A List Of Things We Lost

MAJOR ARCANA

2010-08-31T12:18:00.004-04:00

Love it, love it, love it. Another band I can find barely anything on. Stars' self-titled debut [Barclay 90030, 1976] was a triumph of oddness, no, madness, in its pan-genre approach. Led by Simon Lait, Stars was an incomparable session band, Brits who recorded this one-off for the French label Barclay, which was in turn pressed in Canada. Love it.

A few connections can be made to early psych-prog progenitors like Atomic Rooster - who's drummer, Ric Parnell came over for the project - and, through Stuart Uren, Stray, who's Saturday Morning Pictures is a hazy classic, & who's first LP goes for silly dough online

A true child of the 70s, Stars used hard-hitting, flawless playing to evoke a playful, disco-fusion vibe with serious rock pedigree. "That Was Yesterday" is a deceptively mellow intro that bursts into the kind of wah-ing synths that make Herbie Hancock's Thrust the beast it is. There are also strong odors of Zappa, particularly the George Duke/Napoleon Murphy Brock era that immediately preceded Stars' release: "Heart Of Stone" features all gruff-voiced and slinky and shit, his stuttered vocal verse and the bizarro-harmony Stax horns melting perfectly into virtuosic fuzz-wah guitar funk.

The album rocks on in several variations on these themes, a bocce match between Zappa, Herbie, Yes, Steely Dan, & Stevie Wonder. "Platform Soul" is the perfect play of them all, treading the line between Mahavishnu wonkery & slinky modern soul. Just as inspired is the closing gamut, an incongruous cover of "Not Fade Away", that's nonetheless a break-laden jaunt into good times that refuse to give up.

Stars recorded this sole album before moving on to other, greater things. Parnell eventually created the role of Mick Shrimpton in Spinal Tap, while Lait became a successful producer, working with the inimatble Betty Davis on her Crashin' From Passion LP.

But thanks for Lait & co to take a moment and bring the Stars they saw so briefly down to us.

LONG TIME, NO LIST. STILL LISTENING.

2010-08-25T12:01:00.008-04:00

Yes, it's been a while. Who knew that having a long-distance relationship turn short distance would take up so much time? In the intervening months since the sadly-neglected Kepzelt Riport posted below, I've found scads of scalding (new) old vinyl in the stacks. After taking the time to rip them, I found a couple that are actually available for sale directly from the artist, so, in accordance with the List's ethos, am not posting them. Follow the link to buy 'em!

Potter St.-Cloud, Potter St.-Cloud [Mediarts 41-7, 1971]. Great anti-war country psych concept album. David Potter also has single MP3s for download on his site, as well as the rare first record under Endle St. Cloud's name, the even earlier Beantown sound of the East Side Kids, & Potter's work with Lee Michaels. Check it out. . . [Coincidentally-received fact: there are 1,000 people in the U.S. named "David Potter" - ed.]

Dwayne Friend Picks Happy Goodman Hits [Canaan 463, 1967]. Smokin' instrumental album from "Mr. Gospel Guitar", who was admired by Chet Atkins & Eddy Arnold. At age 70, Friend still plays around, & has a huge catalog of his own material available through his site. Sweet, trebly picking laid smoothly within that impeccable White gospel production. Get thee hence. . .

Stardrive, Featuring Robert Mason [Columbia, 1974]. Bumpin' & rockin' synth-funk excursions by Mason & co., who needed to build his own synths to get the sounds he was hearing in his head. Far out! Wounded Bird did a CD reissue of this one but it's out of print. I'd have put it up myself but cursory research reveals that you can get it at Akashaman's stellar blog. . .

Speaking of the '70s, I'll be back shortly with some outrageous finds from the latter half of the decade, as well as a bunch of rare '80s synth & powerpop for the fall . . . Stay tuned! - AMS

PROTECT YOUR SOURCES

2010-03-20T10:22:00.006-04:00

This is one of my recent favorites, a smokin' blend of Hungarian folk, American psych, Krautrock and more. In keeping with my not wanting to repeat information that's easily located on the 'net, you are directed here to learn more about this seminal eastern European jam band.

Excellent heavy riffing, lovely femme-fronted acid-pop-folk, a crazy-ass cover like some kind of Dada Cheap Thrills... yum.

While online info credits the album to Locomotiv GT (which is the backing band for the whole record), it's properly a joint collaboration between singer Anna Adamis, Locomotiv GT guitarist Gabor Presser, and the much older, influential anti-communist satirical writer Tibor Gery. The title, Kepzelt Riport Egy Amerikai Pop-Festivalrol [Qualiton SLPX 16579, 1973], translates to "Fictitious Report on an American Pop Festival", the likes of which had already been winding down by '73 (hey, don't blame them, even under Kadar's "New Economic Mechanism", underground hippies and writers in near-exile couldn't keep that current).

As far as I can tell, the additional text on the cover, "Osszes Dalai", means "Dalai Lama"... so although it doesn't seem to have to do with the title itself, flower power wafts throughout the album. Despite being an entirely studio-based effort within a standard rock format, the album definitely conveys a freewheelin', free lovin' feeling through production & the songs, which, oddly, are all in English on the album label, with titles like "The Trees Are Mourning, Too" and "Dream Yourself Away". The band - which would explore some of the blues-rock idioms in more depth throughout the decade

Not such a frequent find on vinyl (though a few on eBay are listed at reasonable prices), and since I ripped it for myself I've been listening to it almost every week. New things are revealed with each spin - guess they were luck enough to avoid the brown acid.

