SAVAGE NIGHT

 

Rich here.

 The song blasted from the radio speaker and made me push my car's accelerator. But I didn't quite know how to label "Savage Night" when I first heard it. It featured a blaring horn section, a whammy-bar-driven lead guitar, pattering bongos, and a hipster vibe.

 

The band was The Blue Hawaiians. Were they a tiki culture band? 

 

And was "Savage Night" a surf record? A slumming jazz instrumental? A kitsch homage to grass skirts and coconut bras? A lost Henry Mancini dive into rock? The soundtrack to a noirish crime movie? I'll let you decide.

Whatever it is, it cooks.

 

THE BLUE HAWAIIANS - "Savage Night" 

WADE IN THE WATER

 

"Wade In The Water" is a spiritual that was written in 1901 by brothers Frederick J, and John Wesley Work Jr. and was first published as "New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers."

 

The Sunset Four Jubilee Singers made the first commercial recording in 1925.

It was then recorded three more times in the next six years by the Lincoln Four Quartette, the Birmingham Jubilee Quartet, and the Famous Blue Jay Singers of Birmingham.

 

 Since then, the song has been recorded by a diverse group of musicians in all kinds of styles.

Ramsey Lewis recorded a version in 1966 that made it to #19 on The Billboard Hot 100. 

 

 Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass did a version in 1967.

 

The Staple Singers did a version also in 1967.

 

 

The list goes on and on with artists like Marlena Shaw, Little Sonny, Big Mama Thornton, The Graham Bond Organization, Clover, The Rivets, Pacific Gas & Electric, Ian & The Zodiacs, etc, etc, but I think my favorite one is this very creative version from Harvey Mandel's first solo album in 1968 titled "Cristo Redentor."

 When Mick Taylor quit The Rolling Stones in 1974, Harvey Mandel was one of the guitarists that tried out for the job, and his guitar playing can be heard on two of the songs from their 1976 album "Black And Blue," "Hot Stuff" and "Memory Motel."

 Harvey lost out, and the job went to Ron Wood.

HARVEY MANDEL - "Wade In The Water"

PHIL OCHS - "Phil Ochs Greatest Hits" - (50 Phil Ochs Fans Can't Be Wrong) (1970)

 

Phil Ochs was a folksinger, a protest singer, and as he liked to call himself, a "topical singer."

When he thought his messages weren't getting through, he changed directions, and re-invented himself for his eighth album in 1970 as part Elvis Presley and part Che Guevara, and brazenly called it "Phil Ochs Greatest Hits," even though none of the songs had ever been on other records. 

On the back it said "50 Phil Ochs Fans Can't Be Wrong," a parody of  this album by Elvis Presley.

Phil even went so far as to have the master tailor Nudie Cohn design him the gold lame suit you see on the cover.

He abandoned folk music on this record, and played electric guitar on Country and Rock and Roll songs instead.

Personally, I like this record, but it was not a popular move, made his career even worse, and was the last record he ever recorded.

Unfortunately, the only way that Phil Ochs would be able to play the chords of fame, was to write a song about it. 

Fed up with everything, Phil Ochs committed suicide in 1976 by hanging himself, gone forever at the age of 35.

PHIL OCHS - "Chords Of Fame"

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION - "Acme" (1998)

 

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion will beat you up, and make you like it!

The album "Acme" came out in 1998, and was quickly followed by "Acme-Plus"... 

 

...And "Acme-Xtra," and they both came with a lot of  B sides and remixes. 

One of those is what you get here, one of my favorites!

3:15 minutes of complete rockin' chaos!

The world wasn't ready for it in 1998, and in that regard, not much has changed! 

Just wait for it!  

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION - "Chowder" 

RAY DAYTONA & THE GOOGOOBOMBOS - "Ray's Own Business" (1998)

 

Ray Daytona & The Googoobombos are a surf/garage band from Italy. Their surf tunes are impeccable, and the songs they do that have vocals, sound like they would have come off of one of the "Nuggets" compilation albums.

It's one thing to do classic surf and retro garage songs, but it's a completely different thing to do them as good as these guys do!

