Saturday, August 31, 2019

BLAST THESE IN YOUR DORM

Here in the U.S. it's Labor Day weekend. Monday is Labor day, a holiday for, ahem, workers, of which I'm one and have been my since I first started mowing lawns at the age of ten. Hell yeah, a day off for workers, I'll take it. I deserve a day off. So, in the interest of that, I'm going to lean on The New Yorker of all sources. In the newest issue there's a long profile of Iggy Pop and it's good reading. Much of it will be familiar to most of you, but there are enough tidbits sprinkled throughout to make it interesting. For those of you not familiar with Pop, or his late sixties band the Stooges, I'm reposting a bunch of songs that I just posted back in April. Consider them essential, a counterpoint to all of the flower power stuff that was going on out west and a precursor to punk rock. I really hope that last sentence wasn't necessary.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
From The Stooges
The Stooges - 1969 mp3
at Olcos (?)
The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog mp3
at Tumblr
The Stooges - No Fun mp3
at Olcos (?)
The Stooges - Real Cool Time mp3
at Tumblr
The Stooges - Not Right mp3
at Tumblr
The Stooges - Little Doll mp3
at Tumblr
From Fun House

The Stooges - Down On the Street mp3 at Olcos (?)
The Stooges - Dirt mp3
at Quit Mumbling
The Stooges - 1970
at ATumblr
From Raw Power
Iggy and the Stooges - Search and Destroy mp3
at Olcos (?)
Iggy and the Stooges - Gimme Danger mp3
at Olcos (?)
Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power mp3
at Olcos (?)
Iggy and the Stooges - Death Trip mp3
at ATumblr

Visit:
The Survival of Iggy Pop at The New Yorker

Friday, August 30, 2019

THIS IS ON BUSINESS

Holy shit. I had to have posted a link to this at some point in the past. In case I haven't, and I am too lazy to check,...shit, I don't care if I posted it before, it hits the spot. It's a reggae post is at Snuhthing Anything, and it's been stewing online for twelve damn years. If you're into reggae, you probably know these well. But it is the cream, big names, stuff you know from The Harder They Come, and the ones you know from covers. Dandy Livingston's "Rudy, A Message to You", which was covered by the Specials, the Paragons' "Tide Is High" was covered by Blondie, Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves", covered by the Clash, blah, blah, blah. It's a great post and, so far, the only mp3s I've found to be dead are the Desmond Dekker and King Tubby cuts. But, shit, "Johnny Too Bad" or "Draw Your Brakes" alone qualify as a great post in these quarters. Take it away, Snuthing, you ol' dead ass blog you.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
The Slickers - Johnny Too Bad mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Scotty - Draw Your Brakes mp3
at Snuhthing Anything
Roots Reggae Sunday - Roughly ten more songs
at Snuhthing Anything

Thursday, August 29, 2019

THE "OH YEAH, THAT ONE."

I had to post this one, Johnny Thunders's cover of "Treat Her Right", from an LP of covers he did with Patti Palladin, Copycats. When I first heard it, in 1980, it turned me on to Roy Head and the Traits. I vaguely remembered hearing the original version by Head in my preteen years, likely out of my Dad's workbench radio. That was where most mid-sixties songs came from when I was a kid, songs I would later recognize when I became more cognizant of music. At that age I didn't even have a favorite song. When I heard Thunders's version it was familiar so I had to find the original version. Keep in mind this was pre-internet. Back then only half the battle was finding the song title and artist. The hard part was finding actual physical product. There were no mp3s, no YouTube, no Wikipedia, no Ebay. And, that dilemma, is exactly what records stores were good for, especially the smaller independent record stores. It always seemed like the smaller the record store, the more people you're likely to know, the more people you could shoot the shit about music with, and the more people you could share info with. And the more likely someone would know the song. You should go to your local record store. The price might be a little higher, but you're paying for something entirely different. It's a flesh and blood experience, bits be damned. You do not want that to get away. Saddle up tightwad.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin - Treat Her Right mp3 at For The Sake of the Song
Johnny Thunders - Great Big Kiss mp3
at Tumblr

Monday, August 26, 2019

GREASY, AND STICKY, AND GOOEY, AND SALTY

Well, I wanted the story on this one and I got it. An early 45 by the Supremes, "Buttered Popcorn". The first thing I noticed was that it wasn't the spit shined sound I associated with them. This, being an early cut, was a little more to my liking. None of that string laden shit, and a lead vocal by Florence Ballard, before Berry Gordy decided that Diana Ross's pipes were more marketable. Then I realized that the lyrics could be said to be a little racy. "Greasy, and sticky, and gooey, and salty." Full blown smut. Gordy, who wrote the song, feigned innocence. Yeah, right.

