NORMAN WHITFIELD? DON'T KNOW HIM.

All over the place tonight. Again. I wasn't going here, but here's where I'm getting off. Picking through old bookmarks I ended up at DK Presents, on a post from 2009 that had four songs from some funk compilation, The first one I checked was "Mojo Hanna" by Tami Lynn, and it was funky good enough that I slowed down to check the others. Lowell Fulsom's "Tramp" is a no-brainer, the Soul Brothers Six's pre-Grand Funk version of "Some Kind of Wonderful" is interesting, but what got me sidetracked was Fuji's "Mary Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip". They're backed by Black Merda (above), so now I'm bugging on them. Not much in the way of mp3s of theirs to be found, but there's a lot of audio clips at YouTube. I've been over there for a while, and that's just where I'm going back to. I know I won't be coming back.

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Listen:
Black Merda - Take A Little Time mp3 at Daily Grind
Fuji with Black Merda - Mary Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip mp3 at DK Presents
Tami Lynn - Mojo Hanna mp3 at DK Presents
Two more (Lowell Fulsom and Soul Brothers Six) at DK Presents
Black Murda at YouTube Note: The Full LPs aren't the greatest quality. Check the single songs.

THEM AGAIN

You know them. The Sonics have been on here more than just about any other band. So I won't waste your time with all the normal jibba jabba. Newer just posted one from their latest, and seeing as how they are largely ignored by hipster or otherwise bearded bloggers, it's reason enough to point you to it. It's "I've Got Your Number" off of This Is the Sonics, their first studio LP in five decades. A note to Mick Jagger: go home.

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Listen:
The Sonics - I Got Your Number mp3 at Newer Note: If the mp3 link is disabled, go there to get it. Or better yet, go get their record.
More Sonics:
All the Sonics stuff that's been posted here in the past

COOL DOWN MR. COP

A day or two ago, an old friend posted Gregory Isaacs's "Mr. Cop" on her Facebook page, as a response to the situation in Baltimore. It is a perfect simmer down song, and a lot of it is Isaacs's delivery. It's sort of like Pops Staples, nothing flashy, just enough this side of mellow to suck you in. I don't even know if that makes sense. But it was good hearing his voice. This is what I wrote five years ago, right after he died:

"I had been listening to him for a few years by the time I first saw him live, but I was unprepared for how he would absolutely own the audience that night. The whole room swayed, ladies swooned, and the entire club had a unified vibe, including the bartenders and staff. He reminded me of Al Green, with his laid back style and impeccable appearance. Like Green, he sang love songs, but he also sang of social injustices and songs for the downtrodden. I remember thinking that night that there was no more fitting moniker than the one I had heard so many times before it had real meaning. I got chills. I was witnessing 'the Cool Ruler.'"

Okay, now that ending sounds a little overly dramatic. Corny. But you get the idea. He was cool. He did rule, albeit within the confines of a live venue. By ruling I mean in both ways. His music has always ruled, but in that setting he was absolutely, literally, ruling the room.

Here's a mess of stuff. A word of warning to the synth-phobic: There may be some synth in some of these, but just a little bit. You can tune it out, or succumb. I don't care. But I'd start with the Prince Jammy dub version of "Slum". Though there's hardly any vocals, and where there are they're just background vocals, it'll get you in the mood. It did me. And dig the live set down there. Pretty clean for the Roxy.

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Listen:
Gregory Isaacs - Slum Dub mp3 at Earmilk Prince Jammy
Gregory Isaacs with U Brown - The Border mp3 at Grounds For Appeal Nine minutes!
Gregory Isaacs with Carlene Davis mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse mp3 at Feems (?)
Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse Dub mp3 at Feems (?)
Gregory Isaacs - Substitute mp3 at Lavachequilit (?)
Gregory Isaacs - Mr Cop (steaming) at YouTube
Gregory Isaacs - Mr Cop Dub (steaming) at YouTube Lee Perry
The live stuff:
Gregory Isaacs - Live at the Roxy at Fresh Bread 1982, Los Angeles. Twelve individual mp3s 

SHREDDER

I'm not going to lie to you. A photo of guitar face just about made my night. Almost more than Gloria Jones, but we'll get to her in a minute. First, I have to be upfront. I have a fascination with guitar face. It cracks me up, but that's really just part of it. It intrigues me. I know some guitarists try to avoid it, and a lot seem to think it better displays their emotions when playing their searing lead. Some may not be able to help themselves. And then there are those who effortlessly display little or no emotion, no matter what they play. Those are the ones who are usually musicians first, showmen second (if at all). But I can't lie. I love seeing asshats play searing leads. It's like seeing a knockout punch, but nobody gets hurt. A sort of Disaster Light. Bordering on rubbernecking, I cannot look away.

