ORBISON HAS A POSSE

Yesterday I was down at the beach catching up with fellow locals, many of which I've never run into anywhere else. Some surf, some never get in the water at all. Some live out of their car, some bus in from somewhere and then head out on that last bus run out of town, and some own their own home somewhere in the neighborhood. You know, all walks of life, and all that jazz. I don't know where they go when they leave, or where they live. It doesn't matter.

Roy Orbison on a go kart. That's right. King of the party.

One guy who is down there nearly every time I'm down there is Larry, known to many around here as "the guitar guy". Larry has been sitting on the same rock, or the bench directly across from it, for years. Decades. Playing fragments of his own songs, interspersed with breaks, sometimes listening to whatever game is on, with his transistor radio held up to his ear. When he is playing, I rarely interrupt him to exchange greetings, because Larry is a Christian, and his self penned songs are his missionary work, unintelligible as they often are. Hey, if that's his thing, who am I to interrupt? But yesterday, he stopped as I was walking by, After I apologized and said he didn't need to stop, he told me that it was okay, he was just playing "Ooby Dooby". Well, shit, I've known Larry for years and never heard him mention someone else's song. So I asked him who's version, expecting him to say Creedence's. He said "Roy Orbison's", and his tone said "of course". Oh yeah. Now I'm dumbfounded. Larry doesn't follow popular culture, or current events. What was he like when he first heard it? Was he around when it was released? He could be that old. All I know is that from here on, every time I hear the song, I'll think of Larry. And that's how that happens.

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Listen:
Roy Orbison - Ooby Dooby mp3 at Ace Terrier (?)
Roy Orbison - Go, Go, Go mp3 at Rocky 52
Roy Orbison - Domino mp3 at Retrolicious
Roy Orbison - Coke commercial mp3 at The Podcast Place
Bonus:
Janis Martin - Ooby Dooby mp3 at Mp3 Rockabilly

AND WHAT'S UP WITH THE LYRICS?

I seriously don't know what to make of Medicine Head. The first look at the sleeve told me old school hard rock, maybe prog, but that ain't it. Not by a long shot. It's like hippie stoner power pop without the power. But it is kind of catchy. John Peel was a fan, and I think he was a hippie back in the day. I'm sure there are people who think this stuff is brilliant. I'm not one of them. Proceed with caution.

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Listen:
Medicine Head - Rising Sun mp3 at Art Decade 1973
Video:
Medicine Head - Rising Sun at YouTube What the fuck is that dude on the left playing?
Medicine Head - Pictures in the Sky at YouTube 1971

THE O.G. RASCAL HATER

I should have never gone down this road. I heard Hanni El Khatib's version of "You Rascal You" tonight and it reminded me that I'd never heard it back to back with John Fogerty's version, the only one I knew, from 1975. The juxtaposition made Fogerty's version sound kind of like New Orleans R & B. So, I figured I'd look for the original. Holy shit, I've never been so sick of rascals in all my life. The song has a history, and there are forty billion versions. Fuggit, I'm stopping here.

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Listen:
Sam Theard - You Rascal You (streaming) at YouTube The original 1929
Milton Brown - You Rascal You mp3 at Rocky 52 1935
Louis Armstrong and Louie Jordan - You Rascal You mp3 at Heineken 1950
John Fogerty - You Rascal You mp3 at Rock Town Hall 1975
Dr. John - You Rascal You (streaming) at YouTube 1992
Hanni El Khatib - You Rascal You mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Geoffrey - You Rascal You (video) at YouTube A student jazz combo, extremely tight. 2013

LET'S TWITCH AGAIN

I don't know why I like this guy so much. Maybe it's because I don't take it for granted, the ease in which you can find shit, or rather come across shit, online. Stuff that you would never ever run across in a record store, that also happens to be really good. Stuff like Benny Joy. I've posted him before, and I'll post him again, because I don't want to forget about him, and I don't want you to forget about him. I know nothing about him, but I do know that he represents one of the reasons to stay on the lookout. Thanks to the internet, he has a second chance. We can make him a star. Dig it, dude's already got the promo photo pose down.

