Showing posts with label Rock N Roll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rock N Roll. Show all posts

0
The Rolling Stones - "Metamorphosis - Bootleg Version" (CD, Maximum - 2002)

Stones anyone?
I never thought I had this! A very pleasant discovery of the past days dive on my old hard drives!! Original Metamorphosis LP was just another subject of hostility between ex-manager Allen Klein and the band back then. A rare/odds collection with a messy story, pressing and sound.
Bill Wyman supposedly in communication with the other Stones members accumulated this compilation (mind you, still the only 'official' with outtakes/rarities of their catalog). Right away Klein (owner of all of their early work...) took in charge and released it... The legend says the whole controversy began on the material that's imprisoned in vinyl's grooves. Allegedly Bill Wyman's point of view was perhaps closest to a fan's and Klein's to a banker's... Personally don't give a shit in what both sides said or the hardcore fans/purists... Metamorphosis badmouthed and that's a completely unfair situation.
What you rock & roll fan get is first rate demo material on songs the Stones gave away to other artists (some of them later thank god, redone by the band) in a time Andrew Oldham was trying to be the European Phil Spector or something! You know, in mid 60s Jagger and Oldham created and All Star session team that had in its set (among others) Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Mike Leander in order to cut demos of Jagger/Richards 'leftovers'... And many of them as the legend says found their way to this shady release. Like the Johnny Thunders favorite (mine too) "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys"... Is that pop heaven or what, people?! You get for instance the Jagger's vocal on the same backtrack that used for Chris Farlowe number one hit or a great Chess studio outtake on Chuckster's "Don't Lie to Me" or Beggars Banquet/Let It Bleed oddities like Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why"... Not bad, right?! I'm telling you, NOT BAD AT ALL!!!
What this boot comes to fix is the most important, though, and that's the sound. I read in many internet sources that real US release had suffered by muddy sonics and bad pressings. Don't know... What I know for sure is that this Russian boot has deep and rich output. And it has also great packaging (a thing many bootleggers don't care for). They could have been easily WAX staff members if they have passed it for free to the public and not selling it...
They have used UK's pattern and added 10 more tracks in the best ever released audio quality! Personal favorite (along with "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys")? "If You Let Me" an oddity from Between The Buttons (another infamous Stones album and another personal heartthrob of yours truly). Dig!

0
The Senders - "Goodbye Cruel World" (CD, Action Records - 2000)

Hi there!
You know, the hardest thing in this blog thing situation is what to write the second time you present a band or an artist from your 'pages'? To think what you haven't notice the first time and put it down. But what about the third? OK, I guess is not that hard if this band are the mighty Senders from New York and happens (naturally) to belong on your 'favorites' close club.
We 're leaving out this time the usual Johnny Thunders references and go further, straight to the point. So this album's my fave. Even though is from latter period of the band and has original ace guitarist Wild Bill Thompson playing in half of the songs. Cause you know, on the rest there's some Freddy Lynxx guy (he-he!!!) filling his shoes! Hmm, I guess the Senders and the Thunders relations would never stop, cause Freddy's like the only one ever never mimic the Saint but carried the torch of his unique style playing to the new generations. The production's great, the performances are SWINGIN' and the songs as usual a prefect blend of originals and splendid taste cover toons (from Willie Dixon to the Stones and from Gene Vincent to the Crazy Teens!). You really have no idea guys HOW MUCH I DIG bands in the vein of the Senders, like the Red Devils or the Fabulous Thunderbirds! This greasy punkitude R&B wailin'! I wish they were more of that heritage around today...

PS: I must thank one more time WTS faithful 'follower', Steve, for handing me this in a better bitrate til the day find it somewhere in its real condition. Thanks man!


0
The Jim Jones Revue - "Savage Heart Documentary"










0
Roky Erickson and the Aliens - "Mine Mine Mind / Bloody Hammer" (7inch, CBS - 1980)

Hi there. My good partner mailed me this the other day:
"Just got the Roky Erickson single shown below. I always thought 'Bloody Hammer' was his best song, as strong as the Elevators 'Roller Coaster' or the Stones 'Gimme Shelter' or anything from the Stooges LPs. Killer track, but I've always been disappointed by the mix found on LP or CD. Kinda loud but muddy. The single version has a much clearer mix, especially on the drums (which are buried on the LP mix), intro is slightly different and it lasts longer. I don't think it's available elsewhere. Play it loud!"
I always thought of these Aliens accompanied Roky records' as Elevators equals and quite (if not much) underestimated. So, who am I to disagree? Play loud then!