Now to Gloria Jones. I ran into a post that mentioned her and had to revisit "Tainted Love", the song famously covered by Soft Cell. If you haven't heard it, you need to. If you have heard it and Soft Cell's cover, you might not have heard her re-recording of it from 1976. It's not nearly as Northern Soul-ish, but kicks ass nonetheless, due in no small part to her pronounced wail. You'll never guess what lead me to her tonight. That's right, the guitar facer. It can now be revealed, the owner of tonight's breathtaking guitar face is none other than David Bowie. The original image (below) has achieved the impossible, instantly climbing to the top of my favorite guitar faces of all time list, for the pure guffaw it induces.

The Bowie and Marc Bolan photo comes from a post at There Is a Site That Never Goes Out. It's with eleven mp3s of the two of them working on three songs, from 1977. It also has Gloria Jones on piano and backing vocals, so that was where the sidetracking began. But, oh man, that guitar face.

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Listen:
Gloria Jones - Tainted Love (1964) mp3 at Friday Mix Tape (?)
Gloria Jones - Tainted Love (1976) mp3 at Clones Project
Bowie Bolan Overdrive:
David Bowie and Marc Bolan Rehearsal tapes at There Is a Site That Never Goes Out Three songs, eleven takes total

TURN IT DOWN? UH, NO.

Yep, these guys have been here before and it's really all on the strength of one LP, their debut. It was pieced together from multiple sessions, but holds together well; it is a great album. If it was all you were exposed to, you would, like I was, be licking your chops for round two. Take a listen to "She Cracked" or "Pablo Picasso" (below) and you'll see why. Having just the one album to go on, you'd assume they were really badass. I did. To further blur things, the only image of the band on the cover was lifted from the poster above. Not very telling, but still registering as somewhere left of tame.

Then the second LP came out, with a different band and a telling title. It was credited to Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. (Raised eyebrow.) It wasn't bad, but it wasn't even the same type of music, not even close. It was practically a kids record. After hearing it and subsequent albums, you, like me, would finally come to the conclusion that he's never going back, and that the first LP was one of those freak albums. Credit has to be given John Cale, who produced the first session that included the best songs on the record. He wrangled something out of them that no one else did. Enough so that a second session with him was aborted because Richman wanted to take it down a notch.

Felice, far left. Smiling fool Richman, center

Here's a few cuts from that first LP, and another 1971 live cut with John Felice, later of the Real Kids, playing with them. He was only in the band for about two months. You fiends may want to check out the recently posted collection of live cuts, dating from  1978 to 1984 at Big O Zine, plus a bonus alternate version of "Modern World" produced by Kim Fowley. And there's also another link to two live sets at Aquarium Drunkard, from 1970 and '71.

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Listen:
Modern Lovers - She Cracked mp3 at The Rising Storm
Modern Lovers - Pablo Picasso mp3 at DJNoDJ
Modern Lovers - Roadrunner mp3 at BlahblahblahScience
Modern Lovers - I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu Bonus cut on reissue
Modern Lovers, with John Felice - Wake Up Sleepyhead (Live '71) at Still in Rock
More early live:
The Modern Lovers - Live at Stonhenge Club at Aquarium Drunkard Two sets in one zip. 1970-71 Ipswich, MA.
The Modern Lovers - Various live cuts, '74 - '80, at Big O Zine Plus an alternative version of "Modern World", produced by Kim Fowley.
Video:
Jonathan Richman - That Summer Feeling at YouTube Followed by interview, with John Cale and, briefly, Jello Biafra. After the second album, sappiness in effect.
From the same show:
John Cale and Jonathan Richman interview part 1 at YouTube Cale sings
John Cale and Jonathan Richman interview part 2 at YouTube
Visit:
The Modern Lovers - Extensive profile at Rock In Boston
The Modern Lovers - Album entry at Wikipedia

SOCK IT TO HIM

Sweet holy conga, this is one funky Latin jam. Just turn it up and dig the beat, the horns, the grunts, the hand claps, the percussion. This is Ray Barretto banging on all cylinders. Move the furniture.

