SWEATIN' TO THE OLDIES

Ever hear something you hadn't heard before and stopped dead in your tracks? Had a "holy shit" moment? It's one of the coolest things about music, it's a damn bottomless pit. As a sign in a long forgotten record store said "You will never know everything. You will never hear everything. You will never own everything. You will never remember everything". That's precisely what keeps the record geezer going. This thing leads to that, and this label leads to a bunch of people you haven't hear before, and that guy used to play with that guy, and so on. It never stops. Kogar the Swinging Ape knows that. He just posted a blues compilation that took him three years to track down after hearing a not-for-sale copy in a record store. It's raw, it's distorted, and it's old. Bob Log probably thinks he owns the only copy, because Jon Spencer slept in that day.

The two single cuts below aren't on the LP, they're just teasers. But dig the LP, it's a quick download and every cut will put dirt under your nails. Note: When you click on the "Down Home Stomp" link at Kogar's, it'll take you to MediaFire, and it may say "permission denied" and try to get you to sign up. Just close the window and click on Kogar's link again. It should take you to the download. Look for the green "Download" button and you're in business.

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Listen: 
Papa Lightfoot - Wine, Women and Whiskey mp3 at Mississippi en Conserve
Little Son Jackson - Ground Hog Blues mp3 at June Berry 78s
The compilation:
Rural Blues Volume 3, Down Home Stomp (via MediaFire) at Kogar's Jungle Download tips above.

STONER SONG TITLES? CHECK.

Yeah, just look at them. Mustaches, a motorcycle, a devil may care attitude and a brick wall to boot. These guys got it going on. They're about two motorcycles and three leather jackets short of a gang. It's Sir Lord Baltimore, a second tier seventies hard rock band. There's one of their songs below, a real screamin' lick fest typical of the period. There's another by Captain Beyond, another second tier hard rock outfit. They probably scored an equal number of chicks. Licks plus dicks get chicks. That's Hard Rock 101. Okay then.

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Listen:
Sir Lord Baltimore - Lady of Fire mp3 at The Cargo Culte
Captain Beyond - Dancing Madly Backwards mp3 at The Cargo Culte

HEY LADIES

Good ol' spit curled Bill Haley, the first old fart of rock 'n' roll. He was in his late twenties and way past teen idol years when he changed the name of his band from the Saddlemen to the Comets. Judging by every photo I've ever seen of him, my guess is that he didn't exactly make knees weak with the ladies, so dumping country and western to become one of the first white rock 'n' roll singers was a leap.

Check the video above, particularly the solo at about :40 seconds. Someone please clue me in to the identity of the guy playing lead. (I don't think it was the original guitarist Danny Cedrone because I think he had already died before it was filmed.) The thing that gets me about Bill Haley and the Comets is how tight they are on record, the solos, even on the overly familiar "Rock Around the Clock". Man, listen to "Crazy Man Crazy". Imagine hearing that for the first time in 1953. All the other white boys were still crooning. Plaid suit or not, dude was wild.

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Listen:
Bill Haley and the Comets - Crazy Man Crazy mp3 at Russ Strathdee
Bill Haley and the Comets - Rock Around the Clock mp3 at Rocky 52
Bill Haley and the Comets - Mambo Rock mp3 at Rocky 52
Bill Haley and the Comets - Razzle Dazzle mp3 at Mp3 Rockabilly
Bill Haley and the Comets - A-B-C Boogie mp3 at Internet Archive
Bill Haley and the Comets - Goofin' Around mp3 at Internet Archive
Bill Haley and the Comets - See You Later Alligator mp3 at Rocky 52
Bill Haley and the Saddlemen- Rocket 88 mp3 at Internet Archive

FUCK 'EM, HE'S IN MY HALL

Link Wray. You know what I'm talkin' about. Rock 'n' roll, right? Okay, we have that established. As you may know, Link Wray was up for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [sic] this year and was passed over. I'm not sure what their criteria is, and I don't care. I know this: any talk about rock 'n' roll, and what is and what is not, has to throw everything out that is irrelevant. Record sales, credits, mass acceptance, era, looks, technical proficiency, output, all that shit goes out the window. All that matters is if it is rock 'n' roll. Link Wray is rock 'n' roll, in all its simple, greasy, badass glory. And those people passed him over.