 

0
Chuck Berry - "The London Chuck Berry Sessions" (CD, Chess/MCA - 1989 ~ Original Release 1972)



"CHUCK BERRY'S GOTTA BE THE GREATEST THING THAT CAME ALONG, HE MADE THE GUITAR BEATS AND WROTE THE ALL TIME GREATEST SONGS, NOW DO YOU REMEMBER ALL THE GUYS THAT GAVE US  ROCK N' ROLL?"
 - BRIAN WILSON

"IF YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE ROCK N' ROLL ANOTHER NAME, YOU MIGHT CALL IT CHUCK BERRY!"

 - JOHN LENNON


HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHUCKSTER!!!



0
Kevin Junior of the Chamber Strings needs our help...

Am I late on this? Don't know, hope not... I guess never too late for such things. I just found that Kevin Junior, yep Chicago's own last bandit, balladeer supremo and healer of the heartbroken is suffering from the life threatening disease of endocarditis. Isn't ironic? As I checked on the net, he's in great need of an open heart surgery, and as you might know or guess such things costs lots of money. You know already that I never asked before and I never will for someone to donate my own ass. But just like in Scott Morgan's case some months earlier, all I'm asking is your generosity and nothing else for a guy Alex Chilton marked as "something special", Chrissie Hynde babysitted, Epic Soundtracks created music with, Wilco covered, Dave Kusworth and Nikki Sudden played along, and many people (among those count me on) still rating him as the next Peter Perrett! Hope you get well very soon man...


Friends of Kevin Junior - Help this heart of gold get fixed...
Heroin Hell ...A very cool piece on Kevin.
Ruins ... Buy the brilliant compilation of Rarities,Outtakes and B-Sides 
The Chamber Strings  Facebook page

-Kevin Junior with Dave Kusworth, London 1998-

0
Dave Kusworth - "Tambourine Girl (The Spanish Album)" (CD, Sunthunder - 2008)

Yay! Just came in from my vacations. Shitty thing right? My knees and my head deny any further moves except those they have used the last 10 days... Basically I'm not in any mood at all and my stupid mailbox on my job's PC is full of crap that I don't want to touch my hands upon. I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway, I was about to post something else but Mr. Rambler's great Jacobites 'Old Scarlett' hit, in coalition with some Dave Kusworth 'requests' by Steve and two more other friends the previous days, turned my head to this 'rarities, out-takes and demos' compilation as the booklet says. Not sure if it's the best place for the newbies but it's waaaaaayyyy cool for all the Kusworth/Sudden/Jacobites fans. The sad thing's that even though the booklet has cool photographs has not extra information about the tracks, the bands or during which sessions were recorded but as I said, if you're already a fan you'll guess in a way which songs have the Bounty Hunters behind, which the Tenderhooks and which Dave and his all star friends personnel (my fave Darrel Bath appears among them).  Ballads never was my cup of tea, I'm sure I wrote it before somewhere in here, cause if there's something I can't stand in life is some pathetic dude mewling for a 'beautiful girl' who dumped him blah-blah-blah, BUT Dave Kusworth and Nikki Sudden had (and in case of Dave's thankfully still has) this rare Stones/Faces/Crazy Horse/Johnny Thunders heartbreak touch that even a cruel asshole like me can't resist!
I wanted to attend this post also with an unpublished interview I did with him some years back, but no @#$! sign in 2 Terabytes of back-up HDDs... That's a shame cause it was kinda sort but kinda cool as well.
Later!

You can buy it HERE along with other cool Sunthunder releases.