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Listen:
Ray Barretto - Soul Drummers mp3 at Boogaloo Time
More:
1-2 Boogaloo - A Bluffers Guide to Boogaloo - 12 songs at Passion of the Weiss Various artists

PEABODY IN DA PIT, YO

This is for anyone who has a visceral reaction or vivid associations when they hear Damaged, the first Black Flag album. It was everywhere when it came out, at least it was in the places I was around. I never even bothered to buy it because it was like a lot of the albums over the years. So many friends owned it, I knew it like the back of my hand just by hanging out where it was being played. And, man, dang me if hearing "Rise Above" didn't start the WABAC machine in motion tonight. 

After hearing a few cuts from the album, I ran into the whole shooting match at Mustard Relics, along with live versions of all of the songs. 

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Listen:
Blag Flag - Rise Above mp3 at DK Presents
Black Flag - Six Pack mp3 at One A Day
Black Flag - TV Party mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The album:
Black Flag - Damage LP at Mustard Relics The whole LP in individual mp3s along with live versions.
Visit:
Damaged - LP entry at Wikipedia

HEY LADIES OF THE EIGHTIES

Yeah, I know you. You were going through that roots phase, probably brought on by the Blasters or some other gateway band, from the cusp of some shared bill. He came along at the right time. An authentic country and western heartthrob that college radio wasn't afraid to play. Trying his darnedest to make Bakersfield cool again. He was hot and you were ready. He even recorded with Buck Owens, right out of that gate. He nodded to you, covering a couple of songs that you loved so much in the original versions before you had your little roots epiphany. He was so cool, with his tight jeans and lowered brim. Then came the internet. Before the internet, all of his promo photos were tightly controlled, and in every photo he looked so cool. But that nasty gossiping internet was a temptation as much as it was a minefield. Dare you do a search for "Dwight Yoakam without his hat"? One day, you went ahead and did it. And you were horrified by what you saw. You're a music purist all right.

For everything you can say about Dwight Yoakam, he did one thing. He got some people to listen to country and western that may not have otherwise. Image or no image, whether or not he sold out, he got the hipsters of the era to dabble in a genre that wouldn't have ordinarily stood a chance. That's an honorary pass here.

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Listen:
Dwight Yoakam - I Want You To Want Me mp3 at Give Get Take and Have Cheap Trick cover
Dwight Yoakam - Crazy Little Thing Called Love mp3 at Brian Wiprud (?) Queen cover
Dwight Yoakam - Here Comes the Night mp3 at Culture Greyhound Them cover
Dwight Yoakam with Buck Owens - Streets of Bakersfield mp3 at The Look back

OOMPH SECURED

Dig this. The Move's version of "Do Ya", the song ELO made got a hit out of. I know what you're thinking. Keep on thinking it, or listen to the earlier version, I don't care.

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Listen:
The Move - Do Ya mp3 at Art Decade

THE ODDBALLABILLY CRAP SHOOT

Every so often I find myself in need of a obscure rockabilly fix, something good and period, and unfamiliar. Because if I haven't heard it, chances are it wasn't a hit. And if it wasn't a hit, it could be for one of several reasons. Maybe it wasn't polished enough, too raw for airplay. Maybe the label was too small, the market too limited, or the budget too tight. Maybe there was some career sabotage, self inflicted or otherwise. Whatever the reason, if it's falls into any of those categories, it's likely wild or slightly out there.