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Listen:
Benny Joy - Little Red Book mp3 at Rocky 52 Dig the one word chorus.
Benny Joy - Money Money mp3 at Rocky 52 Dig the one word song.
Benny Joy - Crash the Party mp3 at Rocky 52
Benny Joy - Button Nose mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Visit:
Benny Joy bio at Black Cat Rockabilly
Benny Joy records available at Norton Records

VIVA LA DIFFÉRENCE

I don't listen to James Chance that often, despite having a chunk of his Contortions stuff and the stuff he did with James White and the Blacks. But I dig his music, his perseverance, his whole thing. You just have to pay attention when you listen to his stuff; it's hard to let it roll without notice, and I rarely have time for that. You can't bop or groove, or put the headphones on and trip out to spacey sounds or a badass production. It's hard to go about your business and imagine it as some sort of soundtrack to what you're doing, unless what you're doing happens to be smashing shit up. Some of you know that about him, and that he was a big part of the whole No Wave thing. Let me set the scene for the uninitiated. It's 1978, you're totally sucked in by punk rock and other adventurous music, basically anyone screwing with things. You think that you're relatively immune to abrasive type stuff. Then you hear about some compilation that Brian Eno's putting together with some fringe NYC bands. Okay, you say, I'll bite. The first band on the album is the Contortions. A few seconds into it, you wonder just what it is you're listening to. You are challenged. Just what the hell is this? It's not punk rock, it's not funk, it's not jazz. It's, it's...just what the fuck is going on here?

I just ran into an fairly recent interview with Chance. If you're into his stuff, you'll dig it. If he's new to you, check the link to the No New York compilation below, listen to the Contortion cuts. Go hit Wiki or something. Catch up for crying out loud.

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Listen: 

The Contortions - Designed to Kill mp3 at Nonalignment Pact
The Contortions - Contort Yourself mp3 at Why Prime (?)
The Contortions - I Can't Stand Myself (streaming) at YouTube
The compilation:
No New York - Compilation (steaming) at YouTube The Contortions, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, DNA, Mars

Video:

The Contortions - Contort Yourself (Live, 1979) at YouTube
Visit:
Too Weird for Punk: New York No Wave Legend James Chance Keeps On Contorting Himself at Flavorwire Great recent interview
James Chance at Wikipedia
No New York at Wikipedia
No Wave at Wikipedia

BONUS POINTS FOR FUCKING WITH THINGS

If you've never heard of John Zorn, his is a name that you should know. If you're of age, and listened to anything that more challenging than rock 'n' roll in the eighties (you know, when your punk rock hangover was beginning to subside), chances are you've heard something by him, quite possibly without knowing his name. He is a one serious musician, a guy who really does defy classification. He's done hardcore, avant-garde, ambient, film scores, jazz, and about eighty other types of music, but what he's really known for is mixing everything together. His arrangements of familiar soundtrack themes are what brought him attention, The Big Gundown, a collection of music by Ennio Morricone, in particular. But these aren't your garden variety cover versions. Most of his re-recordings of film scores are so radically different from the originals that the songs are barely recognizable.

Here's a couple by him. "James Bond Theme" and "Exodus", along with more familiar versions of the same songs so you can hear how far he strays from the source material. That straying is what makes him so interesting, a stealth baddass.

You gotta check "Speedfreak" by his 1988 band Naked City, introduced as "33 styles of music in 45 seconds", Performed live, and tight as hell, it's just all over the place. A real gas.

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Listen:
John Zorn - James Bond Theme mp3 at Pat's Lies
John Barry - James Bond Theme mp3 at ATumblr (?)
John Zorn - Exodus mp3 at Whiskey Fun
Henry Mancini - Exodus mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The Lively Ones - Exodus (streaming) at YouTube
John Zorn - The Big Gundown (streaming) at YouTube
Telling:
Naked City -  Speedfreak mp3 at FFDM (?)
Visit:
John Zorn at Wikipedia
John Zorn discography at Wikipedia

