HER FAULT.

On the ride home tonight, it was Gal Costa. She hit the spot. Driving into the beach area where I live, it was sunny and warm, breezy. With Gal Costa on the deck I felt like I was traveling in a different country. I've no explanation. Despite her singing in Portuguese (she was Brazilian) it wasn't that. It may have been the hard to peg nature of her music. It's definitely Brazilian (what with Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso collaborating and a cover of Os Mutantes' "Baby") but not traditional, it's Tropicalia, kind of a mixed bag at that. If you are not familiar with Tropicalia, here's a good primer, Brazil - The Tropicalist Revolution, a documentary on the movement that changed Brazilian music. Part one is below and links to the other parts are at the bottom of the post. If you really want to go down a  rabbit hole, do a random web search for "Tropicalia" and cancel all your plans for the night.

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

Listen:
Gal Costa w/Gilberto Gil- Sebastiana mp3 at Internet Archive
Gal Costa w/Caetano Veloso - Baby mp3 at Internet Archive
Gal Costa - Saudosismo mp3 at Internet Archive
Gal Costa - More at Internet Archive
Watch:
Brazil - The Tropicalist Revolution:
Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

"MAKE UP! WE'RE GONNA NEED SOME MORE SNOT."

It's been decades since the original Nuggets garage punk compilation came out and I still haven't really gone out of my way to look into the backgrounds of many of the bands on it. That's because that first two LP compilation was joined by others. There were multiple Nuggets compilations, another series, the imaginatively titled Pebbles, the Back From the Grave series, more from Sundazed,...there were just too many to check out the bios of every band. So, once I return to a song I like, that's when I do a cursory background check. Today, a band lost me.The Leaves coulda passed the test based on the two songs I know. "Too Many People" was the one I had to hear. "Hey Joe" was the other. (Their version of the latter was the first released, before versions by Hendrix and others.)

Before the bio check, the photo. Yikes! I ran across the photo above. Things ain't looking too good. Those perfectly coiffed bowl cuts seem a little disingenuous, even keeping in mind that almost all bands back then had their eyes on the charts. So, the Leaves are on probation. Now on to background shit, I dunno, let's try Wikipedia. Once there, there, I was almost blinded. In a sea of words, it might as well have been a neon sign, "They were discovered by popular singer and actor Pat Boone". Game over. Anyone who had anything to do with Pat Boone has a space reserved on the shit list. As you know, Boone is the archenemy of any true Little Richard fan. The conversation ends here.

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

Listen:
The Leaves - Too Many People mp3 at Internet Archive
The Leaves - Hey Joe mp3 at Internet Archive

TRUE: HE LATER HAD A BIG OL' AFRO

I was just going to a random mix at Internet Archive, a radio show. Four one hour shows. Right out of the gate, Frankie Ford's "Sea Cruise". It had been so long since I've heard that song it was like going home. So, before listening to the mix, I was off on a Frankie Ford tack. Then, after hearing Ford's cover of Joe Jones's "You Talk Too Much", I went to the Jones original (Jones wins). Then I remembered. The ballgame is on.

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

Listen:
Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise mp3 at Rocky 52
Frankie Ford - Roberta mp3 at Rocky 52
Frankie Ford - Watch Dog mp3 at Rocky 52
Frankie Ford - You Talk Too Much mp3 at Rocky 52
Joe Jones - You Talk Too Much mp3 at Time Goes By

THE UNDER THE RADAR LIFER

Here's another guy that doesn't really get the recognition that he deserves, Big Al Downing. He's the piano player in the photo above, in his early band the Poe Cats. This guy did it all, rhythm and blues, rockabilly, country, gospel, and disco. Not to slight his other musical identities, it's his stuff from the rock 'n' roll era that I dig, his early stuff sounding something along the lines of Fats Domino meets Little Richard.

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

Listen:
Big Al Downing and the Poe Cats - Down On the Farm mp3 at Rocky 52 1958
Big Al Downing and the Poe Cats - Oh Babe mp3 at Rocky 52 1958
Big Al Downing and the Poe Cats - When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again mp3 at Rocky 52 1959