For some reason I can't embed this link, but copy & paste from below... don't let it stop you from getting naked and getting on down!

http://www.mediafire.com/?ywjexmymyku

GONE... AND BACK AGAIN

2010-02-17T14:06:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm finally back. Been a while. Lots of heavy things going down in this ol' life, including a new job, new girlfriend, &c and so forth. Still been selling wax from the stacks of the record store I bought way back when, and have been amassing a hefty collection of things to post up here. I'm at work on a memoir on this crazy experience, which may be serialized here as it's written... stay tuned on that one. For now, thanks to everyone for your support while I've been absent. Hopefully this will be the first in a series of weekly(ish) posts of great, rare vinyl.

What better way to start it back up than with a perfectly thematic title?

Jerry Williams' Gone [Warner Bros. BSK3291, 1979] was crying to me when I picked through the boxes and found it, mostly because of the crazy-ass psychedelic horror cover - a pulsing, technicolor hand with the middle finger missing and replaced by a tick (or aphid? or ladybug?). The back cover ain't too bad, either, lots of freaky hand lettering and weird symbology. Since I'd never heard of the guy, I had no idea what to expect musically. Since it was sealed, I first had to look it up to see if it was worth mad money (can't unseal those big-ticket LPs...).

I found a couple of online reviews of it, but no downloads. Luckily, it only goes for about $5-7 on eBay so I tore into it. Though some of what I read was kind of tepid, I think this is one's a keeper. Jerry was a Texan, a sessionman of great repute, a member of the Leon Russell entourage, friend to Steve Cropper & Duck Dunn (who appear on the Otis Redding cover)... lots of stuff to recommend a spin. I'll let Bill Bentley's excellent bio piece in The Austin Chronicle give you all the info you need. Musically, I don't think that it's hyberbole to call Gone a fusion of Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, Steve Winwood, Steely Dan... excellent late-70s funky fusion moves, new soul grooves and crunchy guitar workouts. Williams' voice does really recall Stevie's, with a completely authentic blue-eyed soul wail that's equally at home on the grittier rock tracks.

The songwriting is strong throughout - "Giving It Up For Your Love" was even a hit for Delbert McClinton in the early 80s. The catchy pop-soul tunes like "Philosophizer" and "Easy On Yourself" top the list of mostly originals, while the take on "I've Got Dreams To Remember" is maybe the best Otis Redding cover I've heard (not that there are that many, thankfully), where Williams sounds spot-on like Van Morrison. "This Song", the ominous album closer, features Jerry's voice in multiple overdubs on top of a dark synth bed, a la something off of Songs In The Key Of Life.

Though he played with tons of other talented - and huge - names (Little Richard, High Country, Dave Mason, Leon Russell, David Briggs), Williams apparently preferred to hang in the shadows. His only other solo foray is a wildly out-of-print self-released CD called "The Peacemaker", which features Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood, Nicky Hopkins, Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Oates. What?!?! This gem, though, was apparently deleted soon after release and has never seen print on CD. Unfortunately, my copy has a slight skip on the first song of Side B, but otherwise is in beautiful shape... so before it's gone again, get Gone while ya can....

SUPERSTAR RECORD FAIR - SEPT 13!

2009-09-04T11:21:00.004-04:00

Well folks, it's that time again, when the Brooklyn Flea puts on its now-annual record & vintage clothing fair. This time, it'll be in a hot spot under the Manhattan Bridge, in DUMBO. See below for info & directions.

Unbreakable Records will of course be there representing, with a manageble yet mighty trove of super-rarities of all sorts, including:

~ One FULL box of 80s/new wave/power-pop/synth-pop
~ Some massive old psych platters, long out of print
~ Funky fusion, avant/out madness, & plenty of sample-worthy cheapo records ($3-$5)
~ Hard-to-find old rock, doo wop, jazz & soundtracks!

Be there!

... OR HAS IT JUST BEGUN?

2009-08-10T10:18:00.005-04:00

Here's another great one that has been way overlooked by the overlords of the WEA vaults. Based on the Atco label (see the opening paragraph of the last post) and the naked Jane Fonda on the cover, this one was begging to be played as soon as I saw it. As an adaptation of an Emile Zola book by nouveau vague sleeze king Roger Vadim, the soundtrack to The Game Is Over [Atco 33-205 - mono version!] hits its mark perfectly.

Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Jean Bouchety are listed as the composers of this warm-moods-meets-fuzzy-tones monster, but two songs on Side B, "Baby You Know What You're Doing" and "Don't Tell Me", feature the Arthur Brown Set - yup, that Arthur Brown, three years pre-"The Crazy World Of..." His voice is instantly recognizable, though the band rocks more of a garagey go-go than the unstable prog-psych it would become known for.

It was also a first for Bourtayre and Bouchety, who would go on to compose for a handful of other French films and TV, though neither of them extended their careers much past the 80s. Both, however, are sought after "library" composers, and with this soundtrack, it's not hard to see how that came to be. (for a taste, head to Table-Tournante's Soul Train). Languorous sitar introduces the album, and the continual pairing with flute themes makes almost every song an enjoyable listen. Occasionally, the mood veers toward shimmying exploito fuzz, and also features a wide range of pleasing instrumentation that could mark it as a soundtrack, or even an early experiment in retro-lounge, and has all the elements in place for obscure sample-hungry DJs.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but don't anticipate it will be particularly enjoyable (although I'll admit, I do love the Vadim/Fonda combo in Barbarella). Either way, the music stands on its own, divorced from the movie (titled La Curee in French), a feat that some other, later psych/rock soundtracks achieved (most notably, Zabriskie Point and Performance). But as far as early entries go, The Game Is Over sure is a good start.