THE SUPER SMOOTH

Man, in his prime, was Al Green ever smooth. I'm sure he probably still is, I don't know. I haven't kept up. I ran into an early cut of his over at Groove Addict, from his first LP, pre-Hi Records, on a record label started by high school friends of his. It's early, and considering copies sell for about sixty bucks, I bet it's out of print. Groove Addict has the whole LP too, but a word of warning. It's hosted at Zippyshare and the path there is littered with pop-ups. I would only go for it with good virus protection and your pop-up blocker on stun. There's a couple others down there if you don't feel like hassling with it. "Love and Happiness" has one of my favorite intros of all time. The way everything comes in. I've heard it a thousand times and it's still goosebump good. Even if you're familiar with it, take a few minutes and remind yourself, dig on a perfect song.

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Listen:
Al Greene - Hot Wire mp3 at Groove Addict
Al Green - Love and Happiness mp3 at Wandervogel Diary
Al Green - Let's Stay Together mp3 at Michaelaxx (?)
Video:
Al Green - Love and Happiness (Soul Train) at YouTube

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL GERSHWIN

You've heard it a thousand times, but when was the last time you really listened to Billy Stewart's cover of "Summertime"? Shit, the horns, the guitar, the drums, his smooth delivery, it's hard to find anything that doesn't stand out. Occam says: just a fucking excellent song. That pretty much sums it up.

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Listen:
Billy Stewart - Summertime mp3 at Cover Me

A VERY COOL ROOM

Dig on this palate cleanser. Late eighties, from Mali, the Super Djata Band. That's all I know. That and that it jams. It's only two minutes, but there's a thousand cool things packed into it. If you don't like African music, it's pretty much your loss.

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Video:
Super Djata Band - Fadingna Kouma at YouTube

GO OVER THERE.

This is a good read, particularly if you were around Southern California in the eighties.This is the other side, the anything goes guerrilla style DIY dodge the man side. Worth your time.

Visit:
How a 20-Year-Old Punk Kid and the Minutemen Pioneered Mainstream Music Festival Culture at Vice
If you must have music:
Older Minuteman posts
Older Sonic Youth posts

IT'S THE BARE BONES BEAT

These two back to back do it for me. I listened to the Roy Ward cut about five times, until it started sounding like Velvet Underground doing James Brown, then went right to ESG. It felt good. Both feature minimal backing, repetitive rhythms, and just enough funk. Dig 'em.

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Listen:
Roy Ward - Horse With a Freeze mp3 at Soul Garage
ESG - Erase You mp3 at ATumblr (?)

THE POST PUNK HONEY BADGER

It's not everyday that cranky ol' Mark E. Smith grants an interview and when he does, it's a crap shoot whether or not he offers any useful information. But I'm sure I'm not alone when I find myself watching them nonetheless.  It might be just to see a guy who never really sucks up to anyone. He doesn't give a shit. He's Mark E. Smith.

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Listen:
The Fall - Mr. Pharmacist mp3 at Plain or Pan
The Fall - A Day in the Life mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Fall - Fifteen Ways mp3 at New Dust
The Fall - Funnel of Love mp3 at Randomville
Video:
Mark E. Smith - Interview at YouTube February 15, 2016
The Fall live at Glastonbury 2015 - Full Set at YouTube
It's Not Repetition, Its Discipline - Documentary trailer at YouTube 

CHILLIN'

I'd been meaning to do a full on Ray Charles post, because he really hasn't been adequately presented here. I still may very well do that at some point, but in the meantime head over to Time Goes By. Tibbles has my back once again. He posted a couple of Charles's hits and a whole lot of oddballs, deep enough that you probably haven't heard them all. Thanks to him, I'll be doing just what brother Ray is doing above.

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Listen:
Ray Charles - Greenbacks mp3 at Rubber City Review A Teaser.
Ray Charles - Ten cuts at Time Goes By Excellent post.
Video:
Ray Charles - Hit the Road Jack at YouTube 

DUDE'S STILL ALIVE. HOW LUCKY ARE WE?

Quote Brian Wilson, today on Facebook: "Fifty years ago yesterday: on February 15, 1966, the Beach Boys traveled to the San Diego Zoo to shoot photographs for the cover of "Pet Sounds," which had already received its title. George Jerman was credited with taking the cover photo."

