RIP Hilton Valentine

Original Animals Guitarist, Hilton Valentine, Dies at 77 

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Of course, I've been a fan of the raunchy, raucous, blues-based Animals ever since they hit with "House of the Rising Sun". Valentine cut some ferocious guitar sounds with the band. Sad to hear of his early demise.

Memoirs of a Bastard Angel - Harold Norse

 I have read Bukowski's appreciation for Harold Norse's poetry for decades but never picked up anything of his until now. This, however, is his memoirs, not poetry, so I'm not sure if this is really the place I should have started, but it is what I easily found, so here I am...

Norse truly was a bastard child - the son of an unwed mother who had been European royalty but, with the death of her father, the rest of the family fled penniless to America. While he was a smart child with a gift for writing, he remained poor for quite some time, as his writing career was slow to begin.

A proud homosexual at a time when this could be a death sentence, the beginnings of these memoirs are almost exclusively made up of his sexual exploits, including many escapades with so-called straight men, making it sound like people were more open minded back in the 20's and 30's than they are now. These days I don't really care about anyone's love life and so this can become a bit tedious, even if he does write with some wit and charm. But even in his early days he has encounters with famous writers, often with a sexual nature, but I do enjoy his descriptions of the writer and artist scenes of the times and his interactions - such as being the first person to read the manuscript of the then-unknown Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie!

He does do quite a bit of name-dropping, but it is somewhat fascinating how many people he met before they were famous - these stories are all captivating and reveals how New York was a true epicenter for all kinds of art at the early days on the 20th century. His literary gossip is far more appealing that his sexual conquests and he dwells less on the sex aspect as the book moves on, although he is not one for a strict chronological timeline, which can be a bit confusing at times.

From New York he went to Europe and moved around, with long periods in Italy (Rome and Florence) and Paris, where he eventually lived at the "Beat Hotel" and lived to tell the tale (and tell it he did, in a book by that same title). His work evolved in Europe and he found his own voice and his place among the Beats - Burroughs and Corso were living in the hotel at the same time, among many others, of course. And, of course, in that crowd, drugs were involved, but also some of his greatest successes - in writing as well as painting, which he did not continue to explore.

Lots more travels, more name-dropping (he hung out with pre-musician Leonard Cohen in Greece and met many more famous people), before an eventual move to Venice, California to be near his mom (where he spent some time with Bukowski and, oddly, Arnold Schwarzenegger!) and then to the Bay area, where he moved around but still remains.

It's a wild tale with some of the most famous names on the Beat scene mixed with musicians, actors, painters, royalty, hustlers, drug addicts, street urchins and innumerable others. Definitely absorbing!

Doc Stearn: Mr. Monster - Eclipse Comics

 

I've begun the monumental task of cataloging our comics (almost as massive as out record collection) and started with a box that included, among lots of other fun stuff, my copies of the Mr. Monster series. 

In the 80', Eclipse Comics was publishing some of the most interesting'n'creative comics of the times - not quite underground but way too wacky, gory and sexy to be mainstream, with truly original - for the genre - concepts and characters. 

Mr. Monster originally appeared in two comics in the 40's that Michael T. Gilbert stumbled upon and he managed to get the copyright for the character and basically kept the costume and revamped everything else about him to manifest a camp. hero who fought horrors with plenty of humor and an insane amount of references to EC Comics, Will Eisner, B-Movies, sight gags galore and whatever else ran rampant in Gilbert's twisted mind. A fun recurring theme was the splash page's brief origin story for Doc Stearn, which changed dramatically (and ingeniously) with every issue. With the help of his curvaceous assistant, Kelly, Mr. Monster destroyed wild creatures in every issue and, at times, he hosted reprints of old-school horror strips from the likes of Basil Wolverton and plenty of others.

Fantastic artwork that explodes off the panels and runs amok, in the best of ways, through the pages and spills over the mere two dimensions that tries to contain it in traditional Will Eisner fashion. Even the lettering is artistic and creative and a work of art in and of itself.

I don't know if these stories are available in any manner these days, but they are well worth searching out, especially for vintage comic fans!

