Things are gettin' hecticer 'n hectic here at BTC central, so if this post seems to have a rushed feeling about it now you know why! Drat this real life deal...if only fantasy would once again rear its not-so-ugly head and make things a little more normal around here but anyway, I hope you can absorb as much pleasure outta this episode of BLOG TO COMM as possible even though this 'un was pretty much done "on the run" with me snatching platters outta the pile left 'n right in between many duties both at home and abroad. But, as usual, I know you will just toss it off.
***It's kinda funny seein' alla the praise and accolades that are being heaped upon the late comedian or whatever they're callin' 'em nowadays Norm MacDonald, who I guess was out there doin' high-larious stuff as if I'd ever know given my three-plus decades of tryin' to ignore such things. Funny, but I didn't even know who he was until I read the various obituaries about him from people (even some whose opinions I value) making him out to have been the funniest thing on this planet since TILLIE'S PUNCTURED ROMANCE! Then again it ain't like I get out much these days. Let's just say that the guy's but yet another one whose passing really does mean about as much to me as Baby Huey's, and in many ways considering the sad state of what passes for entertainment these days perhaps that is a good thing.
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Thanks to the usual ones who have contributed to these weekend posts, and maybe one more.
Yet another one from the "former buddy" as Skipper would so defiantly have put it. ALLEGORICAL MISUNDERSTANDING is probably about as free-tone down-groove as many of these Keiji Haino efforts, perhaps even more so than usual with some of the man's pertinent moans and groans present and accounted for within the not-so-cacophonous yet still striking din. I love it when the melodies get into those abstract tangents that seem part and parcel to these experimental Japanese rock spins mixing free form guitar rock with something truly out of the modern day classical expansion. If you wonder what the logical conclusion to a good portion of the avagarde rock that first sprouted its beanie in the sixties and worked its way through all sortsa rivulets and channels of sounds while most of the world just yawned SHOULD sound like well, this just might be one of many places for you to give yourself a little education.
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For bein' a 1960 effort ANGELS AND DEMONS sure points its snout in the direction of future Arkestra efforts of an especially outerworldly nature. Features the usual Ra greats from John Gilmore and Marshall Allen as well as Phil Cochran who did his own Arkestrating himself with the Artistic Heritage Ensemble making some strange string-y thing sounds with a bowed (and plucked for the sound of it) psaltery. From big band sway to avgarde solar explorations you got another Ra rec that should fit in with the other two hundred or so wallowing away in your by now half-century old collection you spendthrift old fanabla you!
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Like them other FUZZ FLAYKES AND SHAKES platters reviewed over the past umpteen years the sounds found therein kinda remind me of the kinda music that square guy with the glasses who went all hi-yaaah! in those Hai Karate ads woulda listened to. In other words tough mid-sixties rock 'n roll that's getting into various commercial for the days moves with a polish that mighta even gotten a few of 'em on the local talent time tee-vee show. A few classics like the Outsiders' "Boy With the Long Liverpool Hair" pop up and a lotta that British Invasion swerve and style can be detected even if it was translated into ranch house Amerigan. Like any good lower-case rock 'n roll record of the day you can hear the chart potential that these acts unfortunately missed out on lest some large label just happ'd to pick up on it. Big puzzlement in the Gass Co.'s "First I Look At The Purse" which asks the question "which part of the body of a gal does the guy look at first?" mentioning everything but what every wholesome man really does look at! And it sure ain't her tootsies I'll tell ya!
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In anticipation of the upcoming issue of KICKS magazine ("due when the snow flies" or so I'm told) I thought I'd whip out this particular platter which I must admit has been ignored way too long here at BTC headquarters. Not that I wouldn't expect anything else from a group from the area, but these Ready guys really do capture that mid-sixties rockin' Minnesota sound that was sorta started by the likes of the Fendermen and wormed its way into the whole Trashmen ethos to the point where there were some kids in the area who were known to have muttered "what's a Beatle?"!!!! Hot vocals (as on the freaky for me --- the line "one of them's sick and the other one's dead" used to strike fear into me!) "Shortnin' Bread" and a load of instrumentals goes to show you that there was probably something in the air when these groups were up and about, just as there was something up and about when the kids in my class (including myself) we being birthed oh so long ago.