If you need tunes, scroll down this page.

OLD FART REPELLANT

Well here you go. Seventy seven records I'll probably never buy, let alone upload. A worthy endeavor nonetheless. And there are some gems in there, make no mistake. It's Still In Rock's Top 77 Tracks of 2015. Roll your eyes! Slap your forehead! Cower in dismay! Alternately: Shake off the webs! Open your skull! Rock out!

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Listen:
Still In Rock's Top 77 Tracks of 2015

THIS WOMAN SCARED THE KLAN

You know the song. You've probably heard it a thousand times. Even if you haven't heard the original of "What A Man" by Linda Lyndell, you've probably heard the samples in Salt-n-Pepa's "Whatta Man", or at least snippets of it in a commercial (it's been used in several). It was Lyndell's second 45 on Stax, and it was her last. Why? Because, when it became a hit on the R&B charts, she became a target, receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. That's right. Because she's white, and had the audacity to record for Stax, the rough tough white supremacists felt threatened. Welcome to Memphis, 1968.

After the threats, Lyndell retired from music. She became a landscaper and didn't return to music until Salt-n-Pepa's 1993 hit brought renewed attention. She would sing the song live for the first time in 2003, thirty five years after the record was released.

Here's everything she recorded. Two 45s. That's it. Imagine what could have been, had it not been for pathetic racist chickenshits.

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Listen:

Linda Lyndell - What A Man mp3 at Soul Garage
Linda Lyndell - I Don't Know mp3 at Soul Garage
Linda Lyndell - Bring Back Your Love to Me (streaming) at YouTube
Linda Lyndell - Here Am I (streaming) at YouTube

Salt-n-Pepa w/En Vogue - Whatta Man at YouTube

THE FUTURE QUEEN

Aretha Franklin, 1962, still on Columbia. After her two year contract was completed, she went to Atlantic, was recording at Muscle Shoals within a month, and knocked soul music on it's ass.

Listen to her with a somewhat glossier band behind her. Jeez, that voice still cuts through everything.

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Listen:
Aretha Franklin - Rough Lover mp3 at Groove Addict
The whole LP:
The Electrifying Aretha Franklin at Groove Addict
 

DIGITAL ARCHEOLOGY 101

Just a quick one to remind you of a work-around. This one comes courtesy of the Invaders. I ran into the image of record sleeve at Garage Hangover. Sadly, there were no links to their music. So, I headed to YouTube which has become one of the best sources of oddball music online. It must be a pride of ownership thing that inspires people to upload music there, but whatever the reason, if I'm looking for something I can't find anywhere else, chances are that there will be something over there.

Case in point, the Invaders 45 above. You wouldn't know it by looking at them, but they pack some mean fuzz into the A-side, "(You Really) Tear Me Up)". I had to have it. That's when I remembered about a site that has some sort of hocus pocus do-hickey that converts YouTube videos to download ready mp3s. You just copy and paste the url of the video into the thing, click the button and a few seconds later, a download link appears. So here's a link to both the song and the converter.

Listen:
The Invaders - (You Really) Tear Me Up (streaming) at YouTube
Convert:
ToMp3YouTube - YouTube video to mp3 converter

HEAR THIS PHOTO

Didn't know I'd be heading down this path tonight, but I was searching for something entirely different when I ran into the photo of Memphis Minnie above. What would you do? I knew just where to go. Honey Where You Been So Long? It's so rad. If you like pre-war blues, say goodbye to the next few hours.

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Listen:
Memphis Minnie - Lean Meat Don't Fry mp3 at Honey Where You Been So Long Go there to get them Two versions, plus and another song.
Memphis Minnie - Two more mp3s at Honey Where You Been So Long
Visit:
Honey Where You Been So Long Turn everything else off.

