about even before it was called psychedelic! It's all here, and though it would be unwise to toss out all of those sixties garage band compilations (and overpriced pirate copies) you've clung to these past thirtysome years let's just say you have it all in one lump and in one place. Saves you the time of sifting through piles of platters to find that Moxie EP with the old car on the front cover and pic this up!
Tony Williams Lifetime-TURN IT OVER REDUX, MIX TRANSLATION BY BILL LASWELL CD-r burn
Dunno the whys and wherefores of this particular Fadensonnen-bred burn, but between you, me and the parole officer dontcha think that the idea of noted bassist/producer Bill Laswell remixing the classic Lifetime album (and including a few newies in the batch) is one of the most brilliant things imagined in quite some time? True some of the tracks here sound very similar to the ones that popped up on that boffo fusion platter, but others come off totally different so it's like you're listening to an entirely different offering from this legendary fusion group whose members never did equal the action they put forth here once they left for greener (money) pastures. Well, Larry Young and Love Cry Want excepted. Fans of the McLaughlin/Young-era band better be sure to find this one wherever on the vast webosphere it may be wallowing.
Various Artists-GOOD RED IMPERIALIST STEW CD-r burn (courtesy Bill Shute)
This week's selection of Bill burns contains some interesting snatches of snoot radicalism past such as John Ashbery's not-so-funny but rather pertinent for someone poem regarding Amerigan imperialism and Admiral Dewey. The Henry Flynt group the Insurrectionists have been covered in these "pages" before, but it is sure nice having an excuse to hear them via their I DON'T WANNA Cee-Dee again. Also fun is the Moza Khamis middle-eastern-oriented "Athabtni Ya Asmar" (probably heard more in England than "God Save the Queen" these days) not to mention these krauts doing some songs in krautese that we all would have been hearing these days had Eisenhower not dropped the bomb on Curtis LeMay or something like that. Craziest of the batch includes Cerrito the Italian Cowboy doing the old Carole King cum Herman's Hermits classic "I'm Into Something Good" as well as thiscontest competition for the English "Cherry B" wine corporation where the discerning glugger of the stuff has to choose which "Cherry B" song is the best of the batch. There are five choices, all in that early-sixties cornballus-yet-fun English pop mode to choose from, and if you really are in the market for a Sunbeam Alpine tough turds, because this contest competition was over a good fifty-four years ago!
Lessee, who should I start with...howzbout Cecil the Lion? Yeah, howzbout him?!?!?!? Really, I haven't heard this much of an uproar over a dead pussy since Savannah died! Sheesh, I dunno why anybody cares about that 86'd cat anyway...I mean the guy who shot him wasn't as much at fault as the guide who said it was hokay to fire away at this protected specimen and really, don't you think it's ridiculous seeing all of these aminal lovers boo-hooing over this not-that-tragic event while they wouldn't dare sniffle one gob o' goo over alla those kids who got sick on macaroni and cheese last year??? Now if Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent was offed I'd be wearing my underpants at half mast, but some dumbass lion? No way Chollie!
What else inna news has caught my eyeballs? Well, not the prez hoopla or normalization of relations with Cuba or any of that other brainy stuff you can read about all over the place. However, the saga about that feminist who ran the London Marathon while having her period but without a cuntplug did inspire me...to fits of outright disgusto pukeo rage that is. Dunno what this (probable) carpet muncher (with ketchup!) was trying to prove, but when I first heard about this 'un you can bet I saw red! I hope you appreciate me italicizing and using bold for the word "red" lest you not get the gag...after all, I get the impression some of you reg'lar readers do need a li'l help ifyaknowaddamean...
Of course almost as bad is that new trend amongst our "moral and intellectual superiors" (mainly radical college kidz!) for the female of the species to dye their pit hair different colors for some occult political reason or another! I dunno if I'd want to dwell further into this phenomenon because hey, it's not like I'm gonna (or wanna for that matter) do any personal checking myself! C'mon, don't ya know that these womyn have an aversion to deodorants or body washes of any kind which would certainly keep my nostrils away from their bodily functions at all costs! Interferes with their feminist mystink, or something like that. So all I gotta say is...if you see some young women's lib type wearing a tank top shirt and wanna rob her, whatever you do don't say "STICK 'EM UP!" lest you get an eyefulla pit brillos you'll wish you had never seen.
***But enough of the cornballus humor that I and only I seem to enjoy these days. As far as the following writeups go well, I sure liked doin' 'em up...don't care about what you think about 'em as usual! The reason for my own personal merriment is...well...I finally am getting into a batch of recently-received recordings that have been stimulating me as of late meaning I don't have to scour the bottom of my collection to find some platter that just happened to be lingering there since 1978 at the latest. And really, hearing these sounds whether fresh or not does stimulate the ol' suburban slob glands in me to the point where I feel like walking around in my stockings all day and eating liverwurst straight from the cold cut drawer! That's how good these are!