ROLLIN' ANOTHER NUMBER

2009-07-24T07:31:00.007-04:00

Once, in talking about collecting records with Apothecary Hymns bassist Rob Fellman, he made an astute remark which I’ve always agreed with: “You can’t really go wrong with albums on Atco and Atlantic.” Certainly, all of the classics are worth repeated listens. But Attlantic, under the funky purview of Jerry Wexler and the Ertegun Brothers, had lots of undiscovered diamonds, especially in the rural rock coal mines.

There’s no better example of both the underground cred and above-ground appeal of the Atlantic catalog than B. Lance’s Rolling Man [Atlantic SD7218, 1972]. Bob Lance was a songwriter first, scoring serious soul cred by penning Aretha's hit "The House That Jack Built" (also on Atlantic). But other than that, and the album’s personnel listed on the back, you’d be hard-pressed to find out anything more, even armed with matrix numbers and Google’s search engine. The only other connection to anything tangible is guitarist Kenny Mimms’ name being mixed in with Duane Allman’s in relation to Muscle Shoals recording sessions. Certainly, one listen to this, Lance's only full length, proves that the B. Lance wasn't lacking in white rural R&B pedigree.

And Rollin’ Man definitely has an Allman aftertaste to it, but as an album, I kind of enjoy it more than, say, Idlewild South. It’s raucous but understated, less histrionic, and feels completely authentic. Groovier than the Stones and grittier than the Faces, the Lance band gets right down to business and doesn't stop til the last note, cooking up a gurgling gumbo of southern harmonies, overdriven guitar leads, white gospel and wailing organ. The simple arrangements belie the attention to detail and depth of sound – check out the rave-up on “Something Unfinished”, or the simmering Saturday night vibe of kinda-title track "John The Rollin' Man”. The ballads are all tastefully executed and never a drag, although if I had my druthers, the album would end on another rocker rather than the subdued blues of "Tribute To A Woman".

Drummer Jimmy Evans sounded familiar, but there are so many freakin' musicians by that name, I can't tell if he's the Nashville singer/songwriter, the rockabilly revival king, or someone completely different. Can't even get much info from a production credit, because Lance,arranged and produced it all himself! But you know what? I’m glad I don’t know anything about this one. It kind of gives it its own little mystery and makes me excited to think about that good ol’ Rollin' Man rumblin' back onto my turntable.

JESUS, THAT ROCKED!

2009-07-15T23:59:00.007-04:00

Any album that starts with a phased hi-hat & a hyper-speed intro solo’s gotta be good. Mixing fuzzy prog moves with bar band boogie and a solidly proselytizing lyrical message, Ron Salisbury & the aptly-named J.C. Power Outlet channel 110 watts of pure Jesus power. Forgiven [Myrrh MSA-6525, 1974] was actually the Outlet’s second record, but the one that gained them the largest following; it’s also arguably the Contemporary Christian Music movement’s first true hard rock set and has scraped its way onto the Top 50 Jesus Albums of All Time

There‘s not much to learn about the group (though Salisbury has been a lasting force in the CCM), but there is some truly great production & killin’ guitar solos. Also, while I would’ve preferred some of the rockier tunes without the horn section, there are a couple’a hot breaks to grab for the sample-heads (as is often the case with a lot of Myrrh LPs; see "My Sign", eg). More to my liking, there’s a strong West Coast vibe on a couple of tunes, in some places reminiscent of the quasi-religious melodies of SF psychsters Tripsichord Music Box (like “Give Him Your Love,” also my favorite track).

Not nearly as underground as other, more out-there CCM platters, Salisbury lays it on heavy with the preachy lyrics – he’s neither subtle nor poetic. But given that the cover basically implies that he’s out to patch up all the damage Adam & Eve did with that whole Original Sin thing, there may not be time to mix words. That being the case, I could also do without most of the ballads, which step firmly over the line from soft-rock to adult contemporary. It’s the burning, uptempo tunes that keep the interest up, and are definitely worth the listen.

With Salisbury’s prominence in CCM, and the consistent quality of the playing & tunes, what's most unforgivable is that Forgiven’s message hasn’t been updated to the digital era.

CRY ME A RIVER

2009-05-06T05:09:00.007-04:00

As a founding member of the Moody Blues and Ginger Baker's Airforce, and the driving stringbender behind all of Wings' hits, Denny Laine deserves a better place in history than he's got. Sure, he's a musician's musician, but his role as a songwriter, singer, and lead guitarist live in the sad annals of The Sideman: underappreciated, and kind of unknown.

Japanese Tears [Scratch SCR L 5001, 1983] is a testament to this, a brilliant outtakes record that was Laine's first release after Wings broke up in 1980. Paul McCartney had been arrested for possession of marijuana while flying into Japan (God love 'im) and, becoming introspective, disbanded Wings, cancelled a world tour, and released the much derided McCartney II. Laine, who had a cache of great tunes and pro-sounding demos stretching back as far as 1973, recorded the title song about Paul's bust, perfectly mixing eastern traditional and western pop melodicism, and threw it together with 13 other tracks to create a seamless collection that matches any of Wings' records (except, maybe, Band On The Run).

