THE NAME THAT ATE A NIGHT

It's funny how just a name can send you back decades. Tapper Zukie, the reggae DJ, my first reggae 45 ever. Bought at a record store once owned by Dan McClain (some years later he would be branded Country Dick, from the eighties band the Beat Farmers). There weren't many record stores carrying reggae back then, before the Marley explosion. Ratner's Electric, downtown, had the best reggae section at the time. I seem to remember that the odd pairing of an electrical supply shop with a small reggae record department was the doing of Dave Allard, a guy who would later open up his own shop, Strictly Reggae. The local reggae crowd back then was mostly black. The only guys I knew who really knew reggae, more than me anyway (which wasn't much at all), were a couple of older white guys, Mad Jack and Looby. Cool guys, good overall tastes and knowledgeable. Way more multi-cultural than anyone else I knew. I think that's when I first become aware of Allard. See? I'm just getting started, just from the name Tapper Zukie. Screw it, I ain't got all night.

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Listen:
Tapper Zukie - New Star (streaming) at YouTube
Johnny Clarke and Tapper Zukie - Phensic mp3 at Pixie Radio
Tapper Zukie - Double Struggle mp3 at Radio Milwaukee
Cool mix:
Algoriddim 20030530: Tappa Zukie Part 1 at Internet Archive Tapper Zukie cuts and others with shared riddims. Download: In the right column, under "Download options" click on "VBR MP3 Files"

PLEASE DON'T FART

I recommended the Schitzophonics to someone today, and I did what I do every time their name comes up. I when on a hunt for an mp3 or two. Per usual, skunked. So I did what I always do when I'm skunked looking for Schitzoponics mp3s, I watched a few videos of theirs.

The Schitzophonics always remind me of the MC5, and that always calls for a detour. Happens every time. And again, as is routine, I tried a couple of non-Kick Out the Jams MC5 tracks, and wouldn't you know it, I was reminded what shitty producers did to their studio stuff. A damn shame that is because I could do without all the brothers and sisters jive that is the intro to "Ramblin' Rose". But, boy, does that song smoke.

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Listen:
MC5 - Ramblin' Rose mp3 at Probe Is Turning On the People
MC5 - Kick Out the Jams mp3 at The Helpless Dancer
MC5 - Tutti Frutti mp3 at Perrier Ville Ave (?)
MC5 - The American Ruse mp3 at Kempa A few blips on this one, to discourage people who care about blips.

BACK, BY NO DEMAND

Wow, this was a nice to hear on a Monday night. Maybe because seeing Link Wray and 1975 on the same page doesn't usually indicate a five minute and hairy live version of "Jack the Ripper" (originally released in 1962). This later version shreds in the way classic Wray does. You know what I'm talking about. The hills are alive with the sound of menace. Technique takes a backseat to the feel, and the feel here is a guy who knows his menace.

Here's just a couple highlights here to the LP that's posted in its entirety at Xtrmntr. The rest of the LP is good, but it's not the loud Link that we all know and love. But you ought to visit the post. It's an awesome read. The other song below, "BoJack", sounds very much like one the Cramps would've had a field day with. Who knows, maybe they did cover it. I could never keep up with those rascals.

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Listen:
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper flac at Xtrmntr
Link Wray - BoJack flac at Xtrmntr
Link Wray - Stuck In Gear (full LP) flac at Xtrmntr Go there to get it. I have no idea what plays flac files and what doesn't. I can hear them, that's all I need.

NICE SANDALS, ROCKER.

Okay, so there's an older lady that moved in across the alley. She's 77, thin and walks with a cane. She was out there having a smoke, as was I. Not having seen her come or go before, I figured she was new to the neighborhood, so I introduced myself. Her name was Jeanie.

I know I'll be talking to Jeanie again soon. Gotta remember her name. This one is easy, a song association, "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" by Eddie Cochran. Come to think of it, at her age she would have been in high school when that song was released. Note to self: Ask Jeanie if she knows the song "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" by Eddie Cochran.

I went looking for the song. Squat. I expanded my search and all sorts of shit popped up. Amongst it, a collection of Led Zeppelin rarities that included two Eddie Cochran covers. First thought: this is gonna be rich.

