recommended gigs

 Friday 9-1-23 - Alive (Pearl Jam tribute) at Taverna Costera

Saturday 9-2-23 - Goldie Vegas and the Playboys, Bobcat, Big Like Texas at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-2-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-4-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 9-6-23 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast with special guest Skeleton Crew at the Double Down

Friday 9-8-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at Mabels

Saturday 9-9-23 Thee Swank Bastards brunch at Mabels

Saturday 9-9-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-10-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at Virgils BBQ

Monday 9-11-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-15-23 - Nowhere Fast, Funeral Haze, Mdnight Clover at Artifice

Saturday 9-16-23 Thee Swank Bastards brunch at Mabels

Saturday 9-16-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-18-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 9-20-23 - It's OK, Suburban Resistance, Crom. Fallon and the P200 at the Dive Bar

Friday 9-22-23 - Danzig, Twin Temple, Behemoth, Midnight at the Theater at Virgin

Friday 9-22-23 - Trevor and the Swinging Johnsons at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-23-23 Thee Swank Bastards brunch at Mabels

Saturday 9-23-23 - The Implosions, the Hideaway and the Minges at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-23-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-24-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at Virgils BBQ

Monday 9-25-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-29-23 - The Psyatics, the Minges, the Way Outs at the Double Down

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at brunch at Mabels

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at Tiki di Amore

Monday 10-2-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 10-6-23 - The Shakewells, the Rebel Set, Isaac The Phantom Rother at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-7-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 10-9-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Thursday 10-12-23 - the Adverts at the Dive Bar

Saturday 10-14-23 - Tav Falco's Panther Burns with Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Saturday 10-14-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 10-15-23 -Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Monday 10-16-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-21-23 - the return of Water Landing with the Psyatics, James Jewell and Eric Wilson's Cowboy Mashup Show at the Double Down

B-52's - Wild Planet

I randomly pulled this LP out last night - think the red just caught my eye and I hadn't listened to this for quite a while and I had forgotten how consistent and solid this record was, which makes sense as it was just their second album, with the original lineup and with a number of songs that they had been playing for years.

While maybe sounding a little fuller and more "professional" than the terrifically sparse first album, all of their trademark sounds are here - surfy guitar, shrieks'n'yelps, quirky keys, wacky themes and plenty of vocal interaction. "Party Out Of Bounds" in a fun-filled ode to party-crashing, "Dirty Back Road" is more subdued and concentrating on Kate and Cindy's harmony vocals, then back for another upbeat dance number in "Running Around" with plenty of cool guitar/keys and vocal interactions and wild starts'n'stops. One of my faves follows, "Give Me Back My Man" - super strong writing on this one - driving beat, great, minimalistic instrumental performances and a surreal but catchy as hell chorus of "I'll give you fish, I'll give you candy, I'll give you everything I have in my hand" - great stuff! 

There's another dance number in "Private Idaho" with Fred taking the lead but with plenty of help from Kate'n'Cindy, showing they had a great command of harmonies'n'melody despite their lyrical wackiness. The fun'n'spirit continues in "Devil in my Car", "Quiche Lorraine" is another of Fred's leads with a slower groove and continues to show that they simply like the sound of certain syllables and they don't feel the need for any type of coherence, but they're back in the fast lane with some quirky starts'n'stops in "Strobe Light" (I could imagine this being effective with this type of lighting) and who could resist the ladies singing "I want to make love to you under a strobe light"! For the ending they stretch out a little bit in "53 Miles West of Venus", which harkens back a bit to the instrumental likes of "Rock Lobster", in that they take their time and interact with each other while still keeping a real song with melodies and harmonies. 

Pure weird'n'wooly fun, silly and memorable as can be with hip 60's sounds blending into futuristic concepts. Always a good time!

 

RIP Bob Feldman

Legendary 60’s Songwriter Dead at 83 

---

Besides being part of the faux band, the Strangeloves, whose "I Want Candy" has been a huge hit multiple times, he's at least partially responsible for "My Boyfriend's Back", "Sorrow", "Hang on Sloopy" and others! What a legacy!

Joe Pass - Simplicity / A Sign of the Times

 

This 2-LP set (on one CD) was picked up by my lovely wife while working at EMI Records back in LA and I did not give it much attention at the time due to its easy listening production. I have since become a fan of Joe Pass' fantastic guitar playing, but it is still difficult to get past the schmaltzy production to dig into his lyrical playing. These records would have been much better with just Joe and his guitar (and he did later on) and without the Star Trek-esque female backing singers and other snooze-inducing tricks and additional musicians.

When Joe is front'n'center, his playing is the star, but it is too often buried, unfortunately, and some of the song choices are uninteresting'n'dull and cause the entire thing to fade into elevator music background sounds. You can't fault Pass' technical abilities - he is one of the best - and even gets to show off some 12 string work here'n'there, it sounds like - but despite his best efforts, this is unlikely to grab you until you single out his work.