Photo taken from the Dave Kusworth Facebook Community



0
The Dogs D'Amour - "...Straight??!!" (CD,China - 1990)

I'm writing these lines the day before my second round of vacations. At fuckin' last! I'm feeling a wreck with almost done batteries and the feel of a neurasthenic. In one word, EXHAUSTED! And I don't know yet if the place we 're gonna stay has an internet connection. My wife's booked it so I suppose that is not going to have (for the obvious reasons)... OK my mobile has, but you can do much from it. Thinking of this, I thought to post something before my way to some cool beach with lots of bikinis (hopefully) taking a walk in front of my eyes (Am I sounding like a dirty old man or what?!) and some cold beer tankards!
On our subject now, I suppose many of you have this, right? It's not something rare or not well known. And some Dogs D'Amour fanatics rate it as the starting point for the years to come deep gutter dive. But who cares? That's the first Dogs thing I ever bought and I still like it as much as the (broad example of ) 'In The Dynamite Jet Saloon'. But I kinda agree too that it was their last dazzle of the sparkling era. You know what I like most on all these classic DDA albums? The contrasts! They looked and acted like some pirate incarnations that had nothing else to do in this boring age than to play rock & roll. It was their way of stealing women, drinking heavily and travelling around the world perhaps. And all this mix it up now with the beautiful lyrics of Tyla, damned poetry kinda, something of a Byron or a Rimbaud clothed in Chuck Berry riffs. But what I dig the most are the influences, cause a good 80% of these bands, had the Dolls as role models and not the more b(l)ooze British Invasion pattern. These UK brats knew where to look for inspiration, trust me. The Faces and their cheap wine and women feel emerged from every song with the Dogs D'Amour signature on. So, on the downright ironic titled 'Straight??!!' , Tyla and the gang is one step before the fall with all its good and bad reflections. What a beautiful disaster!

See ya in a two weeks (more or less) mates. Keep the rocks rollin'!














0
Freddy Lynxx - "No Pleasure Thrills" (LP, Sucksex Records - 1996)

Freddy Lynxx's "Hurt Me"? You can say so. I'm doing probably the usual mistake and even though I'm not counting the great Croatian/French rock & roller as a copycat (in fact the opposite), this statement to the eyes of those not knowing him maybe do so. What I'm trying to say's that this is Freddy's acoustic masterpiece. And it's as good (if not better) as his (mine's, yours etc) idol. Quite rare item as I noticed from a quick walk through the net, more than the 'electric' drenched albums of his. I really can not understand the reason why some re-issue (or not) label(s) don't pick upon Lynxx's works and they remain still a dexterous people's game to cash-in on the fans thirst for infrequent quality's rock & roll, cause Freddy Lynxx still is one of the handful around with THAT scarce chop and class! And we must (us bloggers...you know pirates, thieves etc. for the music industry CEOs...) chuck our own backs cause we're the ones passing the message to the 'new' fans that those great artists maybe never had through their independent issues the ability to approach... Enuff with the self approbation (masturbation?)... This album's GREAT! Freddy's such a cool cat that always had 'stars' to accompany him. And here they are again. Johnny Thunders (naturally!), Nikki Sudden, Nicky Hopkins (yes, the Stones' one!) and Johan Asherton, all take a walk though this vinyl's grooves. And if that's not an impressive line up then what it is, right?! Freddy & Johnny combine forces for a great take on the Rolling Stones 'As Tears Go By', Nicky Hopkins chops the 88s for Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay' and Johan Asherton's taking the mic. Tammy Wynette's 'Apartment #9' has my beloved bandit Nikki Sudden sharing the vocal duties with the 'Cover Side' to hide two more gems (the one's The Heartbreakers more sensitive in a way execution of 'I Love You'). In the three songs of the  'Uncover Side' the quality's stays the same. The funny thing's that when I first listen to this album (I can't remember who handed me this to get credit, not my rip - just two days back found it & grab it in a mart thing situation) I found my self disappointed cause at the time all I wanted was another Jetboys thing... Sometimes luck's with you and you don't even know it. 

Later!



0
The Dogtown Balladeers - 'Antique Wine & Roses" (CD, Perris Records - 1996) & "All Dressed Up In Dreams" (CD EP, Perris Records - 1995)