The covers sound just like what you would expect Led Zeppelin covering Eddie Cochran to sound like, basically like shit. Okay, it does sound like Zeppelin and if you didn't know the songs they would sound like anything else they were doing at the time. But if you do know the songs and you like Eddie Cochran just fine, there are parts that will make you cringe. For example, near the end of the first verse of "C'mon Everybody", when Plant sings "who cares" it sounds like a parody of a seventies rock vocalist. Totally whiney.

All fourteen tracks are in one file, and there's plenty of listenable stuff here. You just have to let the whole thing roll or pick through it to find individual songs. The Cochran covers are at 11:22 ("Something Else") and 31:55 ("C'mon Everybody"). Along with those are covers of Sonny Boy Williamson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin' Wolf, you get the idea.

The Sex Pistols covered the same Cochran songs (three quarters of the Sex Pistols anyway, with Sid Vicious on vocals and Johnny Rotten absent). Compare their takes and Zeppelin's and you will sense a difference. Here's the thing, if you know early rock 'n' roll, you know that certain OG rockers had a sort of swagger. Vicious, in his delivery, has some of that. But 1970-era Robert Plant was suffering from bell bottoms and frilly tops, and a high pitched whiney "who cares".

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Listen:
Led Zeppelin - Rarities mp3 at Internet Archive Single 14 song mp3. "Something Else" at 11:22, "C'mon Everybody" at 31:55. In the right column, under "Download options" click on "VBR MP3 Files"
Eddie Cochran - Something Else mp3 at Rocky 52
Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody mp3 at Rocky 52
Sex Pistols - Something Else (streaming) at YouTube
Sex Pistols - C'mon Everybody (streaming) at YouTube

DUDE. LIGHTEN UP.

When it comes to cry in your beer, my wife just left me and my dog died, Ray Price was right up there with the best, ur, saddest. He could make the phone book sound sad. Take "Crazy Arms". Price's reading will have you sinking into woe is me anti-bliss. Jerry Lee Lewis reads it rollicking. The Killer wins again.

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Listen:
Ray Price - Crazy Arms mp3 at Internet Archive
Jerry Lee Lewis - Crazy Arms mp3 at Rockabilly Hall
Ray Price - I've Got a New Heartache mp3 at Internet Archive

WHEN YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU NEEDED IT

I can well imagine not being in the mood for this type of music, but I thank my lucky stars that I am in the mood because it really hits the spot. Sucked in by the text, the psychedelic dirge plods with meandering freakout guitar. Then the dirge of a sax on top of that, a sax player with bottomless lungs and no end in sight. Cleared my head right up.

I'm linking to the original post, just go there to read the text that sucked me in, and download it if you want it. After listening to a chunk of the LP that the song comes from, (posted by some character by the name of Stoned Meadow of Doom), I'll probably go out and buy it. Goes well with Flipper and PiL type stuff, wait, eleven minutes into it now, the LP, it sounds more like an outtake of some extended jam from the Stooges' Funhouse. I'll be damned.

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Visit:
Mythic Sunship - Way Ahead mp3 at For the Sake of the Song Go there to get it.
Mythic Sunship - Another Shape of Psychedelic Music (Full LP) (streaming) at YouTube

LET'S HEAR IT FOR ARTHUR'S EXIT

Other than "Fire", I can't remember every hearing another song from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. "Fire" ain't all that bad, a bit corny, but not enough to avoid Arthur Brown without going further. Okay, so where would one start? The first song I happened to hear was "Spontaneous Apple Creation". Oh brother. A bunch of spaced out hippy jive. If you thought "Fire" was a little dramatic, try the "Spontaneous..." thing. Done? You have reached the end of my interest in Arthur Brown and his Crazy drugged out corn World. Should have trusted my gut.

Onto things slightly more interesting. How's about a soul cover of "Fire"? You're right. It couldn't be any goofier the Brown's novelty thud. The Seven Souls do it up right. Give it a whirl and see why I occasionally dig through blog posts from 2001 on a blog that hasn't been tended to in six years.

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Visit:
Seven Souls - Fire mp3 at Soul Garage
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire (streaming) at YouTube
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Spontaneous Apple Creation mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Seven Souls - Hold On I'm Coming mp3 at Soul Garage

"COOL" SAID LESTER YOUNG.

Today in the U.S. it was Presidents Day. The jazz station celebrated by making it Lester "Prez" Young day. That's a weak ass link that I will take full advantage of. Here's Lester Young, Prez yo.