Can't really recommend this one....

recommended gigs

 Friday 8-25-23 - Shanda and the Howlers, Muck and the Mires, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at Red Dwarf

Friday 8-25-23 - Three Bad Jacks, No Que Noe, Frankie Lee and the Infernos at The Dive Bar

Saturday 8-26-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-26-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at Tiki di Amore

Saturday 8-26-23 - Negative Nancys, 1/2 Ast, Desert Degenerates, Dana Plato, Broke in Vegas at Founders Club

Monday 8-28-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-1-23 - Alive (Pearl Jam tribute) at Taverna Costera

Saturday 9-2-23 - Goldie Vegas and the Playboys, Bobcat, Big Like Texas at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-2-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-4-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 9-6-23 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast with special guest Skeleton Crew at the Double Down

Saturday 9-9-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-11-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-15-23 - Nowhere Fast, Funeral Haze, Mdnight Clover at Artifice

Saturday 9-16-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-18-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 9-20-23 - It's OK, Suburban Resistance, Crom. Fallon and the P200 at the Dive Bar

Friday 9-22-23 - Danzig, Twin Temple, Behemoth, Midnight at the Theater at Virgin

Saturday 9-23-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-25-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-29-23 - The Psyatics, the Minges, the Way Outs at the Double Down

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at Tiki di Amore

Friday 10-6-23 - The Shakewells, the Rebel Set, Isaac The Phantom Rother at Red Dwarf

Thursday 10-12-23 - the Adverts at theDive Bar

Saturday 10-14-23 - Tav Falco's Panther Burns with Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Ugly Things #63

 

Mike and Anja Stax's Ugly Things is celebrating its 40th (!!) anniversary this year with this issue #63 being the ceremonial release (and a weekender in San Diego coming up shortly). Of course, it's a jam packed ish, with all the usual ravin' along with Mike's own look back over the last 40 years.

The cover story is one that I thought that I wouldn't care that much about as I am not overly familiar with PJ Proby and overall haven't been knocked out by what I have heard. That said, his is a fascinating story filling with huge stars - everyone from his time as a session man hobnobbing with Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, David Gates and Hal Blaine to his star-studded career in England in the mid-60's hanging out with the Beatles and Stones - and, if you believe his tales, stealing their girlfriends! Lots more to his interview, of course, so check it out!

Of course, there are countless reviews, as always - I've already added a number of items to my ever-growing wish list - as well as the afore-mentioned look back over 40 years of Ugly Things, and articles on the likes of Newfoundland punks Da Slyme, 60's garagers the Uncalled Four, William Penn and his Pals, Chris Spedding and a ridiculous amount of other writings, reviews'n'remembrances.

You know I always will recommend this and after 40 years, it just keeps improving! Can we do another 40?!

Traffic - On the Road

 

This is another one that I randomly pulled outta our vinyl collection while perusing the "T" section. Being a teen in the 70's with plenty of stoner friends, I was always smitten by this era of Traffic, especially the likes of "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys", and this whole album is certainly a stoner classic (and still damn good even if you're not high!).

Led by Steve Winwood (vocals, guitar and piano here) and Jim Capaldi (vocals, drums, percussion) with Chris Wood on flute and sax, Rebop Kwaku Baah on congas and percussion, Barry Becket on organ and piano, David Hood on bass and Roger Hawkins on drums, the original LP only consisted of four lengthy songs, although apparently the European release was a double LP and there have been reissues since.

So, I'm now listening on YouTube, which has the extended album, which is sequenced very differently from the American LP. This one opens with a 20 minute medley of "Glad"/Freedom Rider", beginning with one of their more upbeat and memorable instrumental numbers which gives Chris a chance to stretch out on sax while the band cooks behind him, but as it melds into "Freedom Rider", it gets a bit more atmospheric and simply aimlessly jammy although when the lyrics finally come in for the last few minutes, it works a bit better.

"Tragic Magic" is another semi-spacey jam - some interesting changes, but not enough to sustain it for 8+ minutes, then we get to hear Winwood's fine, blue-eyed soulful voice and excellent guitar work on "(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired", before we arrive at one of the better numbers on the album, the upbeat "Shootout at the Fantasy Factory", with plenty of crunchy guitar interacting with the rest of the crew for a great song with an interestingly powerful instrumental section.

They do a pretty fast paced'n'rockin' (for them) version of their stoner anthem "Light Up Or Leave Me Alone", another one of their finer selections with Capaldi singing and lots of great playing all around as it turns into a funky jam, before they end on a slower, but equally fine, groove in "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys", which is extended here by a couple of extra minutes than the edited American version. I always dug this catchy number and while this one is again extended with plenty of solos, it still retains its groove and its coolness - in my mind, anyway!

Overall, I think the Americans did a service by editing this into one album with the best songs on it, but if you dig the psychey spaciness of Traffic's free-wheelin' 70's era, this is well worthwhile.

Patti Drew - Tell Him

 I randomly picked this one out of our collection while perusing nearby and thought I'd give it a spin. I do not remember Drew from her hey-day in the 60's but apparently my lovely wife grabbed this CD while working in Special Markets at EMI, as this is a Capitol Records CEMA Special Markets release from 1993.

