Sheesh, it's hard to get down the ol' obdulla oblongata the mere fact that the month of July is almost over! And the worst part about it is that due to the lack of a whole lotta inclement weather it seems as if it really hasn't gotten into gear yet! Can you imagine, a whole summer without a destructive tornado or stalled storm system making outdoor living unbearable for hours on end? Actually I don't mind bad weather, just as long as I'm hiding under my bed sniveling in fear while it rages on.
Other'n that it was a nice enough week, with a few more entries into the annals of BLOG TO COMM-dom to keep me goin' like I was back when I was younger and couldn't afford alla the fun music and fanzines that were up 'n about. But I sure tried, and as the years went on made up for those years of depression-era wages keeping me pretty much outta a whole buncha loops. You can even read about some of the music I've experienced o'er the past week (mostly newies plus a rediscovered gem), the kind that never did seem to fit too well into the usual Anastasia Pantsios frame of proper flower child starry-eyed reasons for existence. In other words, I do get the strange feeling that there are no Throbbing Gristle or MX-80 Sound platters in that gal's collection, but if I ever wanted to borrow a mid-eighties Cleveland HM disque (after all, they were promoting their own shows and writing their own fanzines unlike alla those punk rock creeps!) I'd know where to go! Oh yeah, and Lemmy really was a nice guy unlike his stage persona would have led us all to believe. Thanks for that hot flash Ana!
The Mighty Mofos-SHO' HARD! LP (Treehouse Records)
Another one of those dig-outs (this 'un inspired by my review of their EP a short while back) which has me wond'rin exactly WHY I WAS SO STOOPID TO BRUSH THESE GUYS OFF WAY BACK WHEN! Now I think I liked the Mofo's platters when I first gave 'em a spin (too lazy to search through my teeny-tiny print size back issues to remind myself) but I obviously wasn't inspired enough to seek out their other spinners! For that matter nor did I want to search the band out for an interview which would certainly have helped raise the property value of my crudzine. In retrospect, all I can say is WHAT A DUMMY I WAS AND PERHAPS SHALL REMAIN!!!! 'n it's too late to change anything because YOU CAN'T TEACH OLD BLOGGERS NEW TRICKS!!!!
If you squint your ears ever-so-slightly, the Mofos sound like a cross between the Flamin' Groovies (both the early-seventies and mop-top variations) and early Cheap Trick mixed with equal parts New Legion Rock Spectacular and pre-TOMMY Who. Hard pop seventies-styled rock, the kind that was hyped up by the smarter minds on the set but really didn't go anywhere back inna seventies much to the dismay of various pop cheerleaders like Greg Shaw and Cary Baker. Listening to this kinda reminds me of back circa '78 when I picked up TEENAGE HEAD for a mere buck and spun the thing in wild-eyed amazement thinkin' this was the right and proper direction that all rock 'n roll should head in thus guaranteeing a bright and happy future for us all. I get the exact feeling listening to SHO' HARD! lo these many years later hearin' the way the Batson brothers who ran the whole shebang took those fifties rock roots and reshaped 'em into something that at least held strong during the last great era of rock inna seventies.
Smart-set originals all wrapped up with covers of the Small Faces ("Afterglow"...also on the previously-mentioned EP!) and MC5 making this worth the inflated price you'll have to pay for this today. Sheesh, what better accolades can I give these guys anyway? Maybe a search of their other efforts is in order, and more sooner than later before they really become expensive!
Alan Davey's Psychedelic Warlords-CAPTAIN LOCKHEED & THE STARFIGHTERS CD (Purple Pyramid Records)
It might kinda seem strange to you that this ex-Hawkwind bass guitarist and bonafeed fan would wanna re-create the entire CAPTAIN LOCKHEED album as it was originally intended to be done in front of a breathing audience way back when. But he did, and the results are sure worthy of all the effort that must have gone into this bigtime production. Dunno how the lightshow and action on-stage went, but the music comes close enough for comfort w/o sounding like some reshaped for modern tastes atrocity and I can't see any fan of the original, at least those with slightly-opened ears, poo-pooing this unless their sphincters are even tighter'n your cyster's. I get the impression that Robert Calvert himself would have approved, at least if he was in one of his manic states. The Warlords also did a live appreciation of HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL which might be worth looking into as well.
