SIR LORD, COUNT, KING, AND WHO?

Change of gears here. I ran into a Sir Lord Comic cut and had to point you to it. He was an early reggae DJ, back when there were very few, Count Machuki and King Stitt among them. Sir Lord, Count and King. That's a lot of royalty floating around in those names. Then U Roy waltzes in, and ruins the whole regal name streak (though he did record for Duke Reid). Where was I? Oh yeah, Sir Lord Comic. His stuff doesn't pop up online very often, so that's why he's down there. The rest are just a cross section of DJ stuff, reggae DJ stuff (if you don't know the difference here's a wiki thing). Some of it's been here before, but there are a couple other goodies I hadn't seen before, a Big Youth live cut from '74, and a very early U Roy, with the Tommy McCook and the Supersonics (gloriously scratched I might add). 

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Listen:
Sir Lord Comic - The Great Wuga Wuga mp3 at Dinosaur Gardens
Count Machuki - Pepper Pot mp3 at Planet Mondo
King Stitt & the Wailing Souls - Whitebread mp3 at Constant Pressure
U Roy - Flashing My Whip mp3 (via DivShare) at Black Gold with Tommy McCook!
U Roy - Runaway Girl mp3 at Tous les jours la grande chose
Scotty - Draw Your Breaks mp3 at La Grand Chose
Dillinger - Cocaine mp3 at Giant Panther
Big Youth - Cool Breeze mp3 at Le Blog de la Grande Chose
Big Youth - Santa Massa Gone Ya (Live) mp3 at Earmilk 
Dennis Alcapone - Cassius Clay mp3 at Reggae Top Site 

THEY ARE A MACHINE

Back when I was just a kid, my family went over to my Grandma's house to welcome home my uncle, who was in his early twenties and in the military. He had just returned from a stint in Okinawa, Japan. While all the requisite back patting and hand shaking was going on, me and my brothers stared at the end of the living room with our jaws agape. There before us was a monstrous component stereo, the likes of which we had never seen. To pre-teen kids with just limited exposure to a beat ass AM clock radio, it might as well have been a wall of Marshall stacks. It was behemoth. My uncle noticed our preoccupation and asked us if we wanted to hear it. He then put on a record and turned it up. Ba boom boom. ba doom!!! It was the Ventures' cover of the theme from Hawaii Five-O. We were floored. I was 11, and the Ventures were on my radar. They've been there ever since.

It wasn't long after that that our friends around the corner had procured the Ventures' Surfing LP at a  garage sale. It began our surf music obsession, that has lasted, shit, it's still ongoing. In the ensuing years we started picking up this surf LP or that, leading us to the Chantays, the Surfaris, the Lively Ones, the Challengers, and all the others that were, at the time, all over the thrift stores. We went further back as well, with Duane Eddy, who was also a favorite of my uncle's. My brother would later start a surf band. All of this from hearing the Ventures on a giant stereo.

Just watch the video below. Even with a hit on the charts, they can't catch a break. I mean to say, the girls in the audience aren't exactly going ape shit. They look confused, like they're thinking "what is this?" (Starting at 1:40, four quizzical gals in a row.)

It's easy to take the Ventures for granted. It seems like they've always been around. Most of their output has been covers. Their records are accessible. Their output was so prolific that, at one time, used copies of their LPs were falling from the sky. But, you gotta cop to them, they are one tight instrumental machine. Technically, I know they must be hot shit, because all of the Mosrite nazis I know respect them (and if you know Mosrite nuts, they're usually excellent guitarists themselves). You? You may have heard all of the Ventures that you care to. To me they're an instrumental safe harbor, and although there are wilder instrumental combos out there, I have to tip my cap. Motherfuckers are still touring too.

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Listen:
The Ventures - Walk Don't Run mp3 at Sampablo's Cleaning (?)
The Ventures - Hawaii Five O mp3 at LZ Center
The Ventures - Pipeline mp3 at VVA 310
The Ventures - Endless Summer Theme mp3 at Us Hawaiians
The OG:
Chet Atkins - Walk Don't Run (streaming) at YouTube
Covers of a cover: 
The Trashmen - Walk Don't Run mp3 at Tiny Vices
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - Walk Don't Run mp3 at Review Stalker
Visit:
The Ventures at Wikipedia
The Ventures Official site
The Ventures Discography

PEANUT, EH? YEAH, SURE.