Drew was a fine soul singer in the 60's with several should-have-been-hits, including the title track, a fine piece of songwriting that would fit in with the best of the Motown era. The feel continues in "Turn Away From Me", with a slight melodic nod to "Just One Look" although I think I prefer this one, followed by the lengthy-titled, piano-led "Tired Of Falling In and Out of Love" that Patti sings the hell outta, and a reliable take on "Knock on Wood", although it doesn't improve on the original (which, admittedly, would be mighty difficult), but "I Can't Shake It Loose" is a powerful, horn-driven bit of dynamic soul.

Covering Otis Redding is always tough and "My Lover's Prayer" is good, but not great, although "Stop and Listen" is a groovy upbeat bit of funky-soul, and Joe Tex's "Show Me" keeps the fast-paced dance beat going to good effect with great horn dynamics, and then Patti gives us a terrif soulful ballad in "Someone To Take Your Place" before the upbeat rockin' "Been Rained On" (the music is way more jolly than the lyrics!), which alternates with a slow but sultry "You've Changed".

The CD adds another version of "Tell Him" with the Drew-Vels adding backing vocals along with "Workin' On a Groovy Thing", which is one of the finer recordings here - a fab bit of girl group soul!

Not completely consistent - but how many recordings are? - but a strong contender for female 60's soul!

recommended gigs

 Thursday 8-17-23 - Art Gray Noize Quintet with the Psyatics and Wax Pig Melting at Artifice

Saturday 8-19-23 - the Unwieldies and Big Like Texas at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Saturday 8-19-23 - Fuzz Solow with the easy and the junky’s at red dwarf 

Saturday 8-19-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-21-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 8-23-23 - The Minges, Negative Nancys, War Peggy, Crimson Riot at Artifice

Wednesday 8-23-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at Golden Tiki for Fez Night

Wednesday 8-23-23 - the Hi Jivers with Wild Rose (featuring Zach Ryan) at the San Dollar Spring Mtn

Friday 8-25-23 - Shanda and the Howlers, Muck and the Mires, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at Red Dwarf

Friday 8-25-23 - Three Bad Jacks, No Que Noe, Frankie Lee and the Infernos at The Dive Bar

Saturday 8-26-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-26-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at Tiki di Amore

Saturday 8-26-23 - Negative Nancys, 1/2 Ast, Desert Degenerates, Dana Plato, Broke in Vegas at Founders Club

Monday 8-28-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-2-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-4-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-9-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-11-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-16-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-18-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 9-20-23 - It's OK, Suburban Resistance, Crom. Fallon and the P200 at the Dive Bar

Saturday 9-23-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-25-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at Tiki di Amore

Friday 10-6-23 - The Shakewells, the Rebel Set, Isaac The Phantom Rother at Red Dwarf

Thursday 10-12-23 - the Adverts at theDive Bar

Saturday 10-14-23 - Tav Falco's Panther Burns with Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Jimi Hendrix - Rainbow Bridge

 

Despite the extremely misleading title, this is not the soundtrack to the movie Rainbow Bridge but rather a compilation of some songs that Jimi was working on prior to his untimely (to say the least) death for his fourth album, along with a live version of "Hear My Train A Comin'". I had actually forgotten what was on this album but picked it up at a discounted price just to check it out again.

Most, if not all, of these songs have since been released on various posthumous records, of which there have been a glut recently, although I am not complaining, as they have contained some amazing music. But at the time of this original release, this album was a treasure trove of terrific "new" songs that continued to show the man's songwriting greatness and made it all that much sadder that he left us far too young.

Most of the tracks are cut with Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox, although on "Room Full of Mirrors" Buddy Miles takes over the drum seat and there are some extra guests/friends making appearances here'n'there.

This set opens with the now-classic "Dolly Dagger", kinda funky, with a damn catchy chorus, lots of great licks (of course), hip arrangement and plenty of Jimi coolness. "Earth Blues" was originally cut with Miles but Mitchell overdubbed drums on it but I can see it as a Buddy-esque semi-funky number, but through Jimi's unique window, of course, and again with plenty of riffage throughout, "Pali Gap" is a quieter, cleverly melodic instrumental, showing Jimi's breath-taking mastery of melody and guitar, "Room Full of Mirrors" has lots of echo-laden guitar work and some rare (for Jimi) slide playing over a fairly fast-paced backing before we get to a solo take on the "Star Spangled Banner" which is very different from the Woodstock version and while the guitar sounds are smart, varied, layered and harmonic, it is pretty straight-forward without any of the amazingly bombastic, and therefore somewhat politically charged, sonic blasts of the more well known take.

"Look Over Yonder" comes back into the group rock'n'roll territory with some classic Hendrix sounds and guitar work, albeit with a few corny verses, I have yet to hear a bad version of "Hear My Train A Comin'" and here Jimi continues to amaze'n'astound with his incredible playing, dynamics (from everyone involved) and wah-wah work (and it's a great song based on a Muddy Waters riff), and then we end with another fantastic'n'melodic number (and one of my faves), "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)", a great jam, cool chord progression and catchy as hell chorus!

So, don't buy this thinking it is a live recording - or even a soundtrack - but if you haven't gotten these tunes on any other releases yet, this is some strong stuff, even if I believe that Jimi would have tightened things up a bit before he put them out himself.