A big hefty thanks to Mr. Bill Shute,.Mr. Bob Richert, Mr. Hozac and the equally important to the BTC scheme of things Mr. Fadensonnen for the contributions. Between them, me and the ever-growing pile of platters in my bedroom you can bet that there's gonna be a whole lotta fresh material hitting this blog for at least the next three weeks! And while you're at it, pray for more records (archival and by new acts of worth) to come out with an alarming frequency. Well if you're gonna pray for something, why waste it on world peace?
The Jazz Destroyers-LIVE @ JB's, Kent Ohio, 9-4-1981 CD-r burn (courtesy PD Fadensonnen)This one has been floating around in Soundcloud format for a few months already but it's sure great hearing it all in one place and in one package. The infamous Dave E's equally infamous early-eighties group the Jazz Destroyers never did make it as big as they shoulda, but at least they left that ol' timey impression on those who were lucky enough to see 'em while they were around (which didn't include me despite various tries). Sparkling originals the likes of "Have a Nice Day" and "Bagful of Garbage" intermingle with not only TWO Ramones covers ("Sheena" and "Here Today Gone Tomorrow", both perfect for Dave E's particular form of tonsilizing) but a slewfulla Electric Eels faves I'm sure many people thought they would never get to hear again. In all, this performance somehow seem to signal the end of the Great Cleveland era of Underground Rock (1974-1981) even more than the great exodus of local talent to New York did. The backing band is quite copasetic to Mr. E's vocal abilities and there's nary a sour note to be heard literally or figuratively. If this had only gotten out a lot sooner than it did maybe we wouldn't've had to spend the earlier portion of that decade so bummed out over the loss of seventies underground aesthetics like I most certainly was.
***
Of course you long-time fans of Peter Perrett's pre-Only Ones outfit have the a-side adorning the group's sole album and have cherished it for years, but feast your ears on the flipside, a previously-unreleased number that somehow or other missed being on the album but deserves all of the fan adoration that has been dumped on the rest of this group's output for years. Still can't see how Nick Kent coulda been duped (even for a minute or two before he caught on) that he was actually listening to some rare Velvet Underground demos when these tracks were played for him, but I gotta say that Perrett and band did have a good go at emulating that hard to copy that specific quality Lou Reed used to have in the sixties! Nice imitation Europeon-styled picture sleeve too!
***
Bob Taylor and the Counts-"Taylor's Rock"/"Thunder" 45 rpm; Bob Taylor and the Counts-"Don't Be Unfair"/Bobby Fuller-"Say Honey" 45 rpm (Norton, see link on left for ordering instructions)While waiting for the opportunity to tear into my El Paso Rock platters (inspired by the beaut of a Bobby Fuller bio written by Miriam Linna in conjunction with Fuller's brother Randell) I thought I'd give these two singles a spin in order to "whet" my appetite, or my pants for that matter. And what pant whetters (sic!) they are, for the Bob Taylor and the Count numbuhs are total pounding late-fifties fun, the kinda garage band sides you've always trusted Norton to put out (or at least sell ya!). No wonder this group had been denounced by a few local pulpits what with the hard-drive band crankout these guys did...if you go for similar late-fifties releases by the likes of the Jokers, Crazy Teens and a variety of local downhome bands that were fortunate enough to release a record or two before petering out into the greasepit of eternal rockist happiness you'll go for this. Pick up the "Taylor's Rock" single as soon as you can get your mitts on some hard-begged.
The "Don't Be Unfair" side is tame in comparison, but maybe that's because it's a vocal track that doesn't have the overdrive scream mode of a Sonics or Iggy for that matter. Still a good spinner, as is the flipster featuring some early Bobby Fuller recording done during that strange grey area time in rock history that was supposed to have been all Bobbys and Frankies until the brave and decisive rock of Melanie came to rescue us all. And even though these probably can be found on other records Norton or not it's sure nice playing these singles in the exact same portable teenage turntable fashion that you did when you were a mere five, though please take more care of these'n you did those yellow Peter Pan platters you still can't give away at the flea market no matter how hard you've tried.
***
Haw wotta buncha teenage turdburgers! Betcha the gals at school hated 'em until they grew their hair long, took up instruments and started making recordings featuring hotcha covers of the Byrds and Dionne Warwick. Then it was THEIR turn to put the gals down...dontcha like happy endings like that???
But for a buncha nowhere guys with long hair All of Thus were a really top notch teenage bunch in that mid-Amerigan garage band tradition that still seems to resonate even fifty years down the line. Quality is AM flat but that only helps the music out, and the performances are rather professional to the point where the low-fidelity studio these guys used doesn't ruin 'em at all. The originals are as boffo as anything else that was coming outta Nuggetsville at the time and the downturn negativity really does reflect a more Long Island (or New England) than NYC approach but I ain't knockin' it one bit. Nothing to sneeze at...in fact All of Thus had the 1966 folk/punk ethos down pat and for that they should get some personal award from Lenny Kaye and I do mean yesterday!