You know how to tell that your taste has changed? I opened a recent freebie magazine and saw an ad for local venue, and among the upcoming events were shows by the Damned, and Thee Midniters. Now, I've never been all that into the Damned, and I'm sure that's the result of two things. One is that when they first started making noise in the states, the Sex Pistols and the Clash were the other two big UK punk bands. It was a wait and see thing, undoubtedly propelled by thing number two: Dave Vanian's fucking make up routine. I remember thinking it was a bit Alice Cooperish for punk rock, and really kind of out of place. Of course, I later came to like a few of their songs, but I still don't own any of their records. 

I don't own any records by Thee Midniters either, but seeing that they were coming got me me more worked up then the Damned coming (what year is it anyway?). If you're not familiar with Thee Midniters, don't let the double "e" in their name fool you. They're not some garage band. Wait, I guess they sorta are, but in a different vein. They were big in the sixties East L.A. scene. Pretty much thee band. In their scene they were the equivalent of the Sex Pistols or the Clash, not the Damned. (Well, that was one roundabout tweak.) "Whittier Blvd" was their biggee, but you have to listen to "I Found A Peanut". The smack begins to flow at :36.

Writing that last phrase made me think of the Velvet's "Heroin", so I just chased "I Found A Peanut" with "Heroin", and who knew? They sound completely different, but the feel is remotely the same. Listening to them back to back made me feel more wasted than I've been in a very long time. This is all nighter music.

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Listen:
Thee Midniters - Whittier Blvd mp3 at DRB's Blog
Thee Midniters - I Found A Peanut mp3 at Api.ning.com
Thee Midniters - Jump, Jive & Harmonize mp3 at Raven Sings the Blues
The Velvet Underground - Heroin mp3 at Music or Space Shuttle

ORIGINAL EDITION: 500

Enough of this leaning on I'm Shakin'. I went bookmark crazy over there for a few days, and am having a hard time stopping. So, let me lay this on you, man. I'm Shakin' is worth looking through. I think I mentioned that it was chocked full of keepers. Not just good music, great music that you might never run into again. It hasn't been updated in a while, but it seems like all of the music links are still good. So do yourself a favor. Bookmark the sucker. I'm going to try to resist the urge to keep posting links there, one after another. It's probably annoying somebody. So one last one, for a while anyway. Because, like those earlier in the week, this one is top shelf. And I am now finished wiggling my ass out of doing a legitimate post. Yet again.

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Listen:
Kenny and the Kasuals - I'm Not Talkin' mp3 at I'm Shakin'
Kenny and the Kasuals mp3 at I'm Shakin'
Visit:
Kenny and the Kasuals - Profile at I'm Shakin'

STEALTH

The Sparkles. That sounds like a cutesy name doesn't it? Yeah, keep on believing that. Don't bother to get past that, or the photo above. Keep thinking that these aw shucksers are incapable of getting nutty, or making wild music. I'll be over here.

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Listen:
The Sparkles - No Friend Of Mine mp4a at I'm Shakin'
The Sparkles - The Hip mp4a at I'm Shakin'
The Sparkles - Two more songs and a great profile at I'm Shakin'

WE SALUTE SAL AND MARY

It's just nuts how bottomless that well of obscure garage bands is. It seems like every kid who heard the Beatles and had access to a guitar had to give it a shot. Is there any wonder why there are so many collectors? It's because there's tons of garage bands, and a lot of the bands might have a discography that includes only one or two singles. Some of them were so young, they could have packed away their musical hopes before they even left home. But here we are, almost a half a century later, being treated to one overlooked short shelf life after another. Anyone who's ever put out a record will tell you that, no matter how good a record is, it will only sell if it gets heard. Recording that hot ass song is only part of it. Someone needs to promote that record and get it in the hands of radio people, concert promoters and the like. When your parents start their own label to put out your record, it's almost guaranteed that it won't get the exposure it could, because instead of hounding boss jocks, they're likely pushing them on their fellow PTA members or the guys at work. "Yeah, Sam, you have a teenager at home. How's about bringin' home one of my kid's records?"

