HEAD SHOP GOLD, OCEAN BEACH 1972

Oh man, I've been looking for this sucker online for a long time. This is one that, while not earth shattering, is interesting as a great example of seventies guitar rock. I remember buying it on the recommendation of a record store counter guy when I was in my early teens. He said it was like Hendrix. I had my doubts. Once I listened to it I was intrigued. It did sound Hendrix influenced, but then again a lot of bands sounded Hendrix influenced. No matter, it was a solid recommendation and the record ended up on heavy rotation with my brothers and I.

Randy California was the guitarist in Spirit, that much I knew. What I didn't know until recently was that he was only fifteen when Spirit was formed and his stepdad was Ed Cassidy, the drummer. I did know that, prior to Spirit, he was the second guitarist in Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, Hendrix's band before the Experience, but I didn't know that he was only fifteen at the time! It was actually Hendrix that gave him the name Randy California, because there were two Randys in the band. (California's real name is Randy Wolfe. The bassist in the band, Randy Palmer, was dubbed "Randy Texas"). When Chas Chandler (ex-Animals) became Hendrix's manager, he took him to England where he became a star and an international guitar hero. Randy California couldn't get a permission slip. He stayed home and started Spirit with his old man. He was sixteen when Spirit's first LP came out. The same year, he wrote "Got A Line On You" and all-time classic. He was a young whizkid like Alex Chilton, Stevie Wonder or Steve Windwood. The mind boggles at that shit.

Here's some from the 1972 LP pictured above Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds, the one the counter guy recommended. I still listen to it decades later so I guess the four bucks was well spent.

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Listen:
Randy California - Downer mp3 at Internet Archive
Randy California - Day Tripper mp3 at Internet Archive
Randy California - Mother And Child Reunion mp3 at Internet Archive
Randy California - Rain mp3 at Internet Archive Long intro

FLANNEL ROCK OG NUMBER ONE

I was listening to Neil Young all day today and it occurred to me that no matter how mellow the song is, Neil Young always sounds raw. Part of it is his voice, part of it the production, but there really aren't any power chords or guitar heroics. It's just...Neil Young.

One of my favorite songs of his is "Revolution Blues". If you listen to it, there's nothing all that loud or raunchy going on. No hammer, it sounds more like sandpaper. Yeah, like a lot of his stuff, there's ample distortion on the guitar, but it's not like jumping-around, arms flailing rock 'n' fuckin' roll. It's Neil fuckin' Young. No one does it like him.

Here's a handful of songs and a link to a live set from 1976. The live stuff has surprisingly good sound given the era. Oh yeah, dig the live take of "Cowgirl In the Sand", wicked guitar interplay there. "Long May You Run" strikes me as both a toasting song, much like "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", and as the perfect song for a funeral. I can't hear it without thinking of good friends..

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Listen:
Neil Young - Revolution Blues mp3 at Internet Archive
Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Cowgirl In the Sand (live) mp3 at Internet Archive
Stills Young Band - Long May You Run mp3 at Internet Archive
Neil Young With the Santa Monica Flyers - Roll Another Number (live) mp3 at Internet Archive
The '76 set:
Neil Young And Crazy Horse - Live in Boston 11.22.76 at Visible Voice 17 songs, individual mp3s

MUDDY WATERS CURES AMNESIA

I guess my memory isn't totally shot. I can remember some shit. Yesterday I was watching a live clip of Muddy Waters and, for whatever reason, a light bulb went off. For years I'd been racking my mind trying to remember how my brothers and I knew, as early as high school, that Muddy Waters's real name was McKinley Morganfield. This was well before the internet. While watching the video, I took a pee break and before I got back to the video a mental snapshot of my twin brother appeared. He was in the food court at high school holding a Muddy Waters LP under his arm. Then I remembered! The album was a compilation that he had. The title? McKinley Morganfield AKA Muddy Waters. I checked Discogs to see if my memory was correct and, lo and behold, there it was. I recognized the cover the minute I saw it. So, here's some assorted Muddy Waters stuff to celebrate. It's not often you answer a question that has dogged you your entire adult life.

The live clip is above, A few songs from that same performance are below along with a hour long documentary. Haven't watched much of it yet but the ten minutes I did watch had Robert Gordon (the music writer, not the singer of the same name) and Keith Richards. If they got those two, I have to think that it will be good. The ten minutes I've seen so far were engaging. Bonus: Watch this proto-Deadhead go off.