Here's a little something that was released as a surf styled single in 1998 that rocks the house!

 RAY DAYTONA & THE GOOGOOBOMBOS - "Ray's Own Business"

WHEN YOU'RE NEAR ME I HAVE DIFFICULTY RESPIRATING

 

Rich here. 

We're all acquainted with the obsessive, lustful declarations of a singer describing the effects their object of desire has on them. It's interesting how many of the descriptions have to do with breath and breathing:

 

  "Every breath you take, I'll be watching you" ("Every Breath You Take," The Police)

"So go on, come on: leave me breathless" ("Breathless," The Corrs)

"I'll take your breath away" ("Possession," Sarah McLachlan)

"You Take My Breath Away" by Queen.

 

 To be certain, there are plenty more examples.

 

But leave it to XTC to translate these sentiments into the most gawky and geeky teenage way imaginable with awkward and angular music that's catchy as hell.  

 

From their 1979 album DRUMS AND WIRES: 

 

XTC - "When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty" 

LOVE SCULPTURE - "Sabre Dance" (1969)

In 1942 Aram Khachaturian composed "Sabre Dance" as a movement in the final act of his ballet entitled "Gayane." The song became so popular in the United States that in 1948 it reached number one in the BillBoard Best-Selling Records by Classical Artists charts three times by three different artists.

 

Over the years, "Sabre Dance" has been covered by a diverse group of musicians from Spike Jones to Punk and Heavy metal bands like UK Subs and Mekong Delta.

In the 1950's the very popular Liberace played "Sabre Dance" live on TV.

LIBERACE - "Sabre Dance" 

 

 

But by far my favorite rendition of this classic will always be this manic version by Love Sculpture in 1969 featuring Dave Edmunds on guitar.

LOVE SCULPTURE - "Sabre Dance" 

HAZMAT MODINE - "Bahamut" (2006)

 

Hazmat Modine is quite an interesting ensemble from New York. This album titled "Bahamut" was released in 2006. The band is led by a fellow named Wade Schuman who is featured on Diatonic Harmonica, Lute Guitar, Guitar, and Lead Vocals.

 

Wade is joined by Joseph Daley on Tuba (How can you not love a band that has a tuba player in it?), Pamela Fleming on Trumpet and Flugelhorn, Steve Elson on Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Duduk, and Flute, Reut Regev on Trombone, Flugabone, and Slide Trumpet, Erik Della Penna on Guitar, Banjitar, and Vocals, Daisy Castro playing violin and singing, and Patrick Simard on Drums & Percussion, and also doing vocals.

And trust me, they're using almost all those instruments on every song! 

Here's a link to their website. It will be well worth your time to go there.

The outstanding music from all these fine people is all over the place so I tried to pick out one song that shows the depth of their musical knowledge, and this is the one I came up with. 

HAZMAT MODINE - "Moving Stones" 

SPREAD THE GOOD WORD!

 

Rev. Tom Frost just released another batch of his outstanding music, and I quote......

"A Circle in the Fire is a collision of sounds, a restless spirit weaving twang, rockabilly grit, and rhumba mystique into something entirely its own. Lyrically, it dances between poetry and cynicism, embracing beauty while winking at its fragility. But beneath the words, there’s an undercurrent—a quiet defiance, a lingering echo of vengeance, like the dusty trail of an Italian western where justice is slow but inevitable. Every track feels like a different turn in the maze, leading into moments that smolder, roar, and whisper."

 

That was a quote from Maria Sauber that came with the email announcing the release. 

 

There are tons of ways you can listen or stream it!

 And if you're one of those kind of people who need to have a physical copy that you can hold in your hand, then click HERE to go to the Rev's bandcamp page where you can pre-order a CD.

 

 Répandez la bonne parole et passez un bon moment!

ARTHUR RUSSELL - "Kiss Me Again" (1978)

 

It would be really easy to write off this 1978 single titled "Kiss Me Again" by Arthur Russell's Dinosaur as just another long disco song, but that would be a big mistake, because it's so much more than that!

I understand this song did get played in dance clubs a lot back in the day, so get them feet moving!

