WHAT DO YOU MEAN "TROMBONES ARE AS COOL AS GUITARS!?

 

Rich here. From the time I was 8 or 9, I wanted to play guitar. At first, it was because I wanted to be like Gene Autry or Roy Rogers -- a guitar-playing singing cowboy. And then when I saw my uncle Wes on TV dressed in a cowboy outfit, playing his guitar and singing western songs, that made him cool in my book. 

 

And, of course, once the Beatles came along, my guitar-desire only deepened.

 

But if you had told me I should take up trombone, or that trombones could rival a guitar, I would have laughed in your face. I mean, which guys in the band get all the girls? Not one of the horn players! (Unless you're genuinely cool like Miles Davis.)

 

But then I stumbled on to the Maniacal 4 a few months ago, who turned one of my big "guilty pleasures" of the Seventies, "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas into a Trombone tour de force. 

 

No, the Maniacal Four aren't sex symbols by any means, but, man, they smoke!

MANIACAL 4 - "Carry On Wayward Son"

THE PSYCHEDELIC ALIENS - "Biofonyobi Wo Atale" (1970)

 

This funky Record by The Psychedelic Aliens was released in 1970. The band was from Ghana, and were active from 1969 to 1971. They also released two singles in 1971 as The Magic Aliens.

These guys were great, and they definitely deserved a larger audience!

It's even worth sitting through stupid YouTube commercials to be able to hear something as cool as

 THE PSYCHEDELIC ALIENS - "Biofonyobi Wo Atale" 

GREG GARING - "Alone" (1997)

 

Here's a concept for you, play a cool funky guitar groove, get Mike Watt, the bass player of The Minutemen to lay down some bottom, the phenomenal Andy Kravitz to play drums, and sing a sweet song over the top of it.

It works me, and it sure works for Greg Garing. 

His CD titled "Alone" came out in 1997, and this was the lead off song!

GREG GARING - "My Love Is Real" 

THREE SIDES OF DAVID BOWIE!!!

 

I'm a big fan, but some of David Bowie's early songs were not that great, and in 1967, he came out with this single. 

The music is good, but this song grates on me like nails on a chalkboard. You'd think after Alvin and the Chipmunks I'd be used to it, but no. 

DAVID BOWIE - "The Laughing Gnome" 

 

Ten years later, the polar opposite is a song from David's 1977 album titled "Low," which is a really beautiful instrumental.

I never get tired of this song!

We were lucky enough to see him 'live' and this was the opening song! 

DAVID BOWIE - "A New Career In A New Town" 

 

I was going to end it there, when I remembered this version of "Hallo Space Boy" David and the band performed on the "Later with Jules Holland" TV show in 1995.

This is one of the most gorgeous pieces of chaos I've ever heard in my life.

The drummer Zachary Alford is killing it, while Carlos Alomar shreds, Gail Ann Dorsey holds down the bottom for 5 1/2 minutes of controlled madness, and somehow David Bowie manages to sing on top of it all.

DAVID BOWIE - "Hallo Space Boy" 

LINTON KWESI JOHNSON - "Forces Of Victory" (1979)

 

As far as Dub Poetry is concerned, I just don't think it gets much better than Linton Kwesi Johnson. He's got a great voice that is powerful and soothing at the same time. He sounds like a person you can trust, and his message is always solid!

"Forces Of Victory" was his first record, and it came out in 1979, and still shines like a beacon in the dark of night. 

LINTON KWESI JOHNSON - "It Noh Funny"

THE DEVIANTS - "The People's Suite" (1969)

 

I bought this LP new when it came out in 1969. I mean, how's a normal guy supposed to resist a cute Twiggy looking nun licking a Popsicle?

And I have to admit, it did not disappoint, because this is one strange LP from start to finish, and I mean that in a good way! 

There are plenty of places to listen to this album in it's entirety for free, and this is good example of what you'll discover when you do.

Sheer joy and happiness! 

THE DEVIANTS - "The People's Suite" 

THE JAYNETTS - "Sally Go Round The Roses" (1963)

 

From Wikipedia: "The credited members of the Jaynetts who recorded "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" were Yvonne Bushnell, Ethel Davis (aka Vernell Hill), Ada Ray Kelly and Johnnie Louise Richardson, a fifth credited member Mary Sue Wells (aka Mary Sue Wellington/Mary Green Wilson) was recruited through a newspaper advertisement."

 

 This is a very haunting and ethereal song, and just like the girl on this French 45 sleeve, I don't think that there is anything to compare it to.

It's like a crazy beautiful dream, and yet it reached number two on the charts on my birthday in 1963.

THE JAYNETTS - "Sally Go Round The Roses"