How are you doing. Tomorrow's Palm Sunday, which for some strange reason is a big day for many of the more lonely BLOG TO COMM readers out there. I think I might have used that joke before but it's so good that it deserves another go at it.
As can be expected, it was a "there" week. Lived through it, but that's about all. The lack of moolah (and lack of items that I would particularly want to part said moolah with for) had me scurrying back to a good fortysome year backlog of music, books and whatnot to keep my post-Salt Mine hours occupied. Currently making my way through the old BATMAN, FROM THE THIRTIES TO THE SEVENTIES collection (y'know, the book that along with its Superman counterpart was ultimately to be found damaged and tattered in every library across this land of ours) not to mention what is left of my old stack of comic books which, despite being kept in relatively good shape throughout the years, still ain't worth the millyuns of dollars I thought they would be back when I was ten. Musicwize the sounds I've been listening to (other'n those to be mentioned below) are the same old faves, with Suicide's early demos being the repeato riff fave for the second straight week inna row. Of course the ultimate discovery of the past few days has been the fragment of the lost Velvet Underground song "Never Get Emotionally Involved..." which I found out about via the Oliver Landimere page. If you wanna hear that snippet just go here and pray that the rest of those early rediscovered tapes make their way to the starving public and sooner than any of us woulda ever hoped!
One of Hours-WHEN YOU HEAR THE MUSIC, IT'S YOURS CD (Out-Sider, available via Guerssen Records)
It's amazing just how many unreleased albums there were back inna late-sixties, and (as if you couldn't sense it) this brand new item is just one of 'em! From Lexington Kentucky, One of Hours never did get the opportunity to unleash this psychopop platter onto the usual unsuspecting public type of people and that is a shame, because WHEN YOU HEART THE MUSIC's got that top pop bap slap to it that woulda had Greg Prevost drooling all over it in FUTURE #1 had this only gotten out into the supermarket bins of the United States where it seems it would have been most welcome.
Not only is the group's sense of Beatles/Zombies cool pop firmly in place but there are even the expected paens to garage band supremacy to be found not to mention the typical nods to Eastern spells and psychedelic bizarratudes that were FORTUNATELY par for the course at the time. Let's just say that is is too bad One of Hours failed to get that big break cuz this woulda been the ultimate flea market record stack surprise of 1979!
Care of the Cow-DOGS' EARS ARE STUPID CD (Mental Experience, availabla via Guerssen Records)
Never've been a fan of eighties-era electronic new unto gnu wave pop slop, but Care of the Cow handles the form so differently that they transcend the usual glitz that marred many a slab of vinyl. With choir-like harmonies and actual discernible melodies, Care of the Cow's entire reason for existence recalls a whole lotta past booty from mid-seventies synth workouts to downer folk music resulting in a rec that you'd swear you woulda found in the local import bins only it woulda been too radical for even the standard Tonto's Expanding Headband crowd let alone Beaver and Krause. A pretty engrossing experience that's really too difficult to describe with a mere peck of the typewriter...perfect for those of you who spent more than a few hours writing term papers on electronic music and got points knocked off because Sun Ra was spelled "Sien" Ra (as if I'll ever forgive ya cyster!).
Phurnne-TO LOVE LIGHTLY... LP (Feeding Tube Records)
The spiffy black onna inside and see-thru onna outside vinyl ain't the only thing spiffy about this release featuring some ex-Eggs Eggs guy. The electronic squeals mixed with everyday instruments (and even some voice inna mix I could swear was Porky Pig!) might lead you to believe that this is yet "another" Feeding Tube release", and if fact it is! That is, if you're big on the sound sprawl some of these instant classics on the label can drill into your consciousness. The words to describe this escape me as usual but lemme just say that, once again that squealing violin sawing away reminds me of none other than Leroy Jenkins which has become thee thing for me to mention whenever I hear squealing violins! And under-the-curb classic.
