IT BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE THOSE STARS SMASHING A PERFECTLY GOOD GUITAR!

 

Rich here. I remember like it was yesterday, seeing Pete Townshend and The Who smashing their instruments on TV (the Mike Douglas Show, if I remember accurately). As a 13-year-old who'd had to take over my brother's paper route for several weeks just to afford a cheap, $45 Japanese-made guitar, I was aghast. "Pete!" I screamed. "I'll take your guitar. Give it to me!"

 

Damn. 

 

And then Jimi Hendrix lit his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival, and by the time the Punk Movement came along, smashing guitars was routine. "How rebellious! What an artistic statement!" the rock critics wrote.

 

But to this day, it still breaks my heart for bands to smash their guitars, and John Hiatt voices my frustration perfectly.

JOHN HIATT - "Perfectly Good Guitar" 

THE REPLACEMENTS - "20th Century Boy" (1984)

 

Here's a song that was on the flip side of this three song EP brought out by The Replacements in 1984.

I don't think I need to say much except this is what Rock and Roll music is supposed to sound like.

Turn It Up!!! 

THE REPLACEMENTS - "20th Century Boy"

BAD COMPANY - "The 'Original' Bad Co Anthology" (1999)

 

This 1999 album by Bad Company titled "The 'Original' Bad Co Anthology" was a compilation of hits and unreleased tracks from their career. 

Here's a song that wasn't on any of their other records. It's just a basic rock and roll tune, nothing special, and no frills, but I like it. 

BAD COMPANY - "Ain't It Good"

WILDEST DREAMS - "Gypsy Eyes" (2014)

 

The other day I was trying to find out info about a 1980's L.A. band called The Wildest, and while I didn't find anything out about that band, I stumbled onto this image from an album by a band called Wildest Dreams, and I was like, hey, that's almost exactly the same as the cover of Randy California's album titled "Kapt. Kopter And The (Fabulous) Twirly Birds" from 1972.

 

I was wondering what the connection was and it sounds like Wildest Dreams was pretty enamored with the music of Randy California, and I also thought they sounded like some of the Bob Welch era Fleetwood Mac, or in other words, Wildest Dreams are a pretty cool band. I like their sound.

WILDEST DREAMS - "Gypsy Eyes"

I never did find out anything about a band called The Wildest.

CHRIS KENNER - "I Like It Like That" (1961)

 

 A top 10 song in 1961 was "I Like It Like That" by Chris Kenner. Chris wrote this song and it made it to number two on the charts.

Chris also wrote and recorded the killer song "Land Of A 1000" dances, but his version only made it to number 77 in 1962. The more popular version was recorded by Cannibal And The Headhunters that hit number 30 on the charts in 1965.

Chris died of a heart attack in 1976 at the age of only 46.

CHRIS KENNER - "I Like It Like That"

HUEY "PIANO" SMITH AND THE CLOWNS - "Don't You Just Know It" (1958)

 

Let's go back to Louisiana for a couple of days, and the hit songs of my youth.

Huey "Piano" Smith was a prodigy and wrote his first song at 8 years old, and by the time he was 15, he was already playing in clubs.

After performing with many people including Little Richard, Huey and his band called The Clowns recorded this hit record that made it to number 9 on the charts.

Unlike many musicians from this time period, Huey lived to be 89, and just passed away in 2023.

HUEY "PIANO" SMITH AND THE CLOWNS - "Don't You Just Know It" 

LOS CUATES DE SINALOA - "Pegando Con Tuba" (2009)

 

Just one of the great things about the TV series "Breaking Bad" was the clever choices of music, and this song by Los Cuates De Sinaloa was a good one. It was just all too perfect!

Cousins Gabriel and Nano Berrelleza were originally from Sinaloa, Mexico but are now based in Phoenix, Arizona! 