Where do you go? I head over to Rocky 52's discography pages, look for "rockabilly" under the music type, and click on a random name that I don't recognize. There's usually something worthwhile within a few clicks. Here's two I ran into today practically right on top of each other, and both happened to be about big women. What are the odds? The first is by Gerry Granahan (above), one of several names that guy used. He did it all, vocal dreamy shit and rock 'n' roll, and later he became a record producer. Most of what I sampled, there and at YouTube, is tepid, but "King Size", in which he takes Bony Moronie and Long Tall Sally to task, is a worthy rocker. Couldn't find anything about Lee Pickett, but his "Fatty Patty"is adequately nuts as well.

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Listen:
Gerry Granahan mp3 King Size mp3 at Rocky 52
Lee Pickett - Fatty Patty mp3 at Rocky 52
Visit:
Gerry Granahan at Wikipedia
Rocky 52

STILL WAITING

Jerry Dammers probably has a good reason. He doesn't owe anybody anything. But jeez, come on. He put together his Spatial AKA Orchestra back in 2009 and has yet to release anything with them, if they even exist anymore. The probably don't. Their website and the Wikipedia page appear to be last updated around 2010. Regardless, I wish there was something, because the live videos that are out there are just my kind of thing, that being a combination of all kinds of things.

Here's a couple mp3s taken from a live television appearance, some live videos, and some stuff from his days in the Specials, assorted what not and what have you.

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Listen:
Jerry Dammer's Spatial AKA Orchestra - Soul Vibrations mp3 at Eezy Weebly
Jerry Dammer's Spatial AKA Orchestra with Francine Luce - I'll Wait For You mp3 at Eezy Weebly
The Specials - A Message to You Rudy mp3 at Evil Vince
The Specials - Guns of Navarone mp3 at Plain or Pan
The Specials - Ghost Town mp3 at Midwestern Housewives
Video:
Jerry Dammers and the Spatial AKA Orchestra - Ghost Planet at YouTube
Jerry Dammers and the Spatial AKA Orchestra - Soul Vibrations of Man at YouTube
Jerry Dammers and the Spatial AKA Orchestra Four Videos at Jerry Dammers
Visit:
Jerry Dammers and the Spatial AKA Orchestra at Wikipedia

MÁS MALO QUE HOOLIGANS

Man, I gotta stop. There's way too many diversions. Today in a grocery store, I heard "She's About A Mover" by the Sir Douglas Quintet. So, I was jonesing for Tex Mex. and that turned into a Baldemar Huerta (a young Freddy Fender) detour, then rock en español in general, past Los Rockin' Devils (This cool video. Dig the skull and crossbones drum head. dad!). And then, they were in the sidebar at YouTube, Los Hooligans. The first Mexican LP I ever bought, back when I was in my teens. The record pretty much blew, and it still sounds crappy years later. But it was my first so after that I played it safe, picking up only Mexican pressings of familiar American LPs. When I finally started getting into international music years later, I still kept Los Hooligans and they're ilk at bay. (Once bitten.) But I never totally abandoned hope that there were better rockers from Mexico. Over the years, they seeped in, along with South American counterparts. 

So, I'm all over the place tonight. For now, I'm stopping on Los Esclavos.  I dig these guys, and there's not much online about them, with the exception of two posts at Vuelve Primavera. (It's in Spanish, but the links below are to questionably translated versions in English.). But between those two posts you have a pretty thorough profile, if you need one. I don't. Not tonight anyway.

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Listen
Los Esclavos - Bum Bum Bum mp3 at Vuelve Primavera Boom, Boom, Boom
Los Esclavos - Lloro Como Niño mp3 at Vuelve Primavera Shakin' All Over
Los Esclavos - I've Got a Problem mp3 at Vuelve Primavera

ROLL AROUND IN THE DIRT

Just a quick one, a handful tied by a thread of association, and all hitting the same spot. I'm not going to ruin it by adding filler. Just check these out and go to Wikipedia or something. I just want to dig on jams tonight. One aside: the footage in the Alice Russell video linked below is from the Michelangelo Antonioni film Zabriskie Point. The movie tripped me out when I was a kid, and not just the sexy anti-glamor of Daria Halprin.
 

