Oh, wow. I ran into a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Something Else" by Led Zeppelin, from a live 1969 BBC thing. The music backing is pretty straight, about the way you'd expect them to sound covering it. Then, Robert Plant. Gads! While Plant almost quivers you can't help but wonder if he's just having a laugh. It's a really wimpy delivery. Hell, Sid Vicious sings it more convincingly, albeit with more attitude than is really necessary (it is Sid Vicious). I just added the Flamin' Groovies because it was done the same year as Led Zep's. Yee haw, contrast and compare your ass off.
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Remember the kids that I mentioned a few days ago on the Black Sabbath post? They reminded me of a few Flamin' Groovies things I've been meaning to post, "Teenage Head" in particular. If you're not familiar with the song, it's not about fellatio (blow jobs for you illiterates). The opening lyrics: "I'm a monster, got a revved up teenage head. Teenage monster, California born and bred. Half a boy and half a man, I'm half at sea and half on land, oh my. Bye, bye." Never mind the fact that the singer was no longer a teenager, this is an JD anthem for the ages, particularly if you are California born and bred. In the presence of the these two kids, who party, ride skateboards, chase skirts and, if they're drunk enough, fight each other, I was reminded of that first verse of "Teenage Head" which in turn reminded me of an interesting LP that has the 1986 version of the Groovies recorded live in a studio in Australia. It's one of the few places you're going to hear the same version of the Groovies play both "Teenage Head" from their earlier 1971 incarnation (often described as an American version of the Stones) and "Shake Some Action", from the later 1976 incarnation (sounding more like the Beatles) in a studio setting.. Of course the later recording is from a decade later but that's kind of why I like it. It's a tad grittier both in performance and in the mix. Cyril Jordan sounds like Paul Westerberg on "Shake Some Action", a little worn having been recorded at the end of an Australian tour. I'm digging both of these later versions because I've heard the originals so many times they've lost a little of their punch.
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A friend posted a thing on Facebook
about the Flamin' Groovies Shake Some Action LP, praising it. This was
after he mentioned a few days ago that the first Blondie LP, released
around the same time, did not age well. I wholeheartedly agree. Shake
Some Action is a great album, produced by Dave Edmunds, in my friends
words "possibly the best Beatles tribute of all time". And he would know.
I'm not going down that road tonight, just take it from me. This he was
saying about Shake Some Action. It was like Flamin' Groovies 2.0. All
polished, courtesy of Edmunds. Roy Loney's out, Chris Wilson's in. And
suits. What's that all about? A different band, only one album removed
from Teenage Head. So, here's four songs from four successive LPs, the
first two with Loney in the band, and the second two with Wilson in the
band.
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I was driving home today, listening to Exile on Main St., thinking what a zillion people have thought over the years, that it's a damn fine album. Then I asked myself the unanswerable question. Where were the American Stones back then? Who were the American Stones back then? Was there ever an American version of the Stones? No, not really. They were the Stones, at their peak. Who's gonna compete with that? Who's even close to the task?. I went through the checklist. Creedence? They were huge, hit after hit, and long jams on the LPs, they did cool covers, and there were a two guitar band. De-merits? They were a four piece and the lacked a certain je ne sais decadence.
Who else? NRBQ? Good songs, good covers, but one guitar. Terry Adams, one always in the spotlight, played keys. Shit, why go down the checklist. Thinking of them as an American version of the Stones is almost laughable. No danger apparent in NRBQ. Seems we're going to have to loosen the guidelines. Okay, Flamin' Groovies? Ooh, we're getting closer. Back around 1968-1970 before their power pop Beatle-y phase, they were two guitars, bass and drums, and a singer. Nice solid five piece. Again, well selected covers. Visually, in the medium-to-scrawny size, a little flashier on stage. Musically, some decent slide quitar, a reliance on Dan Armstrongs which could go either way. Still, there's something missing. They never really seemed to bang on all cylinders, and just where the fuck are the drugs? You can't scare parents with music alone. Fuck I give up. The Groovies were close enough, for tonight, for me to slide on out of here.