The Small Faces and Other Stories - Uli Twelker and Roland Schmitt

 

This is another book that I pulled out of a box in storage to re-read and I noticed that I never wrote about it. While I was never a huge fan of the band in the day (other than digging "Itchycoo Park", of course, and digging the later incarnation, the Rod Stewart-led Faces), I became a convert in the late 80's/90's and starting collecting everything I could find by them, which includes a number of CD's that are also not noted in this blog, so I may have to rectify that, as well! (I did those CD's last week!)

While the group have little recognition in the States (other than their hit "Itchycoo...", of course) due to their lack of touring in the country, they were stars back home in England, along with numerous other countries. Their spin-offs, Humble Pie and the Faces both became huge here, though, and so the authors include these projects as well as solo work by the important characters.

The segment on the Small Faces gives a bit of background on the characters and by the time they all met up to form the band (with original keys Jimmy Winston on their first 45) they became stars within months with "What 'Cha Gonna Do About It". Ian McLagan took over on keys and their string of smashes continued in the UK and Europe although, as mentioned, they never received real acclaim in the States.

Surprises here are revealed as Humble Pie evolves from the ashes of the SF's (Steve wanted Peter Frampton to join the Faces but was outvoted) in that Pete did not initially want Steve in the band, Brian Jones was interested in joining just before he passed and Ian MacLagan wrote and possibly played on early Pie numbers, indicating that he considered joining the fray, as well!

I would have preferred that the authors spent a bit more time with the Small Faces and possibly even Humble Pie, as these bands have not received a lot of biographical press, but they relatively quickly move on to the Faces and Rod Stewart as a solo artist, as well as Ron Wood's career, and inevitably information overlaps the various chapters - possibly assuming that a reader might concentrate on a particular chapter rather than the entire book. 

But then all the stories come back around to the beginning with a Small Faces reunion in the mid-70's after Rod went solo, Woody went to the Stones and Steve's projects were not taking off. Of course, despite the current crop of punk rockers favoring the original Small Faces, the current offering from the "midgets" (as they self-deprecatingly called themselves) was more heavy/blues-rock oriented and not really what the public was looking for at the time. So, there are several tales of Small Faces and Humble Pie reunions of different sorts and with different amounts of original members, none of which truly took off - not even Faces reunions, most likely due to Rod Stewart's lackluster involvement. The authors discuss Steve's numerous backing bands that mostly played bars and clubs and there was even one last recording project with Frampton in LA but immediately upon returning to his home, Steve died in a fire in his home, most likely due to falling asleep with a cigarette.

The appendixes are almost ridiculous in size, with a brief introduction of the guitars used before a massive discography of all the main characters, including innumerable small-label releases of Steve's.

A labor of love for sure, although, as I said, I would have liked to have had the Small Faces section fleshed out more. But, other people are taking on that task, and the main players, other than Steve, have their own memoirs released by now. Still, a good overview.

Humble Pie - On To Victory

 

This is the first "reunion" record for the Pie, featuring just Marriott and Shirley with the addition of Bobby Tench on guitar (formerly with Jeff Beck) and bassist Anthony "Sooty" Jones. After Steve and Jerry demo'd the opening "Fool For A Pretty Face", a strong Humble Pie-styled blues rocker, they received an offer from Atco to record this album. Unfortunately, as with all of the post Small Faces reunions, this did not receive a big response, despite having some favorable performances.

As I said, this opens with a first-rate piece of Pie in "Fool For a Pretty Face" - great groove, nice arrangement and a memorable melody - this definitely should have done better than it did (although the "hurt by love" lifts might have been too obvious and taken away some of the original appeal). The funnily titled "You Soppy Pratt" continues with a Marriott, soulful Pie-groove, led by layers of keyboards mixed with the guitar, "Infatuation" is a cool blues-riff-rocker with a hot sax solo, while "Take It From Here" is a ponderously slow'n'heavy, hard rock stomper, and "Savin' It" is a bit syncopated'n'jerky in a pseudo-reggae kinda way (sorta/kinda), which keeps it from being completely successful (to me, anyway).

Steve goes back to his R'n'B/Mod roots in "Baby Don't You Do It", the Holland/Dozier/Holland number that was oft-covered back in the day, which is fine, but not as great as I would expect out of Steve. "Get It In The End" is good, mid-tempo heavy soul, but ultimately not overly memorable, while Otis Redding's "My Lover's Prayer" has an open, kinda bluesy arrangement but again, kinda misses the mark and I think Mr. Marriott could have done more with it. We return to bluesy riff-rock for "Further Down the Road", which is also laudable, but doesn't stand out, nor does the somewhat meandering "Over You".

Not a bad record by any means, but it is also understandable that this did not return them to their previous glories.

Humble Pie - Rock On

 

I am currently (re)reading a book that was purported to be a Small Faces biography but rather than delving too deeply into that era, the book gives an overview of all of the young men's projects over the years including, of course, Marriott's Humble Pie, which has caused me to revisit some of these records.