That may seem like a bad thing, but ho-ly shit, think about that sub-genre for a second. Garage band records pressed by parents of the band. "Son, even though the record execs aren't interested, me and your mother think you're fantastic. We'd like to put out a record by you and the boys, and watch it climb the charts." How ever well intended, it sounds like a recipe for disaster, or at least disappointment. Any way you look at it, the possibility of parental involvement in any rock 'n' roll endeavor being a hindrance is high. But then again, that guy that the father pushed the record on, the guy at work, took it home and gave it to his kids, It became a favorite of theirs, but their friends weren't interested because they hadn't heard it on the radio. The kids lose interest and it ends up bouncing around thrift stores for a few decades. Until it lands in the hands of someone who, thank a deity, recognizes it as one hot ass slice of something that must be shared. Behold S.J. and the Crossroads, as heard on Salmar Records, funded by Sal and Mary Serio, parents of two of the members. A short bio and two songs are at I'm Shakin'. Be advised: their cover of Jessie Hill's "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" is a fucking riot. This is a long winded hell yeah endorsement. Go there, it's worth the trip.

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Listen:
S.J. and the Crossroads - Ooh Poo Pah Doo mp3 at I'm Shakin' Go there to get it.
Jessie Hill - Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Pt 1 mp3 at Junk Shop Juke Box
Jessie Hill - Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Pt 2 mp3 at Junk Shop Juke Box
S.J. and the Crossroads - Night Time mp3 at I'm Shakin' Go there to get it.
The Strangeloves - Night Time mp3 at Nevver

MEET LINDA GAYLE

Fu-huck yeah. There is no other way to put it. This song just flat out kicks ass. I'm not dumbing it down, I just can't express it a better way. That is what it does. It makes me want to bounce off the walls, and other things far less responsible. It's a cover of Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" by Linda Gayle, from 1965. If you're thinking, "oh yeah, another Dylan cover,...ho hum", think again. If you don't believe me, it's you're loss. I don't want to elaborate, because I don't want to ruin it for you. So do this. Just go there, sit back and take in the first few seconds. Then buckle in.

It appears to be one of those odd mysterious force 45s, because everything else I've heard from her is tamer, some considerably so. Though, her version of "Got My Mojo Workin'" is good, it's nowhere near as good as the Dylan cover. That's the one. That's when everything comes together, when a song becomes a party. A party that you want to be at. This comes from Boogie Woogie Flu, and I'm not linking directly to the mp3 because his blog deserves to be visited. (It's just one more click.)

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Listen:
Linda Gayle - Maggie's Farm mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu Go there to get it.
Linda Gayle - Got My Mojo Workin' (streaming) at YouTube

YARDBIRDS? NEVER HEARD OF 'EM.

Something funny is going on here. It's not unusual to borrow a guitar part here or there. That's how music evolves. But when a band borrows from another particular band twice in the same recording session, you gotta figure something's going on, even if not intentionally. The Yardbirds songs below were recorded in 1965 ("I'm Not Talkin'") and, I think, 1967 (Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"). The Iggy and the Stooges cuts were recorded around 1972. In London. Come to your own conclusions. Any way you look at it, whether it was intentional or coincidental, it's interesting. 

"I Gotta Right" and "I'm Not Talkin'" just share the first few bars, that's it. But "I'm Sick of You" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" (I hate that title) share a significant guitar part. In "I'm Sick of You" it comes at 2:35, in "Happenings..." it's at :46. (That one was pointed out in a review I read years ago, either in Slash or Back Door Man.)

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Listen:
Iggy and the Stooges - I Gotta Right mp3 at Olcros (?)
The Yardbirds - I'm Not Talkin' mp3 at Yardbirds.us (?)
Iggy and the Stooges - I'm Sick of You mp3 at Olcros (?)
The Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago mp3 at X818

ADVICE FROM AN ELDER

Here's a couple of cuts from the alien who will not go quietly, Roky Erickson. His first big record with the 13th Floor Elevators, "You're Gonna Miss Me", was released in 1966 when he was just nineteen years old. Two years later he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and it's been an uphill battle ever since. He's been in and out of psychiatric hospitals, claimed he was an alien, and had various obsessions. (One of which was mail, as in collecting junk mail, and writing to celebrities, both alive and dead. You know, the usual stuff.) He has put out some really great records, and put out some stinkers. But the cool thing is that the man is still here.