That there would be the end of my interest if not that the song is a catchy number, in a Northern Soul sorta way. Came to find out that the early Supremes were a quartet. Laugh all you want about me not knowing that, but the Motown I dig is more the did Talking Book, Innervisions-era Stevie Wonder, What's Goin' On-era Marvin Gaye, and anything the Temptations did with Norman Whitfield, particularly if there was wah-wah involved. I also found that before they were the Supremes they were the Primettes. Well, that's a good name. Could mean prime as in the good shit. Or if you're a math whiz, it's because they like prime numbers. That might explain why they whittled the group down from four to three. Only after being renamed as the Supremes. Oh shit, they are prime and they are supreme. One marvellettes at that.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
The Supremes - Buttered Popcorn mp3 at Tumblr
The Supremes - Buttered Popcorn (original version)
(streaming) at YouTube
The Supremes - Buttered Popcorn (2nd version)
(streaming) at YouTube
The Primettes - Tears of Sorrow
(streaming) at YouTube
The Primettes - Pretty Baby
(streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
Buttered Popcorn
at Motown Junkies
Buttered Popcorn
at Wikipedia

Saturday, August 24, 2019

BUSBOY WAGES SPENT HERE

Back when the Tower Records was still around, the one near me had a killer 45 section. They of course had the top hits, the Billboard Top 100 if I recall, all displayed side by side with all the picture sleeves competing for attention. But my attention was elsewhere; down below the display of the hits lay the oldies. Hundereds of titles, a lot you wouldn't believe were still in print. Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun, Little Richard, Guitar Slim and others on Specialty, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters on Chess, Stax all over the place. Of course, these weren't first pressings, but besides collectors who the fuck cares? Little Richard's "Rip It Up" with the classic Specialty label for a little over a buck? Are you kidding? I snagged many.

There were also oddballs, one hit wonders originally released on smaller labels that were licensed by generic oldies labels, often with two different artists on the same 45. Hey, it's still a 45, and will still go in a jukebox should that day arrive. One of the generic oldies label 45s my brother bought was "All American Boy" by Bill Parsons. He'd never heard it, but bought on a whim right about the time Rick Derringer's All American Boy LP came out. What the hell, right? Anyway, the song was in my head the other night when I was on my way home from the beach, toying once again with the thought of getting a guitar giving it a go. My thought was that if I had started learning the guitar instead of doing this blog, and spent all that time on my chops, I would have much more to show for my time. It's been 12 years, and many, many hours have been spent in front of a screen. "Get a guitar and put it in tune, you'll be rockin' and rollin' soon", that's the line that was in my head.

Bobby Bare

When it came to looking for the song, I knew who would have it. Mother lovin' Rocky 52 never disappoints. That was that. Or so I thought. I didn't know until yesterday that the song, written by Parsons, was miscredited on the label and was actually sung by Bobby Bare. So in lieu of looking for a photo of the 45 I went looking for a photo of Bobby Bare, and in doing so saw a blurb about Dylan covering it, released on one his Bootleg Series things, apparently from around the time he was messing around with the Band out in the sticks. In the beginning of his version it sounds like just a goofy jam where he's improvising the lyrics, but then it goes on and it's almost like he's cut up the lyrics and rearranged them and added his own in between. It's a sloppy hoot, and that's a good thing since the original is so goddamn corny you feel guilty just listening to it.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Bill Parsons (Bobby Bare) - All American Boy mp3 at Rocky 52
Bob Dylan - All American Boy (streaming) at Elsewhere

