DEDUCTION IS DYING. THINK IT THROUGH FIRST.

Here's a few oddball covers. Not sure of the dates, they were found in a collection from 1964-1980. Sorry, that doesn't really narrow it down. The first is a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" by Ahmad Jamal (above). The original was, what, 1972? Something like that. It's electric piano (Rhodes?) if that narrows it down any further. (I like to guess and then look it up). That one is good, a mellow vibe for putzing around, or background music if you have the sort of cocktail party where music isn't the common thread. I've heard they exist.

Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith's cover of Carole King's "It's Too Late" had to be after her original which was around 1971. With Hammond (the instrument) you never know. It's hard to pinpoint, at least for me. The last one is a jam and a half. Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers' cover of the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want". The original came out in 1968, my guess is that this cover may be from the same year or maybe a year or two later. It starts of really mellow and then all of a sudden it really kicks in. You'll want to hear the whole thing. At about two and a half minutes it sounds like the flautist is blowing his esophagus out the other end. And that's all we have for tonight. Thanks for joining us on Oddball Cover Release Date Guessing Game.

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

Listen:
Ahmad Jamal -Superstition mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith - It’s Too Late mp3 at Internet Archive
Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers - You Can’t Always Get What You Want mp3 at Internet Archive

MIGHT BE GOOD

I turned the TV to CBS to watch The Equalizer (Queen Latifah) the only show I go out of my way to watch. It wasn't on but there was Tom Hanks introducing a Grammy tribute to The Beach Boys. It's on right now and will probably be available streaming. Just keep checking that link. I'm out, Weezer's doing "California Girls".

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

Visit:
A Grammy Salute To The Beach Boys

THE OLDER I GET, THE COOLER HE GETS.

You know you're getting old when you no longer fantasize about someday being as cool as Keith Richards. It's a lot of work picking out what skull rings and other accoutrements will let the world know that you're not a square yet. Charlie Watts didn't give a shit. Of all of the Stones he's is the one who never became a caricature of himself. He was always a drummer first, not someone who needed to be a fashion plate, be in the limelight, or worry whether he was still cool. But man, could he swing. I just ran into some of his solo stuff that I've never heard.

There's a couple Stones covers he did, I've no clue when but they're not as good as the three Elvin titled cuts.  (Discogs people.) "Elvin Suite Pt 2" is so awesome I'm compelled to put part 1 down there too. But I'd start with "Elvin's Song" a third Elvin cut, sixteen minutes of all over the place. The Elvin in question, I'm guessing is Elvin Jones..

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

Listen:
Charlie Watts - Elvin Suite (Part 1) mp3 at Internet Archive
Charlie Watts - Elvin Suite (Part 2) mp3 at Internet Archive
Charlie Watts and the Tentet - Elvin's Song mp3 at Internet Archive
Charlie Watts - You Can't Always Get What You Want mp3 at Internet Archive
Charlie Watts - Paint It Black mp3 at Internet Archive

Q: HOW MANY DOORS DO YOU SEE IN THE PHOTO?

If there was one band that represented Los Angeles to the rest of the world in the late sixties, it would have to be the Doors. I was thinking about that earlier today, followed by the thought that Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg kinda wore that hat in the second half of the nineties. Then I remembered something that I'd forgotten, a cut with Snoop doing his thing over the Doors "Riders on the Storm". More than just sampling, it's almost a mash-up because there's a lot of the Doors part. At six minutes long it's a minute less than the Doors original version but it's still longer than most Snoop cuts. I seem to remember that it was done for a video game, but don't quote me on that. Here's that cut with an assortment of Doors songs and a rare live video from 1968. Dig the spoken word part at 5:15, referred to in the notes at YouTube as "Texas Radio and The Big Beat" would later appear as "The WASP (Texas Radio and The Big Beat)" three years later on the L.A. Woman LP

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

Listen:
The Doors - Twentieth Century Fox mp3 at Internet Archive
The Doors - L.A. Woman mp3 at Internet Archive
The Doors - Five to One mp3 at Internet Archive
The Doors - The WASP (Texas Radio and The Big Beat) mp3 at Internet Archive
The Doors - Riders On the Storm mp3 at Internet Archive
Snoop Dogg featuring the Doors - Riders on the Storm mp3 at Street Racing

POWERED BY BEAT-MAN

Well gang, the geniuses at Google have tightened their algorithms again leading to a dramatic decrease in traffic. Yesterday, out of 3,878 posts, there were only 60 page views. That's makes this here blog, ehh, dare I say it, somewhat of a waste of time. At it's peak this blog was getting roughly 2,600 page views a day. They gradually decreased and then nosedived multiple times as Google fucked with things. If you were to look at third party analytics, they would tell you that this blog, representing 16 years of posts, is valued at a couple hundred dollars. I've no idea where they come up with figures and I'm not doing this for money anyways but what it comes down to is this: each post is valued at about five cents. And each post takes a minimum of an hour. Fu-huck.