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Listen:
The Bamboos - The Bamboos Theme mp3 at Ultimate WOW Guide (?)
The Bamboos with Alice Russell - Step It Up mp3 at The Frump
TM Juke and the Jack Baker Trio featuring Alice Russell - Spread It On mp3 at Blah Blah Blah Science This one smokes. Shit, they all do.
Video:
Alice Russell - I'm the Man That Will Find You at YouTube Footage from Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point - Trailer at YouTube
Zabriskie Point - The film at YouTube

FROM RUSSIA WITH FUZZ

Man, the Thunderbeats. Have you heard these guys? I don't even remember where I got the bookmark from, and there's nothing but a Bandcamp page, so I'll tell you what I do know. They recorded in Moscow, so my assumption is that they are Russian. One of the labels that worked with was from Portugal. They're relatively current, and their music a study in global snottiness, the garage variety, and pretty dead on. Imagine the Seeds, sans electric piano, because the singer sounds an awful lot like Sky Saxon. If any of you have a clue to their story, pony up. I've been getting a lot of page views from Russia lately. One of you have gotta know. Tell me you aren't all link farms. Tell me that at least one of you has pointy boots, a bowl cut, and a clue.

Really, worth the visit. Dust off that thing you call a wallet.

The Thunderbeats at Bandcamp It's cheap and you get a lot.

PORTER IN DUB

There's a nice post about Porter Wagoner and his Bottom of the Bottle LP over at No Such Thing As Was. I wasn't even thinking about country and western, but after listening to the three tunes streaming over there, I buckled. No reason to fight it. Polished forlorn country it is.

About that image: Dave Alvin comes home from drinking one night, and passes out. When he wakes up, he opens his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a Porter Wagoner LP cover, at an angle, and says "There's my look. I'm gonna look like that." It happened. I'm sure of it. That's what I thought when I saw that portion of a Porter Wagoner LP at an angle. Spittin' image.

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Listen:
Porter Wagoner - Rubber Room mp3 at April Winchell
Porter Wagoner - Satisfied Mind mp3 at John Rook (?)
Visit:
Disrespectfully Yours: Porter At the Bottom at No Such Thing As Was

PROTO YOUR MAMA

Ooh wee baby. Going through some old bookmarks, I wound up on a back page at Mustard Relics, on a page aptly titled Epic Tunes. What have we here? The first MC5 single, a cover of "I Can Only Give You Everything", from 1967, and Death's "Politicians In My Eye" from 1974, on the same page? I am down with that.

All of you should be familiar with the MC5. This first 45, released on the small regional label AMG, is a fairly straight forward cover, albeit with early Detroit gusto. Oh, but that thing by Death is a mighty blast, particularly when you consider it was recorded in 1974. It's like Pink Flag-era Wire meets metal.

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Listen:
MC5 - I Can Only Give You Everything mp3 at Mustard Relics 1966 Go there to get it, about halfway down the page.
Death - Politicians In My Eyes mp3 at Chunklet 1974
If the links go haywire, try them over there.

GIMME A BUD TALL AND SOME ZIG ZAGS

Today I learned that Africa's western black rhino has been officially declared extinct. That most certainly sucks. Really. In this day and age, there are still poachers that will hunt an endangered animal into extinction? For trophies? Class A dickweeds.

Hearing that disturbing news reminded me that I've never posted anything by Captain Beyond. (Huh?) They were a hard rock band in the seventies that included a former singer for Deep Purple and a former drummer for Johnny Winter. That's how they gained entrance to the boy's room, my brother's record collection to be more exact. My brother was a guitarist and anything even remotely connected to Johnny Winter was looked into. He ate up the guitar on that LP. Everything was fodder; the licks, the tone, and the distortion. Alas, a look at the liner notes though revealed next to nothing about the guitarist. There wasn't even a photo of the band. The lead guitar was credited to someone named "Rhino". (There's your tie-in.) Unfortunately, it was the seventies, so with a one word name, a nickname at that, it was frustrating for him. There was no internet to look to, and all of his guitarist buddies were similarly mystified. If you're a liner note level fiend, you know how maddening that would be.