Want the sting? Just two of the artists that were inducted this year are Cat Stevens and Hall and Oates. I'm not going to waste my breath going off about that, because the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is about as relevant to rock 'n' roll as your granny (unless she's Cordell Jackson). I won't legitimize them with the real lengthy counterpoint the issue deserves. I haven't paid attention to everone who has been inducted in the past, but even if every choice was spot on (which I guarantee you is not the case), this major fuck up should seriously negate any legitimacy they had. Link Wray's in my hall. I haven't figured out what to call it yet, but he's a first year inductee, totally.

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Listen:
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - Run Chicken Run mp3 at A Tumblr (?)
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - The Swag mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - Tijuana mp3 at Ray Carram
Link Wray - Ace of Spades mp3 at Ole Miss
Link Wray - Dixie Doodle mp3 at Joe Troiano
Robert Gordon with Link Wray - Red Hot mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - It's All Over Now Baby Blue mp3 at The Rising Storm

AGAIN WITH THE SWEATERS

You know what I like about the Budos Band? I like that I don't know why I like the Budos Band. But I do, a lot, and they always come to mind for no particular when there's a slight heat wave, which there has been the past few days (high 70s). I don't know why, I just go with it. So there, it's Budos night. I hear that moaning in the back. Yes, Budos again. If you can't be bothered. you can go ahead and start prepping for New Years.

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Listen:
The Budos Band - Budos Theme mp3 at Aurgasm
The Budos Band - Origin of Man mp3 at Ear It Now
The Budos Band - Black Venom mp3 at Acid Conga
The Budos Band - Budos Rising mp3 at Ear It Now
The Budos Band - Unbroken, Unshaven mp3 at Aurgasm

SWEATER VEST WAIVER GRANTED

Yes it's still more holiday music. But, it's the Sonics, and it doesn't matter what the song is about, if it has that drum sound, and that fuzz, I'm buying in. It's their "Santa Claus", which is essentially Don and Dewey's "Farmer John" with different lyrics. I ran into it at The Decibel Tolls, in a holiday oriented post from two year ago, with the Fall, Esquivel, Can, the Ventures, the Blues Magoos, and about twenty other bands that I give less of a shit about. But the Sonics one is a particular favorite because it contains what is perhaps the greatest guitar solo I've heard. A battle of the fuzz box and the whammy bar, thirty fucked up seconds that never seem to go anywhere.

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Listen:
The Sonics - Santa Claus mp3 at The Decibel Tolls

The post:

Holiday Mixer at The Decibel Polls 27 holiday mp3s

(SWOON) "WHO BROUGHT THIS?"

If you've had all you can bear from the obvious holiday songs, Jimmy Smith is the antidote. Seriously, listen to "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman". Wait until the :37, when Smith kicks in. I don't think any holiday song swings more, especially for that particular song. Put it on at the holiday soiree, lean against the wall, and just generally look as swanky as a slob can. Trust me, even the mistletoe will wilt.

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Listen:
Jimmy Smith - God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman mp3 at Panic Stream
Jimmy Smith - Jingle Bells mp3 at Panic Stream
Bonus for the fat man:
Jimmy Smith - Mission Impossible mp3 at AM Then FM

IRONIC BAND NAMES ARE DEAD

These guys were posted last year about this time, but it's crunch time and I'm throwing spaghetti at the wall.  Plus, it's not really Christmas until Blue Star Chorus show up, right? Okay, These guys do look like they could possibly mean business. Possibly. Unfortunately, the photographer couldn't seem to get them all on the same page. He probably said something to the effect of "Now go over there, and hold your instruments in front of that crooked tree. Okay, are you gonna do this to me? You with the ukelele, if you really think sitting on your duff is going to sell records, more power to you. And you, white guitar, you look like my friggin' biology professor. You get in back. Oh jeez, now Mr. Red Guitar is going to sit down in protest. Go ahead do-gooder, John Lee Hooker did it, and you're every bit as hot as he is. What? Drummer, why in hell are you wearing that? You wouldn't wear that when you're playing would you? You do? Man, that must stink at the end of the night. Okay, on three..."