There are some Wings outs, two of which feature Macca on bass and vocals (one of which he co-wrote), as well as a remake of the Moody Blues' "Go Now," the tune that put Laine (as lead singer) on the musical map in 1965. In Paul & Linda fashion, Denny sings several songs with his wife, Jo Jo, on backing vocals, and the "home recorded" tunes aren't wanting for professional playing or production. Beatles-y melodicism is the name of the game, with Laine a hip (and not-unknowing) guide for bringing mainstream rock values into indie production and creating some real powerpop nuggets in the process (it was released on Scratch, after all).

Japanese Tears has seen sporadic reissue on several different labels, but for whatever reason all of these seem to go out of print, and none of them seem to feel the need to actually call the damn thing what it was originally titled. Maybe it's to skirt royalty issues? Or maybe because the album is a bit of a hodgepodge, with fierce rockers ("Silver), bluesy acoustic takes ("Danger Zone"), synth-driven baroque pop ("Say You Don't Mind"), and lovely ballads ("Lovers Might)... either way, this one is highly recommended!

APOTHECARY HYMNS RETURNS

2009-03-02T09:52:00.011-05:00

Well, Spring has been forced back into its groundhog's hovel for sure round these parts, with untold inches of dusty whiteness & the first public school snow day in about 7 years!

Don't let that keep you indoors, though...

Apothecary Hymns is back for their first show of 2009!

Aaron, Alex & Rob will bust out new tunes, dust off old chestnuts, & in general, take no prisoners as they barnstorm through their mind-melting heavy psych vibes. Also, the new AH site is up & running - check it!

Apothecary Hymns on the Web

HOWLING HEX

2009-02-08T10:55:00.009-05:00

Blippy and trippy, Gil Melle's soundtrack to the 1971 film of Michael Crichton's career-making The Andromeda Strain has been credited as the first completely electronic movie score. Well, at least that's how Melle himself - no slouch when it came to shameless self-promotion - pitches it. In fact, we now know that that honor goes to the equally B-movie Forbidden Planet, which debuted a full 15 years earlier than Melle's work.

Still, given Melle's unfaultable pedigree as both a player, writer and arranger (my favorite of his works are still the dreamy, Third Stream-y sides he cut for Blue Note in the 50s), his music for The Andromeda Strain is a sharp departure aesthetically as well as compositionally. The soundtrack itself is notable for its gimmicky appeal, as well - the original pressing of 10,000 was released in a die-cut hexagonal cover, with 10" hexagonal vinyl, too (my rip is from an original "hex" copy). 1971 was the year of gimmicks galore with vinyl & sleeves, including the Stones' zipped-up Sticky Fingers, Grand Funk's embossed and coin-shaped sleeve for E Pluribus Funk, and Traffic's corner-cutting Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, and there's a great anectdote on the hexagonal vinyl's manufacture by Rick Wise, the man who created this out-of-the-box idea. The original version sold out quickly, and Universal pressed a second version on plain ol' 12" wax with a different cover.

Regardless of the debunked myths of "firsts" that Melle claimed, his soundtrack takes all the elements of primitive electronic music and approaches them in a compositional way, rather than through the more random applications from which most users of Moogs and ARP Odysseys got their sounds at the turn of the decade. For non-organic sounds, Melle makes his cascades of beeps, ticks, swishes, and so on come alive, building in tension and even rhythmic counterpoint. He sets the tone well with each piece, and there's a great flow and logic - and even musicality - to the otherworldly sounds he's able to coax from his homespun collection of cables. Sadly the sountrack itself - which must've taken a long time to create - is super short, clocking in at under 1/3 the length of the actual movie, a brief and disappointing 26 minutes.

What I'd really like to know is not just how the hex vinyl was manufactured, but the exact gear Melle used to create the music. Melle himself built the synths he used, much like Bob Moog and Wendy Carlos, but unfortunately there seems to be no accounting for, or even much on-line interest in, this question (which is surprising); Melle died in 2004, so the chance to ask the man himself is now past. I guess that's all for the best, because that leaves us listeners with a more complete sense of mystery in these over-informed days, and maybe still the same sense of wonder and fear that both The Andromeda Strain and its soundtrack evoked lo those 38 years ago.

PS - Apologies for somewhat noisy vinyl, but this one is especially hard to find, and especially the original pressing... sometimes ya gotta go with what ya got!

YOU NEVER TOLD ME OF YOUR OTHER FACES...

2009-01-26T23:33:00.011-05:00

Duncan Browne and Peter Godwin met in the early ‘70s, somewhere between Paris and London. Browne was already a well-known name on the UK folk-pop scene, having released his first album, the baroque and exquisite Give Me Take You in 1968 on Immediate Reocrds. Leaning towards Immediate’s more sunshine sounds (imagine Billy Nichols, but more delicate), the record borrowed from the niceties of Browne’s countrymen like Donovan and early Cat Stevens, and presaged the darker vein into which the idiom would flow a few years later under Nick Drake.

Give Me Take You opened the door for further artistic development, with Browne landing a large part in the German feature film Zeit fur Traume and getting the attention of impresario supremo Mickie Most. This led to a 1973 self-titled album for Most’s RAK label, which set Browne’s poetic compositions against his increasingly impressive classical guitar technique.

During this time, Duncan Browne met Peter Godwin, a German ex-pat with a shared affinity for music without boundaries. After two years of composing and playing together almost non-stop, the duo burst forth with the stunning glam-prog perfection of Metro [Transatlantic 0064.009, 1976, and Sire SR 3041, 1977, in the US]. Rigidly funky, understatedly eloquent, a chiseled sonic sculpture, Metro - the band, and the album - leaves you thoroughly satisfied... but wanting more.

