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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

"...and when I am fitter, say, the bells of Gary Glitter"

Hopefully you are all down enough to understand the title of this post, it is a lyric from "Clash City
Rockers", in totallity, (since I think it's such a great lyric) "Come on, and show me, say the bells of old Bowie...and when I am fitter, say, the bells of Gary Glitter...."damn fine lyric, and perhaps the best way to creep up on this subject matter.....

Obviously, from his name, Gary Glitter was a big part of the British glitter/glam scene of the early 70's......(reminds me of saying "punk/new wave" in the late 70's, or saying "grunge/alternative" in the early 1990's.....history is SO cyclical).....this stuff was a MUCH bigger deal in Eurpoe than in the US, and it really was a strange "movement" (glitter/glam, I am talking about)......some of that stuff, though is among my faves......Slade, Sweet, T. Rex, and of course much "better" acts, David Bowie and Roxy music, defined the era as "pop" music for me (not that it trumps my fave NON-pop stuff of the early 70's, that wonderful heavy-psych!)

Gary Glitter, in this glitter suits, ridiculous makeup, and platform boots, churned out music that was FAR FROM the "best" music of this scene/era, but it was among the most "atypical" or representatie of it.....he had a few comebacks, and made other records, and, really, I would rather drink Pepsi (I DESPISE Pepsi) than listen to them, but offered here for your observation are his "classic" albums of the 1970's, in re-issue format for the most part.

Glitter cranked out simple, riff-based slammers, with a poppish-gloss finish, for an identifyable early 70's trademark sound. the first album, 1972's "Glitter", is the prototype, the singles here likely are what you're after, such as "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" and "I Didn't Knew I loved You (til I Saw You Rock n Roll"), as well as, of course, his mark upon the world, line it or not part of the soundtracks of our lives, the infamous "Rock N Roll (Parts 1 & 2)", which, really, I am NOT down for a discussion of, suffice to say it is one of the most recognized rock songs out there, maybe not the lyrical equivelent of Talking Heads, nor the musical equivelent of the greatest band in the history of the world King Crimson, but, certainly a song that your grandmother has probably heard at some time (a sporting event, likely), relegating it to the veritable dust bin of "pop culture 'standards'", but, anyway, if you be lookin for the definitive Gary Glitter album, likely this is the one for ya, and, despite the shots I've taken, it REALLY IS pretty damn good.

Next up, the sophomore effort, "Touch Me", is  not as scene-defining as its predecessor but still gives us a fine single, "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)",which was,  later, of course, covered by Joan Jett in what I sonsider to be a superior version...it's not a BAD album, for glam fans there is stuff here like "Come In Come In Get On" and "I'm Right, You're Wrong, I Win". Here it is if you desire it.

Pretty much over with after that (MUSICALLY speaking, trust me, we are going to get to the other
stuff in a minute), he released a 1975 album called "G.G.", it's pretty lame (I'm sure it works if you are a fan of Mr. Glitter), and another effort in 1977, "Silver Star".......the glam era, perhaps than any more of my favorite "breakout scenes" probably provided less "depth" of good music than any other, as a shrewd programmer could contain ALL of Mr. Glitter's "worth keeping" output onto a single CD.

GLITTER-01 Rock N Roll Part 1/02 Baby Please Don't Go/03 The Wanderer/04 I Didn't Know I Loved You Til I Saw You Rock n Roll/05 A'int that a Shame/06 School Day/07 Rock on/08 Donna/09 The Famous Instigator/10 The Clapping Song/11 Shaky Sue/12 Rock n Roll Part 2/13 I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)/14 It's Not a Lot/15 Just Fancy That/16 Thank You Baby

TOUCH ME-01 Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)/02 Come On, Come In, Get On/03 Happy Birthday/04 Hard on Me/05 To Know You Is To Love You/06 Money Honey/07 Hello Hello I'm Back Again/08 Sidewalk Sinner/09 Didn't I Do it Right/10 Lonely Boy/11 Hold On To What You Got/12 IQU/13 Oh Yes, You're Beautiful/14 I Would If I Could But I Can't/15 I'm Right, You're Wrong, I Win/16 I'll Carry Your Picture Everywhere

GG-01 Too Late To Put It Down/02 Satan's Daughter/03 Easy Evil/04 Baby I Love Your Way/05 Papa Oom Mow Mow/06 Finder's Keepers/07 Basic Lady/08 Cupid/09 I'll Carry Your Picture Everywhere/10 Personality/11 Love Like You and Me/12 Doing Alright With the Boys/16 She Cat Alley Cat

SILVER STAR-01 You Belong to Me/02 Haven't I Seen You Somewhere Before/03 I Dare You To Lay One On Me/04 Roll of the Dice/05 Hooked on Hollywood/06 Summertime Blues Out/07 It Takes All Night Long/08 Oh What A Fool I Have Been/09 Heartbreaking Blue Eyed Boy/10 Rock N Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)/11 A Little Boogie Woogie/12 Treat of 42nd Street/13 365 Days/14 I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am) (with Girlschool)

Links are in the comment section.....oh, I forgot to say.....Gary Glitter is basically a piece of filth, a wretched, mulitiple-convicted child molester/rapist/general piece of garbage.....the last line of his Wikipedia bio is "Glitter has become a figure of public hatred"......justafiably so, IMO.....