RIP Phil Spector

Phil Spector, pop producer convicted of murder, dies aged 81 

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Yes, he was a horrible person in many ways but he did create some incredible music. 

RIP Sylvain Sylvain

 

Sylvain has lost his battle with cancer at the age of 70. 

HIs book, There's No Bones in Ice Cream, tells his tale of a young immigrant coming to America and falling in love with rock'n'roll and fashion and he melded the two for the rest of his life.

While Johnny Thunders had the Keith Richards-ish buzzy flash, Sylvain furnished the tasty, melodic licks and co-wrote a number of the finest tunes.

Truthfully, I didn't know what to make of this band when the first hit and was a bit turned off by their lack of ability (although it was far, far superior to my own) and by Johansen's voice (which grew on me, and, of course, I loved his lyrics). I even missed my chance to see them in a small theater in the next town over, which I regret to this day. 

He left behind quite a legacy and an incredible fan base. Very sad news...

(BTW, I got this poster from a local guitar shop - and I had this guitar, as well - and signed it with Sylvain's name and gave to my then-girlfriend!)

RIP Tim Bogert

Tim Bogert, bassist and founding member ofVanilla Fudge, Cactus and supergroup Beck, Bogert and Appice, has reportedly died at age 76. 

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While none of these bands were ultra faves of mine, they have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Sad to hear of this talented man's demise at an early age.

The Essential Bessie Smith

 Bessie Smith was the "Empress of the Blues" back in the 20's and 30's, performing in her urban/jazzy style - piano, horn section, etc. - and touring with the likes of Ma Rainey before Bessie embarked on her highly successful solo career. 

This 2-CD set is a fab collection of some of Bessie's best known works including greats such as "Aggravatin' Papa", "'Taint Nobody's Business If I Do", her take on Ma Rainey's "Bo Weavil Blues", her sultry version of "St. Louis Blues", the Dixieland Jazz-styled "Cake Walkin' Babies From Home", "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old City Tonight", "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair", "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out", the devilish "Moan, You Moaners", the lascivious "Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl", "Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer" and an incredible amount more! 

Truly a superior collection and a great deal - pick it up for a fine overview of this talented woman!

The Alley Cats - 1979 - 1982

 

The Alley Cats were, of course, one of the first wave of LA punk bands and guitarist/vocalist Randy Stodola is still rockin' his tunes today, more than 40 years later! With powerhouse drummer John McCarthy and the lovely'n'talented Dianne Chai on bass and vocals, the group was an important part of the initial LA scene and appeared on early comps like Yes LA and they even tear it up on the Urgh! A Music War! movie. Because life isn't fair and talent doesn't assure popularity, after a name change to the Zarkons and a couple of album releases, the group broke up for a couple of decades before Randy reformed the Alley Cats with a new rhythm section.

This, as the title clearly states, is a collection of some of their early recordings (without the epic "Too Much Junk", unfortunately), that showcases their musical talent and almost-post-punk (although they were at the beginning of punk) songwriting. Opening with "Nightmare City", they prove that they are more interested in the power of the song rather than speed, although they were not afraid to blast through numbers when so inclined, as the following "Today" is a bit more frantic. Randy's baritone vocals are a bit monotone-ish at times, but his melodic guitar playing really stands out here and the dynamics are strong. The brooding "Night of the Living Dead" moves from Randy's hammer-on intro to a gothic preview into a dark punk number highlighted by Diane's roving bass line. "Breath of a Barfly" is a bit likely a quirky, early Ultravox tune, while Diane takes the lead vocals for "It Only Hurts the First Time", one of my faves with its varied sections and wildly catchy, repetitive chorus, super effective leads and faux ending.

"When the World Was Old" isn't quite as effective, but still a solid rocker, but "Bitter Fruit" has hip riffs, nice changes and another fine lead vocal by Diane, while there's a bit of a reggae rhythm to "The Hotel" although Randy can't sit still so there are multiple changes throughout to keep it interesting, and this continues in "Waiting For the Buzz" before ending with the frantically up-tempo theme song "Just An Alley Cat".

The set also includes a cool DVD of the band lip-syncing (possibly in their rehearsal studio) to "It Only Hurts the First Time", "Today", two takes of "Night of the Living Dead" and "Escape From Planet Earth". Unfortunately, no pure live footage, although their is some spliced in.

