BLOG TO COMM

Hiya. Had a pretty excruciating week the details I will not get into. After all, why should I bore you more than the reviews which are up and comin' at'cha? But despite some major boulders being tossed my way I was still able to crank out this post for you not only in order to put on some sort of façade of being so tip top and with it, but because I know you readers have waited all week to read this and why should I disappoint you faithful frolickers out there anyway? I mean, here you are after a long week at the salt mines just waiting for a brief respite from your daily travails, and who am I to let any of you darlings down anyway? So lap it pards, 'cause its either this or ROLLING STONE. 

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Brad Kohler mentioned in last Saturday's comment section --- r.i.p. Dee Pop. You can read my interview with him here.

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Got some goodies this week that I think you might wanna chow down. Once again the lion's share of burns came courtesy of Paul McGarry while Bill Shute contributed one little straggler to be found at the tail end. Plus a few are oldies from my collection that I decided to dig up after years of neglect. Something which I must admit will become quite a staple of future BLOG TO COMM's because, well, frankly now that I'm getting old I gotta think about my financial situation and saving money for luxuries like food and heat considering that one day the gravy train is gonna dry up really fast. 'n besides, with the medical bills I've racked up its better that I just live on my largesse, or is that "large ass"??? In all, I'd said this one was --- adequate.

The Rolling Stones-RAW POWER CD (Dragon Records bootleg)

Here's an oldie from the collection which I purchased for obvious reasons. There's nothing that new to the ears on this one what with the  Camden Theatre and L'Olympia shows having been bootlegged to death already, but if you ain't got 'em there here for ya. The studio seshes with half of what would become Led Zeppelin might be of some hysterical importance to a few of you readers, ditto the "rough demo" of "Going Home" with Mick and Keith on their lonesome working out that infamous extended track that influenced a whole load of upcoming goodies. You can probably make yourself a copy of this with various free online sources.

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Hawkwind-SOMNIA CD-r burn (originally on Cherry Red Records, England)

It's amazing that Hawkwind sound just as mid-seventies space rock-ygood in the here and now as they did back when their platters were getting distributed by Atco over here. Sure these guys might sound a little too polished in spots but maybe they did even then, and the cosmic ooze of the music is enough to make you glad you never did cash in all of your Astral Monetary Credits for punk rock platters. Dave Brock with a whole bunch of newer-than-new members as well as the return of Tim Blake after quite a number of years wallowing among the asteroids.

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THE GENESIS OF SLADE CD (TMC Records, Austria)

The early sides from those seventies glam rock monsters shows 'em starting off in rather pedestrian yet pleasing neo-Liverpudlian ways (the Vendors) before getting a little more rambunctious yet still slick enough to bug you in their Steve Brett and the Mavericks days. The 'N Betweens seem to be more in the swing of things (as far as gritty English rock went) and if you're a big fan of the big beat done up mop top style this one just might be for you. Personally I think the only people who'll be scarfing this one up would be alla those seventies rock fans who were purchasing Slade albums back when they were poised to be the next big thing but never did quite make it in the USA.

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Ty Segall-SLEEPER CD-r burn (originally on Drag City Records)

Another pleasant outing from Segall, who continues on his Bolan worshipping ways in ways that might actually get you to light up your own joss stick. Acoustic rock that doesn't get all granola on ya, with the same underlying current of energy that kept the better troubadours of the sixties going strong while the rest flittered about. If Donovan had testosterone pumped into him he woulda sounded like this. 

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The Fugs-LIVE FROM THE SIXTIES CD (Fugs Records)

Nineties-era comp of classic Fugdom covering their sixties lifespan from their first gig at the Peace Eye bookshop through BELLE OF AVENUE A  which did seem quite a comedown come to think of it. Lotsa weirdo psycho screech can be heard in between the intellectual William Blake filtered through McCarthy loathing with a slight Burroughsian intent. You'll still get a whole load of fun outta it even if you were in remedial English and didn't care one whit about Swineburne back in your high stool days.

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Various Artists-DIGGIN' FOR GOLD VOLUME 12 CD-r burn (originally on Busy Bee Records)

Another one of those collections featuring old sixties local rock records that somehow just don't hit the same feverish pitch that the likes of those early PEBBLES and BOULDERS did well over forty years ago. Let's face it, most of these groups just don't strike you out the same way that acts like the Litter and the Sound Barrier among a few thousand more did back in the eighties when we were all younger and not quite as jaded about life as we are now. One thing about this effort that I do wonder --- were the group called "the Jormas" who do actually spry enough song entitled "Locomotion" (not the Little Eva smasheroo)  named after the famed Jefferson Airplane guitarist? Makes me wonder...

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Various Artists-WHITER JOHNSON IMAGE SOLO CD-r burn (Bill Shute)

Some mighty mix 'n match on this one, from a Lou Harrison composition for tenor bells to some pale ale gnu wave from Shox that works on a seventies pop rock level to an Anthony Braxton/David Rosenboom effort that merges the jazz and classical in ways that woulda had NMDS puzzled as how to market this 'un. The faux Beach Boys sound from Stevenson's Rocket conjures up images of mid-seventies English gals dressed to a "t" and might just even appeal to someone like yourself. There are some other hoots here including a mishmosh of live Vegas Elvis to some gal ranting about at a PIL concert (a bore to end all bores) but you'd probably go for the rest including some teenbo cryslop to Tuli Kupferberg singing "Marching Through Georgia" among other things. And of course the Portsmouth Sinfonia sounding like they actually did some practicin'!

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Do any of you fanablas even read this far down the post? Here I am, offering you precious back issues of BLACK TO COMM and do I get any orders? Nah! C'mon, you know you need these classic old fanzines to beef up your rock 'n roll knowledge so delaying purchase is only hurting you in the long run. Hurry up before they're all gone. After all, these are limited edition magazines, limited to the space in my cyster's basement that is.