THE PHANTOM - "Love Me" (1960)

 

Here's a song from 1960 that you just can't hear too many times. Marty Lott was "The Phantom" with a song that's just perfect to end this year! It's only a minute and half long, and that's just enough!

" Let's Go!"

THE PHANTOM - "Love Me" 

 

Yeah, Right!

THE BASKERVILLE HOUNDS - "Never On Sunday" (1966)

 

Now here's a band I had never heard of until just a few days ago when one of their songs off of this 1966 album grabbed my attention. 

They were called The Baskerville Hounds and they hailed from Cleveland, Ohio.

 

This song by The Baskerville Hounds is very interesting, and one of the strangest covers I've ever heard, and that's saying a lot.

 It starts off sounding to me like the 1965 "Whittier Blvd" by Thee Midniters........

 

.........and then somehow turns into the Greek classic "Never On Sunday" written by Manos Hadjidakis.

 You just need to hear it yourself!

THE BASKERVILLE HOUNDS - "Never On Sunday"

JOHNNY REASON - "Blues American Style" (1977)

 

I don't know why Johnny Reason is not better well known, his 70's funk is as good as anybody else, and this self-titled album from 1977 is something I've listened to many times, and I never get tired of it!

JOHNNY REASON - "Blues American Style"

SILVER APPLES vs. TREK WITH QUINTRONIC (1968 - 1981)

 

When it comes to electronic duos, who did it better?

Silver Apples in 1968....... 

SILVER APPLES - "Oscillations

 

Or...... Trek With Quintronic in 1981?

You tell me, I love them both! 

TREK WITH QUINTRONIC - "Zolian Space"

DOLLAR BRAND - "Cape Town Fringe" (1977)

 

This 1977 album by Dollar Brand has been a favorite of mine for years. This is music that will just make you feel good, it's that beautiful.

Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) is from South Africa and plays the piano. Paul Michaels is on Bass, the Tenor Sax & Flute are played by Basil Coetzee, and Monty Weber is playing the Drums.

Here ya go Rich, this is another song that I like that took up one whole side of a record!

DOLLAR BRAND - "Cape Town Fringe"

THE FUGS - "First Album" (1966)

 

Some of the most fantastic harmonies you'll never hear in a lifetime, The Fugs "First Album" is something to just sit, listen to, and bask in the brilliance of what was New York City in the 1960's.

I was a senior in high school when this album came out in 1966, and I bought my copy from a record store in a new bright and fancy mall, one of the first ones in town.

I did not know what to expect, and that's exactly what I got.

THE FUGS - "I Feel Like Homemade Shit"

CRIII - "Discothequeno" (2024)

 

So you say it's Christmas, well then "Happy Birthday to you!"

Technically this release by my pal Charles Rice Goff III titled "Discothequeno,"is from the 21st century, but this is where I get to do whatever I want, because pickleball and Corozón Tequila told me so.

You can get all the details on CRIII's Bandcamp page for this release on Herby Records.

But in the meantime, just listen to this.

Merry Christmas!

Charles Rice Goff III - "Hip Lip Rip"

THE SONICS - "Sinderella" (1980)

 

This 1980 album by The Sonics called "Sinderella" had some good music on it, and here's a song I really like!

 

Good ole fashion primal rock and roll just in time for Christmas!

THE SONICS - "Open Up Yer Door"

THE KALEIDOSCOPE - "Side Trips" (1967)

 

This 1967 LP by The Kaleidoscope titled "Side Trips" is an album I've enjoyed for decades, and for very good reasons! Incorporating instrumentation from multiple cultures and making it their own, these guys just rock!

Here's a song I never get tired of listening to.

THE KALEIDOSCOPE - "Please"

 

Speaking of "Side Trips," one of the members of this band was David Lindley who in my humble opinion, recorded the best version ever of "Mercury Blues."

I hope that got you moving, because it works for me every time! 

THE HULLABALLOOS - "England's Newest Singing Sensations" (1965)

 

The Hullaballoos came out with this self-titled LP in 1965, and were one of the original British Invasion bands, except for one thing, the public just didn't go for it, and they broke up in 1966. A lot of their music was obviously influenced by Buddy Holly.