The song is pretty tight, so I should quit with the snarky routine. Group photos are never easy, but really, this was the best of the photo session? Anyway, the whole story can be found at Radio Diffusion International, which also offers up the whitest sitar record ever pressed in India, Jayran Achary's "Santa Clause Is Coming to Town".

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Listen:
Blue Star Chorus - Silent Night at Radiodiffusion International Go there, there's one more song and some good reading.
Jayran Achary - Santa Clause Is Coming to Town mp3 at Radiodiffusion International Dittos comments above.

THE MAN DOES CHRISTMAS

Man, if there's one thing I hate about the holiday season, it's all the running around. Pick up this, pick up that, and don't forget to bring something or other to this get together or that. It's bogus in my book, but I generally just go with the flow. (Pick your battles.) The past few days though were made somewhat bearable, thanks in no small part to a Chuck Berry binge. I swear, his stuff is made for driving around. I was cranking it to eleven, friends, and loving it. So much so that I caught myself driving the speed limit and not speeding up to make it through the yellow lights, behavior usually reserved for funeral processions. Speaking of funerals, Chuck Berry is still alive. Even if he's not out and about all that much these days, it's comforting to think that he's still plugging along back in ol' St.Lou. Here's his Christmas record from 1958. It's insane to think that these were released on the same 45. "Run Rudolph Run" was a B-side. Whoa.

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Listen:
Chuck Berry - Run, Rudolph, Run mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Chuck Berry - Merry Christmas Baby mp3 at Panic Stream
Keith Richards - Run Rudolph Run mp3 at Panic Stream

HOLD YOUR SKULL BOX, FAT MAN

Incorporating a photo of Kerouac, a fake typewriter font and the inclusion of a cigarette dangling out of a mouth is is cliche enough. I'll leave all of the smart talk and slang to the experts, and miscellaneous well meaning squares. (Here's a token tpyo to add some sort of spontaneous authenticity.) This mix over at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban is a gas. Where else would you find Charlie Parker and William S. Burroughs rubbing shoulders with Jim Backus? It blurs the line between the supposed real thing and some Hollywood version of a long gone North Beach smokey jazz dive. And it's the perfect escape route for someone who has a shit load of running around to do.

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Listen:
Beat Xmas - 25 song mix at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban

DARLENE LOVE ALERT

Here's another dependable holiday standby, Darlene Love, doing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)".  She performs it every year on Late Night With David Letterman, on the Friday before Christmas, this year falling on Friday, December 20, as in tomorrow (or today, depending on when you're reading this). This will be her twenty seventh year doing it. You should check it out. It's as close to seeing an ersatz Wall of Sound, playing live, as you'll get, particularly one with an original Spector affiliated singer, using the original arrangement. It's great. Cynicism takes three minutes off.

December 2012

It came out fifty years ago, on a compilation called A Christmas Gift For You From Phillies Records, an LP that consisted of all new recordings, all produced by Phil Spector, and all backed by the Wrecking Crew. Love's song was the only non-standard, written specifically for the album by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry and Phil Spector. It was released the day Kennedy was shot, and the nation wasn't all that interested. But over time, that LP has become a whopper.

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Listen:

Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) mp3 at Stereogum Mono

Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) mp3 at AM Then FM Simulated stereo

Visit:
A Christmas Gift For You From Phillies Records at Wikipedia

ANOTHER CHEAP HOLIDAY

Here comes the deluge, part two. If you're into this holiday stuff, there's plenty more. It's all over the place. It's like green onions all over the studio. Yesterday it was the nine mixes at Spread the Good Word, put together by Reverend Tom Frost. They've been up for a few years, but who's downloaded all of them? Another sure thing this time of year is Big Rock Candy Mountain, who in years past has posted some fine mixes, emphasis on roots, and sprinkled posts with individual songs of mixed styles. They're nuts about the holidays over there.

One thing I may have mentioned before, but it bears repeating. This stuff, these mixes, are great if you want to give someone a mix CD as a present, be it a party host or your ol' ball and chain. You know, the "It's the least I could do, I'm drinking your booze" type of gift.