LOS CUATES DE SINALOA - "The Ballad Of Heisenberg (Negro Y Azul)" 

IT'S NOT THE BIBLE, AFTER ALL

 

Rich here. As a Methodist pastor's son who went to Sunday School virtually every week for the first 18 years of my life, you can understand why, when I saw the title of the 1987 album by The Silencers, "Letter from St. Paul," I immediately thought it was a biblical reference. After all, a whole section of the New Testament is referred to as the "epistles," that is, "letters," and many of those letters are said to have been written by Saint Paul.

 

Boy, was I ever wrong! 

 

Turns out "A Letter from St. Paul" refers to a letter presumably written to the band from a female fan in St. Paul, Minnesota! 

 

It's basically a prominent bass and seductively slinky guitar instrumental accompanied by an atmospheric harmonica riff and a droning piano note. And though the song has no lyrics, per se, from time to time a whispery female voice interjects into the mix, reading portions of the "Letter from St. Paul." 

 

God, if you're listening, I love this track.

THE SILENCERS - "A Letter from St. Paul" 

THE PASTEL SIX - "Cinnamon Cinder" (1963)

 

Out of nowhere, this song just popped into my head tonight.

Cinnamon Cinder was the name of a small chain of clubs owned by game show host Bob Eubanks.

This popular song by The Pastel Six made it to number 25 in 1963.

We used to listen to this song and crack up when the goober guy says 

"It's a very nice dance!" 

Seven members in the band and three of them played the sax! 

THE PASTEL SIX - "Cinnamon Cinder" 

THE MORLOCKS - "Easy Listening For The Underachiever" (2006)

 

Recorded in 2006, but it sounds like it was recorded in 1966, The Morlocks had that retro sound down perfectly, and this album titled "Easy Listening For The Underachiever" proves just that.

 

Retro to the max, even their name came from the classic 1960's film "The Time Machine!

THE MORLOCKS - "Dirty Red"

BOBBY BLAND - "Here's The Man" (1962)

 

In my humble opinion, one of the greatest songs ever recorded came from this 1962 LP titled "Here's The Man, by Bobby "Blue" Bland.

From the perfect horns to little drum break, Bobby winds it up, and lets it go for an amazing thrill filled two minutes and thirty-four seconds, and except for Bobby's name, there's nothing bland about it!

I will admit this song has one major flaw, and that's that it is just too damn short.

BOBBY BLAND - "Turn On Your Love Light" 

THE CALL - "Modern Romans" (1983)

 

The Call had a top 100 hit in 1983 from their album titled "Modern Romans," but chances are if you're under the age of 40, you've probably never heard it.

Biblical implications and anti-war sentiment, that's what this song is all about!

People have been writing anti-war songs since at least 1914 when The Peerless Quartet recorded

 "I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier."

The 60's were rife with anti-war songs like the classic "Eve Of Destruction" written by P.F. Sloan, and recorded by Barry McGuire which somehow made it to number one on the charts, and yet despite it all, the pleas for peace have pretty much fallen on deaf ears. I guess human beings are just not made to get along, but that has never stopped the poets and songwriters from trying to stop the madness.

Here's what Michael Been and The Call had to say about it. 

THE CALL - "The Walls Came Down"

THE GUN - "Gun" (1968)

You might be familiar with "Race With The Devil" from this 1968 LP by The Gun, or this amazing album cover by Roger Dean, but here's an instrumental tune that's a little more obscure but seriously cool.

I do admit that I like short songs, but I sure wish this one was longer! 

THE GUN - "Rupert's Travels" 

THE PRIMATES - "We Are The Primates" (1986)

 

As far as I can tell, this 1986 LP by The Primates was their solo effort.

This record sounds like it would have been a later Seeds LP but with more grungy guitars. 

 

 

Here's a flyer from one of their shows that I just put up on eBay for any of you fans.

"We Are The Primates" is a fun record with lots of songs worth listening to.

Here's one I really like because it is literally just my kind!

THE PRIMATES - "Just My Kind" 

WHERE'S OUR ROCKET PACKS?

 

Rich here. For those of us who grew up watching "Rocket Man" movie serials on Saturday afternoon TV, we felt that a certain promise was implicit -- in The Future, we would all have jet packs we could strap to our back, and fly. 