Oi! Everything’s fine out there? 
You know, I’m in the mood for nothing! I’m bored like a lazy dog in the street’s corner. We‘re having down here one of the hottest summers the last 10 years at least, so I believe you can imagine the state I'm in under an every day 40 degrees of Celsius body baking… All I have in my mind is one word and that is ‘VACATIONS’. Two more weeks and then, ha-ha, remember me I’m gone! I tried a couple of times to find something to write about, but laziness conquered every move. Actually laziness is the reason why I’m writing this too. I’m in the office and (guess what…) I’m bored again! JP’s on vacations already (you lucky bastard!). We’re working on  some ideas (well, to put it better we’re trying to try to put our selves into this mode but it’s not fully working as you can guess easily) for a new WAX ‘release’ but we both have empty batteries – take some rest buddy, we have a full winter ahead! And I finally finished this great Keith Richards book, ‘Life’. Absolutely brilliant, hilarious and perhaps the best companion for your beach/mountain excursions. I mean, it’s totally understandable through this why the guy was able to write such great songs - fantastic storyteller, and the life he lived... sometimes you find yourself envy his luck! Great read indeed. 
Where was I? Ah yes, one of the emails WTS inbox swallowed all these days of absence was by Steve, a great guy as it turned out. He brought me some of my requests and along with these, a present...these ones here. Thanks man!I had Dogtown Balladeers CD in a small bit-rate old download and nothing else. What a band! They sure deserved some better fortune. I mean, I love dearly the Quireboys (especially their matured "Rock N Roll" phase) but the Dogtown guys were way better. Stonesy/Faces songwriting, Hanoi Rocks feeling (Sam Yaffa was the man behind the board), a cool guest set throughout the recordings - from Izzy Stradlin to members of Electric Angels, The Throbs, Kix, Blackeyed Susan and Black Crowes, and a good impression of a big fuckin' party full of empty bottles and mountain flush ashtrays. Semi-electric /semi-acoustic rock & roll,with obvious Motown influences, great lyrics, cool harmonies and melodies destined to be loved by every fan of good ol' time rock & roll. As the band said, "Three chords, a cloud of dust and a bad attitude"! 
Later!





0
Guttercat & The Milkmen - "Ballad Of A Drunk Man/Rock 'N' Roll Lingers" (7"- WISH 001, 2008) & "Lonely Tears In The Dark/Love Is Better In A Dream" (7" - WISH 002, 2008)

Another cool dump finding! You know, when me and my wife moved to our new house three years ago, naturally (for her and most women I guess…) and sadly (for me and all the guys came through this, basically all married) MANY things wouldn’t fit to our new home’s formation (grrrrr!). What can you do, democracy is democracy and you have to live with your own decisions (OK it’s not that bad and of course I'm joking, but I never gulped the fact that I have to live separately from many of my books, some of my zines and quite a lot of my CDs)… The good part of this is that from time to time I go down there to see what can I resurrect for me and for you (and find some privacy with the good excuse of settling a little the basement). Guttercat & the Milkmen was (is still?) a cool French band. And I mean way cool. OK obviously they not reinvented the wheel, but they play rock & roll in a way I like to hear it (or for better the way I like to hear it). The fact that Guttercat was once a member of Baby Strange made them fancy instantly (I never said I’m objective person, OK?). I’m quite sure I sent them an apology when our zine died and informed them for the cancellation of our scheduled interview but still (even if I’m excused I believe) no justice paid from my side. This is a CD-R Guts had sent me which includes their two singles for review. I remember clearly I was about to place them in my column as the best for that issue. And how’s not? The triptych of Jacobites/Only Ones/Tyla (of Dogs D’Amour fame) rules every song in here (the 'ballad' single actually has a front sleeve as you can see very lookalike with Tyla's solo works). Drunken electric ‘ballads’ with something more than visible presence of Johnny Thunders’ ghost and for sure an Ian Hunter during the Mott days, touch. There are still copies if you‘re interested, so grab them. I wish I could catch ‘em live. Great band!
 

0
Ian Hunter's Dirty Laundry - "Ian Hunter's Dirty Laundry" (Cherry Red, 1995/2007)

Ha, talking about an album here! What’s frustrating are its origins... Cherry Red's website and CD's booklet says that this at first was a work in progress for Casino Steel (Hollywood Brats/The Boys), The Boys' website officially declares that actually was Honest John Plain's project ('One of the Boys' too, also a Crybaby) but in the end came out under Ian Hunter's name in the sign! It doesn’t really matter cause hell yeah, what we’ve got here’s a party in the studio from a personnel of high throwing canons! Is there anyone out there not having a taste for Mott the Hoople? Don’t think so, otherwise sorry pal, you‘re in the wrong blogspot! Just like Slade, I never fit them in the ‘Glam’ area. All those glitters and Bowieconnections I suppose were their last attempt to hit big, which happily happened but as much as I like “All the Young Dudes” the same way rate early Hoople period as THE best. The line up is quite impressing and if you do recognize from where all these bandits came from, you‘ll know as well immediately what’s the direction in here. Except for the two aforementioned Boys, there’s a Sex Pistol (Glen Matlock), a true underground legend (Darrel Bath – Dogs D’Amour, The Crybabys, U.K. Subs) plus a Die Toten Hosen (?!). Not bad right? Good time Stonesy, hook laden rock & roll, with a few Dylan-esque aberrancies and a loose feeling is what I have to offer. Anyone interested? 