Thursday, August 22, 2019

WGASA NIGHT SPECIAL

Don't know wgasa? The story goes like this. The San Diego Zoological Society already had the "World Famous" San Diego Zoo (it is a good zoo) and were getting ready to either open, or add an attraction to, the San Diego Wild Animal Park (now called Safari Park"), which isn't in San Diego proper but about thirty miles North. The attraction was a tram that would zip you around the park which was like a zoo but with way more open space to give the illusion of natural habitats. Anyway, according to the story, prior to the debut, the suits were having meetings, decisions had to be made. One of the things that had yet to be decided: they had to think of a name for this tram. Someone, bold and bored, said, "Who Gives A Shit Anyway?" There you have it. WGASA. That's what tonight is. I'll just post some random crap, because this Jeff the Brotherhood video has me more interested in a fuckin' summertime nature party. Good times. Who gives a shit anyway?


~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
King Khan - Suffragette City mp3 at Rollo and Grady
Pack - Nobody Can Tell Us mp3 at Rising Storm
The Oblivians - I'm Not a Sicko, There's a Plate in my Head mp3 at Internet Archive
Video:
The Seeds - Mr. Farmer at YouTube

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

THIS IS NOT BLACK FLAG

How to go from punk rock to cod reggae in one easy step? Here you go, my binge slipped off the tracks and it was post these now and get out or subject you to more varying degrees of cod reggae, that is to say not authentic reggae but well intended enough. That is a slippery slope. I'll explain later after I've exorcised the cod demons.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
The Skints - My War mp3
at Soul Donuts
Black Flag - My War
(streaming) at YouTube

Monday, August 19, 2019

MISSISSIPPI SLIM JOHNSON

Been on a bit of a Stones binge lately. Let It Bleed through Exile, at the same time reading Keith Richard's Life and the 33 1/3 Series book on Exile On Main St.. Both books are great, they complement each other, particularly if you're into that era of the Stones, roughly '69 through '72, and you happen to be on that sort of binge. Alas, every time I've posted Stones stuff I've been respectively requested to cut that shit out. Freddy Sessler is on it. So, here's three songs they covered, "You Gotta Move" by Mississippi Fred McDowell (covered on Sticky Fingers), and Slim Harpo's "Shake Your Hips" and Robert Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down Blues" (covered on Exile On Main St.).

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Mississippi Fred McDowell You Gotta Move mp3 at Tumblr (?)
Slim Harpo - Shake Your Hips mp3
at Le Mellotron
Robert Johnson - Stop Breaking Down Blues mp3
at More Things

Sunday, August 18, 2019

AUTO-TUNE MUST DIE!

Man, I have no clue how anybody can listen to music with Auto-Tune in it. It sounds so plastic, worse than artificial, soulless. Thankfully I usually only hear it in passing, but today it seemed like no matter where I was, I was passing it. It usually doesn't bother me that much, but today every lick of music I heard outside of my apartment had Auto-Tune in it. I remember hearing on some radio show once that it's big with "singers" because their songs on ring tones sound more like the released version, and ring tones are apparently a big source of income. Really? So the solution is to make all of your music sound as shitty as a ring tone? What. The. Fuck.

So, when I got home I had to listen to something more organic. Most of the music I listen to has some sort of electric instrumentation, so it was looking like it was down to folk music or delta blues or some shit like that. But that shit don't swing, and besides, I already had the blues from hearing Auto-Tune all over the place. So I settled on Latin music, because there is an abundance of percussion and banging on things is about as organic as it gets.

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

Saturday, August 17, 2019

BARRETT STRONG WAS WRONG

I recently read John Perkins's The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, a chilling book. A guy I know who is homeless left it on my porch. I had no idea where it came from, it was just there. (I found out later when he asked me if I'd gotten the book he left me.) A few days later, a neighbor who had seen it laying there asked me if I'd started it yet. I hadn't even cracked it. Being in the middle of Raymond Chandler binge, anything to do with economics wasn't really what I was in the mood for. But the neighbor recommended that I give it a shot, and I respected his opinion, so I dug into it. Holy shit. It was an eye opener. I highly recommend it. If you see the disparity of wealth and the power of corporations as a problem, not just in the U.S. but worldwide, you should check it out. It's not as dry as you'd expect. I'll leave it that. Almost.