Roky Erickson's advice: "Just to find the things that you love and are important and ... make sure you have them with you."

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Listen:
13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me (mono) mp3* at The Rising Storm
13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me (stereo) mp3* at The Rising Storm
*Direct linking may be disabled. If so, just go to the site to hear them
Roky Erickson - Don't Shake Me Lucifer mp3 at Nevver 1980(?)
More songs and links at this earlier post Several of the song links are still good.

SHUT UP, MY MOM MADE THIS SHIRT

Here's another one with some surface scuzz, Kit and the Outlaws' "Don't Tread On Me". You may know it, or you might have heard one of several covers; the Nomads and the Gravedigger V are two that come to mind (and the Cramps, though with different lyrics). As great as those bands are, the original is something to behold, the fuzz, the in-the-red production, the vocals,...man, this is one tough song. You can imagine what their cover of "Midnight Hour" sounds like. It is another monster.

I'm Shakin', the hosting blog is packed with gems this good; quite a variety too, not just garage. From Kenny and the Kasuals, to Ray Barretto. And different levels of obscurity too. I guarantee you'll find a good deal of Grade A stuff over there that you didn't know existed. Every single post I've seen is excellent.

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Listen:
Kit and the Outlaws - Don't Tread On Me mp4a at I'm Shakin'
Kit and the Outlaws - Midnight Hour mp4a at I'm Shakin'
Note: The links are mp4a files, but they play in my player so hopefully they'll work with yours. If not, free converters are available. 

I HEART WORN RECORDS

Even if your familiar with Andre Williams, even if you know the song "Humpin', Bumpin' and Thunmpin'", there is something to dig in this. Because if you know the song, my unscientific guess is that you probably like the sounds of vinyl pops and scratches, and this record's got 'em. You know it's the perfect way to hear it.

There's a few more down there and, if you have a little time, the complete documentary done back in 2008. Even if you've seen it, it's on Hulu, and these days I'm sure some of you have some sort of gizmo that plays it on your giant wall filling dominant fixture.

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Listen:

Andre Williams - Humpin', Bumpin' and Thumpin' mp3 at Jukebox Mafia
Andre Williams - Agile, Mobile, Hostile (1998) mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Andre Williams & the Don Juans - Pulling Time (1955) mp3 at Beware of the Blog

Andre Williams - Dirt mp3 at Bloodshot Records
Andre Williams with the Sadies - One Eyed Jack mp3 at Stagedive

Watch:

Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A Year With Andrew Williams - Documentary, 2008, 1 hr 27 min at Hulu.com
Visit:
Andre Williams at Wikipedia

(AKA HARMON BETHEA)

This is some good stuff. Mask Man (real name Harmon Bethea) in various groups, including several with the Agents, his "breakthrough" group. Listen to his lyrics, he's got a storyteller's flair. He comes off like some second rate Otis, singing songs sound as if they were co-written by Doug Clark and Chuck Berry that one night they got drunk.

Here's enough to get you started. A bunch of songs at Beware of the Blog, posted by the multi-faceted, always boss, Debbie D. There's a handful below to give you an idea. I'm not sure what role Mask Man played in Billy Clark and his Orchestra's instrumental "Hot Gravy", but I don't care, because it smokes. "Talkin' About the Boss and I" is another good one, more so for the words. You really ought read the bio/obituary linked down there too. I'm mean, look at the guy. Doesn't he look like he has a story worth reading?

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Listen:
Mask Men and the Agents - One Eye Open mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Mask Man and the Agents - Roaches mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Billy Clark and His Orchestra - Hot Gravy mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Harmon Bethea - Talkin' About the Boss and I mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Mask Man - Ten more songs recorded under various other names at Beware of the Blog
Mask Man and the Agents - Six more songs at Beware of the Blog
Visit:
Variety, persistence marked D.C. singer's pursuit of the big hit at Washington Post

SAY HEY WILLIE

Willie Mitchell is one big reason why I troll. When he died a few years ago, some of my favorite haunts did tribute posts, and if they hadn't it probably would have been a while before I would have been properly introduced to his work. As I now know, he was an indispensable part of the Memphis soul sound, with his solo work and as a producer, notably most of Al Green's better known stuff.