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Listen:
Lester Young - Jumpin' at the Woodside mp3 at Internet Archive
Lester Young - Willow Weep For Me mp3 at Internet Archive

VIO CON DIOS WORD MAN

Ken Nordine died yesterday, he was a word jazz guy. That's the stuff that sounds like bad beatniks in the movies, spoken word over jazz. It sometimes sounds like someone is trying to come off as profound and/or authoritative. It's not always corny. There are times when the speaking itself, the meter or diction, whatever, the sound of it is a factor. Ken Nordine was the king of that shit.

There's tons of stuff online, so here's just a few things. The Colors LP is a good place to start. Something like thirty eight descriptions of colors. After the first couple you'll be hooked on the off the wall text. I kept listening just to hear what kind of crackpot thing he'd say next.

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Listen:
Ken Nordine - Colors (1966) mp3 at Internet Archive 59 minutes
Film of Death - Hosted by Ken Nordine (radio show 1951) mp3 at Weird Lectures
NPR Radio Feature about Ken Nordine (1980) at Internet Archive

FUCK. LIVE AND LEARN.

There's a guy I know that hardly ever talks about anybody by name. It's always "the pit bull guy" or "the girl that works as Poma's [a local deli]", "the rockabilly kids". Whenever he gets in a tight spot, he talks about where he can get a quick loan. It's usually one of his cronies from L.A. or Vegas. Rarely do they loan him money, but he hits them up anyway. One guy is a friend he calls "the Pharmacist". Something tells me he's loaded, but been burned a few too many times. He probably had a few outstanding loans in which he recouped squat.

Not too long ago, this friend was unemployed, his wife moved out and he was trying to get some money together so he wouldn't get evicted. Over the course of a few weeks, in his process of elimination type hunt for funds, I must have heard "pharmacist" a hundred times. Everytime he said it, the song "Mr Pharmacist" started playing in my imagined soundtrack of the day. This caused problems when he would repeat it several times in a single conversation. It had the effect of a record skipping in my imagined soundtrack. Now, every time I hear that song I begin to wonder if I'm ever going to see the money he owes me. I bet he probably owes the pharmacist more.

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Listen:
The Other Half - Mr. Pharmacist mp3 at Plain or Pan
The Fall - Mr. Pharmacist mp3 at Skynet (?)
Video:
The Other Half 0n The Mod Squad at YouTube

MUSIC FOR ROMAN HANDS

Photo found by Pea Hix

Well, today I did what I wished someone had done for me when I needed it. During the course of the day I reminded a half dozen guys that it was Valentines Day and they better get their squeeze something or suffer the consequences. While flowers or candy (or booze, if I know my demographic) might do it, what to do once you've handed over the goods? Try putting one of Reverend Tom Frost's Bloody Love mixes. Three different mixes of vintage make out soundtracks, roughly three hours worth. That's enough time for you to git down and have a post-coital smoke. Seal the deal with Ronnie Self's "You're So Right For Me".

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Listen:
Ronnie Self - You're So Right For Me mp3 at Rocky-52.net
The mixes:
A Bloody Love Mix: Part 1 at Spread the Good Word
A Bloody Love Mix: Part 2 at Spread the Good Word
A Bloody Love Mix: Part 3 at Spread the Good Word

THIS IS NOT ROBERT QUINE

I wasn't expecting to revisit an LP I bought years ago when I clicked on a random funky soul song. "Keep On Dancin'" is a five minute jam reminiscent of B.T. Express, by Hamilton Bohannon (seen above) who, according to the liner notes of the album, had been "Motown's bandleader for a number of years" (this in 1974). That's not the reason for the detour. Reading the short blurb at Art Decade, it says "Featuring Fernando Saunders on bass. Does he play any two-bar unit exactly the same, or is each one different, like snowflakes?" Shit, I knew that name, but from where? I had a look at Saunders's discography. There it was. He played on a bunch of mid-late Lou Reed studio albums, none of which I owned. But, wait, there it really was, Lou Reed - Live In Italy, an album I had heard, many times. I bought it on cassette in Italy when it came out. I was doing the backpack/hostel/Eurail pass thing. Florence, Firenze to locals, 1984. I remember because when I went to see Michelangelo's David the place was full of noisy tourists so I decided I'd rather listen to music. The cheapo Walkman knock off that I had was loaded with the Lou Reed album and I let the fifteen minute medley of "Some Kinda Love/Sister Ray" rip while I checked out the marble. Yee haw.