So, what to do? What would you do? I hate to disappoint the regulars and friends I've made over the years but I can't keep banging my head against the wall. Any ideas?

As a placeholder for tonight, as my whining passes, is a 40 minute set from Reverend Beat Man (that's him above), posted because he's still one of the heroes of this blog. Come to think of it, maybe that's what I ought to do, just post the shit that's up my alley and screw yours and everybody else's. What's the worst that can happen? I lose 60 page views a day? Oh yeahhhh, I can see it now, the return of BJ the Messenger and MC Gorditas. You're in for it.

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

Listen:
Reverend Beat Man - Come Back Lord mp3 at Go Retro

BONE UP YOUNGSTERS

A friend of mine posted these on Facebook and he said that the three part program, Punk Britannia was good and he's a guy whose taste I respect. (He's a diehard Clash guy, so that's his criteria.) These originally aired on the BBC in 2012. I've only spot checked and they seem good. Part one is below and links to the other two are at the bottom of the post. I just included the two Sex Pistols cuts because they were the guys who really got things moving. Full transparency: I'm too lazy to go hunt down more individual songs Maybe later...

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

Listen:
Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK mp3 at Tumblr
Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen mp3 at Clones Project
Watch:
Punk Britannia, Part 2 at YouTube

Punk Britannia, Part 3 at YouTube

MEANWHILE AT RANDY'S RECORD MART

Here's some reggae covers, three out of the five were hits by their original artists. I'm not sure how big Marlene Shaw's "California Soul" was because I never heard it when I was younger, but I've heard it enough by now that it had to have charted somewhere. Regardless, Faye and Mystic's cover is a good one. The other artists below, Ken Boothe, Dennis Brown, Horace Andy and Jimmy Riley are singers that started much earlier and capable of a much rootsier sound, but not on these. These have post-eighties written all over them, from the slick production to the syn-drums and what not. Diehards will probably curl a lip. My guess is that these were part of some sort of covers LP project. I guess what I'm saying is that these were intended, by way of covering hits, to draw non-reggae people to the chalice. We all can't start with U Roy.

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

Listen:
Ken Boothe - You Keep Me Hanging On mp3 at Internet Archive
Faye & Mystic - California Soul mp3 at Internet Archive
Dennis Brown - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay mp3 at Internet Archive
Horace Andy - Ain't No Sunshine mp3 at Internet Archive
Jimmy Riley - Sexual Healing mp3 at Internet Archive

HITTING TIPS FROM TED WILLIAMS

Opening day today, the baseball season gets underway. For the first time in few years I'm actually paying attention. To commemorate the return of even the slightest detectable interest, here's a few baseball related things. If you have no interest in the sport, skip straight to Mabel Scott (that's her above), whose "Baseball Boogie" swings regardless of topic. The same cannot be said of Pamela Neal's disco tribute to the autograph whore with the bad hair cut, Pete fucking Rose. Banned from the Hall of Fame not for bad taste, surprisingly, but because he tasted bad. He fucking bet on the game. Neal's disco thing is called "Charlie Hustle" as in "Do the Charlie Hustle". Clever.

The kid's portion of the show is "Tips On How to Become a Better Hitter". If your kid plays, throw him a room with that one. Ted Williams was one of the best hitters in the game, and his stats still stand as some of the best ever. Shit, this spoken word record couldn't possibly hurt. I know you over the top sports parents are looking for an edge anywhere you can find it. You'll give anything a shot.