Rhino was Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, who had been in several bands prior to Captain Beyond, notably a later version of Iron Butterfly. I now know that thanks to a web search that took all of seconds. I also know that many of you will not see anything remotely interesting about this brand of seventies rock. That's okay, I know how you feel. I never listen to this type of stuff anymore. But I'll be damned if "Dancing Madly Backwards" doesn't take me right back to the bedroom I shared with my brothers and all of those dead end hunts. Any of you that know Captain Beyond's recorded output may not have seen the live clip of them, twenty minutes, live and good quality. Marshall stacks and long hair. Yeah baby. Turn it up and pass the doobie.

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Listen:
Captain Beyond - Dancing Madly Backwards mp3 at Synthesis Radio
Captain Beyond - Raging River of Fear (streaming) at YouTube
Captain Beyond - Armworth (streaming) at YouTube
Video:
Captain Beyond - Live in Montreux 1971 at YouTube 20 minutes
Visit:
Captain Beyond at Wikipedia

PUT SOME BREAD ON YOUR HEAD, MAN

When we are young, we experience all sorts of things for the first time. We learn to walk, talk, poop solo, and so on. That's why we pick up so much, there's a higher percentage of stimulating experiences versus commonplace. I've learned the secret. Doing anything for the first time is a stimulating experience. Think I'm joking? Go to the kitchen right now, and put a slice of bread on your head. Do it. It will likely be the first time in your life that you've experienced a piece of bread on your head. It is heavy man. Do something like that for the first time everyday and you will find the child again.

Today was the first time I bothered to learn anything about the clavinet. I knew that it was a keyboard, and that it was electric. I knew what it sounded like, and that Stevie Wonder used it to great effect on "Superstition". That's about it. I never even bothered to look it up. But earlier today I was wondering why the clavinet was all over the place in the seventies, and then pretty much petered out after that. So I took five minutes out of my very busy schedule to read the Wikipedia entry. The clavinet was only made from 1964 until the early eighties. And done.

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Listen:
Steve Wonder - Superstition mp3 at Ace Terrier (?)
Billy Preston - Outa Space mp3 at ATumblr 
Bill Withers - Us Me Up mp3 at Sacred Fire (?)
Rolling Stones - Heartbreaker (streaming) at YouTube Billy Preston on clavinet

JAZZ SUCKS

It doesn't seem that long ago that I dismissed jazz out of hand. I didn't want any part of it. Rock 'n' roll and all it's off shoots was enough. Hell, I wasn't going to a fancy dinner party on Saturday night, so why start in with all of the sophistifuck stuff? That's what I classified jazz as. Dinner party stuff. That's how little I knew. I was no better than those "punk sucks" folks, or the "disco sucks" punks, or the "I hate rap" crowd. One glance around these parts tells you how that's changed, and it wasn't overnight.  While my rock 'n' roll playlist is still expanding, as I got older I started listening to all sorts of stuff, and the one common denominator is authenticity. It can't be bandwagon hopping, kowtowing, or this weeks flavor, there has to be some sort of challenge in the act of listening. Just like anything, there's good stuff and bad stuff. Just don't play me for a fool. Musically speaking, there's nothing as enticing as throwing open the doors to a new genre that you previously considered off limits, and digging the shit out of a massive pool of stuff you've never bothered to listen to.

That's a long winded way of saying that you may not like jazz, but if you really truly love music, you will. Hell, I know most of you don't want to hear it. You're probably still dressing like your favorite band. Here's the Cannonball Adderly song that got me thinking. Eleven minutes of Adderly and Miles Davis getting slobber all over their mouthpieces. The other one is a live cut, Adderly covering a song that was in Black Orpheus. (Don't get me started on that movie. I still have to make dinner. If you haven't seen it, add it to your list.)

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Listen:
Cannonball Adderly - Autumn Leaves mp3 at DK Presents With Miles Davis and Art Blakey
Cannonball Adderly - Manha de Carnaval (live) mp3 at Clayton Counts

OOH BIP BIP, OOH BIP BIP, WHAT?

When you see a photo like the one above of the Stained Glass, you'd probably expect something kind of tame, maybe a little jingle jangly at best. Guess again. Even the unlikely tie-wearers in the restaurant waiting area have a little dirt under their nails. But sounding something akin to Love's "7 and 7 Is" is about the the last thing you'd expect. Marbles in mouth, they do a decent job of fooling picture sleeveless record buyers. Dig the feedback buried in the mix at about 2:02.