This album, the band's fourth, was the last to feature lead guitarist/singer Peter Frampton, who initially founded the group, due to his distaste for Marriott's musical direction. But, this is a strong one with Steve'n'Peter more than ably accompanied by bassist/vocalist Greg Ridley and Jerry Shirley on drums, along with superb backing vocalists Claudia Lennear, PP Arnold and Doris Troy and brief guest appearances by Bobby Keys, Alexis Korner and pedal steel player BJ Cole.

Frampton starts things off with one of his best, the melodic hard rock of "Shine On", reminiscent of some of his better, later solo work, followed by a combined effort of Peter'n'Steve, "Sour Grain", which is a strong, hard-blues-rocker with Stones-y guitars, a powerful rhythm section, Marriott's amazing rough'n'ready vocals and great harmonies (a specialty of theirs with three potential lead singers in the band). They go for a more straight-ahead blues complete with honky-tonk piano in "79th and Sunset" and nice leads from Pete and BJ and then head into the heavy territory they are best known for in the States in "Stone Cold Fever" - super hard-edged, riffin' blues rock with Steve delivering both bluesy harp and his soulful vocals - and their unique, dynamic, tempo-changing take on "Rolling Stone" - both highlights of the upcoming (at the time) Live at the Fillmore album. 

Steve sings a sweet, acoustic love song to his (then) wife in "A Song For Jenny" that turns into a powerful soul belter with plenty of help from the "Soul Sisters", Pete returns with his bounce-y, fairly light-weight pop rock of "The Light" before bassist Ridley gets his chance at lead vox on his "Big George", another swaggering blues rocker with Keys adding his trademark sax sounds, there's a Stones-y jam number, "Strange Days" (ironically, without Keys), where everyone gets to show off a bit and they conclude with Steve's piano-led rockabilly goof, "Red Neck Jump" - pretty much a throwaway, but fun regardless.

Humble Pie were always a bit all over the place stylistically, but keeping that in mind, this is a pretty strong release, overall, if you're a fan of the band's type of hard'n'heavy blues-rock.

Link Wray - Shadowman

 Of course, I've been a huge Link Wray fan ever since I discovered him in the 70's and loved his revered, distorted, simple-yet-fierce guitar style. He has recorded countless albums over the years, of varying quality, but usually worthwhile, and this 1997 release (recorded in 1995) is certainly right up there with his best since the 50's!

Here the man is joined by a simple backing band of Eric Greevers on bass and Vox organ and Rob Louwers on drums as he runs through numbers that have all the hallmarks of his classic cuts but are still as potent as anything released today. He opens with a takeoff on his most famous number, this one called "Rumble on the Docks" - a variation on the "Rumble" theme but different enough to be original. But, love the guitar sound and the reverb, tremelo and feedback are perfect! With only one lung, Link doesn't always handle vocals, but he has a fine voice and it intertwines with piercing guitar lines in his tribute to "Heartbreak Hotel" - much more vicious than Elvis' version and with a ferocious solo - then he revisits his old "Geronimo" with plenty of riffin' power, and the heavy guitar work continues behind the vocals in "Young Love".

The instrumentals return in the "Pipeline"-esque (with Link's own signature, of course, and a surprise organ solo!) "Moped Baby", followed by an inspired choice of cover, CCR's "Run Through the Jungle" (certainly influenced by Link in the first place), before Wray gets a bit pensive'n'quiet for a simple guitar'n'vocal take on "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)". Back to the high energy with "Night Prowler", another relentless instro with all of his trademarks intact, Louwers' snare rolls powers into "It Was So Easy", another vocal number kinda sounding like a heavy Buddy Holly, spiraling into a punk-rock-speed instro "Timewarp/Brain Damage", where Link steals from himself while also flying over the fingerboard with wild riffs and plenty of sustain'n'feedback, alternating with drums breaks, and speaking of, the next title is "Listen to the Drums" which does highlight Louwers once again while the vocal melody is somewhat reminiscent of the Stones' "No Expectation", of all things, although still savage in its performance, before they end with the title cut, an atmospheric instro with plenty of clever twists'n'turns'n'dynamics - another fine performance!

This is a damn great release! Excellent backing from Louwers and Greevers and Link's playing is at least as good as it has ever been! Get it if ya don't have it!

recommended gigs

 Friday 8-11-23 - the Souvenairs at the Underground at the Mob Museum

Saturday 8-12-23 - Suburban Resistance, With Liberty, Jet Jaguar, Lean 13 at Founder's Club

Saturday 8-12-23 - Franks'n'Deans, Jerk!, Sloth Fist at the Double Down

Saturday 8-12-23 - Dogstar at Brooklyn Bowl

Saturday 8-12-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-14-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 8-16-23 - Os Mutantes at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Thursday 8-17-23 - Art Gray Noize Quintet with the Psyatics and Wax Pig Melting at Artifice

Saturday 8-19-23 - the Unwieldies and Big Like Texas at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Saturday 8-19-23 - Fuzz Solow with the easy and the junky’s at red dwarf 

Saturday 8-19-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-21-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 8-23-23 - The Minges, Negative Nancys, War Peggy, Crimson Riot at Artifice