Albert Ayler-NEW GRASS CD (Impulse/Verve Records)
I dunno why people dump on this 'un! NEW GRASS swings with an r 'n b gospel jazz fervor that might have pointed in some grand directions had Ayler lived long enough to hear some Stooges records! Ayler's tenor gets back to those early roots without comin' off too soppy-eyed and if those old melodies he toots sounded great with just string bass and drums they sound just as good with a full band keeping it all in check (somewhat). Now this ain't the place to start if you're just gettin' into the guy, but if you were scared off by the naysayers all these years like I was then this should excite you a whole lot more'n the latest hotcha underground blogosphere flash, whatever that happens to be this week.
Various Artists-COME AND GET IT - A TRIBUTE TO BADFINGER CD-r burn (originally on Copper Records)
What can ya say about a tribute album like that that hasn't been said about a thousand other tribute albums o'er the past thirtysome years? Well, it ain't as horrid as any of the Velvet Underground ones I've heard (VU thru rose colored moderne precocious youth lenses that always filters out WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT). Performances are faithful enough and still retain some glistening of just why Badfinger were one of those bright spots on the radio during my growin' up days, but can anything here hope to match the original spark and dazzle that sounded even better when scattered amid the Carole King so prevalent then? Course not...stick with the original and spare yourself the extra lucre it would take to track down and buy this well-intention'd yet non-groundbreaking effort.
Other'n that it was a nice enough week, with a few more entries into the annals of BLOG TO COMM-dom to keep me goin' like I was back when I was younger and couldn't afford alla the fun music and fanzines that were up 'n about. But I sure tried, and as the years went on made up for those years of depression-era wages keeping me pretty much outta a whole buncha loops. You can even read about some of the music I've experienced o'er the past week (mostly newies plus a rediscovered gem), the kind that never did seem to fit too well into the usual Anastasia Pantsios frame of proper flower child starry-eyed reasons for existence. In other words, I do get the strange feeling that there are no Throbbing Gristle or MX-80 Sound platters in that gal's collection, but if I ever wanted to borrow a mid-eighties Cleveland HM disque (after all, they were promoting their own shows and writing their own fanzines unlike alla those punk rock creeps!) I'd know where to go! Oh yeah, and Lemmy really was a nice guy unlike his stage persona would have led us all to believe. Thanks for that hot flash Ana!
***My current favorite Facebook page!
***Not really much more to say this week other'n THANKS BE to all the fine dupes who sent me material to be reviewed. People like Bill Shute and Paul McGarry and who knows, maybe Bob Forward would be on the list if I could only remember where all of those thingies he sent went! Anyway read on, and maybe next week I'll be able to whip something really tasty up for you uncompromising gormandizers out there.
Another one of those dig-outs (this 'un inspired by my review of their EP a short while back) which has me wond'rin exactly WHY I WAS SO STOOPID TO BRUSH THESE GUYS OFF WAY BACK WHEN! Now I think I liked the Mofo's platters when I first gave 'em a spin (too lazy to search through my teeny-tiny print size back issues to remind myself) but I obviously wasn't inspired enough to seek out their other spinners! For that matter nor did I want to search the band out for an interview which would certainly have helped raise the property value of my crudzine. In retrospect, all I can say is WHAT A DUMMY I WAS AND PERHAPS SHALL REMAIN!!!! 'n it's too late to change anything because YOU CAN'T TEACH OLD BLOGGERS NEW TRICKS!!!!
If you squint your ears ever-so-slightly, the Mofos sound like a cross between the Flamin' Groovies (both the early-seventies and mop-top variations) and early Cheap Trick mixed with equal parts New Legion Rock Spectacular and pre-TOMMY Who. Hard pop seventies-styled rock, the kind that was hyped up by the smarter minds on the set but really didn't go anywhere back inna seventies much to the dismay of various pop cheerleaders like Greg Shaw and Cary Baker. Listening to this kinda reminds me of back circa '78 when I picked up TEENAGE HEAD for a mere buck and spun the thing in wild-eyed amazement thinkin' this was the right and proper direction that all rock 'n roll should head in thus guaranteeing a bright and happy future for us all. I get the exact feeling listening to SHO' HARD! lo these many years later hearin' the way the Batson brothers who ran the whole shebang took those fifties rock roots and reshaped 'em into something that at least held strong during the last great era of rock inna seventies.