***
Aww chee...MORE aged guys getting back together to play forty-year-old rock et roll. Ain't that GREAT???, because if it weren't for old guys playing rock et roll these days there would be NO rock et roll!!! The crusty core of the originals (Highland, Flowers, Niemec, Coffee) show up here doing the same Gizmos racket of yore with additional goodies like a spirited "Black to Comm" and it all settles just as well inside your CREEM-reading mind as it did way back when every fanzine was touting the Gizmos line as if it were the only line to be touted. Also features a certain Craig Willis Bell on bass guitar, and boy must that guy be busy what with his playing not only with these guys but Rocket From The Tombs, Ex-Blank-Ex and who knows who else!!! You can go home again, and frankly if you decide to pass this true rock artyfact up may you once and forever be banished to Camp Penis!
***
Daevid Allen and Euterpe-STUDIO REHEARSAL TAPES 1977 CD (Voiceprint UK)Better'n the actual GOOD MORNING album if you really wanna know my humble opine. Backing band Euterpe really bring out the nutziness in Allen (who's never sounded more Barrett-ish than he does here) with a folk-y approach that is kinda progressive rock in the standard sense but not overbearing as in 2000 keyboards powered by the sun. Gilli Smyth is also onhand with her space whispering, and the overall results should satiate not only the standard Gong aficionado but reg'lar rubes looking for a little more kick in their listening experiences. If you were one of those fanablas (like myself) whose mainline to the British Isles was MELODY MAKER (forget SOUNDS and NME which were like impossible to find) and you were keeping an eye on the import bins for the latest post-psychedelic flash, this might strike a chord with you.
***
There's gonna be a lotta Texas psychedelic rumblings in these thar pages the next few weeks, for right now I'm on a rather hunkerin' huge jag for the same sorta screech that was birthed from the mind of Roky Erickson and sorta went off on some strange tangent once the seventies began to get in gear. And hey, what better place to start'n with this collection of EVERYTHING (even the early Coachmen stuff!) by Billy Gibbons' pre-Z.Z. Top act the Moving Sidewalks, a group that seemed too embarrassing for the standard set of seventies FM-bred music listeners but heck, we knew better alla time!
Disque #1 contains the entire FLASH album, a platter that I never did cozy up to that much upon first listen way back when but here in 2015 it sure sounds a whole lot better'n the stuff that replaced this! Which replaced some other stuff which replaced a whole slew of things which some ignoramus deemed was good enough for us while this hard psychedelic blooze sure wasn't. Not being that big of a fan of the whole white blues guitar stud thing I probably shouldn't like it, but when mixed with that Texas lysergic style and a healthy Amerigan garage band aesthetic I can't see but not grooving to the neo-Elevators ebb and flow the Sidewalks ooze. Even the obligatory freak out track ("Reclipse") echoes a strong Greek Fountains via Red Krayola sense of mental breakdown that I certainly can't complain about considering this kinda music is definitely what my own nervous system sounds like!
The other un's got the rarities from the infamous "99th Floor" single to a bunch of discarded takes that were never meant for us to hear, and (as you'd guess) even those early Coachmen sides show the roots of all of this psychedelic madness that was up and about even before it was called psychedelic! It's all here, and though it would be unwise to toss out all of those sixties garage band compilations (and overpriced pirate copies) you've clung to these past thirtysome years let's just say you have it all in one lump and in one place. Saves you the time of sifting through piles of platters to find that Moxie EP with the old car on the front cover and pic this up!
***
Dunno the whys and wherefores of this particular Fadensonnen-bred burn, but between you, me and the parole officer dontcha think that the idea of noted bassist/producer Bill Laswell remixing the classic Lifetime album (and including a few newies in the batch) is one of the most brilliant things imagined in quite some time? True some of the tracks here sound very similar to the ones that popped up on that boffo fusion platter, but others come off totally different so it's like you're listening to an entirely different offering from this legendary fusion group whose members never did equal the action they put forth here once they left for greener (money) pastures. Well, Larry Young and Love Cry Want excepted. Fans of the McLaughlin/Young-era band better be sure to find this one wherever on the vast webosphere it may be wallowing.
***
This week's selection of Bill burns contains some interesting snatches of snoot radicalism past such as John Ashbery's not-so-funny but rather pertinent for someone poem regarding Amerigan imperialism and Admiral Dewey. The Henry Flynt group the Insurrectionists have been covered in these "pages" before, but it is sure nice having an excuse to hear them via their I DON'T WANNA Cee-Dee again. Also fun is the Moza Khamis middle-eastern-oriented "Athabtni Ya Asmar" (probably heard more in England than "God Save the Queen" these days) not to mention these krauts doing some songs in krautese that we all would have been hearing these days had Eisenhower not dropped the bomb on Curtis LeMay or something like that. Craziest of the batch includes Cerrito the Italian Cowboy doing the old Carole King cum Herman's Hermits classic "I'm Into Something Good" as well as this
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