Given today's Easter I assume that most of you readers are too busy consuming eggs, or in a few cases inserting them somewhere, to be reading this particular post. Another too bad for you, because this particular entry is if I do say so myself pretty tippy top notch, or at least surpasses some of the feh entries that I have been giving you these past umpteen weeks. As for me I'm gonna celebrate in my own usual way, mainly trying to catch up on a vast backlog of Dee-Vee-Dees that I haven't had the time to eyeball these past few months. And frankly, I couldn't think of a better way to enjoy the springtime than be holed up watching THE LONE RANGER and THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN getting in touch with my inner-suburban slob rather'n goin' out 'n enjoyin' the weather like I was told to do for so many years!
In the meanwhile I've been lending ear to a load of pretty good albums that Bill Shute and Paul McGarry sent me out of the kindness of their hearts. Nice pickings too what with the Animals, Rezillos and especially the Jackson Beck interview which turned a ho hum week into one that was...slightly tolerable. Anyway join me in my miasma as you read the following and please, try to understand that my idea of "enjoying life" and yours are probably miles apart!
A. F. Jones-FOUR DOT THREE TO ONE CD-r burn (Kendra Steiner Editions)
This Jones guy is a genius. What he does is take recordings from (in this case) a pond, a pool, a harbor, an estuary, and an open ocean charter and refigures them into honest-to-Bill Shute musique concrete! Dunno how he does it, but it works out and actually makes for fine "ambient" music that you can (once again) sink your nerve endings into. How he was able to make those piano-like tinklings I'll never know, but this guy is a real smartie who I get the feeling ain't gonna be the subject of any hoity arts and music articles any day soon. Available from the link on your left, and who knows, you may even agree that this is one of the more interesting "new music" recordings extant, at least these days.
Ian and the Zodiacs-JUST LISTEN TO... CD-r burn (originally on Star Club, Germany)
A lotta the British Invasion groups were kinda wimpy next to some of the harder sounds being made in the USA (especially the Northwest) and you could definitely say that Ian and the Zodiacs weren't any different. OK, like I mentioned in my previous Ian/Zodiacs review they were only big in Germany but the only reason I give for that is that the locals were still too shell shocked from World War II to be able to take anything hard, at least until the krautrock groups began banging up the scene a few years later. Actually these guys were nice enough mid-level rock that really ain't that offensive and can get a toe tapping or even pinkie wiggling when they do get into the right groove. Maybe I shouldn't let a few feh cover versions sway me too much...
The Rezillos-GET HIP CD-r burn (originally on Nasty Nasty Records, Scotland)
I dunno if Lindsay Hutton reads this blog anymore. Heck, I don't know if anybody reads this blog anymore, nor for that matter do I care. But if Hutton does read it I'm sure this particular rock and roll album would please his heart to no end considering just what a rah-raher he was for this particular group. Like much of this late-seventies punk rock brouhaha the Rezillos revel in mid-sixties rock 'n roll that sounded so great in light of the tiresome mainstream poo poo on both the AM and FM fronts...too bad that the kinda people who popped pimples to Herman's Hermits in '65 thought it was just too radical for their by-now patchouli tastes. But we knew much better, right kids? A wild ride, featuring fine versions of not only originals but hotcha covers and a general fun attitude that you just know went over the heads of Jann Wenner and the rest of his laid back minions.
The Animals-A's, B's AND EP's CD-r burn (originally on EMI)
Can't think of any good egg jokes offhand to start this review with which really shows just how shot my mind has become after years of diligent blogging! Oh well, maybe when I get hold of another collection of Animals single rarities and not-so's I'll have a good one that'll get you all rolling on the floor! This one's got the biggies and the flipsters as well, and although I'm sure all of you big time Animal fans have had these in vinyl form for years this does make for one of those boffo collections that back in the not-so-good ol' days you could only get via import--if lucky or rich that is. Now if I can only think up some good white guy/black women jokes...
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AT A RECORDING SESSION CD-r burn (originally on Warner Brothers Records)
You always wanted to know the ins and outs of big time recording, right? Well, believe it or not but its a whole lot more'n just setting up a microphone and blowin' away like you all thought. Here's an album that gives you an idea of what really goes on, the balancing, the types of microphones used, the acoustics, the editing etc. as it was way back inna late-fifties when Warner Brothers was on top of not only the tee-vee world but making records as well. Features the talents of Joanie Sommers, who a few years after her appearance here attempting to record "Am I Blue", did pretty good chart-wise with "Johnny Get Angry" which is one of those hits outta nowhere that continues to "get" me "right here" and in a good way too!