BASIC GREATNESS

I just ran into the clip below of Creedence playing "Born on the Bayou" at Woodstock, in 1969. It caught me off guard. Having followed John Fogerty throughout most of his career, my impression includes many post-Creedence moments that taint my opinion. I can be overly harsh. Tonight I must have left my cynicism in the can because I thoroughly enjoyed the clip. This I know, Creedence was a great band, particularly their first five albums. It's not that big of a stretch to consider them in the running for the American version of the Stones. That is, of course, without the flash, hot chicks or drugs.

"Penthouse Pauper" is one of the shorter songs on Bayou Country (which also contained "Born on the Bayou"). That one manages to feel like an extended jam in just three and a half minutes. "Ramble Tamble" was the first song on the first LP I ever bought, Cosmo's Factory. Fuck me, my twelve year old mind is still trying to wrap itself around that one. Try going from top 40 to that. One of my most memorable leaps. An all-time segue. "My Baby Left Me" is one of several covers from the same LP. That's another thing, they always chose good covers and always managed to make them sound like Creedence songs.

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Listen
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Penthouse Pauper mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Ramble Tamble mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Creedence Clearwater Revival - My Baby Left Me mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Visit:
The Great(est) American Rock 'n'Roll Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at The Adios Lounge More deepish cuts and an excellent profile.

IT'S STILL FAT TUESDAY SOMEWHERE

Because  I just can't leave well enough alone, here's a bunch more stuff from New Orleans, all all salvaged from old posts. There's a good chance if you're into the whole Fat Tuesday thing, wherein an abundance of alcohol is all but required, then you'll be listening to these tomorrow nursing a hangover. Not my problem hot rod. Remember all you excessive drinkers, you have a finite amount of drink tickets in your life. Don't use them all up at once.

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Listen:
Professor Longhair - In the Night mp3 at DJ Perro
Smiley Lewis - I Hear You Knockin' mp3 at DJ Perro
The Meters - Funky Miracle mp3 at Drummer World
Roger and the Gypsies - Pass the Hatchet (Pts 1 and 2) mp3 at A Terrible Blogger Is Born
Earl King - Trick Bag mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Champion Jack Dupree - Drunk Again mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Huey "Piano" Smith - Popeye mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Jessie Hill - Whip It On Me mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Al Tousan (Allen Toussaint) - Pelican Parade mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Benny Spellman - Fortune Teller mp3 at Northern Soul Music
Raymond Lewis - Miss Sticks mp3 at Juke Box Mafia
Prime Mates - Hot Tamales (Pt 1) mp3 at Super Sonido
Frankie Ford - Roberta mp3 at Rocky 52
Eddie Lang - Something Within Me mp3 at Soul Garage
Wax Wonders: The Soul Of NOLA at Aquarium Drunkard Five New Orleans sides, Irma Thomas, Bobby Parker, Little Bob and two by Willie Tee. Worth the click.

CRUNCH TIME

Tomorrow's Fat Tuesday, so here's some last minute stuff of all sorts, all from New Orleans, It's an all schools jam, from very early jazz to semi-current. These were posted by Peter Tibbles at Time Goes By, a blog for old farts [used with endearment]. Peter has great taste and knows about music you don't. Coco Robicheaux, for instance.

Coco Robicheaux

I'd never heard of the guy, Robicheaux, but what the hell, let's see how good this Tibbles is. Oh holy shit. "St. John's Eve". This is an amazing song. All dripping in swampy voodoo shit. Not at all a party song. Dig the mix of instruments. Guitar, sax, steel drums, shakers of some sort (sounding like a rattlesnake), just this odd assortment that really, really works. When you realize it's all acoustic instruments it becomes even more mind-blowing. And Robicheaux's voice is like some weird mix of Tom Waits, Dr. John and Willy DeVille. The song itself is great too, the arrangement, everything, even the fade out. It's a work of art, Pet Sounds stuck in swamp muck. Listen, Tell me I'm lying.