DINOSAUR - "Kiss Me Again" 

 

Arthur Russell was a musical genius! 

Born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the cello playing prolific songwriter never really got the chance that he deserved.

Arthur Russell died from AIDS complications in 1992 at the age of 40, and I read that he left behind hundreds of tapes full of his ideas.

Arthur almost joined Talking Heads, and lucky for us, they recorded this early acoustic version of "Psycho Killer" with Arthur playing the cello!

Wow! What a difference a cello can make! 

TALKING HEADS - "Psycho Killer (Acoustic Version)"

THE WORLD'S A CAN FOR YOUR FRESH GARBAGE

 

Rich here.

 

Teenage psychedelic guitar phenom Randy California (real name Randy Wolfe) missed his chance at superstardom when Jimi Hendrix invited him to go to London with him and be in his new band (which would become known as the Jimi Hendrix Experience), but Randy's parents thought the 16-year-old was too young for such a venture. 

 

But the story doesn't end there. Randy California subsequently started a new band that included a folkie, a jazz keyboardist, a rock singer, and even his middle-aged stepfather, a striking-looking bald jazz drummer who'd previously played in a trio with Taj Mahal and a very young Ry Cooder. 

 

Randy California's new band, Spirit, never found superstardom, but they did become cult-favorites for their eclectic mix of genres. Even by the kind of "Anything Goes" aesthetic of the late Sixties, Spirit's creative music was considered adventurous, as can be heard in "Fresh Garbage," with its blend of blues and rock and folk and pop and jazz and psychedelic space vibes.

SPIRIT - "Fresh  Garbage" 

MINUTEMEN - "The Politics Of Time" (1984)

 

The Minutemen were one of my favorite bands back in the 80's and I was very fortunate to see them perform live at The Anti-Club a few months before D. Boon passed away.

This album called "The Politics Of Time" escaped in 1984, and had a lot of their early short classics on it! 

They had it right in so many ways, but it just wasn't meant to be!

There are 27 songs on this record, and this is one of eleven that is longer than one minute! 

MINUTEMEN - "Working Men Are Pissed" 

THE KINKS - "Kinks-Size" (1965)

 

In the mid 60's, The Kinks were just grinding out one hit after another. They were all pretty simple but also all pretty damn infectious. 

This album titled "Kinks-Size" came out in 1965 and had two of their big hits on it, one was "Tired Of Waiting For You," and the other one was this song that has one of my favorite guitar solos in it. Dave Davies was a guitar maniac, and the solo on this song is one of the most manic you'll ever hear! 

THE KINKS - "All Day And All Of The Night" 

 

If you really want to hear some their top songs all in one package, you just can't go wrong with this record from 1966 called "The Kinks Greatest Hits."

Not only is "All Day And All Of The Night" on it, it also contains "You Really Got Me," "Tired Of Waiting For You," "A Well Respected Man," "Who'll Be The Next In Line," & "Til The End Of The Day."

What a body of work, and this is still four years before one of their most popular songs, "Lola" came out!
 

 

FLAT DUO JETS - "Sing, Sing, Sing" (1989)

 

Flat Duo Jets are no joke, but they did like to joke around. Their first album came out in 1989 and was titled "Flat Duo Jets," even though they were a trio. The band was composed of Dexter Romweber playing Guitar (who just passed away last year), a guy named Tone playing Bass, and another fellow known as Crow, playing the drums.

This song is a dichotomy unto itself. It's an instrumental, but it's called "Sing, Sing, Sing."

The original version was recorded by The Benny Goodman Orchestra in 1938. 

It swings, and I think Crow does a pretty damn credible impersonation of Gene Krupa. 

FLAT DUO JETS - "Sing, Sing, Sing" 

THE 'B' GIRLS - "Who Says Girls Can't Rock" (1979)

 

In 1979, a Canadian band called The 'B' Girls released this killer single on the Bomp label. Their story is way too discombobulated for me to try and explain, but this Wikipedia article does a good job of telling it, and is well worth reading.

In the meantime, listen to this! 

 

"Who Says Girls Can't Rock?"