Pitched somewhere between Yes, Roxy Music, Crimson and Bowie, the vocals affect just the right melodic nonchalance, giving way to Browne’s guitar mastery and Godwin’s bubbling, neophytic synths. Briefly changing their name to Public Zone and releasing a 7” with Stuart Copeland on drums (you can get that here), Metro lasted through two more albums, neither of which featured Browne (New Love (1979) and Future Imperfect (1980)). Duncan Browne continued on in his solo career, pushing the envelope onto the club floor even further with The Wild Places (1978) and Streets of Fire. (1979)

Godwin, for his part, kept the groove going but couldn’t match the fire of the band’s debut. Disbanding Metro, he collaborated with both George Kajanis and Midge Ure on a handful of extended 12” singles which were eventually comped as the 1982 album Dance Emotions. The Kajanus-produced Correspondence was Godwin’s second, and final, album.

Browne didn’t do too much to follow up on the promise of his latter-day solo material, working on the soundtrack to the UK television show The Travelling Man and recording sporadically until his unfortunate death from cancer in 1993 (his final album was released posthumously). Although Metro is best known via Bowie’s cover of “Criminal World” on Let’s Dance, Browne and Godwin have yet to get the acclaim they truly deserve for their brilliant and prescient work together on Metro.

A ROCKY MOUNTAIN "HI"

2008-09-23T23:44:00.010-04:00

Another great rarity, and one which people seem to be rarin’ to find. So, this one’s for you!

Pretty much everyone comes to Danny Holien’s self-titled album [Tumbleweed TWS 102, 1972] through the lead track, “Colorado.” Originally hailing from Cannon Falls, Minnesota, Holien had fronted the under-recorded (and therefore legendary) garage band the Shades. Moving west to Denver, he got caught up with a bunch of drug-gobbling rockers and second generation hippies, recording this gem in the process. Holien lived in the Rockies, near Evergreen, CO. His album reflects the pensive and acoustic fingerstyle guitar one might expect, but it isn’t lacking in the frenetic workouts that a Nuggets-era band like the Shades employed. “Colorado” was the biggest hit that the short-lived Tumbleweed Records would score, but it’s just one among many strong, country inflected jangles herein. He was in good company both proximally and sonically: Stephen Stills was right around the mountain in Nederland, CO, where he was busy recruiting the crew that would become Manassas. In fact, a quick search for “Colorado” on ye olde Google shows many people misremembering it as a Manassas tune.

Holien’s hit (his album was Tumbleweed's best success) was actually a protest against the possibility of the ’72 Olympic Winter Games being held in the state. It’s propelled by the same thump that marks contemporaneous CSNY-related tunes like “Ohio” and “Chicago” (also, coincidentally, named for U.S. locales), but the rest of the record is replete with jazzy interludes, lilting flute jams and harmony-laden acoustic/electric orchestrations. As part of the burgeoning preservationist movement, Danny Holien decried development and promoted the state’s natural beauty that would be all but lost if the Olympics came to Denver. And also, I mean, everyone knows how much skiers love weed, so it’s understandable that those back-to-the-land types were afraid the olympians would come & smoke what them musicians was working so hard to grow.

Other highlights are the twangy, tangy “Hick,” the eastern vibes of “Satsanga” and the garagey rave-up “Lino The Wino”. Danny Holien was produced by the great Bill Szymczyk, who’d previously worked with the James Gang and helped B.B. King with his crossover success “The Thrill Is Gone.” Szymczyk would follow Joe Walsh’s upward trajectory, engineering and producing massive hit albums for the Eagles and the Who, among others.

Colorado-based Tumbleweed Records’s brief existence actually owes a lot to Szymczyk, who, along with ABC-Dunhill A&R head Larry Ray and musician/producer Robb Kunkel (whose excellent Abyss is also a cult fave) wangled something like $1.5 million from gas masters Gulf+Western, of all companies, which was eager to exploit the continuing upswing in sales in the hippie music market. Tumbleweed’s most prescient release was the debut of Michael Stanley, which featured Walsh, Todd Rundgren and Rick Derringer. Considering that most of the label’s releases were in editions of 500, all with gatefold covers and lavish, full-sized, textured-paper booklets, and didn’t get much past the region, it’s unsurprising that Gulf+Western pulled the plug after only about 11 releases (but probably gleefully, what with the massive tax write-off that Tumbleweed provided for its parent company).

At 16 pages long, Holien’s liner notes feature hand-printed scores of all the melodies on the album. I’m not sure who’s benefit this was for, but it’s a lovely touch, one of those you’d-never-get-this-with-a-CD moments. Reticent and reluctant to tour, Holien returned to southern Minnesota shortly after recording this record, continuing to play around in the intervening decades with his band Cookies, but dropping out of the biz for all intents and purposes. I haven’t heard Cookies, but considering the strength of playing and writing on Danny Holien, I’m sure what he’s doing today is just as worth checking out.

WHISTLE STOP

2008-09-18T18:02:00.012-04:00

Ashman Reynolds has been called a British supergroup of sorts, and I’d tend to agree, if you’d consider a group to be “super” even when it’s composed of musicians no one’s ever really heard of. Although members came from – and would move on to – Blue Mink, Picadilly Line, Fleetwood Mac, Heavy Metal Kids, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Savoy Brown, Murray Head, Nazareth and Long John Baldry’s band, the band’s namesakes were Aliki Ashman and Harry Reynolds. Ashman had put in serious time in the late-60’s singing with both the Graham Bond Organisation and Ginger Baker’s Airforce, and Reynolds was a formidable session bassist and guitarist.