The reason why it was on my mind is because I ran into a friend while bodysurfing today. I hadn't seen him since last summer, so between sets we were getting caught up. I asked how his son was, because roughly ten years ago when his kid was in high school I'd see the two of out in the water together. He said his kid was doing well. I asked him if his kid was still working in the financial world, kind of hoping that he wasn't. I should have known better. This was a kid who was reading Forbes at the beach when he was still in high school. (His dad, my friend, owned a small landscaping business). He told me his kid was doing great, making infrastructure deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars for his company in Colombia and Venezuela. Uh oh. If you've read Perkins book, you'll know why this was familiar. Then, bracing myself, I dared ask what company he worked for. The answer: Deutsche Bank. Fuck. His kid is an EHM, an economic hit man. Holy shit. If you haven't read Perkins's book, you need to. That will give you an idea why I had the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money" in my head on the way home.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
The O'Jays - For the Love of Money mp3 at Man In the Maze

Visit:
The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man at Berrett-Koehler Publishers
John Perkins speaking about The New Confessions an Economic Hit Man
at YouTube

Thursday, August 15, 2019

WHAT THE HELL

Royal Trux. I have an LP of theirs someplace. I haven't listened to it in ages. It was bought because Neil Hagerty was in Pussy Galore. When they imploded I had to keep my eye on the shake.  He was part of it, as was Jon Spencer. Spencer got more of my attention, possibly more than he deserved. I'd made vague plans to keep up with Hagerty's output but, as with thousands of other artists, that fell by the wayside.

After seeing an interview with his partner, Jennifer Herrema, I decided to poke around looking for some Trux. I ran into a cover of "Suicide is Painless", the theme song from the TV show M.A.S.H. To hear it by Royal Trux is to hear an Exile on Main St. outtake, recorded while Jagger is fussing in the mirror and an American stoner has wanders in. Never mind the fact that the TV series probably hadn't aired when Exile was recorded, this is my imagined universe and you'd best keep your mouth shut. Anyways, what ever shit Keith Richards took earlier hits just before the tape rolls. This is sloppy stuff. Exactly why I dig it.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Royal Trux - Suicide Is Painless mp3 at IHow (?) Site appears dead. But the mp3 isn't.
Royal Trux - Liar mp3 at Mr. Tambourin

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

WELCOME FUTURE PUENTE HEADS

Man, if there was ever someone who remained elusive on a hunt for mp3s, it's Tito Puente. Seriously, through all the back alleys of the web for years, all I've encountered is streaming songs and YouTube clips. I know that, with all the streaming services these days, mp3s seem moot. But in my efforts to share music that you might never have considered, I know that a download found is usually listened to more than something that is suggested to you on a stream, for the simple reason that it's easier to listen to again and again, until the familiarity starts seeping in and all of a sudden you're a Puente-head.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Tito Puente -  Loco Bossa Nova mp3 at Gazfunk
Tito Puente - Oye Como Va (streaming) at YouTube The original version. 

Monday, August 12, 2019

THREE DAYS OF MUD AND BAD ACID

Here's something for you aging hippies and you kids curious about Gramp's wild years. A radio station will be playing the complete 1969 Woodstock Festival, all three days, exactly as it happened, exactly fifty years later. It will be available streaming so you can listen to it on your chosen gizmo.

What's the big deal, you ask? The movie has been out for decades, the soundtrack and second volume of the soundtrack have been out almost as long. There have been later expanded editions with music and artists not originally released with the first bunch. Well, here's the deal, until recently, the entire Woodstock roster had not been released. Believe me, I know. As a teen I loved Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Johnny Winter. I knew that they had played at Woodstock, but their sets weren't released because they never signed on. But their sets, and everyone else's, were recorded and put on the shelf. For decades. Apparently it took some time because "the shelf" was all over the place, some professionally recorded, some just soundboard tapes. It took some work to put is all together and clean up tapes with inferior sound (read about it here).  A week and a half ago Rhino Records released the whole sheebang, 38 CDs, in an edition of 1969 (cute, huh?). Not surprisingly, the boxed set sold out quickly, as in days. At $800 a pop, that amounts to a million and a half bucks. It's now selling on ebay for double the retail price. Take that, hippie.