0
The Cramps - "My Daddy Drives A U.F.O. - The Lux-urious And Elegant Unease Of The Cramps Bootlegs Vol.2, Studio Demos" (WAXCD 006)

Well, well, well! Hell yes we‘re here, ready to present our 6th "CD" and at the same time second volume of the Cramps bootlegs in the grave look for series. Hmmm... I really don't know what else to write and add. We know words hardly matter on posts like this and your only ambition is to hear. Fair enough. So, for a second time in a row, the man behind the ripping duties is my pal Jean Philippe. And like a good gravedigger he is, he picked on the best tracks his Cramps related bootlegs vault hides, only this time concept says ‘studio stuff’ or as we like to say here at WTS HQ, ‘Coffin recorded material’. By the time this lines being written I'm not totally aware of our product and due the fatherhood obligation orders, with the one ear I’m (trying to) listen to the Ivy's snatchy guitar licks and with the other to catch a possible fight between my boys... Who told you bloggin' is an easy ‘job’ for someone to do? And you know what, this music's definitely NOT the right one for keeping two little male demons calm... Ha-ha who cares? Maybe their mother, but I prefer (or for better wish) to follow their daddy’s steps than their mom’s (you know, there’s a big gap between Motorhead and Rihanna…). As we promised this volume is going to have the studio stuff not officially lapsed through the band's shrunk hands. All selections are from a specific period, the earliest and the best. From the time Miriam Linna was banging' the traps till the day Nick Knox took her place, deeply cared with cool covers if you think yourself a connoisseur and with the best possible sound. As usual, no bootlegging on WAX CDs. Share and dance freely!  



0
Slade - "Get Yer Boots On: The Best Of Slade" (Shout! Factory, 2004)

Aaaahhhhh, Slade! You know what, I FUCKIN’ LOVE Slade (Miriam Linna as well)! How can someone to not? I mean, these brats had all the right elements a good ol’ party rock & roll band needs. And the word “party” doesn’t take its place in that line accidentally. This Mihaleez nick is actually a Slade-ified version of my real name which is Mihalis. I remember my English mistress (a slender 26 yo - at the time I was 14 - always to the laps with a minor slashing in the right down side tight dress woman, and her old fashioned glasses to make things even worse...gosh i loved her class) to chide me repeatedly for making this violation to the English words. “C’mun” ( I was afraid to go further by writing it CUM on!!!), “crayzee”, “luv”, “gudbuy”, “skweeze”! Haha, I still go in to do it! And forget all this glam hype crap. There was no glam here. I mean, what is glam anyway? There's nothing more stupid in the music business (leave out the ones so many years are holding many peoples luck) than to name a movement by a fashion trend! What's in common for Slade or Sweet with Queen or Elton John? Nothing against glam ‘trend’ of course, but Slade predated and outlasted the whole ‘genre’. To me they were always some kind of bubblegum AC/DC. Boogie & filthy hooligans with loud choruses (not unlike those of the football/soccer fans) and even louder guitars. From the In-Be-Tweens days (see Miriam's piece on 'em and the Stooges here), to the almost MC5-ish live document of "Slade Alive!" in 1972, and from the "this is how we do it kids" approach of "Whatever Happened to Slade" in the midst of the punk maelstrom (see the totally different image, almost oi!) to the almost 'artistic' (an' offensively word for sure to them) work of "In Flame", they knew how to raise eyebrows and shake some asses!
For some strange reason the US fans had to wait for (the) Quite Riot’s note to note metalized cover versions to get to know them well. Maybe were too Brit or maybe too loonies for them, who knows? Starting here with the Bobby Marchan/Little Richard soul & roll anthem (Get Down With It) and continuing the foot stomping journey to their own trademarks (Cum On Feel The Noize, Gudbuy T’Jane, Mama Weer All Crazee Now etc) this is perhaps the best to this day compilation of Slade’s finest/most known moments and a good starting point for the rookies. Of course there are MORE to discover from these mavericks (buy with no second thoughts the “Alive!”, “Slayed?” and “Whatever Happened to Slade?” LPs/CDs tomorrow) but for Friday/Saturday nights “Get Yer Boots On” is exactly what the title pronounced: A loud ass, crank the volume up, dressed to kill record, for kicks and chicks. Noddy Holder for President. Cum ON! 