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Listen:
Maddox Brothers and Rose - Mama Says It's Naughty mp3 at Big Rock Candy Mountain
Holly Golightly - That's What I Want For Christmas mp3 at Big Rock Candy Mountain Grrwwlll
Huey "Piano" Smith - Rock 'n' Roll Santa Claus mp3 at Big Rock Candy Mountain
Red Sovine - Here It Christmas mp3 at Big Rock Candy Mountain Sad sack alert
The J's with Jamie - Cool Yule mp3 at Big Rock Candy Mountain
The Mixes:
A Big Rock Juke'n'Jive Xmas at Big Rock Candy Mountain 33 songs, go there for the song list
A Big Rock Happy Hour Christmas at Big Rock Candy Mountain 27 songs, go there for the song list
A Big Rock Candy Cane Xmas at Big Rock Candy Mountain 27 songs, go there for the song list.

ATTN: PARTY PLANNING COMMITTEE

It's that time. Okay, past that time. Your holiday type party may have already come and gone. Throw another one. You don't need much. With these mixes from Rev. Frost, all you'll have to add are libations. Really, it's that simple. Unless you're the type that has fancy parties. In that case you're on your own. 

You know what I think of Reverend Frost. I link to his mixes a few times of year, so you should be familiar with him and his own music by now. If not, there's a few links down there.

Note: The songlists are at the individual posts, along with a link to the mix at Rapidshare. Once you get to Rapidshare, them pesky suckers will try to get in your way. This is what you do. First click on the white bar that says "to Download" (it'll turn orange when you roll over it). When the screen changes there will be a pop up. Just close it because the download is behind it. Under the title of the mix "Rev Frost presents..." click on "select all" and the final download button appears.  You do not have to sign up for Rapidshare to download them.

The Mixes:
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 9
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 8
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 7
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 6
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 5
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 4
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 3
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 2
Spread The Good Word Bloody Holiday Mix 1
Rev. Frost's music:
Reverend Tom Frost - A Bloody Life (streaming) at YouTube
Reverend Tom Frost - Dust to Dust (streaming) at YouTube
Reverend Tom Frost - More samples of his music at Rev. Tom Frost Check out "The Naked Witch"!
Visit:
Reverend Tom Frost - Official site

KING OF THE TEARJERKER

If Ray Price's entire career consisted of just one song, it would be enough. "For the Good Times" is epic in its simplicity. It was written by a young Kris Kristofferson, but Price totally made it his own. There's nothing whatsoever flashy about it. Every word of the lyrics are audible, there's no wild solos or craziness, and it's laced with strings. Everything about the song says I should hate it. Except for one thing. It's such a gut wrenchingly sad song that it transcends just about everything you can throw at it. It's old fart music, it's watered down country crossover schmaltz, it's sappy, and so on. But, if you've ever had the fire go out of a relationship (and most of us have), you'll relate. It's like trying to rekindle a flame with green wood.

Price had a long career, forty-plus years, and his pre-crossover stuff is really the good shit. A lot more of what you'd think of as classic country and western. Listen to "Kissing Your Picture" (below). Dude was one sad sack, even then, due in large part to that voice. It seems made for tearjerkers. Which makes his passing today even sadder. He died at home today after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 87.

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Listen: 
Ray Price - For the Good Times mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban 1970
Ray Price - Kissing Your Picture mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban 1959
Ray Price - Heart Over Mind mp3 at Beware of the Blog 1961
Visit:
Ray Price at Wikipedia
Ray Price discography at Wikipedia

HERE COME OL' FLAT TOP

I had heard the post-Diana Ross Supremes' version of "Come Together" before, and I happen to really dig it. It's a nice slice of 1970 whatever you want to call it, pseudo psychedelic soul or otherwise. (Not a Norman Whitfield production, Frank Wilson, another Motown in-house guy, did it.) I didn't know until last night that Diana Ross had recorded her own version the same year. I've no clue what the actual recording dates were, or if either had any knowledge of the other cover, but it's interesting to hear them back to back. I wouldn't be surprised if some bedroom DJ hasn't mashed these two. 

There's a link below to the blog that has mp3s of both, and if you want them, don't sleep. It looks like the links there are only good for a couple weeks. If you're not sure, there's links to both streaming at YouTube. Go get your compare and contrast on.

