Red Crayola

For the very discerning listener, here are the two original (1967-68) albums by the legendary Red Crayola, a Texas band marketed as "psychedelic", but listened to today, one can see that it's actually more avant garde type of stuff, and one can possibly hear the influence that this had on modern day noise rock, industrial rock, god knows what......

Red Crayola were basically drummer Rick Bartheme, guitarist/vocalist Mayo Thompson, and bassist Steve Cunningham, although countless friends of the band (including Roky Erickson) appear on the firs talbum ("The Parable of Arable Land"), particularly on the "Free Form Freakout" tracks that appear between the songs......and the songs are quite bizarre enough, this is NOT something I can adequately describe here, this is NOT one you are going to listen to over and over again, one of those "more interesting than listenable" albums.

And interesting it is....."Hurricane Fighter Plane" is likely the best known song here, but the album, once again, is more known for the ultimate head scratchers, the "Free Form Freakouts".....I won't spoil the surprise, but I'll venture you haven't heard anything like them.

The follow up, "God Bless the Red Crayola and All Who Sail With It" is equally as experimental, with a bunch of short jackhammer hunks of sound, again, INCREDIBLY hard to describe, so I won't try.

Do I recommend these? Not especially, for your listening pleasure...however, if interested in an artifact of a bygone era, and something which was (like it or not) influential on a segment of modern music, this is for you.

THE PARABLE OF ARABLE LAND-01 Free Form Freakout/02 Hurricane Fighter Plane (When the Ride Is Over You Can Go To Sleep)/03 Free Form Freakout/04 Transparent Radiation (Red Signs Outside, Which I Contain)/05 Free Form Freakout/06 War Sucks (Remember What Happened to Hansel and Gretel/07 Free Form Freakout/08 Pink Stainless Tale (Seven Guests Are Quiet Now, And Now Not half So Much)/09 Free Form Freakout/10 Parable of Arable Land (And the End Shall Be Signaled By the Breaking of a Twig)/11 Free Form Freakout/12 Former Reflections Enduring Doubt (I pass in a Rain That is Always Too Soon

GOD BLESS THE RED CRAYOLA AND ALL WHO SAIL WITH IT-01 Say Hello to Jamie Jones/02 Music/03 The Shirt/04 Listen to This/05 Save the House/06 Victory Garden/07 Coconut Hotel/08 Sheriff Jack/09 Free Piece/10 Ravi Shankar: Parachutist/11 Piece for Piano and Electric Bass/12 Dairymaid's Lament/13 Big/14 Leejol/15 Sherlock Holmes/16 Dirth of Tilth/17 Tina's Gone to Have a Baby/18 The Jewels of Madonna/19 Green of My Pants/20 Night Song

Skywave

Thanks to John N for this most interesting submission. I was not familiar with Skywave, a bit of research,
however, tells me that their bassist, Oliver Ackerman, after leaving this band, would form one of my favorite noise rock bands of the last few years, A Place to Bury Strangers, so I was happy to check out the "roots" of that great band.

Rounding out the Skywave lineup were drummer John Fedowitz and guitarist/vocalist Paul Baker. They released a handful of albums in the late 1990's, if any of you happen to have any of them, this is one I would REALLY like to hear, so please share if you can (they hailed from Fredericksburg Virginia)....

What we have here is a recent compilation, "Killerrocknroll", which includes a variety of tracks from throughout their period of activity. just tremendous, in my opinion, as I said, I would love to hear more....the seeds of A Place to Bury Strangers are unquestionably here, but the most obvious reference point is The Jesus and Mary Chain. Really great stuff, would LOVE to hear some more of this, this is one of those that I wish I had heard years ago.

Again, if anyone has any vintage Skywave, PLEASE make a generous submission, this is my kind of "Killerrocknroll" right here.

KILLERROCKNROLL-01 Don't Say Slow/02 Without You/03 Tsunami/04 Over and Over/05 Here She Comes/06 Nothing/07 Sanddune/ 08 Don't Say Goodbye/09 Angela's an Angel/10 Got That Feeling/11 Summertime/12 It's In Your Eyes/13 All I Had/14 Kiss

Thanks again to John N for turning me onto this one, and if ONCE AGAIN, anyone having any of this stuff on the shelf, this would be a GREAT share/submission!

Bleached

From Los Angeles come Bleached, self-described as a psych/punk/pop group, I guess that's fairly accurate, as much as would be possible I suppose. As far as I can tell, they have released 2 full lengths and a handful of singles and stuff, kind of hard to locate OR locate information on them, I THINK I have most of it here, I could be wrong.

The first album, 2013's "Ride Your Heart", is a fairly decent effort, the band's sound reminds me a small bit of an American version of Sahara Hotnights, perhaps with some Bangs mixed in....sisters Jennifer and Jessie Clavin are the only members that I can identify, I guess one of them sings/ one strums, can't find any other information on personnel.....anyway, this album has a bunch of fairly rocking stuff (title track, "Looking For a Fight", "Dead Boy").......not a spectacular effort, but worth a listen.

Their new release is "Welcome the Worms", is quite a bit better due to sharper production. Even moreso this time, the Sahara Hotnights comparison is unavoidable (I always LIKED Sahara Hotnights, did a post on them years ago)....."Keep On Keepin On", "Hollywood, We Did It All Wrong", and "Chemical Air" are standouts, but its really all pretty good, and I can see it as a possibility of this landing on a year-end "best of" list or two.

As always, with new releases, should ANYONE, band, label, anyone, take offense to this post, please speak up and it will be removed quickly....keep in mind that my intent is to EXPOSE lesser-known bands to a wider audience, and this band is HARD to find stuff from (obviously it's OUT THERE, I got it, but not that easy to find, even harder to find is information on the band.

In addition, we have a selection of singles & EP's from the band, to review quickly: the 2011 (2 tracks) EP "Francis".....similar to the thin production of the debut album, worth a listen....details, again, are sketchy, but I guess the band released another EP in 2011 ("Carter"?) and what we have is a single from that one, "Think of You"/"You Take Time"......another roughly produced single, and yes, I can STILL hear a trace of early Sahara Hotnights in there.