 

Once the Space Age started in earnest in the early Sixties we felt that if The Future had not quite arrived just yet, it was coming soon. But except for a scene in a James Bond film (1965's "Thunderball"), no rocket packs emerged in the Sixties. Nor in the Seventies. 

 

By the Eighties, the grumbling started: "Where's our rocket packs?" But and now here it is, over a quarter-century since the new Millennium began, and we still have no rocket packs. 

 

Hasn't the Future arrived, yet? 

 

Thanks to the Eighties alternative band Daniel Amos for asking the question that's been on our minds for 40 years now.

DANIEL AMOS - "(It’s The Eighties So Where's Our) Rocket Packs"

THE SINISTER CLEANERS - "Goodbye Ms Jones" (1986)

 

I've had this EP by The Sinister Cleaners titled "Goodbye Ms Jones" for a couple of decades, and I've never understood why this band from Leeds, UK was not more popular.

The lead song off of this four tune EP is a good one, and I think it should have been a hit for them.

In my world, this is classic and vintage 1986! 

THE SINISTER CLEANERS - "I'll Never Forget This"

JAMES WHITE AND THE BLACKS - "Off White" (1979)

 

What's not to like about this 1979 album by James White And The Blacks? Well, basically nothing, that's for sure.

I probably should have presented the song "Contort Yourself," but you can look that up easily enough yourself.

This was a great group of musicians, and when you can do a better version of a classic song done by Marilyn Monroe, then I'd say that's quite an accomplishment, and James White And The Blacks easily pull it off.

And besides, it's absolutely true, we are having a heat wave, mentally, physically and every other way that you can possibly think of! 

47 years later, and James White's got as good of an explanation as anyone! 

 JAMES WHITE AND THE BLACKS - "(Tropical) Heat Wave" 

EYES - "Topological Lies" (1979)

 

Eyes, or The Eyes were a Los Angeles based punk band that recorded in 1979. Their only other release was an EP that included two other bands, The Controllers, and The Skulls.

The A side of this single was "TAQN," or "Take A Quaalude Now."

I actually prefer the flip side, mostly because I like the impressive title.

EYES - "Topological Lies" 

FIREWATER - "The Man On The Burning Tightrope" (2003)

 

This 2003 release from NY band Firewater is all over the place. The pundits might say you need to develop a style, but I'm much more in favor of go ahead and explore all styles, and that's what Firewater does.

Firewater is basically Todd Ashley, aka Tod A as singer, songwriter, and bassist through a few incarnations. Other members have come and gone.

It's been 13 years since their last album, I'm still hopin' for more in the future 

FIREWATER - "Too Much (Is Never Enough)" 

PHIL HARVEY - "Bumpershoot" (1959)

 

A big part of why I do this is blog is because I'm always looking to learn more about the history of music. There's just no way to know everything, and there is always something old that's new if you just look around!

And that's what brings us to this song called "Bumpershoot," an instrumental from 1959 by an unknown guy named Phil Harvey, but the trick is, Phil Harvey is not unknown by any means, and is actually one of the most prominent figures in the history of Rock and Roll.

Phil Harvey's real name is Harvey Phillip Spector, aka the record producing madman Phil Spector. 

Who knew, certainly not me! 

And just in case you don't know who Phil Spector is, read this entry about him on Wikipedia, it should only take about 30 minutes. That's how grandiose and outlandish he was.

PHIL HARVEY - "Bumpershoot" 

THE ISLEY BROTHERS -"Nobody But Me" (1962)

 

The Isley Brothers are royalty of Rock & Roll no doubt, and "Twist & Shout," later covered by The Beatles was their first success story by reaching the Top 20 on the charts in 1962, but unfortunately for them, they didn't write that song, so all the money went to the writer Bert Berns.

After that, they released this killer song, "Nobody But Me," but it failed to chart. 

THE ISLEY BROTHERS - "Nobody But Me" 

 

In 1968, The Human Beinz from Youngstown, Ohio did a cover version of "Nobody But Me," that made it to number eight on the charts.