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Listen:
The Supremes - Come Together mp3 at Parlando Go there to get it.
Diana Ross - Come Together mp3 at Parlando Ditto.
The Supremes - Come Together (streaming) at YouTube
Diana Ross - Come Together (streaming) at YouTube

YEAH, MAN

One of my favorite radio DJs of the past few years is this guy named Phil Dinsen. He's an unassuming old school guy, with a show on the jazz station called Jazz West Coast. Though the show usually features exactly what you'd expect from a show like that (Bud Shank and his mob), he slips in a few oddballs now and then. I don't listen to it religiously, but I've heard him play Ken Nordine on multiple occasions. For the uninitiated, there's a couple of Nornine's cuts below. He did niche stuff, word jazz; spoken word over jazz. I bring that up because, c'mon, if you know Nordine you know what I mean. When are you ever going to hear Ken Nordine played on the radio? Regular radio, not some hipster podcast jive. Of course that gets my attention. This Dinsen character is A-OK in my book.

Today he played Clark Terry's "Mumbles", another jazz related curiosity, the lyrics of which I can totally relate to.

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Listen:
Ken Nordine - Time mp3 at Tuxedo Junction
Ken Nordine - My Baby mp3 at Tuxedo Junction
Clark Terry - Mumbles mp3 at Peter Zak
Visit:
Jazz West Coast (streaming, Saturdays 3:00 - 5:00 PM, PST) at Jazz 88 Click on "Listen Live" button, top right of the screen)

SHOPPING SUCKS. JB DON'T.

'Tis the season for reposting the GFOS holiday jams. I know, you may be mumbling something along the lines of "holiday cop-out...", but guess what? I don't give a yule log. There might be four or five of you who haven't heard these before, and really, is any posting of James Brown not a reason to stop for a second and remember what a machine the guy was? I was lucky enough to see him a couple times and I'm here to tell you that, even in his later years, he had it going on. Hell yeah, it's go power alright.

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Listen:
James Brown - Funky Christmas mp3 at SB Dave
James Brown - Go Power At Christmas Time mp3 at The Sound of Indie
James Brown - Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto mp3 at The Mob Third Coast
James Brown - Christmas In Heaven mp3 at Pup 'n' Taco
James Brown - Let's Unite the World at Christmas mp3 at Panic Stream
James Brown - Please Come Home For Christmas mp3 at Panic Stream

WHIZ KID

It's Travis Wammack month over at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban, and as I patiently waited for his "Scratchy" to be posted over there, I thought I'd go looking to see if it was posted anywhere else, and to my surprise it's nowhere to be found as an mp3 (a YouTube link is below). Wammack has been described as a guitar prodigy, releasing his first record at the age of twelve. "Scratchy", which reached #80 on the charts, was released when he was seventeen, a year after the above photo was taken. Within a few years he would be playing on sessions for Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter, Bobbie Gentry, Candi Staton, Delbert McClinton, Narvel Felts, among many others.

Thanks to a thrift store dupe my brother had, "Scratchy" has been in my stash and a instrumental oddball favorite of mine for years. It's apropos that I ran into the most awesome mix below while looking for it. The mix is from The Slop and includes his version of "Louie Louie", along with twenty six cuts by others, all of similar vintage, equal gusto, and all ripped from sufficiently worn records, as in scratchy. It's a killer mix and, as a result, The Slop's now on my map. Dig it!

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Listen:
Travis Wammack - It's Karate Time mp3 at Probe Is Turning On the People 1967
Travis Wammack - Scratchy (streaming) at YouTube  1964
The mix:
The Slop's Dance Party Mix (via DivShare) at The Slop Twenty seven bona fide rip roaring stompers. Go there to check the track list.
Visit:
Excellent Wammack bio from the Memphis Flyer via Ponderosa Stop

KEEPIN' IT REAL

This has got to be the smoothest delivery of the word "fuck" in history. It's the alternate take of the Blenders "Don't Mess Around With Love", entitled "Don't Fuck Around With Love". I like that, sing it how you say it. Three cheers.