Another (single? EP?) from 2011 is the two track "Searching Through the Past", with the title track and
"Electric Chair".....of this handful of singles I enjoy this one the most, really good and rocking, both tracks. Good one.

What else? From 2012, A Daytrotter Session EP, really pretty solid performances of some of the above songs, some better than the originals due to crisper production.We round this out with a (single? EP) from 2014, "For the Feel" which has three tracks, the best of which is "Born to Kill", which is one of their better numbers.

Perhaps a band that merits further investigation, if they have anymore material.....the 2016 (new) release is really quite good, and they do show some REAL promise at times. See what you think, I'm always a sucker for female fronted hard rock, and this does fit the bill there.

RIDE YOUR HEART-01 Looking For a Fight/02 Next Stop/03 Outta My Mind/04 Dead In Your Head/05 Dreaming Without You/06 Waiting By the Telephone/07 Love Spells/08 Searching Through the Past/09 Ride Your Heart/10 Dead Boy/11 Guy Like You/12 When I Was Yours

WELCOME THE WORMS-01 Keep on Keepin' On/02 Trying to Lose Myself Again/03 Sleepwalking/04 Wednesday Night Melody/05 Wasted On You/06 Chemical Air/07 Sour Candy/08 Desolate Town/09 I'm All Over the Place (Mystic Mama)/10 Hollywood, We Did it All Wrong

FRANCIS (7" EP/single)-01 Dazed/02 No Friend of Mine

CARTER (single/EP)-01 Think of You/02 You Take Time
SEARCHING THROUGH THE PAST (single EP)-03 Electric Chair/04 Searching Through the Past (one
link for both)

DAYTROTTER SESSION-01 Welcome to Daytrotter/02 Dazed/03 Electric Chair/04 Looking For a Fight/05 Today Your love Tomorrow the World
FOR THE FEEL (Single/EP)-06 For the Feel/07 Poison Ivy/08 Born to Kill (one link for both)

Christopher

I'm always, when going through my stuff, finding an album like this one that I had forgotten all about. I would
have assumed that I would have posted this one in the last five years or so, but a check of the archives reveals not so.

This is the lone release from the band Christopher, from South Carolina is a pretty hard one to run down, and it comes from own private "golden era" of hard psych, that wonderful "turn of the 70's" era. Actually less psych-ish than many of the releases of this era that I love, and a good deal bluesier......this is a good one.

Christopher were guitarist/vocalist Frank Smoak, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Steve Nagle, bassist Bill McKee, and drummer Gary Lucas. Lots of good stuff here, the blues-rocking, twelve minute title track, "Death Song", which is probably the highlight here, "Day of Sunshine".....not as great as a lot of music of this era, but still a must-hear for fans of the genre.....

01 What'cha Gonna Do/02 The Great Clock/03 Holiday/04 Death Song/05 Fugue/06 Modern Day Oracles/07 Day of Sunshine

I have never read much about the band itself, I found a rather lengthy article on them that I thought I'd pass on to you, only should you desire to read it. It would take up too much space to post it here, but if you are interested to read more about the band, this includes some stories from drummer  Gary Lucas and some other information. If you want to read it, which I recommend, download the article here:


http://www26.zippyshare.com/v/3o7DoF76/file.html

The Doors (Part 4 of MANY)

Three more live sets from The Doors, all from July of 1968. First up a 2 disc set, "Live at the Hollywood Bowl", 7/5/68, the "riot show"... excellent sound quality on this one, I think (am I right or wrong?) part if not all of this was released as a legitimate commercial recording? I do believe so, I don't know how much of it, but this one includes the original radio spots.

Next up a show from Dallas 7/9/68......VERY poor sound on this one, just depends if you want to mass-accumulate all of them.....for your pure listening pleasure, not really the choice here.

And let's wrap today's Doors extravaganza with a better-sounding set from Seattle, 7/12/68......a version of "Roadhouse Blues" opens the set, must have been a fairly early version since it didn't appear on record until 1970.

Anyway, here is another batch, I PROMISE when I am finished you are going to be sick sick sick of the Doors.......

HOLLYWOOD BOWL DISC 1-01 When the Music's Over/02 Whiskey Bar/03 Back Door Man/04 Five to One/05 Moonlight Drive/06 The Celebration of the Lizard/07 Spanish Caravan/08 Wake Up/09 Light My Fire/10 Unknown Soldier/11 The End/12 When the Music's Over (Credits)

HOLLYWOOD BOWL DISC 2-01 Wake Up/02 Light My Fire/03 Unknown Soldier/04 A Little Game/05 The Hill Dwellers/06 Spanish Caravan/07 Light My Fire (short version)/08 Hollywood Bowl Radio Spot

DALLAS-01 Soul Kitchen/02 Back Door Man/03 Five To One/04 Break On Through/05 The Crystal
Ship/06 Texas Radio and the Big Beat/07 Hello I Love You/08 Moonlight Drive/09 Money/10 When the Music's Over/11 Wake Up/12 Light My Fire

SEATTLE-01 Roadhouse Blues/02 Someday Soon-Harvest Moon/03 Mystery Train/04 Break On Through/05 Five to One/06 Back Door man/07 The End/08 When the Music's Over

Circle Jerks

My younger brother was, in his teen years, a big fan of the American west-coast hardcore bands (Germs,
Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, etc, etc), myself, not as much (mostly because I got sick of him playing the stuff all the time), but when he became a homeless/hopeless derelict a while back, I got custody of all of his music, for better or worse.....The complete (I think) Circle Jerks included. I know I've featured The Germs and DK's here, Fear, not as sure, and all the "Rodney on the ROQ" comps, so I may as well continue my commitment to variety and throw some Circle Jerks your way.

Vocalist Keith Morris (late of Fear) formed the Circle Jerks (originally known as The Bedwetters) in 1979, along with guitarist Greg Heston, bassist Roger Rogerson, and drummer Lucky Lehrer......they cranked out a similar din to the Germs or Fear, perhaps with a bit more musical chops.