That album is notable because Reed and Saunders's band mate was guitarist Robert Quine, one of the most underrated guitarists of all time (in my book, the only one that matters to me}. Quine had been in Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and on the two albums that he did with them he thoroughly ripped, but not in a normal rock 'n' roll way. There was something else going on. His leads were disjointed and abrasive, but it wasn't showmanship or guitar hero shit. It was more cerebral, irreverently so.

I am, no doubt, going to be listening to the Voidoids tonight, but you ought to check the Lou Reed live thing. As far as I know, that tour, the album and the video that was released later, are the only live recordings of Quine. Reed's playing is good too, and, hey, they have  that guy who may or may not play any two-bar unit exactly the same holding down the low end. You've gone this far. Click on something.

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Listen:
Hamilton Bohannon - Keep On Dancin' mp3 at Art Decade
Lou Reed - Live In Italy (full LP) (streaming) at YouTube

PARTY WITH MR. LOW KEY COOL

I'm re-reading that Ry Cooder penned book of fiction that I read last summer, and again, in the middle of the chapter that features cameos by Merle Travis and Joe Maphis, my thoughts turn to my brother. His tastes were varied. One minute it might be Flipper, the next Esquivel. So watching an old clip of some aw shucks he knows he's awesome picker was not out of the ordinary. The picker I speak of is Merle Travis, on a cabin porch in a rocking chair, introduced thusly,  "With us today is Country and Western Hall of Fame member Merle Travis". I remember that because we, along with his roommate and assorted friends on different occasions, watched that clip many, many times. It was one of those things that you take delight in running into the ground.  Keep in mind that there was usually beer or weed involved. When Travis gets to one part of the song, in the middle of some masterful picking, he says "I usually play that part on the jug." At an impromptu weekend afternoon party, hanging with friends, it was instant hysterics. It wasn't the clip, or Travis's comment, it became all about running it into the ground. We excelled at that. Merle Travis excelled at finger picking, and he made it look easy.

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Listen:
Merle Travis - Blue Smoke mp3 at Rocky 52
Merle Travis - Sixteen Tons mp3 at Rocky 52
Merle Travis - Louisiana Boogie mp3 at Bousculade (?)
Video:
Merle Travis - The Real Deal at YouTube Compilation of clips.

COOL SLEEVE FOR A DIFFERENT RECORD

I was on the fence about posting Slim Smith tonight, but then I ran into a clip of his cover of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth". I like it for the wrong reasons. It's lethargic, but not  as much as it is fully stoned. It has a real no-hurry "I'll get to it when I get to it" thing going on. No hurry to go anywhere. And that's a good mood for listening to Slim Smith. Out of the three below, "The New Boss" is the pick to click.

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Listen:
Slim Smith - Watch This Sound [For What It's Worth] mp3 at Juno (?)  2:00 clip
Slim Smith - Watch This Sound (full song) (streaming) at YouTube
Slim Smith - The New Boss mp3 at Dinosaur Gardens
Slim Smith - I Am Lost mp3 at Soul Sides

FROM THE "BEFORE THEY SUCKED" FILE

I'm not all that enamored with Blue Öyster Cult. When I was a teenager, they filled a role. They had guitars, lots of them, and their songs, for the first couple LPs anyway, had enough hard licks to turn the head of any guitar nut that was tired of blues rock. Punk rock was still a few years away.

The first Blue Öyster Cult song I heard was "Buck's Boogie" from a budget compilation called Guitars That Destroyed the World, a album title that worked. How could a teenage guitar freak possibly pass on a compilation with that title, particularly when it cost just a couple dollars? Shortly after my brothers and I (and half our friends) devoured that compilation, my younger brother stepped up and bought their second LP, Tyranny and Mutation. Question marks all around. The title, the cover art, the song titles...what the fuck was this? It rocked. That was enough.

Alas, as often happens with bands with a meaty guitar sound, in search of a hit they pulled back. Fucking "Don't Fear the Reaper". Done. It was the quintessential shark jump. I have not gone back.