It was sheer coincidence that the American pop rock music TV show "Hullaballoo" aired in the same time period. Consequently The Hullabaloos appeared on the show.

 

The Hullaballoos weren't the best lookin' guys in the world and the long bleached blonde hair must not have appealed to the general public that much. They had one song in 1965 called "Did You Ever" that hit #74 on the Billboard charts that had a real Buddy Holly feel to it, but I like this more Beatles and Buddy sounding one myself.

THE HULLABALLOOS - "Beware"

 

 

RAY BRYANT - "Gotta Travel On" (1966)

 

Sometimes instrumental music can just make you happy, take this 1966 album by Ray Bryant titled "Gotta Travel On" for example.

With Ray on the Keys, and Walter Booker, Jr. on Bass, Freddie Waits playing the drums, Clark Terry Playing Flugelhorn, and Snookie Young on Trumpet, this is just infectious feel good music. 

I dare you to listen to this and not tap your foot.

RAY BRYANT - "All Things Are Possible"

ARTHUR LEE - "Vindicator" (1972)

 

With a cool album cover like this that was sure to appeal to sixteen year old girls, Arthur sunk this boat before it was even released.

LOVE is one of my favorite groups of all time, and Arthur was an insane front man. From the poetic beauty of "Forever Changes" to this solo album that featured manic Hendrix influenced tunes, Arthur Lee refused to be pigeonholed. 

Even though "Forever Changes" is considered by most to be one of the top 500 records of all time, they, nor Arthur Lee are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Some things just don't make sense.

From Arthur's 1972 solo album titled "Vindicator," turn it up....

ARTHUR LEE - "Everytime I Look Up, I'm Down, or White Dog"

DAVID BLUE - "I'll Never Be Home Again" (1966)

 

I love this 1966 LP by David Blue. It was just so perfect when it came out, but nobody seemed to care, and I'm not sure if that's changed much over the years. I think this LP was blown off as just another Dylan wannabe like Donovan, who is another artist I really like.

 

This music and the lyrics don't make sense, and do make sense at the same time.

 Think of Lou Reed fronting The Band instead of Bob Dylan, or Dylan playing with The Velvet Underground.

 

 Lou Reed was a big fan of Bob Dylan, and if you listen closely to some of Lou's early music, it's pretty obvious.

In the 1983 best fictional music film of all time, "Get Crazy," Lou Reed plays a very Dylanesque character named Auden who misses the concert because he's spacing out in the back of a cab on the way to the show he's supposed to be headlining, or was it David Blue?

There's so many songs I like on this David Blue LP that it's hard to choose just one, in fact, it's impossible, but here's a real good one.

DAVID BLUE - "It Ain't The Rain That Sweeps The Highway Clean"

THE FABULOUS TITANS - "Rico's Lament" (1980)

 

The Fabulous Titans were a band that was from San Francisco in the 1980's. Just from this one song alone, they should have been household names by now, but this song has been on YouTube for three years, and it only has a whopping 118 views. That's pretty sinful since this is such a cool tune!

THE FABULOUS TITANS - "Rico's Lament"

SWAMP DOGG - "Total Destruction To Your Mind" (1970)

 

I bought this LP by Jerry Williams Jr. aka Swamp Dogg called "Total Destruction To Your Mind" back in 1970, and I played it for all my friends. Nobody had ever heard of him before, but everyone was always blown away whenever they heard this record.

There's so much good music on this album, and of course the title song is one of the best, but there's another song that I always thought had the right sentiment, and here it is.

SWAMP DOGG - "If I Die Tomorrow (I've Lived Tonight)"

HUGH MASEKELA - "Why Are You Blowing My Mind" (1966)

 

I was introduced to the music of Hugh Masekela in 1967, and I'd never heard anything like it before, and not much like it ever since. Gone since 2018, but what an amazing guy! Here's just one of the fantastic songs off this LP called "The Emancipation Of Hugh Masekela."

HUGH MASEKELA - "Why Are You Blowing My Mind?"