The actually kind of grating "Group Sex" album, their debut, shoots out fourteen tracks in FIFTEEN minutes, it's a bit rough to listen to these days, although one can get a laugh from "Paid Vacation" (sample lyric: "It's Afghanastan!")......a true period piece,genuinely specific of an era and a region, no question.

"Wild in the Streets" is nearly as machine gun in its approach, as always, a sense of humor can save a lot of these type of things, as wittnessed by some good cover choices (title track, "Just Like Me", and, especially "Put a Little Love In Your Heart").....my brother always claimed that the best Circle jerks album (BY FAR, MAN) was "Group Sex", I'd say it'd be a "difficult" choice but I may go with this one.

"Golden Shower of Hits" seems to be an attempt at gaining some mainstream exposure, the longer, more traditional hard rock songs ("Rats of Reality", "When the Shit Hits the Fan") are kind of lame, actually, more "conventional" Jerks numbers prevail, such as "Junk Mail" and "Coup d'Etat"...also the title track is quite creative, stringing together six unconventional cover versions (see track list) to tell a complete story, really ambitious actually.

The next release, "Wonderful", with a revised lineup, continues the move towards desired commerciality,
and, it sucks period. If you want it here it is.

The decline continues on "VI", quite an odd title for their FIFTH album, nevertheless, I don't like this one much either. Again, here it is if you want it, I have not much to say about it.

"Gig" is a live release, not terrible, but I do wish it would have included the classic lineup (pre-"Wonderful"), but it's not terrible, at times it crackles like some of the early stuff.

They disbanded in 1989 and reformed in 1995 to make "Oddities, Abnormalties, and Curiosities", which barely merits a mention either......hey, as I said, I got this stuff from my brother, the first three albums or so at least carry the spirit of the west coast sound of the era, the latter stuff? Could be ANYONE......anyway, here they all in their glory/sub-glory, I bet a few will appreciate these, and those are the folks that these are here for.

GROUP SEX-01 Deny Everything/02 I Just Want Some Skank/03 Beverly Hills/04 Operation/05 Back Against the Wall/06 Wasted/07 Behind the Door/08 World Up My Ass/09 Paid Vacation/10 Don't Care/11 Live Fast Die Young/12 What's Your Problem/13 Group Sex/14 Red Tape

WILD IN THE STREETS-01 Wild in the Streets/02 Leave Me Alone/03 Stars and Stripes/04 86'd (Good
as Gone)/05 Meet the Press/06 Trapped/07 Murder the Disturbed/08 Letterbomb/09 Question Authority/10 Defamation Innuendo/11 Moral Majority/12 Forced Labor/13 Political Stu/14 Just Like Me/15 Put a Little Love In Your Heart

GOLDEN SHOWER OF HITS-01 In Your Eyes/02 Parade of Horribles/03 Under the Gun/04 When the Shit Hits the Fan/05 Bad Words/06 Red Blanket Room/07 High Price on Our Heads/08 Coup d'Etat/09 Product of My Environment/10 Rats of Reality/11 Junk Mail/12 Golden Shower of Hits (Jerks on 45) (Along Comes Mary/Close to You/Afternoon Delight/Having My Baby/Love Will Keep us Together/D-I-V-O-R-C-E)

WONDERFUL-01 Wonderful/02 Firebaugh/03 making the Bombs/04 Mrs Jones/05 Dude/06 American Heavy Metal Weekend/07 I & I/08 The Crowd/09 Killing For Jesus/10 Karma Stew/11 15 Minutes/12 Rock House/13 Another Broken Heart For Snake

VI-01 Beat Me Senseless/02 Patty's Killing Me/03 Casualty Vampire/04 Tell Me Why/05 Protection/06 I'm Alive/07 Status Clinger/08 Living/09 American Way/10 Fortunate Son/11 Love Kills/12 All Wound Up/13 I Don't

GIG-01 Beat Me Senseless/02 High Price on Our Heads/03 Letter
Bomb/04 In Your Eyes/05 Making the Bombs/06 All Wound Up/07 Coup d'Etat/08 Mrs Jones/09 Back Against the Wall/10 Casualty Vampires/11 I Don't/12 Making Time/13 Junk Mail/14 I, I, & I/15 World Up My Ass/16 I Just Want Some Skank/17 Beverly Hills/18 The Crowd/19 When the Shit Hits the Fan/20 Deny Everything/21 Wonderful/22 Wild in the Streets

ODDITIES, ABNORMALTIES, AND CURIOSITIES-01 Teenage Electric/02 Anxious Boy/03 22/04 Shining Through the Door/05 I Wanna Destroy You/06 Sinking Ship/07 Brick/08 Fable/09 Dog/10 Grey Life/11 Exhaust Breath/12 Career Day

David Bowie/Stevie Ray Vaughn

This little nugget was sent to me by the link machine, John N.....he makes note that despite the fact that the
cover refers to this as an "FM Broadcast", it is, according to John N, actually The Dallas Moonlight in-studio rehearsals, from 1983.

Again, this is one that I'm going to refer to as more "interesting" than actually heavy-rotation material, Vaughn's presence gives a somewhat different texture to some of Bowie's classic tunes, whether they needed that or not is debatable.....anyway, always good to hear some Bowie, regardless of the context. I'm pretty sure I've heard this one before, but I don't think I had a copy of it, so there ya be, if you want to check this out, have at it.

BTW these are NOT FLAC files, but the total comes in at barely over the 200 mb limit, so thus the two parts.....I haven't put it on disc yet, but likely this MAY require to discs should you opt for that method.