The Ramblers-RAMBLIN' BACK TO THE GRAVE CD-r burn (originally on GMG Records)
Many-a-those mid-eighties "garage revival" groups just didn't seem to hold their worth in salt once that decade crept to a sad close, but these Rambler sure kept up a solid holler that many of the competing groups just couldn't handle! While some groups played it cool yet sounded comparatively thin, these Ramblers sure pumped it up with their beefy revisions of sounds that just weren't copasetic with the more peace creep types amongst us. Contains credible covers of "White Light/White Heat" and "Fire Engine" too!
Roscoe Mitchell Trio-THE DAY AND THE NIGHT CD-r burn (originally on Dizim Records)
Well, there's one thing you can be thankful for and that is this is not the CHAD Mitchell Trio!
Although this '96 release lacks the crazed abstraction of the early AACM albums this set up with Mitchell backed by Art Ensemble mainstay Malachi Favors and drummer Gerald Cleaver still packs more nerve-grinding intensity than anything I've heard from the straight jazz idiom in ages. Mostly downer yet introspective, Mitchell actually recalls mid-sixties Ornette more'n anything in this setting while Favors and Cleaver do their best to play in, out and around the beat. Still electrifying even a good sixtysome years after the birth of the Real Deal. As far as these '96 recordings go Mitchell still had it then, and judging from some of his more recent outings reviewed in these "pages" he still has it NOW!
The Attack-ABOUT TIME! CD-r burn (originally on RPM Records, England)
I knew of the legendary "Created By Clive" that actually made the GORILLA BEAT top English psychedelic singles list, but danged if I ever got to hear these guys! At least before now..."Clive" is commercial pop psych true but it holds up about as good as Tomorrow do while these guys could get gnarly when the situation arose. A better than you woulda expected cover of "Sympathy For the Devil" not to mention a listenable enough "Hi Ho Silver Lining" pop up alongside some rather surprising originals that should appeal to the late-sixties hard gunch English fans out there in the audience.
Chin-Chin-SOUND OF THE WEST WAY CD-r burn (originally on Farmer Records, Switzerland)
What a surprise! Mid-eighties all-gal Swiss punk rock, and it's all done up in the old melodic fashion,with even some classic sixties moves and harmonica thrown in for good measure. Personally I can't see a whole load of the more-devout-than-thou anarcho-communist types of that era cozying up to this nor can I see the anti-all-gal types of the same era goin' ga-ga for that matter. However, if you liked things like the Dangerous Birds and their sleek approach to sounding like females with all of the brains of male rock intact I can't see why you might not just go for this.
Flower Travelling Band-FROM PUSSY TO DEATH IN 10,000 YEARS OF FREAKOUT CD-r burn
Couldn't find much info on this 'un on-line (but it ain't like I tried any---whaddaya think this is, a High Stool term paper 'r sumpthin'?), but I get the feelin' that this is one of the recordings that the "reformed" Flower Travellin' Band put out in the last decade or so. Still sounds authentico enough to me what with the standard psychedelic moves straight outta the Yardbirds mixed with ultra-long lysergic workouts that woulda made Amon Duul II proud. Started off wonky but I liked the way this long-loved Japanese group turned out. Even the Robert Plant imitations don't hurt it any.
Various Artists-THE SHAME OF GERALDINE'S GOATEE CD-r burn (Bill Shute)
With a title like that you can tell Bill's really tuned into the 57 Varieties of sexes that are so in vogue these days! But in all seriousness this is a hot number what with the cheap-o garage moaners from Sir Charles and the Daze of Old opening and closing this effort, not forgetting the great cheap blooze of Doug Quattlebaum and Chuck Blevins (and by cheap I mean this stuff ain't gonna be heard at the glitzy blooze club that gets plugged on "Classic Rock Radio") and some good sixties-styled gurl music from Joan Heaton and Jean Dixon. There's even a hipster rec about goatees that is sure to get none other than Maynard G. Krebs himself all rowled up! As it is with these Bill burns, a good way to spend a good portion of time when you could be doing something "constructive" (yech!).