Shin Joong Hynn-BEAUTIFUL RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS CD-r burn (originally on Light in the Attic)
As Richard Nixon once said, "You can get a ca-reer in Ka-re-er!" That's just what this Hynn guy did getting involved with a whole slew of musical acts over their in the southern portion of that particular country cranking out pop and psych recordings. Unfortunately there's nothing here that even remotely stirs the seoul, this being rather restrained Far East pop that has a bitta the local flavor mixed in with various English and Amerigan motions lacking a whole lotta zip you kinda hoped woulda been there. I'll bet if they blasted this at Kim Jong Un's compound night and day he'd end up with hemorrhoids the size of those Golden Grapes that Shin was involved with!
Various Artists-OOZINGS FROM THE INNER MYNDE VOLUME 21 CD-r burn
This has GOTTA BE at least thirty years old. Probably one of those samplers you could only get via the Midnight (yech!) mailorder list. Some of this has been comped and even legitimately reissued o'er the years (Mystery Trend, Seeds) and the rest ain't anything that's gonna make Miriam Linna wanna give up her Don Covay albums, but as far as being a STATEMENT I guess it does work. Well, at least it works what with the emphasis on moody psychedelic popster garage rock that proves that overall the psychedelic music experience was a bigger downer than any of the Sunshine Sallys and Flower Power Freds would dare remember. Some Beatle cops here, some West Coast musings there. If you like side four of NUGGETS you might go for this one.
JACKSON BECK INTERVIEW CD-r burn
You may think that radio nostalgia is something that petered out around the time Unca Ezra went deef, but I have just as much a love for this old tymey stuff as I do old comics, old tee-vee shows and old things in general which sure seem MORE REAL than the hippie generation that held these old things in contempt. This particular "Golden Age of Radio" program from (I assume) the early-seventies features an interview with one of the top announcers of the past, Jackson Beck whose career actually eclipsed the radio era well into television and moom pitchers (even lending his voice to some SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE skits). You may know him as the voice of Bluto in the ol' POPEYE cartoons, but if you wanna hear a whole lot more about his career and various jobs (as well as actually lend ear to an old ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN which contain his talents) try and track this informative bit of funtime history down in between the Golden Age Reprints and LONE RANGER Dee-Vee-Dees just like I did!
Various Artists-OCEAN FINGER SUNSHINE SPADE CD-r burn (Bill Shute)
With a title like that I thought Bill was aping some early-seventies blaxploitation film, but to the contrary this is a rather varied selection that seems heavy on the poppier side of power. There's lots of that, whether it be from the sixties garage (the Cybermen) or the late-seventies/early-eighties new unto gnu cusp (20th Century) and if you were a "power pop turd" as the Angry Samoans put it well, you'll be in TROUSER PRESS heaven with this one! Yeah there are some definitely non-PP offerings here from the Ray Paul Trio doin' some hotcha countrified guitar picking to the avant whatziz of Barbara Toothpick and Rozkol (and what the heck was this Ben Presto "From Spread to Revolution" thing anyway...all it sounded like was a radio broadcast beamed in from Saigon!) but otherwise it's more of that music that drove Van Halen fans to insanity (me, not that much). Of special note, four tracks by the Tremblers with Peter Noone, the same Noone of Herman fame back when he was trying to muscle in onna new thing back '80 way and don't you forget it!
In the meanwhile I've been lending ear to a load of pretty good albums that Bill Shute and Paul McGarry sent me out of the kindness of their hearts. Nice pickings too what with the Animals, Rezillos and especially the Jackson Beck interview which turned a ho hum week into one that was...slightly tolerable. Anyway join me in my miasma as you read the following and please, try to understand that my idea of "enjoying life" and yours are probably miles apart!
This Jones guy is a genius. What he does is take recordings from (in this case) a pond, a pool, a harbor, an estuary, and an open ocean charter and refigures them into honest-to-Bill Shute musique concrete! Dunno how he does it, but it works out and actually makes for fine "ambient" music that you can (once again) sink your nerve endings into. How he was able to make those piano-like tinklings I'll never know, but this guy is a real smartie who I get the feeling ain't gonna be the subject of any hoity arts and music articles any day soon. Available from the link on your left, and who knows, you may even agree that this is one of the more interesting "new music" recordings extant, at least these days.
***
A lotta the British Invasion groups were kinda wimpy next to some of the harder sounds being made in the USA (especially the Northwest) and you could definitely say that Ian and the Zodiacs weren't any different. OK, like I mentioned in my previous Ian/Zodiacs review they were only big in Germany but the only reason I give for that is that the locals were still too shell shocked from World War II to be able to take anything hard, at least until the krautrock groups began banging up the scene a few years later. Actually these guys were nice enough mid-level rock that really ain't that offensive and can get a toe tapping or even pinkie wiggling when they do get into the right groove. Maybe I shouldn't let a few feh cover versions sway me too much...