SPACE ODDITY-01 01 Star/02 Heroes/03 What In the World/04 Look Back In Anger/05 Joe the Lion/06 Wild is the Wind/07 Golden Years/08 Fashion/09 Let's Dance/10 Red Sails/11 Breaking Glass/12 Life on Mars/13 Sorrow/14 Cat People (Putting Out Fire)/15 China Girl/16 Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)/17 Rebel Rebel/18 I Can't Explain/19 White Light White Heat

Brian's Tribute to the Violet One

(Scott) Welcome back to Brian, who has been away for a little while, he has created a new covers/tribute
thing which he does so well......I listened to most of it this AM, and you guys are really going to like this one....I am not going to say too much, and as you read on, you will see why, but other than that, this is another gem, and a timely one as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Out of the loop for a few weeks. I had two other things going, but this suddenly took precedence of creation. And this post I have to be absolutely careful with! One of the other bits of news to go along with his death was his suing of fans and bloggers. And somebody else is gonna be fighting over that catalog now, so ssshhhhhh...... keep any comments non-specific.

I have been a fan of P since I was a kid. I was seven years old when my mom took me to see P. Rain in 1984. Even when I was young, I could see that P was a real musician, compared to somebody else like M.J. He was a pop star, yes, but he was also a soul star, the only popular funk artist of the 80's, and above all he really was a Rock Star. 

The news of his death really hit me, as much if not a bit more than Bowie's passing. P was my childhood and adolescence. While I admit I fell in and out of his music over the years, I stayed aware of the major sea changes of his career. He may have been a mystery to us normal humans, but he was a prodigious and accomplished musician. The guy could play anything.

This covers project came together quickly, over the course of about 6 hours last Friday night. Like many of my covers projects, this is an eclectic mix. The true mark of an artist is the ability to influence people outside of their own style of music. Some of you may be sick of hearing P's music by now, but I made this in the depths of my mourning for him, and it is really good....check the tracklist....

                   

I can't refer to things by track titles, it'll attract bots like flies to shit. But I do want to talk about it, so I'll mention the artists' names....

Incubus's cover is the perfect lead off track for this. You can really tell they dug the movie when they were young. Norwegian metal/dark ambient collective Ulver deliver a great version of their track. Chris Cornell's cover is here instead of Ms. O'Connor's because I think he really digs into the meat of it, and it's not as precious as her version.

The Foo Fighters' cover is just awesome...I feel ashamed I didn't know about it before. The version of "K-i-s-s" is a great one by a band I found on YouTube named Frank Velardo's Aardvark Felon (http://youtu.be/PTE81EbgX04). It's only had a few hundred views, and I think it's the best version out there. I like the bassline and the singer's Bootsy-like falsetto. Scottish electronic pop group CHVRCHES are the perfect choice for their song. It's got the same youthful vigor and hope as the original, and I'm always a sucker for a pretty Scottish girl....

QOTSA's great cover is from one of the "Desert Sessions" discs. Warren Zevon's cover shows the sweet rock and roll heart that was often at the core of P's music. Arcade Fire's cover was an interesting funky find. The Eels' live version is a great reimagining of that song, too. Once again, Etta James shows up in a cover project of mine, delivering a heartbreaking version of THE P. song.

Misty Dixon's cover is a great, spacey version. Corrine Bailey Rae's song is a funky version of one of P's earliest singles, with the same playful synths. Sufjan Steven's cover is a fun modern reimagining. The track by Muse is a great version of one of P's best topical songs. The next two covers are by two of P's pop contemporaries from the time, Marshall Crenshaw and Gary Numan. I really like Crenshaw's track. Numan, I can only assume, was looking for a hit after "In Cars".

If you've heard previous covers comps of mine, you know Laibach is always liable to show up to give a song a brutal facelift. And here, they manage to take one of the most optimistic songs off of Sign... and give it a very different meaning. The comp ends with Sandra Bernhard's transcendent cover, which may be familiar to the few of you who downloaded her album I posted last year. It's a heartbreaking closer.

Big ups to Jonder for helping me with this one, eliminating banter and editing down track lengths. We've got a David Lynch anthology coming sometime soon, with the music and movie dialogue blended into suites. We've been obsessing over it, and it's gonna be really cool, so keep an eye out.

Guys, even with me being careful with this post, there's no guarantee of how long this will be up. So, if you read this, you download it, y'hear? And please, READ THE TEXT FILE THAT COMES WITH THE COMP. THERE ARE ADDITIONAL GOODIES TO BE FOUND IN THERE.

There is a bonus comedy link for this post, a collection of stories by a guy you may know named Charlie M. One of the best tracks is about playing basketball and having pancakes with P.

Love Sculpture (early Dave Edmunds)

As I said above, Love Sculpture were the early band of Dave Edmunds (Rockpile).....he teamed with drummer Rob Jones and bassist John David to release a pair of albums, only one of which I have or have ever even heard....another of those "more interesting than listenable" efforts (although, by no means, unlistenable), the band basically recorded their take on various blues standards, with an original thrown in here and there for good measure.

The album in question here is the debut, "Blues Helping", from 1968. They take on material from Ray Charles, Willie Dixon, Slim Harpo and more, with one Edmunds original, the title track (really pretty good, guitar dominated blues instro).....the blues numbers are fairly rocking, for the most part, and, are like the title track, dominated by Edmunds solid blues guitar and, oh, let's be kind here, "adequate" vocals......really, for some solid guitar licks, check out "Stumble", "On the Road Again, the title track, and most of the album actually.

They later recorded and released an effort entitled "Forms and Feelings", which, unless my memory is faulty, I have never heard a note of, rendering me obviously unable to comment.....if anyone happens to have one, we can take a listen to it, I'm guessing its similar to this album, but you never know.

Pretty solid effort here, actually, as for today, at least for right now, I stay in a 1960's groove......gotta run out and do something real quickly, be back soon and who knows what I'll feel like posting then? And, Brian has a new compilation that he's been working on that we'll get put up this afternoon as well, and you won't want to miss it....not gonna tell you what it is, but it's timely and, as always, well done, I'll let you chew on that for a while.

Again, the reason for the heavy posts this week is I am supposed to return to work next week which will curtail my posting schedule, likely back to 2-3 times a week.....so for now, enjoy the many posts, you folks are worth it.