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Listen:
Coco Robicheaux - St. John's Eve mp3 at Time Goes By
The Posts:
New Orleans Music at Time Goes By
Part 1:
King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, Roy Brown, Lee Dorsey, Joe Jones, Bobby Charles, Dave Bartholomew, Jessie Hill, Coco Bobicheaux
Part 2:
Louis Armstrong, Professor Longhair, Lloyd Price, Eddie Bo, the Neville Brothers, Benny Spellman, the Dixie Cups, Smiley Lewis
Part 3:
Kid Ory, Johnny Dodds, Alvin Robinson, Fats Domino, Johnny Adams, Ernie K-Doe, Lonnie Johnson, Chris Kenner, The Meters, Dr, John
Part 4:
Jelly Roll Morton, Champion Jack Dupree, James Booker, Aaron Neville, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Larry Williams, Shirley and Lee. Wynton Marsalis

THE NATIVE

Ernie K-Doe didn't have a lot of hits. He had one. That doesn't make a bit of difference. He is as New Orleans as any of the more successful musicians, producers, and songwriters associated with the city, maybe even more so. Because he had that certain thing, the secret ingredient of any music scene with a soul, he was a funky eccentric. After his first go-around lost steam, he went on the radio, as a DJ on WWOZ, ranting and raving like a nut, and occasionally getting around to playing records. He started calling himself "Mister Naugahyde", a suitably WTF moniker, but then he settled on "The Emperor of the Universe", which was brilliant. When you're going to give yourself a title, go big, right? He enjoyed something of a comeback in the nineties, after his wife Antoinette encouraged him to really let his flag fly. (That's her with K-Doe above. The excellent photo is by Jeff Riedel). Capes, crowns, flowing tresses, feathers, the whole shooting match.

Here's a handful by K-Doe, and a radio show from his days on WWOZ. Dig it, It's seventy minutes of K-Doe, going off and spinning the wax.

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Listen:
Ernie K-Doe - A Certain Girl mp3 at Hearsay
Ernie K-Doe - Wanted, $10.000 Reward mp3 at J Yuenger
Ernie K-Doe - Mother In Law mp3 at Net Animations (?)
Ernie K-Doe - Popeye Joe mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Ernie K-Doe - Here Come the Girls mp3 at Brendan McGetrick (?)
Radio show:
Ernie K-Doe on WWOZ at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Visit:
Ernie K-Doe at Wikipedia

FAT TUESDAY IS NIGH

Yeah, baby. Fat Tuesday is early this year. You do know what that means, right? A New Orleans music binge. Man, if there was ever a city that revolves around it's own sound, it's New Orleans. I've never been to a city so proud of their own musical heritage. And they have every right to be. They got it all; rhythm and blues, zydeco, cajun, blues, jazz, dixieland, funk, brass bands. I don't know if it's still the same, but when I was there years ago you could walk around a neighborhood and hear all sorts of regional music coming out of living rooms and kitchen windows, not to mention bars and record stores. It was bitchen. It wouldn't make a bit of difference it the music wasn't good. But it is. New Orleans practically invented most of the genres they're known for.

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Listen:
Al Tousan (Allen Toussaint) - Cow Cow Blues mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Eddie Bo - Check Mr. Popeye mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Bobby Marchan - Get Down With It mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Lee Dorsey - Yes We Can, Pt 2 mp3 at Videogotz
Clifton Chenier - Zydeco Sont Pas Sale mp3 at Let's Polka
Huey "Piano" Smith - Would You Believe It mp3 at Modern Kicks
Jessie Hill - Oogsey Moo mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
A mix:
Funky 16 Corners presents Mardi Gras Boogaloo 22 song mix at Funky 16 Corners. Go there to get it, download link is posted after the song listing.

IF IT'S A ROCKER, I'LL ADMIT IT

A few days ago I picked up a Bob Marley CD, which is unusual for me. I love reggae, and I do recognize the quality of Bob Marley's work. He deserves the recognition, but the amount of praise his body of work receives is so out of whack compared to other reggae artists that are every bit as deserving, that it's always bugged me, to the point that I tend to hold it against him. That's a bit unfair, I know that. But knowing that his music will always be the go-to reggae for people with just a cursory interest in the music bugs nonetheless.

So why did I buy a Marley CD? It was in a record store bargain bin, marked down to a four bucks because it was without the cover and that's what got my interest. The artwork on the disc itself was a reproduction of the Upsetter record label. Some of you will know what that means. Yessiree, produced by Lee Perry. How could I not? Perry produced Marley for less than the price of lunch? 