0
The Cramps - "My Daddy Drives A U.F.O. - The Lux-urious And Elegant Unease Of The Cramps Bootlegs Vol.1, The Live Tapes" (WAXCD 005)

Things worked faster this time! Ok, it’s all up to my buddy’s Cramps related snugness but I have to admit, Jean Philippe showed me the way! In less than a month, tracks picked up, rips were made and cd covers blow-by-blow designed for (what else?) the next WAX ‘release’ and as you can see this thing’s planned for at least two volumes! The idea came to my head when I was preparing the Pub Rock volume and proposed my comrade to think of a Cramps boot volume as a next step. I mean, with such a vault, it’s a crime to not touch our hands on and pitch on the cream of the crap, don’t you think? And this is by a good 99%, a JPStooges sound cared project. My correlation focalized/minimized in some kind of ‘spiritual’ guidance about the way covers should look or how this project might be called or how this could or should be build, virtual not the things a rock & roll fan might be interested in. And I’m so gee-whiz for the end result!
So, the WAX team jointly decided to split this ghoulish idea in two parts. The ‘studio’ material and the ‘live tapes’. And we thought it’s better to start from the hoodoo stage rituals the Cramps got through 'round the world during their heyday (I know we are all fans, but we must admit that from the late 80s – maybe earlier, our monsters have started to transform their selves from voodoo idols to cartoons)! Detailed, carefully placed and with the 'semi-pro, my ass!' artwork approach of the WAX twins, this is the first volume of the Cramps tumulus raped material.  What we had in mind was to create something Lux might have been proud of! We know this is a rather childish urge (i can't even think to write my childish thoughts on the most venomous female ever brandished a Gretsch...) , but the Legion of the Cramped lives no matter how many years Rockin' Bones gazette is out of print. And for one time at least we cheat the cheaters (aka bootleggers) in their own game, ha! Are we the baddest motherfuckers or what?! So as usual, NO bootlegging on WAX CDs. Share and dance freely. 
Stay sick, more to come!




0
Various Artists - "Lend Us A Quid, The Tanked-Up, Dressed Down, Dirty-Ass R&B Side of Pub Rock!" (WAXCD 004)


Hi there! When I was in my teens, one of my dream jobs was to be an archivist on record companies in the likes of the British Ace. Actually I’m still dreaming of this quite a lot... You know, dreams are for free! Anyway, I was fascinated by the thing totally. I mean, you’re getting paid to search the vaults of legendary 
labels like Stax, Modern or Meteor, to write the liners, to interview long forgotten heroes and to gather a compilation for the listening pleasure of a majority that has obviously an upper IQ level and of course great taste! And this was the driving force for starting the whole WAX CDs compilations. The addition of JP makes many matters easier, BUT I tell you guys that this persuasion’s not an easy shit to do. You’re setting yourself higher standards every time and you’re coming to a point that you feel imprisoned on your own ‘fun’ idea. OK, I made it look quite weepy but what I’m trying to say is that when you get positive reactions from other people for your ‘work’, it is obvious and happens almost subconsciously to want to make it even better next time and all of a sudden this photo’s not so good, this track doesn’t fit well, and when you’re come finally to an end, you realize that you have already spent on this two or three months! But it’s still a fun thing to do and I wish this was my every day routine! As you can see, this time we have picked on Pub Rock. Be careful though, we didn’t want to make just ‘another’ gathering of well known songs. And we wanted also this stable to have a ‘concept’. And the concept here is the “Dirty R&B” side of the idiom. That means no Brinsleys, no Ace, and no Bees Make Honey. Nothing against these bands of course, Brinsleys in fact are one of my favorite combos of the era but this shit here’s about raw uncompromised energy! I wanted the punk forefathers, the ones that teach the Pistols and their generation who Music Machine was and where this evil force called rock & roll was born or/and by whom?! 
In my mind the best rock & roll combo came outta UK (in all periods of time!), hands down are Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. Way cool than many before or since! No wonder these guys were a huge influence on our subject. Mick Green patented the sound made Wilko a hero and their song was the reason why the Feelgoods christened themselves this way. I tried to stick to a ‘heavy’ R&B beat for all selections here and I tried as well to link past with the then present and future. Downliners Sect was no new to the game of course, but seeing their kids succeeding in their own game, jumped up the wagon and released at least one killer LP (they did the same with punk as FU2, but that’s another story waiting to be told). Lemmy and co. was no less than a kick ass pub band in their prime, and along with 'their gals' created a mayhem picking on Johnny Kidd’s classic “Please Don’t Touch”. MC5’s front man Rob Tyner left an interesting (at least) single with the Hot Rods backing him up, and the more garage approach of the movement with The Inmates and The Cannibals (driving force was and still is Mike Spenser of the MKI Count Bishops) who introduced the Nuggets to a generation of punks that wanted to re-establish rock & roll but not in the traditional way. I included also the Little Roosters (WHATTA NAME!) and the nuclear blast in the form of a song named “I Need a Witness (produced by Joe Strummer), a song the Cock Sparrer (!) made widely familiar, the Hammersmith Gorillas savage take on the Kinks (Gaaaaaaallll you really got me gowin!), here from the original single and not from the RAW records re-press that had mastering/sounding problems plus the Bob Seger Chuck Berry homage by none other than Terry Gibson of the Sect! The Untouchables Wilko produced single as far as I know is quite a rarity already, and Dr. Feelgood’s live hyper speed take on Jerry Lee just rips! There’s an interesting little story behind every track here and why chose it but we will need more time to put into shape a thing thats already late a bit… So, hope you enjoy it and try find all these bands if you already haven’t. And keep in mind that Pub Rock was the true but unfashionable movement that REALLY saved rock & roll’s ass! RESPECT!
PS: "Lend Us A Quid" was the ironic pin my idol Steve Marriott used to wear during his pub rock days. Many of the fans still believe this was the sad end. I'm not one of those! I wish anytime soon, some better sounding tapes from the ones already exist to surface in public... 