BLUES HELPING-01 Stumble/02 Three O'Clock Blues/03 I Believe To My Soul/04 So Unkind/05 Summertime/06 On the Road Again/07 Don't Answer the Door/08 Wang Dang Doodle/09 Come Back Baby/10 Shake Your Hips/11 Blues Helping

The Doors (Part 3 of Many)

To give a bit of a preview for what we are in for with this onslaught of live Doors recordings, let's begin with a really good one.....4 discs of "The Complete Matrix Club Tapes", from March 7th/10th 1967....obviously highlighting stuff from early on, you get a real feel for what it must have been like to have seen them live. I can only imagine, I wonder how many simply showed up to hear the "long version" of "Light My Fire", and were exposed to something unique to the world up until that time.

Check the set lists, great stuff here. Is this the set someone requested yesterday? Hopefully so, enjoy if it is.

DISC 1-01 Back Door Man/02 My Eyes Have Seen You/03 Soul Kitchen/04 Get Off My Life/05 When the Music's Over/06 Close To You/07 Crawling King Snake/08 I Can't See Your Face In My Mind/09 People Are Strange/10 Who Do You Love/11 Alabama Song/12 The Crystal Ship

DISC 2-01 Twentieth Century Fox/02 Moonlight Drive/03 Summer's Almost Gone/04 Unhappy Girl/05 Woman/06 Break On Through/07 Light My Fire/08 The End

DISC 3-01 My Eyes Have Seen You/02 Soul Kitchen/03 I Can't See Your Face In My Mind/04 People Are Strange/05 When the Music's Over/06 Money/07 Who Do You Love/08 Moonlight Drive

DISC 4-01 Summer's Almost Gone/02 I'm a King Bee/03 Gloria/04 Break On Through/05 Summertime/06 Back Door Man/07 Alabama Song/08 The End (beginning cut)

There is a TON more of these to come.......trust me on that one.

The Firebirds

This really OUGHT TO BE an awful album.....it's not. A collection of anonymous session musicians, set out to make a Cream/Hendrix/Blue Cheer inspired hard acid album.....problem is, in albeit in it's dated state, it fucking ROCKS HARD!....some of the nastiest guitar you could ever imagine, grimy, sludgy, Blue Cheer-like......almost sounds like Tony Iommi trying to play "fast" if you can imagine THAT. "No Tomorrows" is the high point, but don't forget the infamous solo trio, "Free Bass", "Free Drums", and "Free Fuzz"...that bass player in nowhere NEAR skilled enough to pull off a solo, and hilarity ensues! Altogether a fun album to listen to, and rocks mercilessly.

LIGHT MY FIRE-01 Warm Up/02 Reflections/03 By Baby/04 Free Bass/05 Free Drum/06 Free Fuzz-Gypsy Fire/07 No Tomorrows/08 Light My Fire

Elvis (Costello) is Everywhere (Part 5)

OK, now we get to the good stuff imo... I have a BUNCH of Costello boots here, and most every one of them rocks the house HARD. Looking through them, they are all from the years 1977-79, or the period when I actually LOVED the music of Elvis Costello.....anyway, today I have a handful of them, one a grab bag of live tracks, the rest recorded in 1977. Next time I'll hit 1978, then 1979... this stack of boots is really as good as any stack of boots I have from nearly anyone, how I wish I could have seen him & The Attractions at their high point.

First  up is a grab-bag of live tracks, the undated "Elvis Costello: Amazing Live", which I am guessing as a 1977 release as well, as there are no post-"My Aim Is True" tracks here. His infamous Saturday Night Live performance of "Less Than Zero" and "Radio Radio" (well, there's ONE post-"My Aim Is True" number", also versions of "Allisone" and "Watching the Detectives", as well as less frequently performed numbers as "Couldn't Call it Unexpected" and "Basement Kiss".....sorry no dates or venues listed, the rest of these will give that complete data.

"Get Emotional" (Leicester England 10/22/77) is a fine one, leading off with Richard Hell's "Love Comes in Spurts", followed by a killer set with "Red Shoes", "The Beat", lots more including the always fab "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea".

Recorded just a week or so later is "Guilford England 10/31/77". To his/their credit, a fairly different set, opening with "No Action" and blasting through a good portion of "This Year's Model", including "lipstick Vogue", "Radio Radio", "Lip Service" and more, winding up with a frantic "Mystery Dance".

Two weeks later, we have a 2 Disc appearance at "The Old Waldorf San Francisco 11/15/77"....he did two
sets on this evening, each captured on a seperate disc. Again, very different sets,  "Living In Paradise" pops up, and a raved-up "Pump It Up" closes the second set.

Yet another week passes, and another show, this one from "Jed's, New Orleans, 11/23/77"....I doubt this is the complete show, only nine tracks, and I doubt he would have closed a show with "Less Than Zero", so MAYBE there is another disc out there somewhere, or maybe the tape broke in the middle, who knows, still worth a listen.

Delving into the month of December, EC played the famed Agora Theater in Cleveland Ohio, the set i8s getting a bit less varied, nothing really out of the ordinary here, but still a fine performance.

And finally for 1977, An FM-simulcast of his show at "The Riviera, Chicago, 12/77"....again, almost an identical set to the Cleveland show, I assume they were getting tired from all the touring, but again, don't be sold short....EVERY one of these albums is worthwhile, every one. Don't say I didn't warn ya, and don't show up in 2021 saying the links are down! Next time, 1978!