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Listen:
Blue Öyster Cult - The Red and the Black mp3 at Internet Archive
Blue Öyster Cult - Cities on Flame With Rock 'n' Roll mp3 at ATumblr
Blue Öyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation (full LP) (streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
Unsung: Julian Cope’s Album of the Month at Head Heritage The first three LPs and the shark jump(s).

DEAR KIDS: BE MORE CURIOUS.

A twenty seven year old was here for a short time last night. After taking a piss he came out of the bathroom and asked what Bitches Brew was. He'd seen a bar of small batch soap made by one of my  friends. I had it on a shelf and never used it, just because I like having a bar of soap called Bitches Brew. I told the guy that it was a Miles Davis album. Then I got the look. He didn't know who Miles Davis was.

I was like the guy in that scene in Diner, where he goes ballistic because his wife misfiled his records. In the middle of his tirade (at 1:41), justifiable or not, he asks "You're not going to put Charlie Parker in with the rock 'n' roll, would you? Would you?!!" To which she answers "I don't know, who's Charlie Parker?" Commence firing, The guy nearly breaks his neck shaking his head in disbelief, and let's out a wail, "JAZZ!!!" Right there when he screams "JAZZ!!!", that was me when it hit me that this guy didn't know who Miles Davis was.

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Listen:
Miles Davis - Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (take 2) mp3 at Aurgasm
Miles Davis - Final (take 1) mp3 at Aurgasm
Miles Davis - Diner au Motel mp3 at Drummerworld

YOUNGER BROTHER AS SELECTOR

I still remember when my brother brought home the Who's Who's Next LP. The only reference my brothers and I had was hearing "Won't Get Fooled Again", the single version, blasting out of tinny AM radios. FM radio was probably playing it, but I don't recall hearing a powerful mix, one that wasn't tinny, full of static and completely devoid of low end. Ah, but with the vinyl and maybe not the best stereo but one that at least had separate bass and treble knobs, it was a whole different ball game. My brother put it on. The intro to the first song "Baba O'Riley" played. What the fuck is this? It was our first exposure to the sound of a synthesizer.

All these years later it still sort of bugs me. Why put in all those squiggles? Hell, given the bombasticness of the song once it got kicking, an acoustic guitar would have sufficed. It sounded gimmicky. Next thing you know, here comes Kraftwerk. "Eff you, you rock poseurs, non-committers! We're going to go robot on your ass." And they did, On all our asses. In a blink of an eye it's Depeche Mode.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Who's Next? Awesome album, beginning to end. That intro to "Baba O'Riley" is just a fart. As a whole, consider it essential, one of the first few Who records you should own. There really aren't any songs on the LP that don't still hold up. The ones below are all from it, what I managed to find.

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Listen:
The Who - Baba O'Riley mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again mp3 at Chewing Water
The Who - My Wife mp3 at Crearefnet (?)
The Who - This Song Is Over mp3 at Hollywood Elsewhere
The Who - Going Mobile mp3 at ATumblr (?)

I FOUND EXACTLY ONE IMAGE

Eddie Fisher, who the hell is this guy? I heard one song with excessive wah-wah. Excesssive anything is always worth taking a look at and, knowing nothing about this Eddie Fisher (a guitarist, not the singer), I figured I'd educate myself. Hit the usual places. Squat. Not even a Wikipedia page. The only thing I learned is that he is a guitarist and he loves his wah-wah. Found some customer reviews at an online retailer that really didn't mention much. I did find another song, "Land of Our Father", from the same LP, Eddie Fisher and the Next One Hundred Years (1970), which was not excessive in it's wah-wah but fine nevertheless.

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Listen:
Eddie Fisher and the Next One Hundred Years - Either Or mp3 at Groove Addict
Eddie Fisher and the Next One Hundred Years - Land of Our Father mp3 at Basement Rug

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

A friend just posted Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' "Wake Up Everybody" on Facebook. Damn, that song never, ever, gets old. It's a great song, the music, the singing, the production (Gamble and Huff!) and the words, oh holy hell, the words are absolutely timeless.

The song came to me via Big Youth's version when I was twenty one and has been with me like a close friend ever since. Decades of hearing both versions over and over again, without getting old or losing relevance. You can't really ask for more from a song.

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Listen:
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - Wake Up Everybody mp3 at Basement Rug
Big Youth - Wake Up Everybody (streaming) at YouTube