As usual no bootlegging on WAX CDs. Share and dance freely!



0
The Cramps - "Songs The Lord Taught Us - Alternate Mix, French Release" (Illegal Records, 1980)

We’re gonna bury you guys in Cramps rarities over the next days (OK, maybe months, it depends on our spare time…). The start waxed the day before with the Cramps mega rare single and since this blog have a Cramps PhD holder, Jean Philippe, we’re gonna share whatever we think our ‘vaults’ (actually JP’s, myself stayed to the official releases with a few exceptions) hide and deserves exposition. And boy this never heard by me either. I’m just the guy learned it a few hours before of you! And some hours before me, Jean Philippe just had bought it (are we a straightforward blog or what?!). So let’s begin: On the minor exceptions I was talking about some lines above, was the well known bootleg “Songs the Lord Might Have Taught Us”. If my tired memory serves me right, “Might Have Taught Us” was unofficially released by two at least different bootleggers. The one I own for sure has a 'polite' sound, at least for the Cramps standards. Audible of course, in a way clear, but weak. Hearing it for the first time made me think that our beloved monsters did no wrong with these recordings keeping them off many people’s ears, even if these ears belonged to their fans (I’m one so I believe I can talk from the fans point of view, right?). All the following listenings made my meditation even stronger. And I know a lot of people who faith that these recordings were in fact demos, maybe in their anxiety to defend their/our heroes. My impression after only one shot of this, is that these are the alternate mixes of the band's classic debut all Cramps fans looking for. Exactly what my buddy JP told me, he's the Cramps-torian and I’m not the one to contradict this. What’s for sure this record here's a totally unique item in the Cramps rapidly growing official/unofficial discography. For a better readout of this semi-official release (?), wise what my partner mailed me:
“More Cramps shit? You may have heard about the very rare (50 copies) promo version of "Songs the Lord Taught Us" LP, which contains alternate mixes and with “Drug Train” instead of “TV Set”. I don't have it (and probably never will, as it's a several thousands Euros piece of plastic), but it was bootlegged several years ago as "Songs the Lord Might Have Taught Us". I have the bootleg but I couldn't enjoy it as the sound is very, very thin. It doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't sound right (it's in mono and doesn't have balls). BUT, I found (just today!) the alternate mix of the rare promo on a French -official- pressing of “Songs The Lord Taught Us" LP. It's a very basic mix, with less echo on Lux’s vocals, and in most cases, drums have much more "presence". The version of “TV Set” (which is not on the promo LP nor on the bootleg) is not only a different mix, it's an alternate take, and a pretty good one. I loooooooove it. Here it is, without the bootleg shitty sound!" We believe you don't need more, right?