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

Listen:
Mabel Scott - Baseball Boogie mp3 at Keep the Coffee Coming
Pamela Neal - Charlie Hustle mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Spoken Word:
Ted Williams - Tips On How to Become a Better Hitter: Part 1 and Part2 mp3s at Beware of the Blog
Video:
Ozzy Osborne - Take Me Out to the Ball Game at YouTube

AMOS MILBURN SHREDDING

A quick one tonight. Long story short: I've been under stress lately at the day gig and just got out from under the source of it. So I'm exhaling, taking it easy tonight. I've been listening to old rhythm and blues since I got home, so I'm roping you in. First some Amos Milburn and when I finish with that, a re-watching of Rhythm & Blues Revue, a 1955 flick with some heavy hitters. Lionel Hampton, Big Joe Turner, Amos Milburn, The Larks, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Cab Calloway, Ruth Brown and others. That'll keep me out of your hair for a while. Here's the movie (71 minutes):

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

Listen:
Amos Milburn - Birmingham Bounce mp3 at Rocky 52 1950
Amos Milburn - Rock, Rock, Rock mp3 at Rocky 52 1952
Amos Milburn - One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer mp3 at Rubber City Review 1953
Amos Milburn - One, Two, Three Everybody mp3 at Rocky 52 1954
Amos Milburn - Chicken Shack Boogie mp3 at Rubber City Review 1956

KINGSTON COOL. LOOK IT UP.

If you're at all interested in the original ska from early sixties Jamaica (as opposed to later ska revivals), you know that there was a handful of go-to horn players, called into action through ska to rocksteady and a few continuing through reggae. Some of the bigger names were Don Drummond (trombone), Roland Alphonso (sax), Lester Sterling (sax), Johnny "Dizzy" Moore (trumpet), and Tommy McCook (sax), all founding members of the Skatalites, and all but Drummond alumni of the Alpha Boys School (a launching pad for many early reggae musicians). Some of them had records under their own name "and the Skatalites", others were featured players with co-billing on singers' records. Tommy McCook seemed everywhere back then. Checking this handful of tunes you'll hear what the Specials, Madness and Bad Manners, and later a thousand others, used, recycled and sometimes caricatured. Despite the sound quality (a little muddy, typical for the period in Jamaica), I prefer these to the later ultra kinetic bands.

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

Listen:
Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Ska Jam mp3 at Internet Archive
Tommy McCook & The Skatalites - Rocket Ship mp3 at Internet Archive
Tommy McCook & Lester Sterling - Inez mp3 at Internet Archive
The Silvertones, Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - My True Confession mp3 at Internet Archive
Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Out of Space mp3 at Internet Archive
Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Starry Night mp3 at Music ADD
Tommy McCook - Tenor On Call mp3 at J Bird

8:00, THEATER 3

Here's some vintage rapsploitation. I haven't watched the whole thing yet but I skipped around a bit and it didn't seem as corny as I thought it would be. This is based on Russell Simmons and the beginnings of DefJam. With Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and the Fat Boys, it's definitely worth a look. Besides, as it says, "It's Chillin'".  It's a freebie at YouTube, so you have to sit through ads a few times. Just mute it. You should always mute the ads.

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

Watch:
Krush Groove at YouTube Full film w/ads

UH, BLAME THE SKY.

I heard Al Green in my car yesterday, on the radio. It was followed by Marvin Gaye. It was a good drive. When I got home I put on some Al Green. After a few songs I was headed out to the alley to have a smoke and read a few pages.  When I opened the door and looked toward the ocean, the sun had just set and the sky had that blue fade and high up at the darkest part a crescent moon, just below it a star. With Green singing as I took it in, it was one of those moments when the music matched what was happening in feel, not necessarily lyrically. More like a soundtrack. There's so much to choose from with Al Green. You've heard the hits so here's a handful of covers. It's great  hearing how he reworks them.

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

Listen:
Al Green - I Want To Hold Your Hand mp3 at Internet Archive
Al Green - The Letter mp3 at Internet Archive
Al Green - I Can't Get Next To You mp3 at Internet Archive

NIGHT OF THE COUNTRY DOWNERS

You've heard the old joke about what happens when you play a country and western record backwards, right?. The wife returns, the dog comes back to life, the home foreclosure is cancelled and the boss re-hires the the singer. It's an old joke. Commander Cody and The Lost Planet Airmen made a joke out of sad country songs along the same line. In "Seeds and Stems" Bill Kirchen sings "You know, my dog died just yesterday and left me all alone, the finance company dropped by today and repossessed my home, but that's just a drop in the bucket compared to losing you, and I'm down to seeds and stems again, too." Hi-yuck. Stoner country.

I happened on a couple cuts from a Monument Records compilation that are what the poster called countrypolitan which I'm assuming is psuedo-country sung by fancy city folk, at the least country light. Regardless, whether cry in your beer or cry in your martini, these are sad sack gold. "The Runt" is about bullying and "Apology at Bedtime (My Little Boy)" is sung (or spoken) by a dad to a sleeping son, apologizing for riding him too hard. Don't get me started about the latter. An apology is all fine and dandy, but when the kid is asleep? What good is that going to do? Sure, real sincere apology there. From a dad too cowardly and egotistic to apologize when his son is awake. And, no, my dad's name isn't Jim Mann. There's a B-side in there someplace.