Friday 8-25-23 - Shanda and the Howlers, Muck and the Mires, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at Red Dwarf

Friday 8-25-23 - Three Bad Jacks, No Que Noe, Frankie Lee and the Infernos at The Dive Bar

Saturday 8-26-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-26-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at Tiki di Amore

Monday 8-28-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-2-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-4-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-9-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-11-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-16-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-18-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 9-20-23 - It's OK, Suburban Resistance, Crom. Fallon and the P200 at the Dive Bar

Saturday 9-23-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-25-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-30-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at Tiki di Amore

Friday 10-6-23 - The Shakewells, the Rebel Set, Isaac The Phantom Rother at Red Dwarf

Thursday 10-12-23 - the Adverts at theDive Bar

Saturday 10-14-23 - Tav Falco's Panther Burns with Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Small Faces - The Best of the Small Faces

 

This is the last one - I promise! But, as I've said, each one of these CD's have some tunes that don't appear of the others so there's always more to collect! I'm sure that someone has put out a more complete box set by now, but their tunes were hard to come by when I first started picking these up!

This one has some earlier numbers but does cross most of their career at one point or another. It opens with the 60's pop of "Sha La La La Lee", fairly lightweight, but highly enjoyable and catchy as hell, followed by their Xmas song, "My Mind's Eye", a hip number that stole from "Gloria in Excelsis Deo", of all places! "Universal" is squeezed in here (although this seems like a somewhat different take, maybe?) then we get their debut smash "Watcha Gonna Do About It?", a two chord stomper that has become a classic garage rocker with a fantastic, feedback-drenched solo, and in the same vein is "Hey Girl", a nice, energetic, Who-like rockin' shouter. 

"I Can't Make It" shows up succeeded by "All Or Nothing", another great one of theirs, organ-dominated and filled with powerful dynamics, giving a hard-edged soul backing to Steve's terrific vocals, then a few from the other comps - "Here Comes the Nice", "Afterglow", "Tin Soldier", "Autumn Stone". "Rollin' Over", the Humble Pie-styled rocker from Ogden's sneaks in with "Lazy Sunday" next up, appropriately, then Ian leads on piano for a fine reading of Brenda Holloway's Motown tear-jerker, "Every Little Bit Hurts" with Steve on vocals, natch, whose mood improves for the upbeat finger-snapper "I Feel Much Better" before it all comes to an end with their biggest number, "Itchycoo Park".

Another good one that moves from their debut to their end, but there's always great numbers left off of each one of these comps, so just collect them all!

Small Faces - Lazy Sunday

 

This German (I believe) comp has some more overlap with the other CD's I have already mentioned but it also has quite a number of different tracks that I didn't own, at least at the time of this purchase, so it is another fine collection of SF coolness!

This one opens with the goofy title cut, Steve's dig at his square neighbors who would give him a hard time about having fun on a "lazy Sunday afternoon", which ironically became a big hit despite being an admitted throwaway. "Collibosher" is a groovy, horn-laden, soulful instrumental, sounding a bit like some of the Odgen's material, "Just Passing" is also a bit whimsical with bike horns intertwined with Ronnie's melody in this quiet ballad but then we get a truly heavy raver in "Wham Bam Thank You Mam", a monster that could easily fit in with Steve's follow up combo, Humble Pie - certainly the beginning of hard-blues-rock! Absolutely great! Tim Hardin's "Red Balloon" follows, with more than a passing similarity to his "If I Were a Carpenter", which turns into a bit of a jam, which was unusual for this combo. 

"Here Comes the Nice" and "Itchycoo Park" make appearances here followed by another horn-augmented instrumental titled "Wide Eyed Girl on the Wall", then "I Can't Make It", a soul-stomper of Steve's, and "Autumn Stone" is a sweet'n'sensitive Marriott ballad - with flute! - and then we get the incredibly beautiful yet powerful love song "Afterglow" - truly one of their best! "The Universal" mixes numerous influences, from folk to country to Dixieland in this acoustic number recorded at Steve's home studio, complete with his dogs barking in the background! After that, there are more repeats - "Talk To You", "My Way of Giving", "I'm Only Dreaming" and "green Circles".

Of course, every one of these collections has their strong points and there are enough variation that I needed to buy them all, but this one is pretty freakin' strong, giving examples of pretty much all of their styles. 

Small Faces - There Are But Four Small Faces

 

This modified version of their First Immediate Album was the first SF LP released in the States with about half of the original album combined with the hit single tracks that were left off of the British release, as was their practice. So, I'll leave out the duplicate tracks - "Talk To You", "Up the Wooden Hills", "My Way of Giving", "Get Yourself Together", "Show Me the Way", "Green Circles", "(Tell Me) Have You Seen Me" - and concentrate on those that are new to this release.