That was the title of a Canadian CD of theirs that was released in 1997.

THE 'B' GIRLS - "Fun At The Beach"

MINNIE RIPERTON - "Perfect Angel" (1974)

 

"Perfect Angel" was Minnie Riperton's second album. It came out in 1974, and in 1975, the song "Lovin' You" hit number one on the Billboard charts. Sadly, and sure not fair, the perfect angel joined all the other angels in 1979, another victim of cancer at the age of only 31.

Minnie was an amazing singer and had an incredible five-octave vocal range.

"Lovin' You" is such a beautiful song, but here's the less heard title song from this fine LP. 

MINNIE RIPERTON - "Perfect Angel" 

FARMER JOHN

Another great 60's Latino band from East L.A. was The Premiers, who released this album called "Farmer John Live" in 1964, and the single reached #19 on the charts.

THE PREMIERS - "Farmer John"

 

 

Neil Young liked the song well enough that he decided to a cover it with his band Crazy Horse on this 1990 LP titled "Ragged Glory," but personally, since the original was recorded 'live,'  I like Neil's 'live' version better than his studio version. It's just got more pizazz, except it's too bad that all the screaming girls are missing!

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE - "Farmer John"

BED BUGS!!

 

In the year 2000" an album called "Bedlam Ballroom" was released by the phenomenal band known as the Squirrel Nut Zippers. It was their 5th studio album. This was the lead song, and it's a good one!

SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS - "Bed Bugs" 

 

In the year 2018, a similar themed song was released on a Belgian label by a group called Shaman Festival, that is not a cover, but is an equally cool song.

What is it about the subject of bed bugs that makes people create such great music?

Beats the Hell out of me, but I'm glad it does!

SHAMAN FESTIVAL - "Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite"

QUIRKY IS AS QUIRKY DOES

 

Rich here to follow up on Eegah's recent posts about music whose sheer quirkiness was their selling point. Back in the '90s when I ran the indie label Optional Art Records, I released "Milk & Cookies," an album by the band Edgar Schwartz, which was the nom de plume for the quirky duo of James Nicholson and Dennis Steinseifer. 

 

Edgar Schwartz has been featured on this blog-site before, but you can never say too much about their cool and creative music.

 

If ever there was a way to get from Point A to Point B, you wouldn't have asked Edgar Schwartz how to get there because their directions surely would have been as full of detours and ups-and-downs and twists-and-turns as their music was. For every delicious background harmony you might find, there were as many herky-jerky rhythms, angular melodies, and unorthodox hooks. 

 

I used to compare Edgar Schwartz to XTC-meets-The Beach Boys. But, really, that's far from accurate. A better comparison might be Frank Zappa-meets-Revolution Number 9 with a sprinkle of Jan & Dean.

EDGAR SCHWARTZ - "Save Me" 

THE PYRAMIDS - "Pyramid Stomp" (1964)

 

Any fan of surf music should be familiar with The Pyramids and this LP called "The Pyramids Play The Original Penetration!" Unless you want to take out a bank loan, then you'll just have to be happy with what you can hear on YouTube because this record is quite pricey!

The Pyramids were a unique band in more than one way, and instead of long hair, they opted for shaved heads, and I might be wrong, but they were probably the only 60's surf band that had a black guitarist in the group.

Sundazed Records released this "Best Of" album in 2022, and their website says "Their big hit, "Penetration," stayed in the Top Ten (Billboard) for 13 weeks and even reached #4 nationally; only the Beatles prevented the song from rising higher."

"Penetration" was their biggest hit, but I like this one just as much because of the sax in the instrumentation!

THE PYRAMIDS - "Pyramid Stomp"

NRBQ - "You Can't Hide" (1969)

 

NRBQ aka the New Rhythm And Blues Quartet have never gotten the attention they deserved. They made some great music as this 1969 self-titled album undoubtedly proves, and here's a song that's as classic as a rock and roll song can be.

NRBQ - "You Can't Hide" 

 

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - "Porterville" (1968)

"Creedence Clearwater Revival" is the self-titled debut of seven studio albums for CCR, and even though these guys pumped out a huge catalogue of great songs, one of my favorites comes off of this first album, and it's only two minutes and thirteen seconds long.