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

Listen:
Dave Rich - The Runt mp3 at Internet Archive
Jim Mann - Apology at Bedtime (My Little Boy) mp3 at Internet Archive
Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airman - Seeds and Stems (streaming) at YouTube

MUSIC FOR SPRING BREAKERS

I was going to post the Legendary Stardust Cowboy so I had to check to see how long it had been since I've posted his stuff. There's a lot of guys like him that I post every few years so they don't get forgotten, whether they're alive or dead. I want to make sure the younger generations know who he is. They can cruise through their twenties not knowing who the fuck Paul McCartney is but, goddamn it, they better know the Ledge.



When I was checking the old posts I was surprised that I really didn't repeat myself over the course of them and was considering cut and pasting them into one long post. Alas, I'm too damn lazy. You can just go to the old posts, right? It's worth it. Between the two below you can read about Bowie borrowing "Stardust" for his Ziggy Stardust persona and years later covering one of his songs. Oh, and the story about the Ledge leaving two messages on my answering machine (serious). Here's just a couple early cuts. "Paralyzed" is like his "Johnny B. Goode", that's what put him on the map. Oh yeah, T-Bone Burnett played drums on it. I'm cutting out before I really run off at the mouth.

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

Listen:
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy - Paralyzed mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy - Who's Knocking At My Door mp3 at Beware of the Blog
More at the earlier posts:
What Becomes a Legend Most? 2014
The King of Pop is Alive 2009

THE SONG THAT WON'T LEAVE

I was twelve years old when I bought my first LP, Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Like other Creedence LPs, there were covers as filler, four on this LP. Creedence was good at choosing covers and even better at putting the Creedence stamp on them. Being my first LP, it was the first time I heard any of the covers. So I didn't know "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" at all. Being twelve, I was not yet into doing the cover version backward crawl. It was was a few years before I heard any of the Motown versions.

There were three Motown versions. The Temptations were the first to record it but Gladys Knight and the Pips' version was the first to be released. After those two were released, Marvin Gaye's came out and kicked ass, becoming the version most people think of. Anyway, Creedence's version is eleven minutes long, and it has the sound of a long Creedence song, their sustained notes swamp thing going on. I like it but that's because I've heard it so much it's ingrained in my skull. When it comes to doing the song in a band's unique style and sound, the Slits totally made it their own. Shit, their version came out just nine years after Creedence's.

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

Listen:
Gladys Knight and the Pips - I Heard It Through the Grapevine mp3 at Internet Archive
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through the Grapevine mp3 at Internet Archive
Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Heard It Through the Grapevine mp3 at Internet Archive
The Slits - I Heard It Through the Grapevine mp3 at Internet Archive

"...FUCKIN' HIGH SCHOOL, BULLSHIT JIVE ARTISTS"

Drum solos are a weird thing. Rarely are they dance-able and, unless a talking drum is utilized, there's no melody. Sometimes they're just ridiculous. When is all said and done, it's really just an opportunity for the drummer to show off. If he can. Buddy Rich could.

Yesterday I came across of a reissue of an LP I own, Krupa and Rich. If you know drummers, you know who Rich is and you probably know who Gene Krupa is. Both of them were their era's Keith Moon or Ginger Baker, i.e. drummers' drummers. Just full on kick ass relentless beating. They actually had several more joint LPs, at least two titled Drum Battle and there is a live version of "Drum Battle", the song, on Jazz at the Philharmonic, Volume 15, a 3 LP box set from 1954. (Just mentioning that one so I can brag that I scored a copy in great shape - in a dollar bin.) The Krupa and Rich LP, while at times restrained, really goes off in spots. There's only one song that they do together so at least you get to hear their chops within the same context. The reissue I came across had a couple added tracks, one was a Buddy Rich (no Krupa) called "Monster". If you know me, that's a Pavlovian click. Buddy Rich + Monster = no brainer. So, I'm listening and it's a nice jam with the rest of the band taking their turn in the spotlight. Then after six minutes, it's all Rich. Five minutes of arms flailing sweat dripping teeth gritting mayhem. One guy. I actually went to the listing at Discogs to verify that Krupa or another drummer weren't also on it. Hard to believe that someone could go at that intensity for that long. It's crazy man.