This song was written by The Isley Brothers, so they finally made some good money. 

This version has the notoriety of being the most negative song to ever make the top ten, as the word "No" is repeated over a hundred times.

THE HUMAN BEINZ - "Nobody But Me" 

BORROWING THE "HEY JOE" TEMPLATE

 

Rich here. A few of you may recall that a few weeks ago I wrote about the ubiquity of "Hey Joe" in the Sixties. The song was literally recorded by dozens, if not hundreds, of different artists. And virtually every garage band within shouting distance of L.A. played some version of the urgent song about a vengeful, jilted lover. (Why L.A. particularly? -- because that's where the song's popularity exploded after The Byrds begin including the song in their set when they spent several months as headliners at the most popular teen club in L.A., the Whisky A-Go-Go.)

 

But a few bands also borrowed "Hey Joe's" template in order to create their own grievance-filled garage rockers. Two songs, in particular, became minor national hits by borrowing the essentials of "Hey Joe" -- a repetitive 5-chord sequence that always ended on either an A-or-D chord. 

 

If you've a mind to, you could sing/speak the lyrics of "Hey Joe" over either of these two records:

 

 First, in early 1966 there was "(Hey) Little Girl" by San Jose's garage-rockers, the Syndicate of Sound. (Although the song is sometimes called "Hey Little Girl," the official title is "Little Girl.") Like "Hey Joe," "Little Girl" featured a singer berating a former girlfriend, and started his accusation with the same attention-seeking "Hey!" In fact, if anything, the song's lyrics sound as if they could be the prequel to "Hey Joe" -- "Hey, little girl, you don't have nothin' to hide no more . . . you thought you'd get away with goin' out on me!" And just like in "Hey Joe," "Little Girl" featured a catchy 4-bar instrumental passage that was proximate to the one in "Hey Joe." "Little Girl" was the Syndicate of Sound's one and only hit song, which was largely characterized by its similarities to "Hey Joe."

SYNDICATE OF SOUND - "Little Girl" 

 

 

And then later in 1966, there was "Seven and Seven Is" by Love, an L.A. band that at the time was second in local folk-rock popularity only to The Byrds. Like The Byrds, Love also served a tenure as headliners at the Whisky A-Go-Go, where their set list prominently featured "Hey Joe." But when Love's lead singer Arthur Lee wrote "Seven and Seven Is," his own "Hey Joe"-influenced piece, he discarded the folk-rock guitar jangle and the aggrieved-lover sentiments. Instead, the guitars in "Seven and Seven Is" are imbued with relentless aggression, and from the song's enigmatic title to its shouted lyrics, the song is full of surrealistic images that owe more to Dylan than to teenage heartbreak. Despite the obvious use of a somewhat similar repeating 5-chord sequence as "Hey Joe," "Seven and Seven Is" adds original touches to its arrangement than a simple follow-by-the-numbers "Hey Joe" mimicry would suggest, transforming "Seven and Seven Is" into a classic pre-psychedelic garage-rock masterpiece.

LOVE - "7 And 7 Is"

LEE MICHAELS - "Barrel" (1970)

 

1970 was a great year for Rock and Roll music. 

Some of the best rock albums came from this year like "Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes, Led Zep III,  "After The Goldrush" by Neil Young, "Just For Love" by Quicksilver Messenger Service, and "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath. The list goes on and on, and another great album that came out that year was "Barrel" by organist Lee Michaels, and his partner Frosty on the drums.

"Barrel" only made it to number 51 on the charts, and no charting singles, but it's a solid record full of good stuff.

Speaking of good stuff,

After Lee Michaels got out of music he opened a family run restaurant in Marina Del Rey, Ca. called "Killer Shrimp." 

The menu looks pretty good, I'd like to try it some day! 

Here's just one of the very cool songs on this LP. The awesome guitar work is by Paul Revere and the Raiders' guitarist Drake Levin.