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Listen:
The Stained Glass - My Flash On You mp3 at The Rising Storm
The Stained Glass - Two more songs and profile at The Rising Storm The other two being the less surprising jingle jangly variant.

DON GARLITS? NEVER HEARD OF HIM.

I couldn't pass up a photo of the Orb on a go kart. No way. Not to mention the happening terry cloth shirt. He must be on his way to a pool party. What a rock star. Here's a soundtrack to his stealth coolness, a couple early Sun era cuts and a Coke commercial that sounds like the Yardbirds are backing him.

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Listen:
Roy Orbison - Go, Go, Go mp3 at Rocky 52
Roy Orbison - Domino mp3 at Retrolicious
Roy Orbison - Coke commercial mp3 at The Podcast Place

THE ONE RECORD BAND

I don't want to spoil it for you. If you are unfamiliar with Iron Knowledge, you should know as little as possible before hearing these. First, take in "Show-Stopper". You may think, as I did, what the fuck do we have here? It merits multiple listens, like eighty. It enhances the effect. I'm already saying too much. About the second song, "My Love", I'll just say this: it's very different from the A side. It doesn't even sound like the same band. But it is excellent for what it is. That's enough. After you listen to them, you can read an interview with the bass player to find out more about this one 45 band.

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Listen:
Iron Knowledge - Show-Stopper mp3 at Club Cortez 1972
Iron Knowledge - My Love mp3 at Club Cortez 1972
Visit:
Interview with Iron Knowledge bassist Gary Blalock at Soul Strut

HOW DO YOU SIT IN THIS THING?

Here's a few things to ponder. Was Frankie Ford a opportunist prick? Was the prick really Ace Records big cheese Johnny Vincent? Are both complicit? Did the Clowns sell out? All burning questions I cannot answer.  

Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns were hot on the heels of "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu", when they went to Jackson, Mississippi to record for Vincent. They recorded "Sea Cruise" and "Loberta". Vincent liked the songs, but wasn't nuts about Clowns singer Bobby Marcham's vocals. So, he removed them and added Frankie Ford's, hoping to get a piece of the teen market. This was without telling Smith or Marcham. Wouldn't you know it? Motherfucking "Sea Cruise" made it up to #14. You'd be pissed. Adding insult to injury, the Clowns would back Ford on live dates. Of all the rotten things. As I've now tainted the song for you, try to find the silver lining. At least you now know why the backing on that record is so baddass.

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

Listen:
Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise mp3 at Rocky 52
Frankie Ford - Roberta mp3 at Rocky 52 ("Loberta")
Frankie Ford - Four more at Rocky 52

NO, NOT HENRY ROLLINS

What sort of thought was running through the head of Arthur Lee leading up to the shoot for the promo photo above? I stopped thinking about it after a few theories started spinning around, each was getting more absurd then the previous. So, go ahead. You lovers of half naked men can get your kicks. I'll be listening the boss songs below. The first one is in mono. Yeah baby.

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

Listen:
Love - Can't Explain (mono mix) mp3 at Art Decade

Love - My Little Red Book mp3 at DK Presents

WELL, THEY DO HAVE BOOTS

I really wanted to dislike Persephone's Bees. They were just too smartly dressed, a little smooth around the edges. Well thought out, their music too, they just seemed kind of calculated. I gave up on that shit, because when all is said and done, some of their stuff is catchy. "Nice Day" is the one that caught me. I may be partial to it because the pace of it hits me the same way seventies reggae does, and it's not at all reggae. It's poppy, breezy vocals and all of that. But there's do denying it sucked me in.

Persephone's Bees were still on one song probation when I bought the LP. It ended up being another song altogether that really gave them the pass, a cover of Status Quo's "Paper Plane". Think of the Sweet's Desolation Blvd, with a with a woman singer, a singer with a Russian accent. It's good, real good if you like basic inoffensive rockers. But part of it is the source material, Status Quo's original. It was on their Piledriver LP, one that I haven't heard in years. I know I've heard it, many times. My younger brother had it, and it was the only Status Quo album in the house, so it had to have been played a decent amount. Regardless, add another to the revisit list.