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Listen:
The Blenders - Don't Fuck Around With Love mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
The Blenders - Don't Mess Around With Love (streaming) at Vocal Group Harmony

THANKS ANNETTE

One reunion I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to see was the very short lived Standells reunion period when original lead singer Dick Dodd rejoined them, ending last June. It was for less than a year, and it won't happen again. Dick Dodd died on November 29, a litle over a week ago. I feel like a shit for that initial thought, not getting to see Dodd. Self absorbed as it is, how could it not be? I certainly didn't know Dodd. I really didn't know much about him, other than his role in the Standells. What am I supposed to think, when the member of a band dies? Cut me some slack.

Interesting factoids about Dodd: He was an OG Mouseketeer, along side Annette Funicello, and it was Annette that sold him his first snare drum.  He was later in the Belairs ("Mr. Moto") and then Eddie and the Showmen, both of them top shelf South Bay surf bands.

The Standells' "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" is like gospel around here. I don't care if it happens that Dodd didn't sing lead on that particular song. I don't give a damn if he was the waterboy. It's just that good of a song, the subject, the lyrics, the spoken outro, the whole attitude thing they got going. The less I know from here, the better. Suck on that fact checkers.

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Listen:
The Standells - Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White mp3 at So Many Records So Little Time
The Standells - Barracuda mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Standells - Riot On Sunset Strip mp3 at Indie Rock Cafe
The Standells - Medication mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Standells - Rari mp3 at The Calico Wall
Video:
The Standells - Try It at YouTube
The Standells -Dirty Water/Why Pick On Me at YouTube
Read:
The Standells at Wikipedia

SORRY ABOUT THIS, TREES

Every year about this time, I make sure to head to one of the few well stocked newsstands in these parts. I dig periodicals of all sorts, so it's not a trip I make often because it can end up being costly. But I know, around this time, I can pick up the annual "Southern Music Issue" of  Oxford American, and I get giddy when I see it on the stand. Every year they feature a different southern state, and it's always packed with good writing, and the bonus is that it comes with a CD or two. This year it's Tennessee. Oh yeah, you know what that means: Stax, Sun, Nashville, Memphis, Opry... This issue is the best thirteen bucks I've spent in a long time. Two CD's, fifty songs covering artists from Tennessee, and songs by others that were recorded there. It's an all schools jam, the artists represented run the gamut. Jim Dickinson, Charlie Rich, Johnny Cash, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas, Elvis, Billy Lee Riley, Bessoie Smith, Rosco Gordon, Al Green, Big Star, Isaac Hayes, B.B. King, and that's just a handful of the more recognizable names. Even if you consider yourself well schooled, there's at least a couple dozen artists you don't know. Besides the blurbs in the magazine about the individual songs, there's a caca-load of long in-depth articles, including a five page article about the Rosco Gordon/ska connection. Yep. This issue is a keeper. Here's just a handful of songs that appear on the two CDs. (Note: the Isaac Hayes version of Burt Bacharach's "Walk On By" below is the LP version that's twelve minutes long. The one on the CD is the "short" version that's four and a half minutes.)

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Listen:
Big Maybelle - One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Bessie Smith - Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl mp3 at The Beiderbecke Affair
Rosco Gordon - Shoobie Oobie mp3 at Rocky 52
Billy Lee Riley - Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
The Prisonaires - Just Walkin' In the Rain (streaming) at YouTube
Isaac Hayes - Walk On By mp3 at Louder Softer
Visit:
Oxford American Southern Music Issue - CD notes
Oxford American - Home page 

WHITTIER MEN OF INTRIGUE

I know I've posted Thee Midniters' "I Found a Peanut" before; but it happened to play in some goddamn shuffle thing last night and I was reminded of what an awesome oddball it is. If you're not familiar with Thee Midniters, listen to "Whittier Boulevard" first, it's one of their better known songs. After that listen to "I Found a Peanut".  Someone clue me into what said peanut is. A goofy pill of some sort, I'm sure. You'll see what I mean, starting at about :36 into the song.

The photo above is of an early incarnation of Thee Midniters, when they were Benny and the Midniters. I don't care what incarnation of what band it is, I ran across it and I'll be damned if I ignore that sort of badassery. Check out Mr. Hot Shot on guitar, with his leg draped over the neck. What a nut!