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Listen:
Muddy Waters - Baby, Please Don't Go (live) mp3 at Internet Archive Newport Jazz Festival 1960
Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working (live) mp3 at Internet Archive Newport Jazz Festival 1960
Muddy Waters - I Got My Brand On You (live) mp3 at Internet Archive Newport Jazz Festival 1960
Muddy Waters - I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man (live) mp3 at Internet Archive Newport Jazz Festival 1960
Muddy Waters - Tiger In Your Tank (live) mp3 at Internet Archive Newport Jazz Festival 1960
Watch:
Muddy Waters - Can't Be Satisfied (2003) Documentary at YouTube

FROM THE "CAN'T REMEMBER SHIT" FILE

Here's a couple oddball instrumentals. First is the Fame Gang's "Crime Don't Pay". The Fame Gang was the house band at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals. It's a perfectly fine instrumental. Slinky guitar, a little organ and killer drumming. It's one of those "one liner" instrumentals, the type with a catch phase (à la the Mar-Keys' "Last Night"). In this case it's two phrases, "Come here boy" and "yassuh!". Even with that few of words, the delivery bugs. It's supposed to be comical.  It's also, yeah, kinda racist. Not intentionally, I'm sure. "Those were different times." Ahh, bullshit. Not an excuse.

This other one is a head scratcher. I know little about the Cobras. On the post it said that "Restless" was on Stax, but after listening to it I had my doubts (I hadn't seen the actual record yet). It sounded more like a rip-off of the Rumblers' "Boss" but without the punch. The solo is so simple, I had them pegged for a band of high schoolers (again, à la Mar-Keys). Not at all what you'd expect from Stax. I went to Discogs for info and to confirm who released it. They did have a listing, with an image of the record and, yes, as you can see (above) it was on Stax. What you can also see is that Steve Cropper was co-writer. Oh, fuck. Now I gotta find the backstory. [Five minutes pass.] I'm an idiot. This just in: I looked for a backstory and found in. Here. I have heard the song because I posted it with the backstory five years ago.

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Listen:
The Fame Gang - Crime Don't Pay mp3 at Internet Archive
The Cobras - Restless mp3 at Internet Archive

TECHNO NIGHT

Here we go. Still trying to get the kinks out of the new machine so I'll keep it short. (If you think I'm milking my computer problems you're correct. That's what I do.) Here's four from Robert Johnson, the OG of OGs. And yeah, I know most of you are familiar with these songs. For those who aren't, figure it out. This is crossroads and devil shit. Spotify is stunting your growth.

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Listen:
Robert Johnson - Come On In My Kitchen mp3 at Internet Archive
Robert Johnson - Last Fair Deal Gone Down mp3 at Internet Archive
Robert Johnson - Love In Vain mp3 at Internet Archive
Robert Johnson - Rambling On My Mind mp3 at Internet Archive

I HAVEN'T LEFT

My computer took a shit. Everything electronic was on it, music, photos, notes; all kaput. My brother got me a thing that's supposed to recover stuff from the hard drive sans operating system, or some such shit. Bear with me. I have to re-arrange the shop so to speak. Re-loading shit, all that. In the meantime, browse, I did. That's where I found the first image saved in the new computer. That's Jerry Lee and Linda Gail lookin' fine. See you when the dust settles.

THE LOUISIANA RABBIT HOLE

Here's a few from the Ace Records Boppin' By the Bayou series of compilations, twenty two in all, all from Louisiana and most cuts pretty damn obscure. The only name below you're likely to recognize is Slim Harpo and his cut has a little faster tempo then his better known fare. The compilations are packed with great cuts crossing all sorts of genres; blues, rhythm 'n' blues, soul, cajun, zydeco, country, hillbilly, bluegrass, Mississippi hill blues, gospel and boogie-woogie. These were picked at random so you get an idea of the quality, The breadth of this series is mind-blowing in its diversity. This is gonna take forever.

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Listen:
Slim Harpo - Wild About My Baby mp3 at Internet Archive
Peto Marlow and the Rhythm Kings - Rock and Roll Beat mp3 at Internet Archive
Jeff Daniels - Switch Blade Sam mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Preston - Satan in Satin mp3 at Internet Archive
Visit:
Boppin' By the Bayou series at Discogs Compilation details

MORE FROM MORE, MORE, MORE

I ran across more Auxes cuts. Who? I know. When I posted them a couple years ago I said that they sounded like something between At The Drive-In and the Dead Kennedys. I didn't know anything else about them. After that post, I heard more so, yeah, now I can add a bunch of other soundalikes. Hot Snakes, the Germs (speeded up), Pissed Jeans, the Refused. You know, loud, hard, without a lot of posturing or guitar heroics. I dig loud and hard. I do not dig posturing or guitar heroics. A seemingly perfect fit.