LEE MICHAELS - "Didn't Know What I Had" 

ALBERT COLLINS - "The Cool Sound Of Albert Collins" (1965)

 

"The Cool Sound Of Albert Collins" came out in 1965! 

It was re-issued in 1969 as "Truckin' With Albert Collins," and again in 1982 as "Frosty."

Check out just some of the 'cool' titles on this concept album. 

"Frost Bite," "Thaw-Out," "Kool Aide," "Icy Blue," "Snow Cone II," and of course the infamous lead off tune............ 

ALBERT COLLINS - "Frosty" 

ATOMIC FOREST - "Obession '77" (1981)

 

Atomic Forest was a Psych band from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India that was active in the 1970's, but this album titled "Obsession '77" didn't come out until 1981.

If you'd like to know a whole lot more about this unique Indian band, there's an awesome interview with  Madhukar Dhas from 14 years ago on the Psychedelic Baby website.

They were mostly a cover band but they did have some cool original songs like this! 

There are two versions, this is the 'slow' one! 

ATOMIC FOREST - "Obession '77" 

JOHNNY FORTUNE - "Soul Surfer" (1963)

 

It's pretty hard to find out anything about John Sudetta, aka Johnny Fortune, who recorded "Soul Surfer" in 1963, except that he was 16 years old when he recorded it. 

Jim O’Keefe played the sax, and Johnny's ten year old brother Joey Sudetta played the drums, and Johnny overdubbed the bass part.

But something ain't right here. Discogs claims that Johnny was born in 1943 which would have made him twenty in 1963, so I don't know what part of this you can really believe.

He's one of the few musicians I've researched who doesn't even have a Wikipedia page.

Supposedly this song never made the top 100, but Johnny told people that it was "number one on the radio in Bakersfield for 16 weeks." 

Maybe that's true, because I sure remember it playing on the radio a lot. 

Whatever the truth is, the song is definitely a classic! 

JOHNNY FORTUNE - "Soul surfer" 

PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC - "Are You Ready?" (1970)

 

Pacific gas & Electric was a very interesting and talented band. "Are You Ready?" was their third studio album. It was released in 1970 and the title song made it to number 14 on the charts.

Dynamic lead singer Charlie Allen was originally the drummer, but they decided he should be the singer, and so they hired Frank Cook to be the drummer. 

Just like how Chicago Transit Authority was forced to change their name to Chicago in 1969, in 1971, Pacific Gas & Electric were pressured by the utility company to change their name too, so they became PG&E.

The band broke up in 1973, and Charlie Allen later died in 1990 at the age of 48.

Pacific Gas & Electric - "Are You Ready?" 

WE THE PEOPLE - "Lovin' Son Of A Gun" (1967)

 

We The People was a band from Orlando, Florida that had some marginal success in their local market, getting some airplay, but they were never able to break out nationally.

 

 

 I don't know why, this song is as good as many that came out in 1967.

I guess that's what happens when you get your band name from the preamble of the United States Constitution.

WE THE PEOPLE - "Lovin' Son Of A Gun"

NERDS WHO DEFY EXPECTATIONS

 

Rich here. I've always secretly harbored the hopes that as geeky as I might seem, when people get to know me, they'll discover that I am far cooler and hipper than appearances suggest.

 

Sigh. Another hope dashed!

 

Which leads me to one of my favorite artists of the '90s and early 2000's, the seemingly nerdy and quirky alt-pop singer/songwriter Jill Sobule, whose little girl voice a few may remember from her 1995 underground cult-hit, "I Kissed A Girl" (which is not the Katy Perry song of the same name) or her ironic song "Supermodel" which was featured in the movie "Clueless." 

 

Before her untimely death last year, Jill wrote and sang bright, catchy songs that belied their subject matter -- the unexpected people and events that were "Underdog Victorious," as one of her songs was titled.  

 

In one of my favorite of her songs, "Karen By Night," Jill describes her conservative boss at the shoe store, who isn't all that she's perceived to be.

JILL SOBULE - "Karen By Night" 

GENE AMMONS - "BAD! BOSSA NOVA" (1962)

 

Speaking of Gene Ammons, here's just one small tasty morsel from the man's exhaustive catalogue.