For the States, they open with by far their biggest (only?) hit over here, the fun psych-pop of "Itchycoo Park", with its phased drums, poppy melody, and trippy lyrics - really, a fantastic 45 that still evokes fine memories of the day. "I'm Only Dreaming" is a nice, psych ballad of Steve's, although he adds some heft to the middle breaks, "Feel Much Better" is a lively, light-hearted hand-clapper with amusing, sped-up backing vocals and a great, incredibly heavy ending that fades out'n'back in, followed by their British smash, "Tin Soldier", where everyone does a fantastic job with the dynamics'n'arrangement, an unforgettable chorus (with the help of the incredibly talented PP Arnold) and a pounding middle break! Whew! The ode to their speed dealer, "Here Comes The Nice", is another raver that the square censors somehow missed - kinda amazing considering the oblique lyrics they did censor and here the Faces are pretty damn obvious (although the "you don't need money" line is mighty puzzling). But it is a damn fine pop tune with a little psych touches and cool call'n'answer choruses. Funnily, this CD has the same bonus tracks - alt versions of "Green Circles" and "Have You Seen Me" - as the First Immediate Album!

Of course, I bought both CD's cuz I wanted all of the music, but if you have to choose, I would pick this one just because the hits are so good! 

Small Faces - Green Circles - First Immediate Album

 

Although this is the first album that the Small Faces recorded for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records, the group had already had hits on Decca, who continued to release songs after the band switched, causing confusion among the fans who didn't know what was legit and what was not. Confounding fans in the modern day are the numerous reissues of this record in varying editions with different song listings. The CD that I own matches the photo above and, as the little subtitle indicates, it has some alternate versions although the song order is quite divergent from some of the other releases.

This CD opens with "Become Like You", a fairly whimsical acoustic number with wacky lyrics, laughter, and lighthearted musical backing - not quite what would normally be expected from the Mod boys. Much more representative is "Get Yourself Together", an upbeat rocker with Kenny Jones throwing in some Keith Moon-like fills around Steve's characteristic soulful singing, Ronnie's backing vocals and fine ensemble playing all around. "All Our Yesterdays" is also fairly silly, in a vaudevillian kinda way, but "Talk To You" gets back on track with bluesy guitar licks, Steve's tough voice and a great groove, followed by a semi-ballad by Ronnie, "Show Me The Way", with a terrific, melancholy melody and open arrangement, then Ian's organ-dominated upbeat, slightly psychedelic ode to sleep, "Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire" before they go to the Caribbean, complete with steel drums'n'horns, for "Eddie's Dreaming".

I've always loved the tight'n'solid groove of "(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me" - fast'n'swingin', with the call'n'answer "hey,hey,ya's (or whatever Steve is enunciating!) - then Ronnie returns for a more mid-tempo (and somewhat mundane, albeit fine) "Something I Want To Tell You" (although Ian gets a nice solo in), Steve is "Feeling Lonely" for a minute and a half, before they go for a strong Booker T and the MG's feel in "Happy Boys Happy", followed by the slow'n'soulful "Things Are Going To Get Better" (again, Kenny propels with hip fills) and one of their best, "My Way of Giving", with another compelling melody'n'arrangement, Steve's amazing vocals alternating with the rest of the gang's backing and strong playing throughout, which moves into the title track, the superb psych of "Green Circles" that again shows off everyone's playing and their strong dynamics.

Their psychedelic and comical sides appear in "Donkey Rides, A Penny A Glass" before we get alternative arrangements of "Green Circles" and "(Tell Me) Have You Seen Me" to close out the CD.

Everyone gets to throw in a little bit of their personality to these tunes and while some of it is completely goofy, it is always good fun and the rockers are so strong that you have to let the little Mods have their laughs once in a while. Great record!

Dwight Twilley Band - Twilley Don't Mind

 

Although the first album (Sincerely) was not a commercial success, the Dwight Twilley Band (Dwight, Phil Seymour and Bill Pitcock) received enough critical acclaim to call for this follow-up, which, if anything, is an even better, more consistent release. Further pure power-pop with terrific melodies and harmonies and plenty of sharp guitar work, sorta in the vein of early Tom Petty, who guests on this record as a return favor for Dwight and Phil providing backing vocals on Tom's more successful debut.

The sound is certainly crisper, more biting and dramatic here and on the opening title cut, there's some well done horns'n'piano added to the mix for a fuller sound. "Looking For the Magic" was the shoulda-been hit from this one - nicely upbeat with slightly rockabilly-hiccupped vocals and a Petty-ish anthemic chorus. "Then I Remember" is a power-pop-ballad with some strong hooks, "Rock and Roll 47" sounds almost like Cheap Trick with its edgy guitars behind the Robin Zander-esque melodies'n'growls (and even some horn-work reminiscent of some later CT productions), "Trying To Find My Baby" is more of a piano-lead pop ballad with more 50's elements, then "Here She Comes" returns to an upbeat and, yes, Cheap Trick-ish, rocker with some fine lead guitar work, "Sleeping" is, appropriately enough, a quiet, ethereal ballad, while "Chance to Get Away" has some country/bluegreass elements - maybe a touch like Crosby, Stills and Nash? - before the album closes with "Invasion", another 70's rocker with edgy guitars and even a touch of feedback here'n'there!

As I said, while the debut had some fantastic numbers, this record is a bit more consistent and with the superior production, it is probably the better of the two, but if you're a power-pop fan you should absolutely own both!