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

Listen:
Persephone's Bees - Nice Day mp3 at Faux (?)
Video:
Persephone's Bees - Paper Plane at YouTube
Status Quo - Paper Plane at YouTube
Persephone's Bees - City of Love at YouTube

YOUR COMPUTER CAN'T DO THIS

Let me ask you something. If you saw that LP cover above, would you give it a test run? Of course you would. Even if it meant an extra click? Yeah, that's a whole lotta effort you're going to have to put forth. Aquarium Drunkard posted it, and seeing as how they disable direct links, you will have to muster that clicking wherewithal. De Frank was, or maybe still is, a percussionist from Ghana, and the LP is from 1976. I happen to dig it, in a weird vibe way. My Ghanaian music appetite whetted, I took a look at Radio Diffusion International, and they had a handful from Ghana, my favorite of the bunch was "Hammatan" by Tall Emma and His Skippers.

Further searching turned up a sixteen song mix over at Voodoo Funk, of records acquired in Ghana by host Frank Gossner. If you're unfamiliar with Voodoo Funk, just go over there and dig around. Gossner was/is so passionate about African music that he actually moved there for a while to hunt for records and still goes back annually. He reissues some of the records periodically, when he can actually find ex-band members to license them from. Read some of his older posts. It's a hoot to live vicariously through his past record hunting sojourns, especially since some of the stuff he uncovers may not ever be reissued.   

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

Listen:
De Frank and His Professionals - Waiting For My Baby mp3 at Aquarium Drunkard
Tall Emma and His Skippers - Hammatan mp3 at Radio Diffusion Intl
The mix:
Big Beats, Sweet Talks and Psychedelic Aliens at Voodoo Funk 16 song mix
Visit:
More Ghanaian stuff at Radio Diffusion Intl

WE'LL DO THE GRUNT WORK

Hey, I know some of you are still thawing out. I'm not going to piss you off with how the winter went in Southern California. In short, it was nicer than most of yours. We never really had a winter. That said, summer is just around the corner for this whole damn hemisphere, so it's as good a time as any to dig into some guitar instrumentals, non-surf as some may be.

The Ventures weren't a surf band, and surf music would have happened with or without them. But was there really a more complete template for a guitar instrumental band? It does take some effort to arrange movie themes, vocal hits and other non-guitar songs for a guitar based band. You could just let the Ventures do the dirty work, copy their repertoire and arrangements, throw in reverb and some staccato picking, and be on your way. 

Here's a few single songs. If you're unfamiliar with the Ventures deeper cuts, check the mix, thirty five songs from 1960 through '67. There are a few hits in there, but quite a few lesser known oddballs. This shit won't astound anybody, but as a soundtrack to a weekend barbeque, it works.

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

Listen:
The Ventures - Out of Limits mp3 at JBHS1967 (?)
The Ventures - Apache mp3 at Mark.D.Hall (?)
The Ventures - Hawaii Five O mp3 at LZ Center
The Ventures - Endless Summer Theme mp3 at Us Hawaiians
The mix:
Long Summer Venture - 35 song Ventures mix at The Basement Rug Go there for the song list.

TURN ME ON DEAD MAN

Asked today if I had ever heard anything about a theory that Paul McCartney was dead, I had to ask why I was being asked. The person asking me was in his early twenties, so I was kind of amused that the theory, or word of it, no matter how vague, had survived nearly fifty years. He said that his wife had mentioned it. This started a conversation and, you know how it is. When that old fart starts in, there's no stopping him. I tried to cram as much in, in the few minutes that I could. It wasn't a fraction of what that whole hysteria was about. So this is for him, the inquisitive Compact 33, a EDM DJ. He gets a pass because his name was adopted from a type of hinge.

Beware of the Blog has an old radio show from the time, roughly late 1969. It's twenty five minutes of concentrated catch up, perfect if you're totally clueless about the hoax, or if you just need to brush up.

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

Listen:
Christopher Glenn - Paul McCartney Rumors mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Visit:
Paul is dead at Wikipedia
If you still aren't satiated, just do a web search of "Paul is dead" and kiss your weekend goodbye.