This album from 1962 titled "Bad! Boss Nova" is a testimony to how freakin' cool Gene was.

On this record, Gene is joined by Norman Edge on Bass, Oliver Jackson playing Percussion, Al Hayes on the Bongos, Hank Jones playing Piano, Kenny Burrell on Rhythm Guitar, and Bucky Pizzarelli playing Classical Guitar.

GENE AMMONS - "Ca' Purange (Jungle Soul)"

NEW YORK SKA-JAZZ ENSEMBLE - "Low Blow" (1996)

 

I don't know what it is about twin horns, but just like a duet of voices in perfect harmony, the sound of twin horns is just music that I think is incomparable, and probably nobody does it better than the New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble.

This album titled "Low Blow" came out in 1996, and has some killer music on it.

I see they are still performing these days, so I hope they come to the west coast, because I'd sure like to see them perform 'live' some day!

Here's a really cool song that's a tribute to the Jug, aka the incredible tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons!

NEW YORK SKA-JAZZ ENSEMBLE - "Gene Ammons"

THE ROCKY FELLERS - "Killer Joe" (1963)

 

The Rocky Fellers were from the city of Manila in the Philippines. They were a family affair made up of the father, Doroteo "Moro" Maligmat and his four sons Eddie, Albert, Tony and Junior Maligmat.

Think of a Filipino Jackson Five that included the Dad Joe Jackson.

 

The song "Killer Joe" made it to number 14 on the charts, and was song about a dancer named Frank "Killer Joe" Piro who got the name from his uncanny ability to wear out all his dance partners.

Killer Joe Piro went on to be a dance instructor in New York, who taught many celebrities how to do dances like The Frug, The Watusi, and The Hully Gully.

In 1965, Smirnoff Vodka asked Killer Joe to come up with a new dance called The Mule for ads for their new drink The Smirnoff (Moscow) Mule. 

For years, I thought this was a girl group with a funny name, not a bunch of kids.

THE ROCKY FELLERS - "Killer Joe" 

ALAN HOLDSWORTH - "Secrets" (1989)

 

I never thought doing this blog would be like walking through a graveyard, but sometimes, that's how it feels. Take Alan Holdsworth for instance. I was a big fan of his back in the 80's, but with all the music in the world, I haven't kept up with a lot of artists, so it was disappointing when I started writing this to find out that Alan Holdsworth had passed away nine years ago.

You know, it just ain't fair!

This record called "Secrets" came out in 1989, and here's just a very short cut that shows just how unique Alan's playing was.

I'm not sure he ever got as much credit as he deserved! 

Cheers!! 

ALAN HOLDSWORTH - "City Nights" 

DAVE AND ANSEL COLLINS - "Double Barrel" (1971)

 

"Double Barrel" is right, a hot naked gal inside an aged rum barrel of a loaded pistol, I think I see what's going on here. It's only taken me 55 years to figure it out!!

Dave and Ansel Collins recorded this fantastic album in 1971, and here's just one example of  how damn good they were!

Soulful and sweet, it's hard to beat music like this, because you can't!

DAVE AND ANSEL COLLINS - "That Girl" 

THE GENTRYS - "Keep On Dancing" (1965)

 

The Gentrys were from Memphis, Tennessee, and they had this number four hit in 1965 titled "Keep On Dancing," Their lead singer, Jimmy Hart did not sing this song, but instead it was sung by the guitarist Larry Raspberry.

"Keep On Dancing" was the height of their career, but Jimmy Hart did go on to be a very prominent figure in WWF wrestling as the manager known as "The Mouth Of The South." 

One very interesting fact about "Keep On Dancing,," and I'm sure Jimmy Hart learned a lot from this, the song is really only a little over one minute long. There's a fade a little past the middle, and then a drum roll, and that one minute starts over.

What fantastic marketing, and 'Poetry in Motion" indeed.

THE GENTRYS - "Keep On Dancing" 

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"