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If you've seen that record cover above, chances are you have the record. When was the last time you listened to it? I hadn't listened to mine in a while, but it's there all right, just sitting there waiting to be played, practically apologizing for leaning too heavily on covers, "but you like 'Teenage Head' right? Everybody likes that song." It's a great LP, really, a nice sturdy rock 'n' roll record.
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To any of you who have heard the Flamin' Groovies and don't know what the fuss is about, you're thinking about it too much. If you are one of them, you've no doubt read some things that praise them, unashamedly gushing. People that write that stuff are likely thinking about it too much as well. But take it from an original doubter, they'll grow on you.
As for any descriptions of them as the American version of the Stones, check "Slow Death". Although it's an adequate production job by Dave Edmunds, imagine that in the hands of Jimmy Miller. In that era too, 1972, Miller had just produced "Exile On Main St." Then again, a viewing of the Groovies in '72 doing "Roll Over Beethoven" isn't exactly fortifying my case. And therein lies the Groovies downfall. Quality control. Some really really good stuff sprinkled throughout, but not without its accompanying bar band dreck. There, I've said it.
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What the hell. I ran into a song by someone unfamiliar to me, Michel Pagliaro, over at Art Decade. That's the guy in the photo above. It ended up wetting my appetite for some more of the same type of seventies pop. The other bands below came to mind because they were championed by different friends. That's what this type of stuff is like. For every seventies pop band, or power pop if that's what you want to call it, there's a fan base that thinks they're the greatest think since sliced bread. If there wasn't I might not have actually gotten past a couple listens. But, you know what? If you listen to a few in a row, it'll make you lighten up. There is a function.
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I am well past the age of requiring adult supervision, but when I hear this song I have a hard time resisting the urge to crawl out my bedroom window and go shoplifting.
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Did you know the Flamin' Groovies got back together? What's that? C'mon, you should know the Flamin' Groovies. They're not like some super obscure hipster-cited cult band. They're a damn rock 'n' roll band, one of very few that made it through the late sixties San Francisco unscathed by tie-dye and other such hippie nonsense. They started in '65, releasing their first record, a 10", themselves, and just kept plugging away for the next fifteen years in relative obscurity. (Some of you older slugs may remember how plentiful Teenage Head and Flamingo were in the cut-out bins.) Some people will tell you that they were the American version of the Stones. If having a reverence for early rock 'n' roll and the chops to carry the torch, without watering it down or succumbing to popular taste, particularly when it was detrimental to your own success, means you're the American Stones, they might be right. In fact, the Groovies may have actually been more true to their cool than the Stones. To wit, there was no disco leaning drivel like "Miss You". There was "Shake Some Action". If recording a power pop classic is as far as they ventured from their earlier raunch, hell, I'll take it.
There's a documentary currently in the works about their history and the reunion. (See the trailer here.) Whether or not the reunited Groovies perform well enough to garner their long overdue fifteen minutes, I'm just happy they're back together. Shit, it's nice just to see Cyril Jordan talking, still believing.
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Know what I like about the Flamin' Groovies? Some of their stuff is almost impossible to date. I heard "Road House" today, from their LP Flamingo. In different parts, it's got the pace of '77 era punk rock, a lot of mid-seventies era guitar licks, and an drum heavy ending that lasts about half the length of the song. I'm not saying anything about the release date. In the event that you've never heard it, it it's better that way. (After you hear it, there's a link to the Wikipedia entry for the album below. The date's there.). I'm not saying that it's some sort of earth shattering masterpiece, it's just that I like it's timeless sort of quality. You might be able to narrow it down to a decade, but that's about it. There's a few others down there just to round things out.