Speaking of Rich, monsters and crazy, I have to link to Rich berating his band after a gig. Buddy Rich loves to say the word "fuck". So much so, there's no "almost", it is comical. Total all caps.  There's four segments, only one below with a link to the other three and the story about the tapes. Show off, asshole, good guy or bad guy, he was 100% his own person.

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

Listen:
Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich - Bernie's Tune mp3 at Internet Archive
Buddy Rich - Monster mp3 at Internet Archive Solo starts at about 6:17
Buddy Rich - Workin'my fuckin' ass off (Audio 1) mp3 at Track Drummer
More fuckin' tirades at Track Drummer

DETOUR OF THE NIGHT

It's one of those things where you're looking for something and end up finding something else. In this case, I was trolling for Howlin' Wolf, specifically stuff on Chess where he really hit his stride. Amongst the songs was "Mr. Airplane Man" which reminded me of the duo of the same name who I hadn't heard in a few years. So, I went looking for stuff by Mr. Airplane Man, the band. I found a podcast with them playing and being interviewed. That's down there along with a handful from the Wolf. I tried to select some lesser known cuts but with "Mr. Highway Man" that goes out the window, particularly when it's an alternate version I hadn't heard. Now I'm off to check YouTube for Mr. Airplane Man to catch up with them. Never ends, this shit.

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

Listen:
Howlin' Wolf - Mr. Airplane Man mp3 at Internet Archive Takes 1 & 2
Howlin' Wolf - Mr. Highway Man (alt) mp3 at Internet Archive
Howlin' Wolf - California Boogie mp3 at Internet Archive
Howlin' Wolf - Baby, Ride With Me (alt 3) mp3 at Internet Archive
The Legendary Lost Mr. Airplane Man Session! (Episode 249) - Heritage Radio Network at Internet Archive 20 minute podcast.

I MISS THRIFT STORE SCORES

Here's a few things from the late fifties or early sixties, kind of straddling rhythm and blues and early soul. They're all solid candidates for mixes, you know, the ol' mystery jam trick where you look like some full-on musicologist simply because you drop in a few quality songs by people most listeners don't know ever existed. The only name I recognized was Little Willie John. The J.J. Jackson that did "Oo-Ma-Liddi" is not the same J.J. Jackson that who did "But, It's Alright" (nor is he the ex-VJ of the same name that used to be on MTV back in the day). All four of these were selected at random and all four kick ass.

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

Listen:
J.J. Jackson & The Jackaels - Oo-Ma-Liddi mp3 at Internet Archive
Charles Sheffield - It's Your Voodoo Working mp3 at Internet Archive
Little Willie John - Uh Uh Baby (No No Baby) mp3 at Internet Archive
Prince Conley - I'm Going Home mp3 at Internet Archive

ME NEITHER.

Wout Steenhuis? Shit, I don't know. I heard a few cuts from his 1965 LP Hawaiian Surf Ride, Hawaiian as in the lap steel variety. It was good, very clean and precise. But what of that name? Curious of his origin, I read the bio of him at Wikipedia. Ho-ly shit. His Dutch origins are just the beginning. Really, read the bio. How come none of you ever told me about this guy?

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

Listen:
Wout Steenhuis - Haitian Hula mp3 at Internet Archive
Wout Steenhuis - Hawaiian Surf Ride mp3 at Internet Archive
Wout Steenhuis - Sweet Lelani mp3 at Internet Archive
Wout Steenhuis - Hawaiian Twilight mp3 at Internet Archive

LEIBER AND STOLLER WON'T LEAVE.

I know I just posted the Coasters a while back but here's a couple curiosities. Songs by Leiber and Stoller that were hits by the Coasters but recorded earlier by women. "Down In Mexico" by Ella Mae Morse and "Riot In Cell Block #9" by Vicki Young. Both awesome, more rhythm and blues than doo wop. As a bonus, an early version of "Hound Dog" (also written by Leiber and Stoller) by Freddy Bell and the Bellboys that pre-dates Elvis's version (not sure about Big Mama Thornton's). All three of these are pre-1956 because they're from Leiber and Stoller's California era, before they exploded back East with the Coasters and others.

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

Listen:
Ella Mae Morse - Down In Mexico mp3 at Internet Archive
Vicki Young - Riot In Cell Block #9 mp3 at Internet Archive
Freddy Bell and the Bellboys - Hound Dog mp3 at Internet Archive