I must say that I rang the old year out right with this particular piece of rock "journalism" pretty much in the same way I rang 1971 out reading the final installment of "The Kree/Skrull War" series in THE AVENGERS. In other words, this particular issue of UGLY THINGS really is gritty after all! It got me all hot and bothered with juices flowin' in the same manner as when I was a kid approaching the toy shop counter wond'rin which Matchbox car my fifty pennies were headed for, or thinking that maybe I could afford that copy of JAMMING WITH EDWARD that was being sold for $1.99 at the local department store. Or getting the latest catalog from Renaissance/Systematic/Bomp and being stymied by the vast array of not available in stores in the tri-county area kinda offerings that were made available for a bozo who wanted to be subhuman scum since all of the higher forms of life were waxing eloquent over Pat Benetar. It really is that crucial to me.
Hokay the Equals never were my favorite late-sixties rock 'n roll saviors even if "Baby Come Back" was a monster thudder, but the epic-length interview with singer Derv Gordon had be glued to my seat even more'n when my sweaty nude body would sit firmly upon a Naugahyde reclining chair during a heat wave. The Goldbriars history probably never would have popped up in this mag if it weren't for the Music Machine connection but somehow I was attracted to the thing like flies toward Dave Lang's body aroma. And frankly I wasn't that interested in either the Total Crudd or Simon Stokes pieces even with the Dictators and Spats connections firmly in place. But I read 'em and liked the pieces even if I don't know what the latter especially rated such a big story in a magazine that used to avoid the anti-second wave of psychedelic rock 'n roll with a feral passion, ifyaknowaddamean...
Here's WHAT got rip-roarin' over this latest ish of UT...first off the unexpurgated interview with ultimo rock 'n roll legend Captain Beefheart done up by Greg Prevost, originally produced for the third issue of his long-gone and sorely missed fanzine FUTURE but presented en toto complete with gaffes and flubs galore (Greg didn't know about the animosity Van Vliet had for Wild Man Fischer that's for sure!) complete with rare photos and Greg's own personal background regarding that fateful night he approached the man.
Also hotcha was the piece on the tracks that were slated for but ultimately left off the holier-than-anything-you-could-pick-up-in-the-budget-racks NUGGETS compilation of first-era psychedelic and thud rock classics. True, a few of the rejects would have fit in snuggingly (Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues" comes to mind) but others like Dr. Feelgood and the Interns' "Mr. Moonlight" (from 1962---you'd think that if Lenny Kaye were to stretch the time boundaries the way he stretched the term "psychedelic" the likes of the Kingsmen and Trashmen would have appeared!) and Pearls Before Swine's "Drop Out" seem rather odd. Really, if Kaye were to dip from the ESP font you'd think that "Frenzy" by the Fugs or something from the second Godz album woulda been a better representation of the spirit of rock 'n roll as that mad mid-sixties driving force. Even the Holy Modal Rounders woulda been swell though they were on Elektra so like maybe they, like Love, were disqualified on that count alone!
And the other articles on everything from the Balloon Farm to Dylan to Geoff K/Crozier were fine and reminiscent of that whole era (roughly 1964-1981---the latter twelve of those on a strictly under-the-counterculture level) also held my brain in blissful rockist check, not to mention the reviews galore (even if I don't think I'd part with any of the filthy lucre this time) and the better than anything you'll find in the "real life" mainstream press contributors. My faves this time were Bill Shute (for obvious reasons) and Tim Stegall who seems to be developing into one of the better fanzine-bred writers I've seen in ages. He sure put all of those a$$holes who used to razz him mercilessly in their place that's for sure, and I hope to read more of his scribings not only in these pages but elsewhere, wherever that may be!
So what UGLY THINGS #46 worth the time to purchase, pour through and digest? What the fanabla do ya think, pud?
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