So, this radio stream/broadcast maybe your only chance to hear the the whole thing. It starts at just a little after 5:00 PM, Eastern (U.S.) time, and plays for roughly six hours on Thursday, twelve hours on Friday and Saturday and another six hours on Sunday. 36 hours including 20 hours never released, 432 tracks, including stage announcements and acid warnings. Saturday looks like the best line up: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Sly & The Family Stone, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Country Joe & The Fish (this would be the piss break), Ten Years After, and The Band. The schedule for all four days can be found at WXPN's website (linked below) and the complete song list at Rhino (also linked below). And don't do acid. That shit fries your brain. Getting muddy though, that shit's fun.

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

Listen:
XPN presents Woodstock — As It Happened — 50 Years On
(streaming, starting Thursday, Aug. 15) at WXPN Need to plan? Go there for the band schedule.
Time coverter
It'll come in handy.
Complete song listing
at Rhino Records

Saturday, August 10, 2019

NO WORDS

After a couple days of digesting the latest compilation by Kogar the Swinging Ape, Bali Ha'i Twisten' Train, I figured out why I was listening to it again and again. It's thirty four instrumentals that were posted over the course of a few months at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban as "Instrumental 45 of the Week". They're mostly guitar instrumentals and most, if not all, by bands that you've never heard of. Not even a Travis Wammack level of obscure. These are downright nobodies. Without looking I'd guess that the average discography of these bands was two 45s long. So it is with Apeman. Even in the heyday of thrifting, you'd be hard pressed to uncover this many worthy, practically anonymous, instrumental 45s. Pat him on his hairy back.

So what sucked me into multiple listenings wasn't something I immediately noticed, but then it dawned on me. At different times, I'd pause to really listen to the guitar work.  I realized that the songs I was digging on the most were the ones that I was trying to pick apart. Take the Moon Men's "Some Kinda Nut". When I was listening to that my first thought was that they had definitely heard Link Wray. But then there was a kind of disjointed solo and I was thinking "Robert Quine has definitely heard this record." Thirty four songs of that. With quite a few good band names and song titles, from nobodies.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
The Moon Men - Some Kinda Nut mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
The mix:
Bali Ha'i Twistin' Train
at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Thirty four individual obscuro instros in a zip.

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

ARTHUR MEET AUGUSTUS

I was on my way home from the daily swim and, it being Wednesday, the farmers market was going on a block up from the beach, which in turn brings the usual Wednesday throngs crowding the park down by the beach. People selling their homemade crap (candles, tie dye shit, painted rocks, etc), hula hoopers, an amateur drum circle, gymnasts (and the gawkers who do what they do) and various and sundry street musicians. As I was walking towards the alley there was a guy with a nice looking melodica and I stopped to talk to him. I asked him if he knew who Augustus Pablo was and he said he didn't. I gave him a brief description, basically that Pablo was the shit, the best melodica player in reggae whose work with King Tubby was all time. He started typing it into his phone, and I thought that was going to take too long and I offered to send him some links. He told me his name was Arthur Bloom and he could best be reached at his website, Musicorps. That sounded somewhat familiar, and when I got home I found that this was the organization that helps vets with disabilities through music. Holy shit, I'd seen this guy on network news before but didn't recognize him (today he was wearing shades and his hair was a little longer). Now, there's a remote chance that it was someone who was putting me on, but he didn't seem like that sort. Regardless, Arthur Bloom, if that really was you I met today, thank you for helping vets with music. It is healing, you know that. Nice to have bumped fists with you. And if the person I met wasn't Arthur Bloom and was just blowing smoke, fuck him, he gets no Pablo.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Augustus Pablo - King Tubbys Meets the Rockers Uptown mp3 at Nintendo Planet Video
Augustus Pablo - Straight to Ethiopia mp3
at Mixtape Riot
Augustus Pablo - Slave Masters' Execution mp3
at Pfftp
Augustus Pablo - East of the River Nile mp3
at Zachi Team Tree Tops

Augustus Pablo - Ali Babba Riddim Dub mp3 at Fredeeky
Jacob Miller with Augustus Pablo - Baby I Love You So mp3
at Noise From the Void
Augustus Pablo - Rockers Dub mp3
at Podcast Battle
Augustus Pablo - Cassava Piece mp3
at The Musicologist

Full LP:
Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
(streaming) at YouTube Arthur, this is the one I was talking about. I had it mixed up with Firehouse.