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I thought there was a legit reissue of this infamous '69 collab between future Backdoor Men/Deadbeat Poets Terry Hartman (bound for Vietnam) and extremely legendary Cleveland mover and shaker Peter Laughner (bound for eternity) but for the life of me I can't find any evidence that the thing actually did come out. Good thing we have these recordings direct from the ltd. ed. acetate to go by, and as you probably already know the resultant spew is one classic collection of what that whole late-sixties spiz that was up 'n comin' at the time shoulda amounted to. From gutzy singer/songwriter and country twang to neo-Velvets and Laughner's sole singing spot bound to squeeze the blood outta your heart this is a surprisingly sturdy effort, especially when you consider how these guys were still in high school when these tracks were bein' laid down in Laughner's soundproofed bedroom. And what were you doin' at that stage in your particularly pitiful life anyway --- just don't ask me the same question!
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Haven't played these New York astutes doing the deep south swagger in quite some time so this spin was a nice diversion from the usual nice diversions that I've come across as of late. Produced by Jerry Yester who did that album with Judy Henske for Frank Zappa that everybody but me likes, the No Necks play a good sludgy sorta cackle that can get rather annoying in a good way and perhaps even slick enough that it coulda been marketed to the same brains that bought up those aforementioned Zappa tax write offs once they hit the 99-cent bins. Kinda like a good portion of your fave sixties mind death mavens with an eighties chic Manhattan sense of smug superiority about 'em. It actually sounds as good as the original snarl before that got all politically pious and undigestible. Just tell yourself that these ain't stuck up art snobs tryin' to get down with the broken tooth hillbilly crowd and you just might appreciate it a whole lot!
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There seems to be a lotta those teenbo moaners from the sixties that Bill has a special place in his heart for here, and that's fine by me.
There are some interesting twists and turns even with these, like the male/femme duo of the Stratfords who even add a some trumpet into the mix! Of course early-sixties instrumental wowzers by the Storms ("Thunder"/"Tarantula") and various garage band doofers from the likes of the Accents ("Roadrunner") and the Count IV's "Mickey Mouse" (a decent try for the "Jolly Green Giant" market) do offer a break from the sniffles, but if you're one of those guys who likes to stew in self-pity all rowed over due to unrequited love and a general sense of bathroom door lock loneliness then boy, will you go for this Bill burn that only I and Brad Kohler have copies of!
Not recommended for those who are easily triggered by minor chord local rock efforts or the severely depressed. I mean, life is bad enough without you having to osmose these teenbo losers' paens to the outer than the outkids frame of mind.
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For a change from the ordinary why dontcha try some of these back issues of BLACK TO COMM instead of your normal reading fodder which is guaranteed to cause dry rot not only in your brain but in your spirit. Given the nights are getting longer and your existence a whole lot shorter you really do need alla these highly recommended (by me --- yes, I am ashamed to admit that I have read early issues of CRACKED) magazines which are guaranteed to do someone like you a whole lot better. Any why not --- I mean, ANYTHING would be an improvement!
The few, the proud, the people who own copies of FLIPPED TARANTULA THUNDER! There might be a fourth copy out there if this was one I also sent to Paul McGarry.
ReplyDeleteBill
re: NNCK...i thought this whole thing was a Dead bootleg!
ReplyDeleteCDr copies of Cocktail Napkin (and a few other Laughner discs) were all being sold at a Cleveland-based website at one time - the date on Cocktail is 2001, and I bought it sometime shortly after that. The "company" was called Handsome Productions, and they still have a website with a Laughner feature on it. For some reason I thought Hartman himself was involved, but that could be a mushroom dream. The disc itself says "CD produced by Paul Nickels." I figured they stopped because Laughner's estate stepped on them.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
ReplyDeleteHow funny could macdonald be? I bet he never did a spit take. What do they teach these jamokes in comedy school these days anyway?
ReplyDeleteto much jazz
ReplyDeleteplease: more reviews of your jazz 78s collection. Change the needle. Not enough of these treasures.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteBob f. You were right on about the no neck blues band. I read some hype about them years ago bought some limited edition thing called dutch money. It was music for a hackeysack circle.
ReplyDelete