As can be expected, it was a "there" week. Lived through it, but that's about all. The lack of moolah (and lack of items that I would particularly want to part said moolah with for) had me scurrying back to a good fortysome year backlog of music, books and whatnot to keep my post-Salt Mine hours occupied. Currently making my way through the old BATMAN, FROM THE THIRTIES TO THE SEVENTIES collection (y'know, the book that along with its Superman counterpart was ultimately to be found damaged and tattered in every library across this land of ours) not to mention what is left of my old stack of comic books which, despite being kept in relatively good shape throughout the years, still ain't worth the millyuns of dollars I thought they would be back when I was ten. Musicwize the sounds I've been listening to (other'n those to be mentioned below) are the same old faves, with Suicide's early demos being the repeato riff fave for the second straight week inna row. Of course the ultimate discovery of the past few days has been the fragment of the lost Velvet Underground song "Never Get Emotionally Involved..." which I found out about via the Oliver Landimere page. If you wanna hear that snippet just go here and pray that the rest of those early rediscovered tapes make their way to the starving public and sooner than any of us woulda ever hoped!
***Thanks as usual go to Bill, Paul, Feeding Tube and this time 'round Guerssen who sent a few spiffy selections to brighten up this corner of the internet.
It's amazing just how many unreleased albums there were back inna late-sixties, and (as if you couldn't sense it) this brand new item is just one of 'em! From Lexington Kentucky, One of Hours never did get the opportunity to unleash this psychopop platter onto the usual unsuspecting public type of people and that is a shame, because WHEN YOU HEART THE MUSIC's got that top pop bap slap to it that woulda had Greg Prevost drooling all over it in FUTURE #1 had this only gotten out into the supermarket bins of the United States where it seems it would have been most welcome.
Not only is the group's sense of Beatles/Zombies cool pop firmly in place but there are even the expected paens to garage band supremacy to be found not to mention the typical nods to Eastern spells and psychedelic bizarratudes that were FORTUNATELY par for the course at the time. Let's just say that is is too bad One of Hours failed to get that big break cuz this woulda been the ultimate flea market record stack surprise of 1979!
***
Never've been a fan of eighties-era electronic new unto gnu wave pop slop, but Care of the Cow handles the form so differently that they transcend the usual glitz that marred many a slab of vinyl. With choir-like harmonies and actual discernible melodies, Care of the Cow's entire reason for existence recalls a whole lotta past booty from mid-seventies synth workouts to downer folk music resulting in a rec that you'd swear you woulda found in the local import bins only it woulda been too radical for even the standard Tonto's Expanding Headband crowd let alone Beaver and Krause. A pretty engrossing experience that's really too difficult to describe with a mere peck of the typewriter...perfect for those of you who spent more than a few hours writing term papers on electronic music and got points knocked off because Sun Ra was spelled "Sien" Ra (as if I'll ever forgive ya cyster!).
***
The spiffy black onna inside and see-thru onna outside vinyl ain't the only thing spiffy about this release featuring some ex-Eggs Eggs guy. The electronic squeals mixed with everyday instruments (and even some voice inna mix I could swear was Porky Pig!) might lead you to believe that this is yet "another" Feeding Tube release", and if fact it is! That is, if you're big on the sound sprawl some of these instant classics on the label can drill into your consciousness. The words to describe this escape me as usual but lemme just say that, once again that squealing violin sawing away reminds me of none other than Leroy Jenkins which has become thee thing for me to mention whenever I hear squealing violins! And under-the-curb classic.
***
Many-a-those mid-eighties "garage revival" groups just didn't seem to hold their worth in salt once that decade crept to a sad close, but these Rambler sure kept up a solid holler that many of the competing groups just couldn't handle! While some groups played it cool yet sounded comparatively thin, these Ramblers sure pumped it up with their beefy revisions of sounds that just weren't copasetic with the more peace creep types amongst us. Contains credible covers of "White Light/White Heat" and "Fire Engine" too!