Marley worked with several producers early in his career. Then, early in the seventies, Chris Blackwell, owner of Island Records, came knocking. He licensed Marley's material that would become his first Island LP. Catch A Fire. He had British session studio musicians record tasty licks over it, and then threw the bank at it, practically gambling his entire label on his hunch that he could market Marley to a rock audience. Obviously, that hunch paid dividends. But the rawness of Marley's early work would be forever lost. All Marley on Island would follow the same formula, not necessarily with session musicians, but in slickness and marketing intent.

When Marley became a global phenomenon, the older strictly Jamaican stuff started seeping out, including the Perry produced material. To hear the difference, here's a couple versions of "Sun Is Shining". The first is the Perry produced version, with some really nice melodica. It was released in 1973, but was likely recorded a few years earlier. Sparsely produced, it fits the song. The second version is from Kaya, his 1978 LP, all glossy 'n' shit. To mix things up, there's another no-so-reggae version by French singer Lizzy Mercier Descloux, a criminally under-appreciated artist, but I'll get into that at later date.

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Listen:

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Sun Is Shining mp3 at DKuseni (?) 1973 Produced by Lee Perry

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Sun Is Shining mp3 at AADTCP (?) 1978
Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Sun Is Shining mp3 at Dusted

EARLIER TONIGHT....

Oh, what's this? "Scotch on the Socks" by the Shadows? Why did I bookmark this? [Click] Oh fuck. Nevermind.

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Listen:
The Shadows - Scotch on the Socks mp3 at De Disco y Monstrous NOTE: If the mp3 link doesn't work, go there to get it. You'll be glad you did.

GET SWEATY

Dirty, honking early R & B, when it really was rhythm and blues, the source of half the music you listen to. When you have the jones for some of it, nothing else will do, nothing diluted, no matter how good it is. You have to have the real thing. When that happens, Amos Milburn delivers. Big time.

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Listen:
Amos Milburn - Birmingham Bounce mp3 at Rocky 52 1950
Amos Milburn - Rock, Rock, Rock mp3 at Rocky 52 1952
Amos Milburn - One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer mp3 at Rubber City Review 1953
Amos Milburn - One, Two, Three Everybody mp3 at Rocky 52 1954
Amos Milburn - Chicken Shack Boogie mp3 at Rubber City Review 1956

OH HELL YEAH

Just goofing off, I ran across some choice Mar-Keys stuff over at Groove Addict. For those of you who don't know, and you should know this, the Mar-Keys were the horns of Stax. In other words, you've heard them all over Stax stuff, often with Booker T and the MGs. backing others on songs you've heard a thousand times. Their own records are usually slower paced, trodding grooves. In a good way. Because their big one was "Last Night" and another song on the same LP was titled "Morning After", it would be tempting to call them hangover soul, but they're more like still slightly buzzed soul.

If you're familiar with "Last Night" I recommend listening to it last, as a chaser after hearing the others. Crank it up and let it rip. The louder, the better. They don't make 'em like this anymore. 

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

Listen:
The Mar-Keys - Last Night mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Mar-Keys - Morning After mp3 at Groove Addict
The Mar-Keys - Cleo's Back mp3 at Groove Addict
The Mar-Keys - Too Pooped to Pop-Eye mp3 at Groove Addict

WAIT, WHAT YEAR IS IT?

Well, now here's a couple oddball combinations. The first one is "Fat City", credited to Ben Vaughn and Alan Vega at Aquarium Drunkard. I think Alex Chilton is on it too. It's kinda cool. Almost sounds like the Gun Club doing the Doors. Something like that. Read a much fancier description over at Aquariom Drunkard.

The other songs are by the I Don't Cares. What a fucking stupid name for a band. It's a Paul Westerberg and Juliana Hatfield thing. I don't care.

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

Listen:
Ben Vaughn and Alan Vega (and possibly Alex Chilton) - Fat City at Aquarium Drunkard Go there to get it.
The I Don't Cares - Two songs at Aquarium Drunkard  Ditto.