Regardless, a great set of this under-heralded band - one of LA's finest!

Joe Maphis - Gospel Guitar

Joe Maphis has amazed me ever since I discovered him a few years ago and so I have picked up what I have found from this Mosrite Master of the guitar whenever I can. When the spirit takes him, his playing is beyond phenomenal but he isn't just a show-off - he plays with taste and tone and can be quite subdued when the song requires it. Someone posted something about this vinyl record online and I found it at a reasonable price (although the prices online vary wildly - from a few dollars to a few hundred!) because, while I'm a heathen, I am a trad gospel fan and I wanted to see what Maphis would do with this material.

I'm certain that he was a believer and he treats the subject with respect and for the most part, he keeps to the melody rather than letting his fingers fly, although he does let loose on a few numbers. Overall, it's a great gospel record with a wonderful cover! Look for it - it's worth the search!

Track listing - "Onward Christian Soldiers", "A Beautiful Life", "Stand Up For Jesus", "I'll Fly Away", "Softly and Tenderly", "The Church in the Wildwood", "Amazing Grace", "Old Time Religion", "Hear Dem Bells", "Jesus Hold My Hand", "Pass Me Not", "I Shall Not Be Moved", "Bringing in the Sheaves", and "Precious Memories".

Portions From a Wine Stained Notebook - Charles Bukowski

 

This is yet another posthumous release, this being a collection of Buk's works, starting from literally his first published piece, with an amazing amount of items following. His early writings are more, dare I say, intellectual, with several essays written about poetry and its place in the world of modern arts, among other subjects. I had actually forgotten how much he wrote about the politics of writing and the scene that he found himself entrenched in. He is neither afraid to praise those he deems worthy nor demean those he doesn't care for. Of course, it's all simply his opinion and it is a bit, well, pretentious at times, but his style is stronger than many others, so he can be forgiven. Of course, there are windows into the rest of his life, as well - the booze, the women, true tenderness for his daughter, the racetrack (always), etc. While he, naturally, never veered from being Bukowski, his style did - I suppose also naturally - evolve into a simpler line, which is what he always claimed to be striving for. Not sure that I would necessarily declare that the later work is better, but it seems that he did move in the direction he meant to.

In any case, this is one of the stronger collections of his prose/short stories that I have found - pretty comparable to books like Notes of a Dirty Old Man (some of those columns appear in this new compilation, as well), which has some of my fave writing from the man. Definitely recommended!

RIP Gerry Marsden

Gerry Marsden, frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers, dies aged 78 

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While they created light weight pop, the songs were well crafted and damned catchy, Sorry to hear of his passing.

JImmy Page: The Anthology by Jimmy Page

I discovered this book from a review in the latest Ugly Things and while it is not cheap, this hardbound, coffee table-styled book is mighty impressive and well worth the cash. Jimmy tells his tale in a somewhat abbreviated way with an incredible amount of ephemera and glorious photos of his guitars and other equipment. Of course, he started with cheaply made instruments but soon graduated to incredible beasts like his early 60's "Black Beauty" Les Paul. Interestingly enough, he was fascinated with Indian music and in 1962 managed to purchased a sitar and then meet Ravi Shankar at a concert and get tunings and playing tips from the master! His session work is pretty thoroughly detailed, and in an aside about his recording with pre-VU Nico, he mentions how much he loved the Velvet Underground and would see them whenever he could - which would explain why the Yardbirds did "Waiting For the Man"!

He documents every period of his musical life with exquisite photos of his equipment and it is mighty impressive how many different instruments he has gathered and learned to play and the variety of situations he has played in - literally around the world with indigenous musicians in exotic locales. Some of these he incorporated into his work and sometimes he did this simply for fun! 

Naturally, I truly enjoy his earliest work and the instruments he used at the time, but it is fascinating how he would experiment with current technology right up through today. Of course, he would still compliment the new tech with old instruments, as well, just to see how they would work together. 

This is one of my favorite recent finds - any musician would surely enjoy this visual trip from the 50's through the 00's. Be prepared to be jealous of his collection though and of all that he has accomplished!