AMAZING LIVE-01 Less Than Zero-Radio Radio (SNL)/02 Miracle Man/03 Blame it on Cain/04 Mystery Dance/05 Neat Neat Neat/06 Watching the Detectives/07 I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself-Miracle Man/08 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood-The Psycho Song/09 The Imposter/10 Leave My Kitten Alone/11 Many Rivers to Cross/12 Allison/13 Couldn't Call it Unexpected/15 Hurry Down Doomsday/16 Deep Dark Truthful Mirror/17 Basement Kiss-All This Useless Beauty/18 God Give Me Strength

LEICESTER ENGLAND 10/22/77-01 Love Comes in Spurts/02 No Action/03 (The Angles Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes/04 Blame it On Cain/05 The Beat/06 Dr. Luther's Assistant/07 This Year's Girl/08 (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea/09 Less Than Zero/10 Whole Wide World/11 Roadette Song/12 Neat Neat Neat/13 Little Triggers/14 Radio Radio/15  You Belong to Me/16 Miracle Man

GUILFORD ENGLAND 10/31/77-01 No Action/02 (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes/03 No
Dancing/04 Lip Service/05 Sneaky Feelings/06 Less Than Zero/07 Big Tears/08 Sunday's Best/09 Stranger in the House/10 Little Triggers/11 Radio Radio/12 You Belong to Me/13 Miracle Man/14 Lipstick Vogue/15 Watching the Detectives/16 Mystery Dance

SAN FRANCISCO 11/15/77 DISC 1-01 (EARLY SHOW)-01 Pump It Up/02 Welcome to the Working Week/03 The Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes/04 Blame it On Cain/05 End of the World/06 The Beat/07 Less Than Zero/08 Allison/09 Miracle Man/10 You Belong to Me/11 Lipstick Vogue/12 Watching the Detectives/13 Mystery Dance/14 Bonnie Simmons Outro (No Encore)

SAN FRANCISCO 11/15/77 DISC 2-01 (LATE SHOW)-01 Bonnie Simmons Intro/02 No Action/03 The Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes/04 No Dancing/05 I'm Not Angry/06 Chelsea (I Don't Want To Go To)/07 Radio Radio/08 Less Than Zero/09 Living In Paradise/10 Allison/11 Miracle Man/12 You Belong To Me/13 Lipstick Vogue/14 Watching the Detectives/15 Pump It Up

NEW ORLEANS 11/23/77-01 No Dancing/02 Waiting For the End of the World/03 No Action/04 Stranger In the House/05 Roadette Song/06 Allison/07 Blame It On Cain/08 The Beat/09 Less Than Zero

CLEVELAND 12/05/77-01 Welcome to the Working Week/02 (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes/03 Hand in Hand/04 Waiting For the End of the World/05 No Action/06 Less Than Zero/07 The Beat/08 No Dancing/09 Big Tears/10 Blame It On Cain/11 Little Triggers/12 Radio Radio/13 You belong To Me/14 Pump it Up/15 Lipstick Vogue/16 Watching the Detectives/17 Miracle Man/18 Mystery Dance

CHICAGO 12/77-01 Introduction By Bob Skafish (WXRT-FM)/02 Welcome to the Working Week/03
(The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes)/04 Waiting For the End of the World/05 No Action/06 The Beat/07 Less Than Zero/08 Radio Radio/09 You Belong to me/10 Lipstick Vogue/11 Watching the Detectives/12 Pump It Up/13 Miracle Man/14 Encore Break


These are all worth your while, classic recordings, some I assume are fairly hard to locate, I've had them since forever........can't understate the brilliance of these.

The Doors part 2 (of MANY)

OK, I started this out yesterday, may as well complete the box set of studio recordings today, so we can get
into the REAL "finds" here......as I said before, this is a HUGE collection, which, taken a bit at a time, will likely take months to complete. I'm sure you won't care if I don't include the Morrison-less "Other Voices" and "Full Circle", if someone has a fondness for them, let me know and I'll CONSIDER it.

First up, we have what (I think) is almost unanimously considered their weakest studio effort (other than the two mentioned above), "The Soft Parade"....highlighted, I suppose, by the single "Touch Me"(with it's odd "stonger than dirt" ending),  the rest of this, for me at least, falls flat....the title track was the first "long" Doors track which simply didn't work, and the album just didn't get it done for me. There are quite a few bonus tracks on this one, though, "Who Scared You", two takes of "Whiskey, Mystics, and Men", "Push Push", and a couple of alternate takes on "Touch Me"

Much better of course is "Morrison Hotel", with it's great "Roadhouse Blues", "Waiting For the Sun", and "You make Me Real".....this one has a slew of bonus stuff as well: four takes of "Roadhouse Blues", "Talking Blues", "Carol", "Money Beats Soul", alternates of "Peace Frog" and "The Spy", and a "jazz version" of "Queen of the Highway"

"LA Woman" is the final "real" Doors effort, many call it their favorite. I think it's damn great, I will never understand the decision to lead off the album with perhaps its weakest track ("The Changeling"), still, two great long tracks (the title track and "Riders on the Storm"), "Love Her Madly" and several other solid tracks make this one of their top efforts for sure.....just a pair of negligible bonus tracks here, see the track listing.

"An American Prayer" is, in my opinion, pretty much an abomination, music recorded by Densmore, Manzerak, and Kreiger in 1978, with Morrison's taped recitation of his poetry spliced in. I think it sucks, actually, but you got to give em credit for trying to milk every nickle out of old Jimbo that they could.

Finally, included with the box set studio albums, for some reason, is the two disc "Infected Mushroom Presents The Doors Remixed", which features a lot of various Doors tracks, done up in various states of remix......it's interesting, it's listenable, and why it was included with the studio LP's I'll never know, but here it is anyway.....it's not BAD, at all, but it sure feels out of place.

Next time (not sure when), I'll start on the mountain of live stuff here....

THE SOFT PARADE-01 Tell All the People/02 Touch Me/03 Shaman's Blues/04 Do It/05 Easy Ride/06
Wild Child/07 Runnin Blue/08 Wishful Sinful/09 The Soft Parade/10 Who Scared You/11 Whiskey, Mystics,and Men (version 1)/12 Whiskey Mystics, and Men (version 2)/13 Push Push/14 Touch Me (Dialogue)/15 Touch Me (Take 3)

MORRISON HOTEL-01 Roadhouse Blues/02 Waiting For the Sun/03 You Make Me Real/04 Peace Frog/05 Blue Sunday/06 Ship of Fools/07 Land Ho!/08 The Spy/09 Queen of the Highway/10 Indian Summer/11 Maggie M'Gill/12 Talking Blues/13 Roadhouse Blues (Takes 1-3)/14 Roadhouse Blues (Take 6)/15 Carol/16 Roadhouse Blues (Take 1)/17 Money Beats Soul/18 Roadhouse Blues (Takes 13-15)/19
Peace Frog (False Start/Dialogue)/20 The Spy (Version 2)/21 Queen of the Highway (Jazz Version)