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Listen:
Thee Midniters - Whittier Blvd mp3 at DRB's Blog
Thee Midniters - I Found A Peanut mp3 at Api.ning.com
Visit:
Thee Midniters at Wikipedia
The Birth of the Lowrider Sound at Lowrider Magazine

HIM TOO

Coolness lurks, deep within the leisure suit. Conway Twitty had his moments. Here's a couple.

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Listen:
Conway Twitty - Lonely Blue Boy mp3 at Punch Drunk Love
Conway Twitty - Hello Darlin' mp3 at Rocky-52

AMANDLA

"Good and evil are always at war. Good men must choose."

In 1983, in the midst of a growing global movement demanding Mandela's release, Special AKA released "Free Nelson Mandela". As trivial as music seems today, it's the language we speak.

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Listen:
Special AKA - Free Nelson Mandela mp3 at Contort
Special AKA - Free Nelson Mandela (instrumental and LP version) mp3 at AM Then FM
Video:
Mandela: The Man and His Country at YouTube 46 minute documentary. 
Mandela's first interview (1961) at YouTube
Mandela's release from prison at YouTube
Mandela's speech at Free South Africa concert at YouTube 1990, two months after his release.
Visit:
Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory
Nelson Mandela at Wikipedia
Nelson Mandela at Biography.com
African National Congress

SHUT UP BEAVIS

Ever hear a song on the radio and think, "Holy shit, what do we have here?". Me neither, rarely anyway. Last night was an exception. Just settling in, started reading with the jazz station on. Jazz station, right? I'm thinking I'm going to be dozing off to something that I don't really need to pay attention to.  Certainly not something that was going to startle me out of my dozing off with a book in my hands. All of a sudden some brass band is blaring Hendrix's "Manic Depression". Okay, now I'm awake. As I listen to it, the thing turns into this wah-wah and distortion laden horn and guitar noisy as hell freak out. Fu-huck yeah.

I wasn't able to find the studio recording that I heard last night, but I did find a live version, it's just as wonderfully fucked up. What it lacks in fidelity it makes up for in length. Get past the first minute, it's a quiet intro, then buckle in. Eight minutes of mayhem. It won't get you on the dance floor, but it's perfect for testing how much volume your speakers can take. (Take those silly things out of your ears.) Did I mention that one of the trombone players uses a wah-wah?

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Bonerama - Manic Depression (live) mp3 at Internet Archive
Bonerama - Helter Skelter (live) mp3 at Cover Me
Bonerama - Hard Times mp3 at Magnet
Video:
Bonerama - The Ocean (live) at YouTube
Visit:
Bonerama official site

THAT VOICE IS GONE

Junior Murvin died today. He's best known for his 1976, Lee Perry produced "Police and Thieves", the song many were introduced to via the Clash's cover. He had a distinctive voice, one of the most distinctive in reggae. It was way up there in the high range, referred to by just about everybody as falsetto, but referred to by him as "real-setto". Think Curtis Mayfield doing reggae and you're just about there. No cause of death has been reported, though Murvin had been suffering from diabetes at the time of his death.

The songs below are just a cross section. The first three were produced by Lee Perry, all using the same riddim (rhythm), which Perry sufficiently milked. "Cool Out Son" uses the Real Rock riddim, originally created by Sound Dimension at Studio One. The cover of the Impressions "Gypsy Woman" is new to me, and it's kind of an eye opener. It's just Murvin and an acoustic guitar, not reggae at all, and it's beautiful.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Junior Murvin - Police and Thieves mp3 at Snuhthing Anything 1976
Junior Murvin - Soldier and Police War mp3 at Funky 16 Corners 1976
Junior Murvin - Bad Weed (long version) mp3 at Grounds For Appeal 1977
Junior Murvin - Cool Out Son mp3 at Passion of the Weiss
Junior Murvin - Tedious mp3 at Reggae Top Site 1982
Junior Murvin - Wise Man  (+ dub version) (streaming) at YouTube
Junior Murvin - Jamaican Girls mp3 at Reggae Top Site 1984
Junior Murvin - Gipsy Woman [sic] mp3 at Lemon Alchimie
Video:
Junior Murvin - Police and Thieves at YouTube Top of the Pops 1977
Visit:
Junior Murvin - Interview at Rebel Base 2004
Junior Murvin at Jamaican Gleaner
Junior Murvin at Wikipedia

I'M COMING OVER THERE.