***
I dunno if Lindsay Hutton reads this blog anymore. Heck, I don't know if anybody reads this blog anymore, nor for that matter do I care. But if Hutton does read it I'm sure this particular rock and roll album would please his heart to no end considering just what a rah-raher he was for this particular group. Like much of this late-seventies punk rock brouhaha the Rezillos revel in mid-sixties rock 'n roll that sounded so great in light of the tiresome mainstream poo poo on both the AM and FM fronts...too bad that the kinda people who popped pimples to Herman's Hermits in '65 thought it was just too radical for their by-now patchouli tastes. But we knew much better, right kids? A wild ride, featuring fine versions of not only originals but hotcha covers and a general fun attitude that you just know went over the heads of Jann Wenner and the rest of his laid back minions.
***
Can't think of any good egg jokes offhand to start this review with which really shows just how shot my mind has become after years of diligent blogging! Oh well, maybe when I get hold of another collection of Animals single rarities and not-so's I'll have a good one that'll get you all rolling on the floor! This one's got the biggies and the flipsters as well, and although I'm sure all of you big time Animal fans have had these in vinyl form for years this does make for one of those boffo collections that back in the not-so-good ol' days you could only get via import--if lucky or rich that is. Now if I can only think up some good white guy/black women jokes...
***
You always wanted to know the ins and outs of big time recording, right? Well, believe it or not but its a whole lot more'n just setting up a microphone and blowin' away like you all thought. Here's an album that gives you an idea of what really goes on, the balancing, the types of microphones used, the acoustics, the editing etc. as it was way back inna late-fifties when Warner Brothers was on top of not only the tee-vee world but making records as well. Features the talents of Joanie Sommers, who a few years after her appearance here attempting to record "Am I Blue", did pretty good chart-wise with "Johnny Get Angry" which is one of those hits outta nowhere that continues to "get" me "right here" and in a good way too!
***
As Richard Nixon once said, "You can get a ca-reer in Ka-re-er!" That's just what this Hynn guy did getting involved with a whole slew of musical acts over their in the southern portion of that particular country cranking out pop and psych recordings. Unfortunately there's nothing here that even remotely stirs the seoul, this being rather restrained Far East pop that has a bitta the local flavor mixed in with various English and Amerigan motions lacking a whole lotta zip you kinda hoped woulda been there. I'll bet if they blasted this at Kim Jong Un's compound night and day he'd end up with hemorrhoids the size of those Golden Grapes that Shin was involved with!
***
This has GOTTA BE at least thirty years old. Probably one of those samplers you could only get via the Midnight (yech!) mailorder list. Some of this has been comped and even legitimately reissued o'er the years (Mystery Trend, Seeds) and the rest ain't anything that's gonna make Miriam Linna wanna give up her Don Covay albums, but as far as being a STATEMENT I guess it does work. Well, at least it works what with the emphasis on moody psychedelic popster garage rock that proves that overall the psychedelic music experience was a bigger downer than any of the Sunshine Sallys and Flower Power Freds would dare remember. Some Beatle cops here, some West Coast musings there. If you like side four of NUGGETS you might go for this one.
***
You may think that radio nostalgia is something that petered out around the time Unca Ezra went deef, but I have just as much a love for this old tymey stuff as I do old comics, old tee-vee shows and old things in general which sure seem MORE REAL than the hippie generation that held these old things in contempt. This particular "Golden Age of Radio" program from (I assume) the early-seventies features an interview with one of the top announcers of the past, Jackson Beck whose career actually eclipsed the radio era well into television and moom pitchers (even lending his voice to some SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE skits). You may know him as the voice of Bluto in the ol' POPEYE cartoons, but if you wanna hear a whole lot more about his career and various jobs (as well as actually lend ear to an old ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN which contain his talents) try and track this informative bit of funtime history down in between the Golden Age Reprints and LONE RANGER Dee-Vee-Dees just like I did!
***
With a title like that I thought Bill was aping some early-seventies blaxploitation film, but to the contrary this is a rather varied selection that seems heavy on the poppier side of power. There's lots of that, whether it be from the sixties garage (the Cybermen) or the late-seventies/early-eighties new unto gnu cusp (20th Century) and if you were a "power pop turd" as the Angry Samoans put it well, you'll be in TROUSER PRESS heaven with this one! Yeah there are some definitely non-PP offerings here from the Ray Paul Trio doin' some hotcha countrified guitar picking to the avant whatziz of Barbara Toothpick and Rozkol (and what the heck was this Ben Presto "From Spread to Revolution" thing anyway...all it sounded like was a radio broadcast beamed in from Saigon!) but otherwise it's more of that music that drove Van Halen fans to insanity (me, not that much). Of special note, four tracks by the Tremblers with Peter Noone, the same Noone of Herman fame back when he was trying to muscle in onna new thing back '80 way and don't you forget it!
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