"I don't care," and you won't either!

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - "Porterville" 

QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE - "Just For Love" (1970)

 

Quicksilver Messenger Service is a kind of hit or miss band with me, the stuff I like, I really like, but there's a lot that I really don't dig that much.

For me, this 1970 LP called "Just For Love" was the pinnacle of their very cool achievements.  

The album they released before this one called "Happy Trails" just leaves me cold with all it's long jams, but this one provides a nice variety of songs from start to finish.

QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE - "Fresh Air"  

THE BARBARIANS - "Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl" (1965)

 

The Barbarians were from Massachusetts and released this self-titled record in 1965.

They liked to wear sandals and their drummer Victor "Moulty" Moulton had a hook-shaped prosthetic left hand after losing his real hand in an explosion when he was fourteen years old.

This song is kind of a novelty tune, but it also rocks, and it made it to number 55 on the music charts in 1965.

THE BARBARIANS -  "Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl"

 

In 1966 The Barbarians had another minor hit called "Moulty" named after and sung by Moulty himself, that was a humorous autobiographical song about the drummer's life and the loss of his hand.

None of the original band members contributed to the song, and Moulty was backed by New York session musicians, some of who would later be in the group known as The Band. 

 THE BARBARIANS - "Moulty"  

THE FALSETTO - YOU MAY BE A BOY BUT YOU SING LIKE A GIRL

 

The falsetto is an interesting concept in vocal styling that has been around since at least the 16th century. It became very popular in the 1960's and there have been thousands of songs sung using this vocal range.

Supposedly, the first recorded example of falsetto was in 1911 by a yodeler named George P. Watson.

GEORGE P. WATSON - "Emmett's Favorite Yodel"

 

In the 1960's, songs with the lead vocal sung in a falsetto became very popular!

"Stay" by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs in 1961 reached number one on the Billboard charts, and is also one of the shortest hit songs ever recorded. It was only one minute and thirty-six seconds long! 

MAURICE WILLIAMS & THE ZODIACS - "Stay" 

 

Led by the falsetto voice of Frankie Valli, "Walk Like A Man" was a very big hit for The Four Seasons, and it reached number one on the Billboard charts in 1963.

Interesting concept, walk like a man, but sing like a girl!

THE 4 SEASONS - "Walk Like A Man"

 

In 1964, The Newbeats came out with this album called "Bread & Butter," and the title song made it to number two on the charts. Larry Henry is the falsetto voice heard on this tune. Larry went on to write a number of Country hits.

THE NEWBEATS - "Bread & Butter"

So there you have it. Many more groups have gone on to have big hits with falsetto vocals, The Beegees, Tiny Tim, and Prince would be a couple of good examples.

Seems strange but it sure has paid off for a lot of artists! 

FRENCH FRITH KAISER THOMPSON - "Live, Love, Larf & Loaf" (1987)

 

Quirkiness comes in many forms. There's Experimental, Avant-Garde, and Eclectic just to start with, and if you thought that the British had a patent on quirky music, here's a release from 1987 of a quartet that was 50% British and 50% American, but they're not 50% quirky. These guys are 100% quirky, and just a lot of fun to listen to. 

The record is titled "Live, Love, Larf & Loaf" and the all-star quartet responsible are John French on Drums and Vocals, Fred Frith on Bass, Violin and Vocals, Henry Kaiser on Guitar and Shamisen, and Richard Thompson on Guitar and Vocals.

This song is only one minute and forty-two seconds long, but there's not one second wasted. 

FRENCH FRITH KAISER THOMPSON - "Killerman Gold Posse" 

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE DAMN FROG

 

Rich here.

Yes, yes. I know. I know. You've heard the damn song a million times. "Jeremiah was a bullfrog." And you might be as sick of it as I am, particularly because that piece of fluff makes it easy to ignore what a really good band Three Dog Night was, featuring three soulful lead singers, whose gospel-influenced harmonies sometimes made you think they were "singing in the Heavy Church," as one of their album cuts put it. And, damn, the band itself was a powerhouse whose heavy arrangements always gave substance to the songs the band was covering, which were written by a virtual Who's Who of the emerging rock songwriter class of the late Sixties -- Neil Young, Steve Winwood, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Laura Nyro, Clint Ballard, even Otis Redding.