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Listen:
Willie Mitchell - Monkey Jump mp3 at The "B" Side
Willie Mitchell - Woodchopper's Ball mp3 at The "B" Side
Willie Mitchell - Up Hard mp3 at Royal Punkness
Visit:
Willie Mitchell bio at The B Side

AGAIN, MAN AND GUITAR

One thing you can say about Lightnin' Hopkins is that he sure knew to make hay while the sun shines.  Everything in his bio is almost textbook bluesman. After meeting Blind Melon Jefferson at age eight, he started playing guitar. He did a stint in prison in his mid-twenties, moved to the city (Houston) to try to make it, and when that failed, he went home and worked as a farm hand. Things could have ended there, but just a few years later he went back to the city, got discovered and started recording in 1946. That's still early. In 1959 there was a folk and blues thing picking up steam, and Hopkin's jumped on that shit, releasing at least one LP a year for eleven years straight, twenty six in all. Yeah. There were five in 1960 alone. Even if he is, as they say, the most recorded blues man in history, I challenge you to bring in a stinker.

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Listen:
Lightnin' Hopkins - Lightnin' Strikes One More Time mp3 at Music Like Dirt
Lightnin' Hopkins - Lovin' Arms mp3 at Music Like Dirt
Lighntin' Blues - Lightning Boogie mp3 at 8106
Lightnin' Hopkins - Coffeehouse Blues mp3 at Rock Town Hall 
Lightnin' Hopkins - Rainy Day Blues mp3 at Shimmy She Wobble 
Lightnin' Hopkins - Shake That Thing mp3 at Clayton Counts
Video:
Lightnin' Hopkins - Playing at a party at YouTube Short but sweet. Dig the washboard.
Lightnin' Hopkins and Sonny Terry at YouTube Period clips from a Les Blank film

NICEST HAIR RUNNER UP

Ray Manzerek died today. Now, before you go saying that he wasn't that big of a deal, that Jim Morrison was the Doors and the rest of the band were but bit players, or that he grabbed onto the coattails of X in the late seventies to try to reclaim some sort of L.A. counter culture coolness, or that he shamelessly slogged on tours some years back in some sort of ersatz Doors with the guy from the Cult singing in the place of Morrison, before you say the guy hadn't been relevant in years, you have to take a step back, silence the skeptic, and look at what he did do. He played keyboards for one of the most original bands to ever come out of L.A., a band that had a sound all their own, a sound that relied heavily on keyboards, and still managed to sound badass. An argument could be made that without him, the Doors would have sounded like a hundred other bands, albeit one with a good looking waste case William Blake fetishist of a lead singer. But I'm not some stoned hippie chick on the Sunset Strip, and this is not 1967. I like the Doors as a package, and Manzarek was an indispensable part of it.

Here's just some oddballs; mostly covers, but they're good ones. The live one, with Albert King guesting on slide, is really good, sloppy good. I trust most of you already have some Doors you can revisit. If not, for craps sake, don't start with a greatest hits package. Just start with the first LP and get to know it as an entire album. Then continue with some of their others. You should listen to them as they were intended to be heard. Don't be a stupid ass spring chicken.

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Listen:
The Doors - Break On Through mp3 at Happy Blue Mondays
The Doors - Soul Kitchen mp3 at Happy Blue Mondays
The Doors - Moonlight Drive (Demo) mp3 at Music For Humans
The Doors with Albert King - Money (Live) streaming at Hellhound on My Trail
Covers:
Shirley Bassey - Light My Fire mp3 at Cover Me 
X - Soul Kitchen mp3 at Cover Me
Patti Smith - Soul Kitchen mp3 at Happy Blue Mondays
The Ramones - Take It As It Comes mp3 at Cover Me
The Fuzztones - I Looked At You mp3 at Cover Me
Nico - The End mp3 at Cover Me

FAR EAST FUZZ

When you really think about it, fuzz is an odd thing to have as an effect, isn't it?  What is it about it that's so appealing? How was it ever thought to enhance the sound of guitar, or bass for that matter? I know, I shouldn't ask too many questions, because what ever the reason, fuzz works for me. Especially when you put it on some oddball record from a faraway place. More so when it's not the weirdest thing going on in the song. Yes, these have been posted before, but it's been a couple years. Regardless, it time for our periodic reminder that westerners don't have a lock on weird.