Visit:
Musicorps
Augustus Pablo at Wikipedia
Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown at Wikipedia

Monday, August 5, 2019

SOMETIMES THINGS GO RIGHT

I was on Facebook and it was depressing. Realistic and necessary. The events of this past weekend, the shootings, demand our attention. I was not expecting to find something that would distract me enough to post tonight. Then I ran into a post of Jessie Hill's "Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo", and in the comments, someone mentioned a cover by a band called Esse and the Showmen, recorded at El Cajon High School, a school that happens to be about twenty miles from here. He described it as garage. Say no more. I actually found it on YouTube. For a few minutes, gun violence went for a piss break. The song was that good. Not your typical garage, but raunchy enough. So, was this a local outfit that I hadn't heard about? Before my time, but still, I have older friends. So I went looking for a bio or any other background info and I ran into that clipping above, from the Chula Vista Star-News, from 1965. The 45 was recorded in 1963, so they were together for at leasr a couple more years, still big enough to get column inches about their Howdy Dance appearance. Hell, that's Mayberry enough for me.

The bonus: I happened on a post at Dead Wax with a link to download, at MediaFire (click the green download button, one pop up likely). That's enough, from new-to-me cover to mp3 in, I don't know, it might have been a half hour. Then I was reminded of that clip of the High Numbers (the Who) playing the song right about that same time, though not at a Howdy Dance. One would hope the ASB members didn't get a free ride again.


~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Esse and the Showmen - Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo (streaming) at YouTube
Esse and the Showmen - Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo mp3 (via MediaFire) at Dead Wax NOTE: Click the green download button, one pop up likely.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

TAKE ONE OF THESE

It's been a crazy fucked up weekend. You deserve a break to clear your head. Nine minutes of peace. Pick it apart. Get lost in it. Nine minutes. It'll do you good.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Ornette Coleman - Peace mp3 at So Well Remembered

Saturday, August 3, 2019

L.L. WILLIE D

Etta James
Here's a couple of interpretations of Willie Dixon songs by two singers from the same era, that may or may not have shared a stage at one time or another. Etta James's 1961 take, doing "I Just Want To Make Love To You", is about as rough as you could expect from a record with strings on it. At different parts she sounds like the recipient of her aural advances is going to get something ripped off in the process, then she turns to an almost cooing voice. We've all probably had significant others with that talent, though not with strings, possible a little more psycho. A remarkable effect.

Koko Taylor


Koko Taylor's 1966 version of "Wang Dang Doodle" is dripping with Chicago. Chess Records, label mate Buddy Guy on guitar doing that trademark lick, along with the usual Chess regulars including Dixon on vocals.

Both songs have been posted here before, but the link to James's was dead so I figured what the hell. They're both Dixon songs and both were recorded in Chicago. It was just too easy to throw a compare and contrast exercise at you.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Etta James - I Just Want To Make Love To You mp3 at Deds (?)
Koko Taylor -  Wang Dang Doodle mp3
at Le Mellotron

Thursday, August 1, 2019

OH MICKEY, YOU'RE SO FINE.

Got a great compilation of Mickey Baker's fifties stuff a week ago. It's solo, duo (Mickey and Sylvia), and session work. This fucker was hot. Somewhere between rockabilly and Link Wray. After hearing "No Good Lover" (w/Sylvia) for the hundredth time I went looking more stuff I hadn't posted before. There's not much in the way of mp3s, but it put me in the mood for other similar non-rockabilly fifties obscuro rockers. Why the hell not?

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Mickey Baker - No Good Lover mp3 at RocknDog
Joe Clay (Mickey Baker: guitar) -  Get on the Right Track mp3
at Rocky 52
Bob Taylor and the Counts - Thunder mp3
at RocknDog
The Strangers = Caterpillar Crawl mp3
at RocknDog
Grace Tennessee and the American Spirits - Pow Wow mp3
at RocknDog
Mickey Baker - Baia
(streaming) at YouTube
Mickey Baker - Milk Train
(streaming) at YouTube