 

And here's sonic evidence of how tight the band was when allowed to stretch out a bit on their own without the vocals -- a piece of acid-tinged heaviness with a touch of proto-funk and a middle-eight that suggests an early flirtation with prog.  

THREE DOG NIGHT - "Fire Eater" 

FIRE & BRIMSTONE

 "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." - Psalm 11:6

 

This prophetic song "Fire and Brimstone" is on Link Wray's 1971 album called "Link Wray." 

It's pretty descriptive!

LINK WRAY - "Fire And Brimstone"
 

In 1989, The Neville Brothers did a real classy and upbeat cover of Link's song.

THE NEVILLE BROTHERS - "Fire and Brimstone" 

In 1986 a quasi-supergroup named Hummingbird released an album called "We Can't Go On Meeting Like This" that had a different song with the same title, "Fire And Brimstone"

Hummingbird had members Max Middleton, Bobby Tench and Clive Chaman who had recorded with Jeff Beck together and many others. 

What really ups the power quotient on this group is that they signed on Bernard "Pretty" Purdie to play the drums, and what a difference it makes. Pretty Purdie drives this song, and it's freakin' amazing!

HUMMINGBIRD - "Fire And Brimstone 

 

In Jamaica they do things a little different and if you look around a bit you'll fine lots of versions of songs called "Brimstone and Fire," like this one from 1971.

THE OBSERVERS - "Brimstone And Fire" 

 

And that brings us back to where we started!!

THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN - "Fire" 

SPARKS - "Angst in My Pants" (1982)

 

The Mael Brothers have been making music together since 1967 when they called themselves Urban Renewal Project, and then in 1968 they put together a band called Halfnelson that released one record produced by Todd Rundgren.

Now it's 2025, and they just released an album last month called "Mad!"

58 years and if I counted right, 28 albums later, and they are still going strong!

 

And guess what? 

No, they are not in the Rock and Roll, which once again proves what a farce it is!

Here's a song from their 1982 album called "Angst In My Pants" that I never get tired of listening to just because it's so funny! 

SPARKS - "Eaten By The Monster Of Love" 

XTC - "Quirky Herky Jerky's Finest Hour" (1978 - 1982)

 

The best of the Quiky Herky Jerky Brit bands from the 70's and the 80's was without a doubt XTC in my humble opinion!

Their first studio album called "White Music" was released in 1978 and in 1980, and it made it as far as #41 in the charts in America. 

Shamefully, that was the height of their career success in the United States.

Here's just one example of how manic Andy Partridge on guitar & vocals, Colin Moulding on bass & vocals, Barry Andrews on keyboards and Terry Chambers playing drums, could be!

XTC - "Neon Shuffle"

XTC's second studio album was called "Go 2" and was just as wild as the first one, then their third studio album was released in 1979 and was titled "Drums And Wires." Keyboardist Barry Andrews had left the group and was replaced by guitarist Dave Gregory.

Bassist Colin Moulding wanted them to try and make their music more accessible and he wrote four of the songs on this record, one of which was this one featuring Dick Cuthell on Flugelhorn credited as Herb Helpless And His Mariahuana Brass.

Fueled by the slight success of Colin Moulding's "Life Begins At The Hop," this album made in to number 37 on the UK charts, and a miserable number 176 in the U.S. 

XTC - "That Is The Way" 

 

Their fourth outstanding studio album was called "Black Sea" and was released in 1980, and then in 1982 they came out with the opus double album titled "English Settlement."

 This album is probably the best double album released by anybody, (except maybe The Clash's "London Calling"), and for a double record, it didn't include anything like the self indulgent "Revolution 9" on The Beatles' "White Album." 

What you need to do is buy or listen to this whole record, and here's just one out of fifteen reasons why! 

XTC - "Melt The Guns"