BUT SCOTT, aren't you supporting his insane lifestyle by posting his albums? You must be a pedophile yourself!  MAYBE (I doubt it) THIS example will he4lp lay out to people that I DO NOT SUPPORT the beliefs of ANYONE I have posted here......technically, I have posted THIS stuff for different reasons as the racist stuff, I post this because despite the filthy truth, "Rock N Roll Part 2", like it or not, is woven into American culture.....sorry, you can't change that....I just heard it being played at a football game I was watching 2 days ago.......is anyone outraged that the music of this piece of scum is being given "exposure"? Are all of those people at the sporting events that happily use his music "supporting" his abysmal lifestyle? Of course not......but no amount of ignoring his existence will change that his recorded work is a part, and a somewhat significant part, of the history of the vast spider web that IS rock n roll............







16 comments:

  1. GLITTER
    http://www82.zippyshare.com/v/5Osyqf87/file.html

    TOUCH
    http://www74.zippyshare.com/v/vRD0ZVrJ/file.html

    GG
    http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/Z8EUUi2h/file.html

    SS
    http://www78.zippyshare.com/v/lsHDf6xt/file.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. the clash tune is a nod to the byrds.......oh, what will you give me say the sad bells of rhymney

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. …both are a nod to the nursery rhyme "Oranges And Lemons" actually.

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    2. And there's a reference to the reggae artist Prince Far I.

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    3. You know I never made the "oranges and lemons" connection until you mentioned it......I remember it, of course, from "1984"

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  3. Thanks once again Big Guy for reminding us that the art people make is not necessarily related to the quality of their character or their beliefs. Happy and Safe Holiday season to you and your family.

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  4. Appears to be glamorizing pedophilia and incest, no?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMR_nKvMc-Y

    Serge Gainsbourg and Charlotte Gainsbourg - Lemon Incest

    Charlotte
    Lemon incest
    (Lemon incest)
    I love you, love you, I love you more than anything
    (Daddydaddy)

    Serge Gainsbourg
    Naïve as a painting by Henri Rousseau*
    Your kisses are so sweet

    Charlotte
    Lemon incest
    (Lemon incest)
    I love you, love you, I love you more than anything
    (Daddydaddy)

    The love we'll never make together
    Is the most beautiful, the rarest, the most disconcerting
    The purest, the headiest

    Serge Gainsbourg
    Exquisite sketch
    Delightful child
    My flesh and blood
    Oh my baby my soul

    ReplyDelete
  5. "I just heard it being played at a football game I was watching 2 days ago.......is anyone outraged that the music of this piece of scum is being given "exposure"? Are all of those people at the sporting events that happily use his music "supporting"

    I doubt anyone paying customer at the "sporting event" had a say in the matter, but you do, once again thanks for spreading the joy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a say in what music is played at football games? Well, I guess thanks for telling me, I really was not aware

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  6. and might I add

    attention whore

    signed anonymous

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  7. WOW that is telling ME "what for", huh? At least I GUESS that was your intent, your precarious grasp of the English language makes it sort of hard to be sure

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Thanks Scott for another great post. GG was big in the day in my homeland. Leader of the Gang was the first 7" I ever bought. (Yeah, I'm your vintage)

    BTW Sleater Kinney are in town in March. Due to your SK post of a few years ago I'll go along and see what the fuss is about. What do you think of the new record?

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  10. The new SK album "No Cities to love" is great, the took about 8 years off and came back as great as ever.......they are one of a VERY few bands I don't think ever made a bad album

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  11. these songs are super cheesy but I still love (some) of them. A little difficult to find now because of Gadd's shittiness. The ironic thing is that R'n'R pt 2 is mostly an instrumental, he didn't write it and barely performs on it. In fact, all the music was written by his producer and performed by studio musicians. He was an aging music hall singer who lucked into a golden ticket.
    Anyway, my attitude is if you're downloading his music from this site you're taking money out of his pockets. So download away and fuck that guy!

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  12. GG was a dodgy bloke at best, but the music that is on these discs is what I grew up listening to so it gets my vote

    ReplyDelete