0
The Cramps - "Human Fly / Domino" (Vengeance, 7" - 1978)

Days and years are going by much quicker than you might think. It’s already three years since Lux Interior; the Bad Elvis left this world for another. I’m not saying dead cause I’d like to remember him always as a zombie! My favorite, the coolest and the dirtiest! A primordial swamp hillbilly punk who came to this world to remember us poor sinners how rock & roll was a force of nature and not just music to dance by. I always put the Cramps in the punk movement and not in the psychobilly area. They were PUNKS! In the true-est sense of this word. And they got further than more acolytes did. They didn’t just got back to the basics, they denude it, had with it WILD SEX, discharged it from his recent years guilts and make it again DANGEROUS! Well, this is a VERY HARD TO FIND item of the Cramps discography. And a very expensive as well if you can find it in a mint copy. It came out from their own label (I think…) Vengeance, and has a DIFFERENT somehow dirtier mix of “Human Fly” than the one most most of us know from “Off the Bone”. Producer here's too Alex Chilton, but still this looks like a nonidentical version of the well known song. Don't know, if someone of you guys and gals know some more, shine a light. As my partner JP said, “You can hear Lux singing very close to the mic and the sound quality is better!”
Bizzz, bizz, bzzzzzzzzz!



0
Dr. Feelgood - "Malpractice - Italian Pressing" (United Artists, 1976)

One of the coolest (does exist such word?) ever ‘bad habits’ that I witnessed so far, it's the one my faithful partner JP has! He spends almost uncalculated his money on buying... the same record (in both formats) and MANY times! And I suspect this happens with just one purpose on his mind… To find the best sounding pressing or mastering! I admire you mate! Lucky me of course, cause as all record collectors use to do, I do have on my vault some of my fave discs in three or four different mixes but that's it! I prefer to throw my (everyday less and less...) money off my pocket for different things! So, the other day sent me this email:
 “Dr Feelgood Malpractice: you probably heard it a million times before (and I won't blame you for that), both the CD and the UK LP versions sound loud & clear, but the Italian pressing I ripped  yesterday sounds (almost) like a different mix (for some reason), with thundering bass & drums. Surely Feelgood is great for Brilleaux & Wilko, but the rest of the team is kicking some serious ass too, and this is very nicely highlighted on this version. I'm enjoying it even more [damn it, the pounding on "Going Back Home" is so good], so I needed to share it with you!”
 And guess what? For one more time he was 100% right! God bless you man! Next move was to add this bona-fide rip to my i-pod and in the next morning on my way to the job, I touched the play button anxious to hear on my own to what my friend raved so much about the previous night… BOOM-BAM-BOOM! If some of you guys and gals out there is a sound engineer, please explain to me WHY THIS HAPPENS?  I mean, I know this brilliant record upside down from my teens, and this is a CLEARLY better sounding shit! Anyway, I believe I don’t have to tell much (or add…) about the Feelgoods or this record especially that you haven’t read already probably somewhere else, but this is definitely the best garage record of the 70s! Cause for me Dr. Feelgood were actually a garage outfit. Tight as hell, rhythmic like an uzi in a paroxysm mode, more confident in comparison with their debut and with a perfect position between cover toons and the Wilko penned originals! From my house to the place I work it’s about an hour distance, and even if it was early morning, i had a strong will to attend the hearing with some bourbon (the first J. Geils Band record I played right next, made things even worse).  OK, for one more time I'm bubbling up so much saying actually nothing. I'll put a dot here. Listen to this even if you have it. You'll understand why immediately!


0
The (Count) Bishops - "Live! - Japanese Pressing" (Chiswick, 1978)

I know this brutal live document has some uploads in the blog-sphere already, but this is quite 'different'. The best thing about blogs is enclosed in just one word and that is "communication". I learned MANY things through the years from other people's spaces, had the time to 'correct' and 'sift' things that i had on my mind in a blurry situation and make friends as good as the 'real ones', everyone have in real life. Me and JP are working for quite long on a new WAX CD project. Some things made us hold up the whole 'disquisition' (haha, yeh right!) but in the whole process some sparks got up. Anyway, hopefully in a few days we will be able to present you this new essay. So, partners are made from the same clothe, and in a one way or another sway each-other. And one of my 'influences' on him are my beloved Count Bishops! Jean Philippe started diggin' for records like this one and got up with a Jap version i never had and probably in this cursed country that i live, never find, at least in a reasonable price! The sound on this classic by now LIVE 10" (i know it was out on 12" format also) is raw and at the same time smooth. The way women like their men (right babe?), haha. Along with "Speedball" this is my fave Bishops record. It got me some time to habituate "new" singer, Dave Tice but on this all band members swing and sweat! Gosh, I'm sure these fuckers torched every single bar dared to book them! I wish a video tape resurrect sometime with Bishops doing their thing!
Later lads!


Older Post ►
Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )
eXTReMe Tracker
 

Copyright 2011 Oldies Musica is proudly powered by blogger.com