FRIDAY THE 13th MADNESS with DAY BLINDNESS & EUCLID

 

DAY BLINDNESS - "Still Life Girl"

 

I bought a copy of this album at a swap meet in Sebastopol, California in the mid to late 70's. I never was able to find out much about it until the internet came around, but I always thought it was an interesting effort. Day Blindness were from San Mateo, Calif, and this album that came out in 1969 was the only LP they ever released.

 

EUCLID - "First Time Last Time"

Euclid was a band from Massachusetts, and this album titled "Heavy Equipment" came out in 1970. This was also their only release. This is a record that I never knew anything about until the advent of the internet.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something about this record and the Day Blindness album that set them apart from other groups of the time, and whatever it is, it still hasn't caught on with most of the rest of the world.

THE ID - "The Inner Sounds Of The ID" (1967)

 

So here's the problem.....Life, Technology, Art and Music have been moving at an incredible pace for a few decades now, and there is no way any reasonable human being can keep up with it all.

We've catapulted a small sample of people into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while thousands of incredibly talented people have been left in the dust!

It's the same way with TV and movies. It's literally impossible to watch everything that's been out there for decades.

But how do you get people's attention? How do you say "Hey, here's some amazing shit you left behind 60 years ago!" The answer is simple, you can't, but I'm going to try and do my best to let people know a little of how much you might have missed.

Tonight, it's The ID. 

 

The Id, not the monster from "Forbidden Planet" in this super cool painting by artiste extraordinaire Gary Wray, was a studio band led by Jerry Cole, who should probably have a movie made about him. He was one of those musicians that tried freakin' everything, and had some success, but never enough to make his name recognizable today.

From Jerry Cole and the Spacemen to Mr. Gasser and the Weirdos, Jerry Cole never gave up!

 

Signed by RCA, these guys were were about as commercial as.......nobody!

THE ID - "The Rake"

24:1900 'VIRTUAL' FESTIVAL UPDATE (2024)

 

Because I have already bought my ticket for the 24:1900 Concert that will be streaming on December 21, I received an email from them today that says:

 

"On Wednesday 18 December (1900/7pm GMT), we will be doing a dry run. It will last one hour, and include tracks from a number of the sets. If anyone has time, I would really appreciate if if you could sign in to Maestro to help us test the platform, e.g. online chats. 

Obviously, no problem if you can't.

We will be promoting this dress rehearsal over the next week. Anyone who hasn't bought a ticket/signed up to Maestro will be able to view from our site. They won't be able to chat etc."

So, there you go, there's still plenty of time to get a ticket, or you can go watch some of what it's all about for free. You can't lose!

PROCOL HARUM - "In Held Twas I" (1968)

 

The English band Procol Harum are among an elite group of artists that is smaller than fifty. They are one of the few that have sold over 10 million physical copies of a song, that being "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." Even more interesting is that song is in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the band isn't. How does that make sense?

 

 To this day, the biggest selling single of all time by a huge margin is Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," having sold over 50 million copies!

 The list of artists who have sold over 10 million singles is a bizarre array of musicians if I do say so myself, and includes four more Christmas songs, along with "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas, and "My Sharona" by The Knack. Elvis has two songs, and The Beatles only have one.

 

Besides "Y.M.C.A." by The Village People, and "Macarena" by Los del Rio, I think the one that got to me the most was "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" by the Scottish  group Middle Of The Road which has sold more than ten million copies, and to think I had never heard it before just a few minutes ago.

 

Back to Procol Harum, and my favorite of all their great songs, and that is their 17 minute masterpiece from this album titled "Shine On Brightly"

"In Held Twas I"

"Life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"

THE RUMBLERS - "Bugged" (1963)

 

I've decided to change the look and concept of this blog and will no longer be focusing on just 1980's and 90's cassette culture. Instead I'm going to present to you what I consider to be interesting music from the last 100 years. To start off with, here's a very strange song I've loved for too many decades now, and to this day, every time I hear it, I can't believe it. 

The Rumblers - "Bugged"

 "Go on away now or I'll stomp ya a goodern!"