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Listen:
The Key Boys - A Sailors Song mp3 at Waxidermy
The Key Boys - My Love Is Distant mp3 at Waxidermy

YOUR BAND LOOKS STUPID

I don't have much to say about these. Spock sings. So does Kirk. There are several people I know that would be pissed if they knew I ran into these and didn't post them. And you don't want to get a Trekkie pissed, they know all sorts of weird moves. Martin Jaquish, wherever you are, this one's for you.

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Listen:
Leonard Nimoy - Highly Illogical mp3 (via DivShare) at Estudio del Sonido Esnob
William Shatner - Mr. Tamborine Man mp3 (via DivShare) at Estudio del Sonido Esnob

BEST LOUD

There's no urgency. I'm long past the age where you have to be the first to buy and dissect a debut LP from some hot shit band to somehow prove that you were in on it first. That's kid stuff. So, I sit back, listen to a few songs here and there, and deliberate. Oh, do I deliberate. You save money that way. I'm still on the fence about Savages. They don't strike a chord in me that hasn't been struck before, and I'm not using a capo. But, as they now have an LP out, I thought I'd go looking for something more than the couple of cuts I'd heard before. I'm still not convinced. There was a serendipitous detour though. One of the sites had a cut by the Heliotropes that I like, if for no other reason than it sounds like the Shangrilas doing the Stooges, "We Will Fall" stylee. If you try real hard. No, maybe Sabbath, or Dream Syndicate, or the Velvets, or what have you. Night Soil Man is down there because the other two bands made me think of them. You can't dance to any of them, but they're of sonic interest.

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Listen:
Heliotropes - Psalm mp3 at The Deli
Heliotropes - Live show, good quality soundboard recording at NYC Taper 
Savages - She Will mp3 at The Key
Savages -Flying to Berlin mp3 at Rollo and Grady 
Savages - Shut Up mp3 at Indie Rock Cafe
Night Soil Man - Hyena (streaming) at YouTube

ZYDECO STAR

It's not everyday that you run into a 1955 single by Clifton Chenier on Specialty Records. Okay, fiends, I know you're rolling your eyes. It's probably not all that rare. But, boy oh boy, it's nice to hear it with all of the pops and crackles of a well played, bordering on thrashed, 45. The second one down there is a must-listen too. It's bare, just drums, accordion and barely audible violin. And Chenier's voice, holy fuck, that voice. It's genre defining, Of course his playing is good, but damn his singing. It's iconic. I hate that word. You know what I mean. Chenier's voice, accent, and phrasing are dead on. Like Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin' Wolf or Ltlltle Richards, He's a template. Is it any damn wonder why he was on both Specialty and Chess, among other labels?

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Listen
Clifton Chenier - Ay-Tete-Fee mp3 (via DivShare) at Dad's 45s
Clifton Chenier - Baby Please Don't Go mp3 at You're Soaking In It
Clifton Chenier - Zydeco Sont Pas Sale mp3 at Let's Polka
Visit:
Clifton Chenier at Wikipedia

CROWD THINNING SPECIAL

Two peas in a pod, aren't they? In some weird way, they are alike. Maybe because they're both, in their own way, repelling to some people. You know, the ones you don't want around anyway.  Here's a video I ran into at Aquarium Drunkard. It's the two of these guys together, for eight minutes, doing "Constipation Blues". There is singing in there, but there's a whole lot more weirdness. Gainsbourg seems totally unfazed by the grunting and carrying on of Hawkins, not because he's Joe Cool, it's more like some secret society of nut cases.

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Listen:
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Alligator Wine mp3 at Api.ning.com
Serge Gainsbourg - Couleur Cafe mp3 at Sadko-Martin