LA WOMAN-01 The Changeling/02 Love Her Madly/03 Been Down So Long/04 Cars Hiss By My Window/05 LA Woman/06 L'America/07 Hyacinth House/08 Crawling King Snake/09 The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)/10 Riders on the Storm/11 Orange County Suite/12 (You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further

AN AMERICAN PRAYER-01 Awake/02 Ghost Song/03 Dawn's Highway/04 Newborn Awakening/05 To Come of Age/06 Black Polished Chrome/07 Latino Chrome/08 Angels and Sailors/09 Stoned Immaculate/10 The Movie/11 Curses, Invocations/12 American Night/13 Roadhouse Blues/14 The World On Fire/15 Lament/16 The Hitchhiker/17 An American Prayer/18 Hour For Magic/19 Freedom Exists/20 A Feast of Friends/21 Babylon Fading/22 Bird of Prey/23 The Ghost Song

INFECTED MUSHROOM PRESENTS THE DOORS REMIXED DISC 1-01 Riders on the Storm
(Infected Mushroom remix)/02 People Are Strange (Infected Mushroom remix)/03 Break On Through (Infected Mushroom Swing remix)/04 Love Me Two Times (Infected Mushroom remix)/05 LA Woman (Paul Oakenfield remix)/06 Roadhouse Blues (Crystal Method remix)/07 Hello I Love You (Adam Freeland remix)/08 Riders on the Storm (Deep Dish mix)/09 Break On Through (BT remix)

INFECTED MUSHROOM PRESENTS THE DOORS REMIXED DISC 2-01 Light My Fire (Hot Rocks Club remix)/02 Strange Days (TC remix)/03 Riders on the Storm (Blondie Rapture Riders remix)/04 The End (Dave the Drummer remix)/05 Hello I Love You (Adam Freeland Fabric remix)/06 Riders on the Storm (Frederick Ft. Snoop Dogg remix)/07 Break On through (Infected Mushroom Guitar remix)

The Hellacopters

1990's Swedish garage rock to the extreme......fans of the band are gonna love this, novices take note this is
one of the greatest of garage rockers! The Hellacopters were formed in 1994 by vocalist/guitarist Nicke Anderson, guitarist Dregan, bassist Kenny Hakansson, and drummer Robert Eriksson, they would be joined later by keyboardist Anders Lindstrom (there wouldbe more lineup shifting later). Their sound was somewhat similar to The Miracle Workers or The Backyard Babies (of which Dregan was a member)...excellent retro-60's hard garage rock n roll, again, if you don't know THESE guys, DO NOT miss this!

The first (1996) release, "Supershitty to the Max", is a great one, "(Gotta Get Some Action) Now!", "Fire Fire Fire", "Random Riot".....this thing cooks like a motherfucker. "Payin' the Dues" is nearly as crushing, with another batch of raw stompers such as "Psyched Out and Furious", "Riot on the Rock", and "Hey!"....no sophomore slump here, trust me.

The first slight slump would be 1999's "Grande Rock", not nearly as raw and frantic as the first pair. It's still worth a spin, however. Similarly solid tunes are masked by slicker production/playing, "Action de Grace" and "Welcome to Hell", among others, would have been at home on "Payin' the Dues".

The "comeback", should we need to call it that, is "High Visibility".....kind of between the raw sounds of the
first albums and the slicker "classic rock" approach of "Grande Rock", it's a hell of a record, highlighted by the fab "Hopeless Case of a Kid In Denial". 2002's "By the Grace of God" is yet another solid, listenable, rocking effort, it was their most commercially successful effort, as the title single was a huge hit in Sweden and elsewhere.

"The Cream of the Crap (Volumes 1 and 2)" are damn great as well.....collections of non-LP tracks, including some absolutely smoking cover versions (Stones, Stooges, Misfits, and more), HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended.....the next "proper" releases would be the fine EP, "Strikes Like Lightning", and the so-so album (2005) "Rock n Roll Is Dead" (it's NOT a bad album, just not up to the level of their classics).

I really don't recall if I've ever heard of a project like 2008's "Head Off"....it's an album of smoking obscure cover versions (Dead Moon, Gaza Strippers, New Bomb Turks, etc), supplemented by an additional disc of the original performances.....this is a FANTASTIC idea, and they pull it off quite well (one of my contributors, I think it was Apantabapanta (MIA?!?) once created a similar effort using Bowie's "Pinups" album, with a second disc of the originals.....it was fab as well, I doubt it's still active though).

Wrapping up the career of this underappreciated (in the USA at least) band is "Cream of the Crap, Volume 3"), not quite as smoking as the first two, but pretty close, and their covers of  (they were a brilliant covers band, especially when dealing with obscure material, much as the Chesterfield Kings operated) The MC5's "The American Ruse" an Bob Seger's "Her Strut" are among their many legendary cover epics.

I'd want to hear ALL of these, seriously, if I were unfamiliar....if I were a dabbler, I really don't know what
to tell you, the first two albums for sure, "High Visibility".....but also the "Crap" collections, as well as "Head Off" to get the whole picture....one of the greatest bands of its era, and there were some DAMN FINE "garage revival" bands in the 90's-00's, many of whom didn't nearly get their due.....of these, perhaps only The Miracle Workers rival the Hellacopters greatness, and I'm not sure even they did.

If you think I am dishing out unusually high praise (for me), you are goddamn right. Listen to these NOW and tell me I'm wrong, I DARE you.