Their sole album, 1972’s barnstorming Stop Off, is as well-rounded an apotheosis of the British infatuation with American country rock as will be heard, holding its own with contemporaneous albums by the Faces and Stones. Ashman Reynolds also expertly hits West Coast rural psych moves, in part because of their three-guitar frontline (with Reynolds joined by Rod Edwards and Mickey Keene).

With washes of gospel organ, blue-eyed soul wailing and ripping guitar leads, Ashman Reynolds rock the down-home family-n’-friends feel of early Delaney & Bonnie, replete with sparkling group interplay and strong songs. Why they didn’t stay together is a mystery; so is how they came together in the first place. As mentioned above, everyone found continued work in the rock biz, most likely moving on to higher-profile and better-paying gigs. So Stop Off is exactly that - one of those rare alightments at the right place and time that produced a singular and unrepeatable tour de force.

STRICTLY COMMERCIAL

2008-09-18T18:02:00.011-04:00

In keeping with the ethos of the List, I’m not ripping anything that can be bought on CD or LP reissue, but I just had to share some sweet recent pulls from the stacks. Click the links to get some consumer action & hear for yerself...

Pride - S/T [Warner Bros. WB, 1970]
Mysterious, quasi-anonymous loner/downer folk. Draped with acoustic breakbeats and fuzzy psych touches, and masterminded by David Axelrod, billed here as "D.A. Axelrod", and his brother, who presumably does the singing. Sounds like a lot of Axe's usual L.A. heavies on it, too. Part of the highly-recommended 2CD Reprise Sessions set.

Doug Ashdown - The Age Of Mouse [Sweet Peach, 1970]
Sprawling double album of Christian-themed acid-folk by this Aussie singer/songwriter. Was the first release for the Sweet Peach label, and was subsequently released in the U.S. on Coral as a single disc (Faintly Blowing has a dl to that one), but the whole sprawling epic is well worth the listen.

Martha & the Vandellas - Natural Resources [Gordy GS952, 1970]
By now my favorite Martha Reeves album and one of the best on the Motown roster, I'd say. Slammin' covers of Something and Everybody's Talkin', and funky original tunes from the usual Hitsville stalwarts.

Roxy - S/T [Elektra EKS 74062, 1969]
After the baroque-folk-psych of Family Tree, the prolific Bob Segarini formed this Canadian band, whose sole self-titled LP is one of my favorites of all his projects. Segarini went on to form the, er, wacky (or wack, depedning on your taste) Wackers, and then redeem himself with a solid career as a powerpop star.

SELLING, SPINNING, PLAYING

2008-09-13T12:07:00.005-04:00

Awrightie then. . .

Sun, 9.13: Unbreakable Records is back in the saddle this coming Sunday (& every Sunday in September) at the Flea. As if with cosmic timing, our return coincides with the Flea's first annual Superstar DJ Record Fair!

So on top of boxes upon boxes of hot new pulls for the stall, I'll be spinning a short set mid-day of some rare funk 45s, all of which will be for sale. Many other stores, musicians & all-around tastemakers will also be spinning AND selling from their personal collections!

Fri, 9.19: Our good friends in Apothecary Hymns are playing with The Low Lows from Austin, TX, featuring Parker Lee Noon of Parker & Lily) at Union Pool. Sweaty psychedlia from the hardest-working power trio in the Brooklyn underground. Don't miss it!

Coming up: Unheard treasures from Ashman Reynolds, Danny Holien, Michael Fennerly and more. . .

PASS THE CRACK, GUV’NOR

2008-07-18T00:14:00.019-04:00

Now here’s some folks who just don’t give a shark fuck. Love Backed By Force [Alien Records, Bealien3], the product of Ziro Baby’s & Gaby de Vivienne’s short-lived (and final) configuration of the Tronics, should sit rightly beside the work of the Velvet Underground for its lasting influence on DIY indie rock, whether anyone knows it or not.

Tronics evloved from the Gits, a late-70s UK thrash band led by Ronnie Git, who would soon recast his already-pseudonymous persona & nom de musique in the guise of Ziro Baby. After some line-up shake ups, Baby renamed his project "Tronics", releasing his first 45, “Suzy’s Vibrator” b/w “Favorite Girls”, in 1978. After a second single, the band dissolved again, washed in a constant spin cycle of hard drugs & personal differences. Ziro Baby soldiered on, pursuing sundry eclectic musical endeavors with an ever-rotating cast of musicians until regrouping with de Vivienne. The 17-year old Baby got down to some serious biz in 1980, recording Love Backed By Force mainly by himself, with all of the nonchalant swagger of one who knows exactly how to do it himself.

Baby had already recorded the first two Tronics albums, Tronics and What’s The Hubub Bub (both of which were cassette-only, with the latter credited as helping to create the cassette-format release phenomenon of early indie rock) in the kitchen of his basement flat in Earl’s Court, surrounded by addicts & hangers-on. His m.o. for Love remained the same: thoughtful yet primal guitar parts laid out under vocals that reflected odd, impassioned ennui. By the time he got down to Love, Baby’s sound was perfected; though production value hovers at an honorably low line, there’s just enough to reward repeated listens. He croons with a love of straightforward songwriting, reflecting 50s pop in structure and sound, often contrasted with the foil of de Vivienne's naive/knowing singalong harmonies. The duo sound like they're taking a walk through an increasingly weird and dark forest, Baby always finding his way home by dropping breadcrumbs of delicious synths and lo-fi freakouts.