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Boy, this is a mixed bunch, with only the loosest of threads. I was puttin' around town today listening to an old mix that I made that had the Flamin' Groovies, the Blues Explosion and a few other bands that got me all riled up and wishing I was having one of those good ol' "Really, they said I was having a party tonight?" type impromptu what-the-hell, if you can't beat 'em join 'em type Saturday night throwdowns, just like the good old days. Problem is, that ol' gang of mine has, literally, moved on. Time was, there was a steady stream of drop-ins on just about every weekend night (and some during the week) that would give cause to hiding a few beers in the vegetable drawer. People get married, move away, buy homes where they can afford them, and start families. Not me. Just like John Milner said in the movie American Grafitti, "I'm staying right here, having fun, as usual." It is what it is, to use a phrase I hate to use. We all grow up in different ways and I suppose. now that I'm a little older, my way is leaving beer right out in the open. So I guess this is for the "Do you have a paper plate?' "Who pissed on the seat?" "Is that the last one?" "He's upstairs" "Can I play this?" friends. They know who they are. I have carpet stains named after some of you, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Love you more because of it. XO you loiterers.
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A few years ago, while visiting San Francisco, I found myself with a day to do nothing but eat, shit, and shop for records, so that's what I did. After scouting overpriced but excellent hole in the wall stores in North Beach, I trekked out to the end of Haight, for my second visit in two days to the huge ass record store that I cannot name. (They put a friend's record store out of business, so I should add that I kinda had it in for this store, like all predatory Goliaths.) It was huge, and its size offered a relatively broad selection. After checking the bins of disparate semi-obscure artists to get an idea of their selection, I eventually made it to the garage section, which is where I ran into the guy who smelled like cigarettes.
While browsing, he went from "the annoying recommender" to dyed in the wool rock n' roll heart, that smelled like cigarettes. One look at this guy told you everything you needed to know. He was older than me (which is to say, not young), with long sideburns, weathered face, and beat to shit leather jacket The "I've been around so long, all the hipsters my age went straight long ago" look. This guy was one real rocker, stealth, no showboatin'. While browsing next to each other, talk turned to the Nuggets boxed sets, then Kicks magazine and somehow segued to him telling stories about his buddy Cyril Jordan and the Flamin' Groovies. Up to this point, my most prominent impression of the Groovies was "Shake Some Action," a great record, but a little too polished for my tastes.
Years earlier, I, like many teenagers, bought "Teenage Head" as a cut-out, on the merit of the cool band shot on the cover, only to dump it later. But dang me if the guy that smelled like cigarettes didn't convince to give it another listen. What amazes me now is that this total stranger was so true to his old school cool, that his opinion carried merit; just based on the sense that he was that rare bird, the real thing. Now, every time I hear the Flamin' Groovies, I think about that guy, and the shit shooting session that lasted well over an hour. So these are for the guy who smelled like cigarettes, who was convinced that the Flamin' Groovies, in their prime, were the American Stones. I should have bought him a beer.
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You should know him. You probably do. He recorded with, or produced, (...ready?) the Stones, Wilson Picket, Aretha Franklin, the Flamin' Groovies, Duane Allman, the Cramps, the Replacements, Toots Hibbert, Alex Chilton, Big Star, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dion, Dylan, Ry Cooder, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Mojo Nixon, Mudhoney and many, many more. I knew his name from album credits (remember those?) over the years but never kept a mental tally. After his death, a week and a half ago, I began seeing bloggers' tributes and was astounded by his dossier.
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He was a musician, and a producer, but he was a music freak first. Like you. Like me. And, if his output was any indication, the man had taste. His "Monkey Man," recorded with the Katmandu Quartet, sounds like the Legendary Stardust Cowboy fronting a Northwest garage band. Red Headed Woman, recorded with the Cramps and showcasing his skills on the 88's sounds like, well, the Legendary Stardust Cowboy fronting the Cramps with Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Then there's the 1967 straight-up garage rocker he played on with Flash and the Memphis Casuals, "Uptight Tonight." And (what seems to be commonly regarded as) the last great 45 on Sun, "Cadillac Man" b/w "My Babe" by the Jesters, which he sang lead on, though he wasn't a member of the band.
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This is just a taste. Visit the blogs linked below for the entire story, and a lot more mp3s (remember, "right click, save as..."). And read album liner notes while they still exist!