When I first encountered Auxes, I was apprehensive about looking into their background. I was hoping that they weren't some trendy calculating band more concerned with a tough looking image than cranking out loud and hard. At some point curiosity took over and I did a little digging. Once I tracked down some photos, I exhaled. Image does not seem to be their thing. Loud and hard does. Cool.

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Listen:
Auxes - It's Not About You mp3 at Internet Archive
Auxes - Dead End Problems mp3 at Internet Archive
Auxes - Bad Cats, Nine Lives mp3 at Internet Archive
Auxes - Panic Time mp3 at Internet Archive

GEE, WONDER WHAT BAND THEY LIKE?

All sorts of thoughts about these guys. Obviously they wear their hearts on their skulls. Surprisingly, they don't seem to be a total blatant cash-in. Cash-in, yes. Blatant? Visually, yes. Total? Not really. There's only one cover, predictably a Beatles cover, "Ticket to Ride", and it's in Spanish.  (They were from Uruguay.) I've heard enough sixties rock en  Español to know this stuff is better than most. Pity about the bowl cuts.

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Listen:
The Shakers - Break It All mp3 at Internet Archive
The Shakers - Do Not Disturb mp3 at Internet Archive
The Shakers - Ticket to Ride mp3 at Internet Archive
The Shakers - What A Love mp3 at Internet Archive

BACK TO THE GRIND

Last night I was listening to the Sonics, their second LP to be exact. The first song on the LP is "Cinderella" and, like most of the Sonics stuff, it's a racket. Fuck yeah. It's a full-on exhausting two minutes and forty three seconds of skin bashing drums, raunchy fretwork and good ol' Gerry Roslie spilling his larynx all over the place. I tried to imagine what it must have been like to hear that song for the first time while the radio was playing "Michelle" by the Beatles. Man..., I'm certain that if the production on the early Sonics records were a little more "radio friendly" they would have given the Stones a run for their money, if not the Beatles. Of course, that would have only lasted a year or so before all of the hippie flower power crap took over. Regardless, the Sonics weren't truly appreciated by the masses, or anyone outside of the Northwest, until they started to be seen as precursors to punk rock. Here's a handful of Sonics cuts that I haven't posted before, including last nights living room ruckus "Cinderella" and two Motown covers. The cherry on top, "Psycho", has been posted here often. That should tell you how essential it is. You gripe, you get out of my store.

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Listen:
The Sonics - Cinderella mp3 at Internet Archive
The Sonics - Do You Love Me mp3 at Internet Archive
The Sonics - Money mp3 at Internet Archive
The Sonics - Don't Be Afraid of the Dark mp3 at Ink Mathematics
The Sonics - Psycho mp3 at Internet Archive

REPEAT WHEN NECESSARY

When I heard that Green Day was going to be on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, my thought was "They're finished. They've completed the cycle." It's been twenty years since their American Idiot LP came out and ever since I've been convinced that after dashing the thrift store threads of old and dressing a little more fancy, as if they had a stylist on their payroll, that they would get softer and eventually up just another rock band. I decided to tune in to the broadcast. American Idiot was their anti-Bush record. I had to check them to see if they still had the old school gumption. With trepidation I sat through a few bands that were anything but "rockin'". I have no particular allegiance with Green Day but I was hoping that they would at least play "American Idiot" if for no other reason than to remind American non-idiots that there's still work to be done. Then they came on. Not only did they open with "American Idiot", but to make it clear why they were playing it, they changed the line "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda" to "I'm not a part of the MAGA agenda.". Not exactly a diatribe, but it restored a little faith. What I didn't expect is for the online reaction. A sample headline from Rolling Stone, "Trump Supporters Have a Meltdown After Green Day Slam 'MAGA Agenda' During New Year's Show". What were they expecting? When I read some of the online comments I was reminded why Trump supporters seem so clueless. Some were saying that punk rock was no place for politics. (Talk about a generation gap!!) Others, including Elon fucking Musk were calling them sell-outs. 

It's telling that the only place I was able to find a video of the whole performance is on Green Day's Instagram page. YouTube is full of clips but most have the click-whore story-repeaters' comments dubbed over it and the longest is just over a minute. It seems like we've already been through this: Fuck Donald Trump.

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Listen:
Green Day - American Idiot mp3 at Internet Archive
Green Day - Holiday mp3 at Internet Archive
Watch:
Green Day - New Year's Rockin' Eve '24 at Green Day's Instagram