Although the UK punk label Wrench has reissued What’s The Hubub Bub on CD, the debut is still out-of-print, as are all the singles & this gleaming gem. The live bonus tracks that Wrench dug up to supplement Hubub sound great, & the disc is highly recommended not only to show the different iterations that Ziro Baby used to hone his musical image, but also because it's fan-fuckin-tastic. So go buy it!

After Tronics petered out in 1984, our erstwhile DIY demigod changed his name to Zarjaz, a word lifted from the popular British comic 2000 A.D. that translates, naturally, as “excellent.” Expressing his thanks for Baby's impact, Alan McGee's Creation Records released a 45, "One Charming Nite" b/w "My Baby Owns A Fallout Zone", with the band called “Les Zarjaz.” As a sad testament to what people do & don’t know, the Tronics MySpace page has woefully few visitors. Elsewhere, Freakapuss purports to be Zarjaz’s latest foray back out of the ether, but when you go there, all you get is some drone & a weird image. Sounds about right.

Zarjaz's Creation single is described by one reviewer as “silly numbers done in mediaeval style... it is not surprising the label turned down the chance to release a follow-up single.” Sure, a few tunes do have this kind of quality, like “Ice Flod Festival” and “Min Dama”, but in the context of a whole record it works charms like an old housewife remedy. Fear no critic: the stylistic diversity & sheer psychic cycle that Love Backed By Force gives the listener is an unrivalled joy.

GET THOSE LEGS OVER YER HEAD

2008-07-05T10:10:00.014-04:00

In keeping with ALOTWL's current chronology, may I present to you: The 80's. And is there any better way to dive into the decade of clubbed-out, drugged-out commercial excess than a double album of disco? No, no there isn't.

Tantra was a short-lived but hugely influential multi-racial, mixed-gender Italian quintet that operated within the subgenre of "Cosmic Disco." Although the tracks themselves were often long and spacey, the epithet actually derived from the name of a club, "Cosmic," based in northern Italy. The acknowledged innovator of the cosmic sound was DJ Daniele Baldelli, who began straying from the commercial sound of current (1979) italo-disco and began incorporating rock guitars, heavy funk basslines, tribal rhythms, eerie electronics and the like into his club mixes, generally keeping the bpm's up around 120+. (He also played 45s at 33 & vice versa. Crazy europeans!)

Tantra released two full-length albums in Europe on Phillips in 1979: The Hills Of Katmandu and Mother Africa. These were then collected for the American market in 1980 as The Double Album [Importe/12 MP-310]. Produced by Celso Valli (aka Quelli Del Castello) - who's spoken of by those in the know on the same level as Giorgio Moroder - Tantra hits all the requisite cosmic moves, with thumping, droning rhythm figures and extended jams. As Brian Chin, editor of Discotheque magazine, observes in his liner notes, "Disco is changing music, constantly absorbing new influences and techniques," speaking of the genre as "a fresh and progressive one."

Of course, it probably helped if you were on some tasty drugs, as the band was:

I get my kicks daily / I'm friends with most of the big shots
I'm full of dope mainly / To cut out the stage flops ("Top Shot")

Smoke-scented breeze fills the trees / And you drift away ... On forever!
Sweet-smelling substances / Liberate fantasy / We're together! ("Hills of Katmandu")

The Hills Of Katmandu LP had one long track on each side ("Hills" b/w "Wishbone) and was the bigger hit of Tantra's two Phillips albums. Here, it bookends Mother Africa, which, as the title implies, dives even further into the tribal/cosmic funk of Hills, with the title track, "Su-ku-leu" and "Hallelujah". Unfortunately, the one thing that Importe/12 didn't preserve was the freaky -cool cover art of the original releases (you can peep those here).

Maybe Importe just wanted heads to trance out to the slightly intoxicating orange burst of the cover:

More likely, they couldn't get the rights to the artwork. In fact, it's apparently all but impossible to get in touch with whoever owns the rights to the music, too, which is why anything by Tantra fetches some nutso prices on eBay. This may also be because, whether you love disco or hate it, The Double Album is a creature of its own, with enough cross-pollination going on for everyone to dig.

WHY DON'T WE TRY EXPERIMENTS?

2008-06-23T21:23:00.019-04:00

Since I inadvertently began A List Of Things We Lost with an album from the year of my birth, I'm just gonna keep moving forward in time.

We're almost at the 80s, but not quite yet. Ooh, but when we get there. . . .

Though The Headboys isn't quite a horrible rarity, I haven't found anyone, even among the Flea's hipnoscenti record browsers, who've heard of the band or heard the album... So this one's for you, Brooklyn!

Edinborough residents Lou Lewis (guitar and vocals), George Boyter (bass and vocals), Calum Malcolm (keyboards and vocals) and Davy Cross (drums and vocals) formed the hypertight but short-lived Headboys in 1977. Their self-titled debut [RSO RS-1-3068] arrived in 1979 on impressario Robert Stigwood's label. The band recorded it themselves in Malcom's own studio, in conjunction with Peter Ker (who'd produced hits for the Motors).

I love The Headboys for its sonics, the sea of guitar and keyboard tones and the way they're all layered. Lewis is a killin' guitarist and, what's more, the record sounds great despite the band's misleading DIY sloganeering on the back: "Nae dolbies, nae aphex, nae bother."