Any kind of vague idea I had for what I was going to do with my night went out the window when I heard Ruth Brown's 1963 version of "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean". Her original, from 1953 is awesome, top notch, and all that, but I've heard it many times. I wouldn't expect any artist to re-record one of their old hits and have it be as good as the original. The '63 version is killer, like the original done up "Night Train" style. Brown seems to give it a bit more oomph. It kicks ass, it truly does. The guitar solo (at 1:30) is exceedingly badass, the picking, the tone, and the brevity. It sounds like a country guy that was told to play surf guitar; that on top of a band that was told to make a song sound like "Night Train". The rest of the stuff down there is from the fifties, the era she's best known for. They're every bit as good; they just aren't the unexpected surprise that '63 one is. Man, I gotta go listen to that solo again.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Ruth Brown - (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean (1963) mp3 at Warm Evenings
Ruth Brown - (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean (1953) mp3 at Atumblr (?) 
Ruth Brown - Wild Wild Young Men mp3 at Rocky 52
Ruth Brown - This Girl's Gone Rockin' mp3 at Rocky 52
Ruth Brown - St. Louis Blues mp3 at Internet Archive 
Ruth Brown - Oh What A Dream mp3 at Keep the Coffee Coming
Ruth Brown - I Don't Know mp3 at Le Mellotron
Video:
Ruth Brown - (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean at YouTube This is great. 
Visit:
Ruth Brown at Wikipedia

NO, REALLY, DOO WOP'S COOL.

About a gazillion years ago, I was visiting friends in San Francisco, when I made a stop at my friend Baba's apartment. Right there in his living room, a juke box, the first one I'd seen one outside of a bar or diner. After he wrangled a few quarters from me, the talk turned to want lists, specifically his want list for the next round of 45s to put into his new acquisition. He was having a hard time coming up with the name of the group who did "Little Darlin'", a doo wop song that we were both very familiar with, me from the soundtrack from American Graffiti, and him from who knows where. While we were racking our brains, trying to come up with the title, we started goofing around singing it (I can still hear him doing the bass part, "little darlin', I need you..."). The reason why I bring this up is because if it would have happened today, someone would have whipped out their phone and looked online for the artist. But as it was, we tried and tried to come up with the group's name, to no avail. But, for that reason, the fact that we, both with hearty appetites for music of all eras, couldn't come up with the name at that time, when I did remember it, it was tattooed in my brain forever. If we would have done a web search, that particular moment would be gone, it would have never happened. Google is fucking shit up.

All of this came flooding back to me recently. My brother was just given a juke box, a classic '59 Rockola to be exact. Long story short, he helped a women sort things out when her husband passed away, and in doing so, they uncovered the juke box covered in a storage shed. The women didn't even know it was in there, and just gave it to my brother. Good for him, this time the nice guy didn't finish last, and all that jazz. You better believe I'm going to make sure that he has a copy of "Little Darlin'" on 45, you know, just in case he should ever need it.

One thing to note about doo wop. You might think of vocal stuff like this to be fairly lame. Adjust your ears and listen to everything, it'll help rid you of those Mitch Miller-esque preconceptions. Listen to the backing musicians and the arrangements. This shit don't grow on trees. If you're digging it, check out the site Doo Wop Juke Box There's tons of it, and most of it is the lesser known stuff, with posts going back five or six years. It's a full on rabbit hole. I mean it.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:

The Diamonds - Little Darlin' mp3 at Radio George

The Coasters - Wait a Minute mp3 at Doo Wop Juke Box

The Bel-Airs - White Port and Lemon Juice mp3 at Doo Wop Juke Box

The Hollywood Flames - Buzz Buzz Buzz mp3 at Doo Wop Juke Box

The Cadets - Stranded In the Jungle mp3 at Doo Wop Juke Box

The Del-Knights - Don't Cry Anymore mp3 at Doo Wop Juke Box

The Del Vikings - Can't Wait mp3 at Doo Wop Juke Box