Smart-set originals all wrapped up with covers of the Small Faces ("Afterglow"...also on the previously-mentioned EP!) and MC5 making this worth the inflated price you'll have to pay for this today. Sheesh, what better accolades can I give these guys anyway? Maybe a search of their other efforts is in order, and more sooner than later before they really become expensive!
***
It might kinda seem strange to you that this ex-Hawkwind bass guitarist and bonafeed fan would wanna re-create the entire CAPTAIN LOCKHEED album as it was originally intended to be done in front of a breathing audience way back when. But he did, and the results are sure worthy of all the effort that must have gone into this bigtime production. Dunno how the lightshow and action on-stage went, but the music comes close enough for comfort w/o sounding like some reshaped for modern tastes atrocity and I can't see any fan of the original, at least those with slightly-opened ears, poo-pooing this unless their sphincters are even tighter'n your cyster's. I get the impression that Robert Calvert himself would have approved, at least if he was in one of his manic states. The Warlords also did a live appreciation of HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL which might be worth looking into as well.
***
I dunno why people dump on this 'un! NEW GRASS swings with an r 'n b gospel jazz fervor that might have pointed in some grand directions had Ayler lived long enough to hear some Stooges records! Ayler's tenor gets back to those early roots without comin' off too soppy-eyed and if those old melodies he toots sounded great with just string bass and drums they sound just as good with a full band keeping it all in check (somewhat). Now this ain't the place to start if you're just gettin' into the guy, but if you were scared off by the naysayers all these years like I was then this should excite you a whole lot more'n the latest hotcha underground blogosphere flash, whatever that happens to be this week.
***
What can ya say about a tribute album like that that hasn't been said about a thousand other tribute albums o'er the past thirtysome years? Well, it ain't as horrid as any of the Velvet Underground ones I've heard (VU thru rose colored moderne precocious youth lenses that always filters out WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT). Performances are faithful enough and still retain some glistening of just why Badfinger were one of those bright spots on the radio during my growin' up days, but can anything here hope to match the original spark and dazzle that sounded even better when scattered amid the Carole King so prevalent then? Course not...stick with the original and spare yourself the extra lucre it would take to track down and buy this well-intention'd yet non-groundbreaking effort.
***
Hey, didn't I hear this in part a few years back? Sure sounds familiar what with these three south of the Mason/Dixon legends playing (very loosely) a buncha old hits and such in front of an audience that was probably too zoned to notice. I kinda like the party atmosphere of it especially since it sounds so spontaneous and as if the practitioners were havin' a good time of it regardless of what any tightened anus rock critic might have thought. Two platters (each over seventysome minutes) that just might make the best soundtrack to your next one-man party that you'll be holding once you are able to scrape up enough money for a bag of pork rinds and budget beer.
***
Various Artists-GROOVY DROP DADDY ITCH CD-r burn (Bill Shute)And now as is customary with all of these "reg'lar" BLOG TO COMM posts, a review of one of those Bill Shute samplers out of many that I don't think I'll ever catch up with there's so many of 'em clutterin' up the usedta-be-bedroom of mine. As usual, Bill stuck some really exciting things on here, not exciting like wow WHEE! but exciting like "Gee, I never knew this thing existed!" The original version of the Kenny Rogers hit "Just Dropped In" sounds better'n the hit while the various rarities by the Blue Stars, Charms and the Pacifics show the side of sixties singles that most people seem to have long forgotten. Only Claudine Longet's squeaky-pitched slop popper turned me off. Sheesh, an' I used to think she was somethin' back when I'd watch her on THE ANDY WILLIAMS SHOW which goes to show ya just what a malleable buncha silly putty I possess for a brain!
***Just remindin' ya that BLACK TO COMM back issues are still available in case you wanna read some real rock 'n roll musings 'stead of the mush that passes for rock writing these days. Some real bright stuff is to be found within those pages so if I were you I'd forego the chocolate bars and enema you were thinkin' of buyin' and order as many of these mags as you can RIGHT NOW. You can always go back to your sickening habits next week.
(((Jeff Roth))) likes (((Carole King))). And by that I mean "Tapestry."
ReplyDeleteI know...
Sheesh...
Jeff Roth is my main man! Is that one '66 Carole King single on Tomorrow Records any good?
ReplyDelete