SUPER SHITTY TO THE MAX!-01 (Gotta Get Some Action) NOW!/02 24th Fell/03 Fire Fire Fire/04 Born Broke/05 Bore Me/06 Tab/07 How Could I Care/08 Didn't Stop Us/09 Random Riot/10 Fake Baby/11 Ain't No Time/12 Such a Blast/13 Spock in My Rocket

PAYIN' THE DUES- 01 You Are Nothin'/02 Like No Other Man/03 Looking at Me/04 Riot on the Rocks/05 Hey!/06 Soulseller/07 Where the Action Is/08 Twist Action/09 Colapso Nervioso/10 Psyched Out and Furious

GRANDE ROCK-01 Action De Grace/02 Alright Already Now/03 Move Right Out of Here/04 Welcome to Hell/05 The Electric index Eel/06 Paul Stanley/07 The Devil Stole the Beat From the lord/08 Dogday  Mornings/09 Venus in Force/10 5 vs 7/11 Lonely/12 Renvoyer

HIGH VISIBILTY-01 Hopeless Case of a Kid in Denial/02 Baby Borderline/03 Sometimes I Don't Know/04 Toys and Flavors/05 You're Too Good (To Me Baby)/06 Throw Away Heroes/07 No Song Unheard/08 Truckloads of Nothing/09 A Heart Without Home/10 No One's Gonna Do It For You/11 I Wanna Touch/12 Hurtin Time/13 Envious

CREAM OF THE CRAP VOLUME 01-Thanks For Nothing (B Side)/02 Crimson Ballroom (Gearhead
Magazine)/03 Makes It Alright (vinyl single)/04 Television Addict (Victims cover, B Side)/05 Killing Allan (limited edition single)/06 Misanthropic High (limited edition single)07 Rock Hammer (B Side)/08 1995 (limited edition single)/09 Gimme Shelter (Stones cover (B side)/10 Heart of the Matter (vinyl single)11 Tilt City (B side)/12 Down Right Blue (limited edition single)/13 I Got a Right (Stooges cover, B side)/14 Ferrytale (EP Track)/15 Freespeedin (B side)/16 I Want a Lip (April Stevens cover, limited edition single)/17 The Creeps (Social Distortion cover, B Side)/18 Lowered Pentangles (Anything at All) (split single with New Bomb Turks)

CREAM OF THE CRAP VOLUME 2-01 I Only Got the Shakes (B side)/02 A House Is Not a Motel (Love cover, split single with Powder Monkeys)/03 Geekstreak (EP track)/04 Another Place (B side)/05 Slow Down (Take a Look) (Sonic's Rendezvous Band cover)/06 Holiday Cramps (B side)/07 Lowdown (B side)/08 Be Not Content (B side)/09 16 with a Bullet/10 Times Are Low (from limited edition "Rock N Roll Jihad")/11 Low Down Shakin Chills (B side)/12 (It's Not a) Long Way Down (vinyl single)/13 Time to Fall (from the VA comp "Flattery: A Tribute to Radio Birdman")/14 What Are You (single)/15 Ain't Nothin' to Do (Dead Boys cover, B side)/16 Kick this One Slow (b side)/17 Bullet (from the VA comp "Hell on Earth: A Tribute to the Misfits")/18 A Cross for Cain (B side)/19 All American Man (From "Frank Wants You to Join the Punk Rock N Roll Horrorshow"/20 Ghoul School (b side)/21 Master Race Rock (Dictators cover, split single with Powder Monkeys)/22 Dirty Women (Black Sabbath cover, vinyl single)

BY THE GRACE OF GOD-01 By the Grace of God/02 All New Low/03 Down on Freestreet/04 Better Than You/05 Carry Me Home/06 Rainy Days Revisited/07 It's Good But It just Ain't Alright/08 UYFS/09 On Time/10 All I've Got/11 Go Easy Now/12 The Exorcist/13 Pride

STRIKES LIKE LIGHTNING (EP)-01 Turn the Wrong Key/02 Take Me On/03 A View From Nowhere/04 Blinded By the Light/05 Fiends and Frankensteins/06 On the Line

ROCK N ROLL IS DEAD-01 Before the Fall/02 Everything's on TV/03 Monkey Boy/04 No Angel to Lay Me Away/05 Bring it On Home/06 Leave it Alone/07 Murder in My Mind/08 I'm In the Band/09 Put Out the Fire/10 I Might Come to See You Tonight/11 Nothing Terribly New/12 Make it Tonight/13 Time Got No Time To Wait For me

HEAD OFF-01 Electrocute/02 Midnight Angels/03 (I'm) Watching You/04 No Salvation/05 In the Sign of the Octopus/06 Veronica Lake/07 Another Turn/08 I Just Don't Know About Girls/09 Rescue/10 Making Up For Lost Time/11 Throttle Bottle/12 Darling Darling

HEAD OFF THE ORIGINALS-01 DEMONS-Electrocute/02 THE PEEPSHOWS-Midnight Angels/03 THE HUMPERS-(I'm) Watching You/04 THE TURPENTINES-No Salvation/05 THE ROBOTS-In the Sign of the Octopus/06 NEW BOMB TURKS-Veronica Lake/07 THE MAHARAJAS-Another Turn/08 ASTEROID B-612-I Just Don't Know About Girls/09 DEAD MOON-Rescue/10 THE BELLRAYS-Making Up For Lost Time/11 GAZA STRIPPERS-Throttle Bottle/12 THE ROYAL CREAM-Darling Darling

CREAM OF THE CRAP VOLUME 3-01 01 The American Ruse (MC5 cover)/02 Long Gone Losers/03 Working For MCA/04 Have Mercy on the Children/05 Oh Yeah Alright/06 A Man and a Half/07 Heaven/08 Pack of Lies (Nomads cover)/09 Speedfreak/10 Doggone Your bad Luck Soul/11 Disappointment/12 Cold Night For Alligators (Roky Erikson cover)/13 Ferrytale/14 455 SD/15 Angel Dust (Venom cover)/16 Positively So Naive/17 Get Ready (Smokey Robinson cover)/18 Underground Confusion (Flaming Sideburns cover)/19 What's ya Do (Ramones cover)/20 Whole Lot of Shakin' In My Heart (Since I Met You) (Smokey Robinson cover)/21 Her Strut (Bob Seger cover)/22 It Might Mean Something To You/23 You Left the Water Running (Otis Redding cover)

OK, there it is, one great big spectacular package........no excuses! This is MUST HEAR, TOP SHELF, CERTIFIABLE CLASSIC ROCK N ROLL!