Lead-off "The Shape Of Things To Come" has little in common with the similarly-titled Yardbirds rave-up; rather, it's an upbeat pop romp that had chart success in both the U.K. and the U.S. (just check out some comments on other blogs to see how fondly people remember the song). "Stepping Stones", likewise, has nothing to do with the Monkees, though the verse rocks like vintage Traffic - hell, they even go out on a hot-ass leslie'd guitar solo. But the chorus always gets back to a classic powerpoppy hook, sweet as a sugar doughnut.

The 'boys infect your ears and take over your head with the same jaunt as Elvis Costello had at the same time, perfectly mixing 60s mod-pop with modern arrangements and not wasting a note. Every tune has something to recommend it, from pub singalong choruses to tasteful analog synths, quirky but not overused. "Experiments" (whence the title of this post) predates both the sound and themes of Thomas Dolby's later smash "She Blinded Me With Science." Oh - and it's much better.

Though they'd been playing together for two years before the album was released, and "The Shape Of Things" was getting good airplay, the Headboys decided they were nonetheless unprepared for life on the road, and retreated from the wake of their minor success back into the studio. Their second record never did see the light of day, and I'm happy they maintain their own Myspace page, which does feature some unreleased tracks.

According to the band's own bio, they were reluctant to become part of the New Wave trend, despite the message of "Changing With The Times". Maybe it's because, as one listen to The Headboys demostrates, they thought they were simply making music, not waving a flag for a genre.

DUKE FUNK SLAM DUNK

2008-06-09T21:26:00.017-04:00

Aw hell yeah, here's one just hows I likes em: super funky, super rare, not a whit of info to be found.

To judge by the cover (come on, we all do it) Harold Dumont Sings Duke Ellington (Cleemo CL-1001) stirs minor intrigue with its low-budg look, though what the music promises is less clear. Dumont dresses the definitive, cheesed-out mid-70s crooner, with huge lapels & a mohair vest. But one glance at the back cover liners indicates otherwise.

Accolades from Nipsy Russell portend. . . something different, if not necessarily good.

And then you hit it: "The disc was put down in three sessions and can really be said to fall in three categories; Jazz: [sic] R & B; and Easy Listening. The first session consisted of a small rock group with strong jazz overvibes: Grady Tate - Drums ; Bob Crenshaw - Bass ; Garnet Brown - Trombone; Mel Davis - Trumpet."

Grady Tate always signals goodness. Add to that the use of "jazz," "R&B," "easy listening" and "rock" in the same paragraph. How could I not rush it to the tt?

Further personnel for the sessions include Bobby Mann - Guitar; Derek Smith - Keyboard ; Mel Lewis - Drums ; Marvin Stam & Thad Jones - Trumpets ; Bill Watrous - Trombone ; Margaret Ross - Harp ; Richard Davis - bass.

Rare-groove fusion at its finest, with solid jazz cred. Dumont's style is over the top, a borderline-silly baritone that sometimes gallops where the tight arrangements try to rein it in. Grit slinks off of every track. The uptemo tunes are all burners, with lower-key ones set to a steamy simmer ("Mood Indigo" is a wah-wah jaw dropper).

Cursory web searches reveal absolutely nothing about the label, the singer, the producer... nada. The album was produced by Harold Dumont and Harry Hirsch, who also wrote the liners & engineers the record. Nothing indicates the year; I'm going with the latter end of the 74-77 spectrum, but listen & comment & tell us what you think. Maybe Hirsch also created Cleemo Records just for this album (or else it folded shortly thereafter), it being catalog # 1001. The only two verifiable things I can tell you about Harold Dumont Sings Duke Ellington: it has in the past fetched upwards of $40, and "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" seems to be a Euro DJ club fave.

Back at the Flea or, There Used to Be a Season Called "Spring"

2008-06-07T18:37:00.007-04:00

Unbreakable will be back at it again, same booth - E22. Stop by & say "hi," buy some stuff, buy some other stuff, you know, the usual. I have a canopy - yes, going pro - so you can stave off the 95 degree heat standing under it & perusing the newly-filled dollar boxes.

Remember when there was a time between winter & summer called "spring"? Those were the days.

WATCH OUT FOR FALLING ANVILS

2008-06-01T20:05:00.005-04:00

Sunday, June 1, marks my record selling debut at the Brooklyn Flea in Ft. Greene. What better way to kick it off than to throw up some honest-to-goodness, super-rare, jam-kicking-out rock-n-roll? (yeah I love those hyphens!)

Snotty glam at its finest, most idiomatic, Anvil Chorus (Atco SD 36-114, 1975) is just the platter. Produced by Andy Johns, the decadence of the decade shimmies off the turntable, with The Kids (previously Heavy Metal Kids) providing all the right Bowie/Mott/Stones/Dolls moves with none of the pretense. I mean, look at those mugs! Any mother would have been proud to get them out of her house and onto some beer-soaked stage somewhere in North Cardiff.

Found this one in the stacks in my basement and, given the blunt cover art and back portraits, had to play it immediately. Wowee zowee, as they say. Not much info about it to be found, though, save for the excellent hermaneutics of Julian Cope's Head Heritage crew. Apparently both albums, though released on Atco, are super hard to come by these days. Why? I have no idea. But until the WEA reissue arm realizes what's sitting below its craggy corporate nose, Anvil Chorus will be our little secret.