Dwight Twilley band - Sincerely

 

For a time in the 70's I was quite enthralled with the current crop of power pop that was appearing (along with quite a variety of other musical styles, of course) although I would never have been able to play or sing this style. But the great 70's releases still resonate with me.

I pulled this vinyl album out the other day while I was trolling through the "T's" in our collection (and yes, I know that technically this should be filed under "D" but I'm a rebel) and it still sounds terrific to me! Hooks galore and ringing guitars shine through on this pop classic.

I first discovered the opening "I'm On Fire" from some comp and immediately had to look for more! Mid-tempo but plenty of energy with hip guitar licks throughout and abundant melodies and a singalong chorus - how did this not become a hit?! "Could Be Love" is a bit slower but still groovin', in a 70's pop kinda way, the catchiness continues in "Feeling in the Dark" which reminds me a bit of Badfinger in its harmonies - always a good thing! - although with a touch of 50's influence, I'd say. "You Were So Warm" continues with the Beatles/Byrds-ian ringing guitars and layers of harmonies in this romantic semi-ballad, there's definitely an updated 50's doo-wop influence in the slightly orchestrated ballad "I'm Losing You", they get a bit moodier and somewhat psychedelic (with backwards guitars) in the title cut with a hip, loud lead guitar break, then definitely show off their rockabilly influences in the simply titled "TV", before returning to doo-wop for "Release Me", another mid-tempo popper in "Three Persons", then a bit of a girl-group steal for "Baby Let's Cruise", some more sharp guitar licks in the more rockin' "England" before ending up with the Byrds-meets-the-Beach Boys-ish "Just Like the Sun".

Listening once again I realize that there are a lot of slow-to-mid-tempo numbers here and some of the mixes are sometimes muddy (the record came from three separate sessions) but the strength of the melodies always come through and there are some stellar performances here. Fans of power-pop should definitely check this out if you don't already have it!

Trashcan School - Volume War

 

The sad recent passing of Jim Miller caused me to pull out this 12” again. Oddly, I listen to the Trashcan 45’s more often than this album due to the single comps I put together but I need to pull this out more regularly!

This Sympathy release opens with the odd “g.i.t.” which has intentional skipping “meant to cause great distress” before the band gets into their mix of Detroit styled punk rock and Beefheart-Ian noise.

“Taunt” is a high energy sing-along, “Taxidermist” highlights singer Andy Seven’s wild’n’wsilin’ sax, “Ballad of Peter Green” is a wah-wah infused tribute to the Fleetwood Mac’s guitarist with more restrained, melodic sax work against the particularly aggressive 3 man guitar team which blends into “dot’s” before they close side one with a twisted take on Wire's “I Am the Fly”.

Turning over the vinyl we get “TV Blues”, an abrasive, discordant rocker (possibly somewhat influenced by the Stooges "TV Eye" and "LA Blues"?) followed by random sliding guitar noise and odd rhythm changes on “Steel Pulse”, then bassist Kirk Canning pulls out his cello for the more mellow “Steroid Shock” which still shows some aggression but even the sax is a bit sweeter. A big surprise on the powerful and cacophonous “Powershed” is a guest spot by non other than the legendary Sun Ra on synthesizer (although it is not very prominent until the end) before the festivities end with the title cut, a fast paced noize fest with Andy’s psychotic sax wailing over pounding drums and three guitars fighting for dominance. So good!

While there are plenty of obvious influences, this combo was one of LA’s best and most original groups of the time. Man, I miss being able to see craziness like this on a regular basis!

recommended gigs

 Saturday 8-5-23 - The Psyatics with the Vegasendents and Fur Dixon at the. Double Down

Saturday 8-5-23 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-7-23 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-7-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at the Sand Dollar Spring Mountain

Friday 8-11-23 - the Souvenairs at the Underground at the Mob Museum

Saturday 8-12-23 - Suburban Resistance, With Liberty, Jet Jaguar, Lean 13 at Founder's Club

Saturday 8-12-23 - Franks'n'Deans, Jerk!, Sloth Fist at the Double Down

Saturday 8-12-23 - Dogstar at Brooklyn Bowl

Wednesday 8-16-23 - Os Mutantes at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Thursday 8-17-23 - Art Gray Noize Quintet with the Psyatics and Wax Pig Melting at Artifice

Saturday 8-19-23 - the Unwieldies and Big Like Texas at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Wednesday 8-23-23 - The Minges, Negative Nancys, War Peggy, Crimson Riot at Artifice

Friday 8-25-23 - Shanda and the Howlers, Muck and the Mires, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at Red Dwarf

Friday 8-25-23 - Three Bad Jacks, No Que Noe, Frankie Lee and the Infernos at The Dive Bar

Wednesday 9-20-23 - It's OK, Suburban Resistance, Crom. Fallon and the P200 at the Dive Bar

Friday 10-6-23 - The Shakewells, the Rebel Set, Isaac The Phantom Rother at Red Dwarf

Thursday 10-12-23 - the Adverts at theDive Bar

Saturday 10-14-23 - Tav Falco's Panther Burns with Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Sand Dollar Downtown