***
Well, there's one thing you can be thankful for and that is this is not the CHAD Mitchell Trio!
Although this '96 release lacks the crazed abstraction of the early AACM albums this set up with Mitchell backed by Art Ensemble mainstay Malachi Favors and drummer Gerald Cleaver still packs more nerve-grinding intensity than anything I've heard from the straight jazz idiom in ages. Mostly downer yet introspective, Mitchell actually recalls mid-sixties Ornette more'n anything in this setting while Favors and Cleaver do their best to play in, out and around the beat. Still electrifying even a good sixtysome years after the birth of the Real Deal. As far as these '96 recordings go Mitchell still had it then, and judging from some of his more recent outings reviewed in these "pages" he still has it NOW!
***
I knew of the legendary "Created By Clive" that actually made the GORILLA BEAT top English psychedelic singles list, but danged if I ever got to hear these guys! At least before now..."Clive" is commercial pop psych true but it holds up about as good as Tomorrow do while these guys could get gnarly when the situation arose. A better than you woulda expected cover of "Sympathy For the Devil" not to mention a listenable enough "Hi Ho Silver Lining" pop up alongside some rather surprising originals that should appeal to the late-sixties hard gunch English fans out there in the audience.
***
What a surprise! Mid-eighties all-gal Swiss punk rock, and it's all done up in the old melodic fashion,with even some classic sixties moves and harmonica thrown in for good measure. Personally I can't see a whole load of the more-devout-than-thou anarcho-communist types of that era cozying up to this nor can I see the anti-all-gal types of the same era goin' ga-ga for that matter. However, if you liked things like the Dangerous Birds and their sleek approach to sounding like females with all of the brains of male rock intact I can't see why you might not just go for this.
***
Couldn't find much info on this 'un on-line (but it ain't like I tried any---whaddaya think this is, a High Stool term paper 'r sumpthin'?), but I get the feelin' that this is one of the recordings that the "reformed" Flower Travellin' Band put out in the last decade or so. Still sounds authentico enough to me what with the standard psychedelic moves straight outta the Yardbirds mixed with ultra-long lysergic workouts that woulda made Amon Duul II proud. Started off wonky but I liked the way this long-loved Japanese group turned out. Even the Robert Plant imitations don't hurt it any.
***
With a title like that you can tell Bill's really tuned into the 57 Varieties of sexes that are so in vogue these days! But in all seriousness this is a hot number what with the cheap-o garage moaners from Sir Charles and the Daze of Old opening and closing this effort, not forgetting the great cheap blooze of Doug Quattlebaum and Chuck Blevins (and by cheap I mean this stuff ain't gonna be heard at the glitzy blooze club that gets plugged on "Classic Rock Radio") and some good sixties-styled gurl music from Joan Heaton and Jean Dixon. There's even a hipster rec about goatees that is sure to get none other than Maynard G. Krebs himself all rowled up! As it is with these Bill burns, a good way to spend a good portion of time when you could be doing something "constructive" (yech!).
***For a real fun thrill why dontcha try orderin' up a couple or even more BLACK TO COMM back issues if only to edjamcate yourself about the true bestial nature of this music that too many have claimed to have known and loved but if that's so howcum the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame and concept of "Classic Rock" exist in the first place? Bound to be much desired in coming centuries, treat your distant progeny to this fanzine lest it all be swept away due to unbridled Pantsiosisms and you KNOW it's true...
3 comments:
I can't copy into this box but according to someone name TheePope on RYM the Flower Travelling Band stuff is vintage 69-70 recordings. I know I had the vinyl boot in the 90s.
Think it's a mix of tracks Opera From The Works of Tadanori Yokoo & Mops/Flowers Rock Live!
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