zaterdag 31 december 2011
vrijdag 30 december 2011
[Buy It]
Nearly ten years before Jonathan Richman decided his Modern Lovers had to turn down the volume, stuff a pillow or two in the bass drum, and add some pretty voiced girls to the mix, Dan Hicks did just that with his Hot Licks. He even gave the pretty voiced girls a name: The Lickettes.
Hicks had been the drummer for The Charlatans, one of San Francisco's most influential psychedelic rock bands. Psychedelia may be the only genre of music you won't find on Original Recordings. You'll hear jazz, swing, and country and western. The lovely "Canned Music" is a sweet reminder that live music can be twice as good as hearing anything on the radio or jukebox.
Dan Hicks is still touring. He's as ageless as the music he plays.
woensdag 28 december 2011
[buy it]
Dumptruck, one of college radio's favorite jangly guitar pop bands, was formed by two Connecticut songwriters who met in Boston. Seth Tiven and Kirk Swan seemed to share an affinity for the dual guitar attack of Television and the morose lyrics of Joy Division.
For their second album, Positively Dumptruck, Tiven, Swan and their rhythm section teamed up with producer Don Dixon whose recent credits included R.E.M., Guadalcanal Diary and Tommy Keene. Great stuff! We played the very hell out of this album at WTUL, but if Dumptruck ever made it to New Orleans I missed the show. I did see Dumptruck open for Big Time Records label mate Alex Chilton in San Francisco in the fall of '86.
Must have been a dismal tour because when it was over...so was this incarnation of Dumptruck. Swan left. Tiven kept the name, recording an even better Dumptruck album in 1987, the Wilco-esque For the Country. In 2001, Dumptruck released a live album of recordings made in the mid-80's, Lemmings Travel to the Sea, along with a disc of recent material.
I can't vouch for that one but both Positively and For The Country are can't miss classics from an era when jangle pop ruled college radio.
dinsdag 27 december 2011
[buy it]
1. Parliament's 1975 platinum funk album Mothership Connection was the first to feature Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley who had left The JB's, James Brown's backing band.
[buy it]
2. James Brown liked his horn sections. What Brown didn't like was having an opening act mock him on stage. Joe Tex did just that, tossing a blanket over his shoulder and singing "Please, please, please-get me out of this cape!" They had some history. Brown thought Tex swiped his dance moves. Tex knew Brown swiped his wife. When JB shot at his rival in a nightclub, he wound up paying off customers hit by stray bullets with $100 bills. Tex emerged unscathed.
[buy it]
3. Joe Tex released his #2 R and B hit "The Love You Save". You can find it on the Joe Henry produced soundtrack to Jesus' Son released in 1999.
[buy it]
4. The Jesus' Son soundtrack also includes Barbara Mason's " Yes I'm Ready" a #5 pop #2 R and B hit from 1965. The lush strings are an early example of what would become the Philly Soul sound.
[buy it]
5. Those strings were played by the house band of Philly's Sigma Sound recording studio. They played on hits by The O'Jays, The Spinners, The Stylistics and many more...including their own #1 hit in 1974, as MFSB ( Mother Father Sister Brother, not Masters of Funk Soul and Blues). The song,"TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" became the Soul Train theme.
The man on the top right corner is drummer Earl Young.
[buy it]
6. Before he founded The Trammps ( of "Disco Inferno" fame) , Young is credited with inventing the disco style of rock drumming with his use of the Hi Hat cymbal, first heard in 1973 on the Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes' #7 hit , "The Love I Lost".
maandag 26 december 2011
As told to Smash Hits Magazine for their August 23-September 5, 1979 issue via Like Punk Never Happened . That year Joe Jackson released his first two albums, Look Sharp and I'm The Man.
[purchase]
1. Bruce Springsteen: Born To Run
1. The Clash: London's Burning
1. Prince Buster: Al Capone
1. David Bowie: Drive-In Saturday
1. Gregory Isaacs: Mr Know It All
1. Public Image LTD: Public Image
1. Taper Zukie: M.P.L.A.
1. Big Youth: Hit The Road Jack
1. Ray Campi and His Rockabilly Rebels: Teenage Boogie
10.The Legendary Stardust Cowboy: Paralysed
a) "Choosing ten favourites is hard enough; putting them in order is impossible. Anyone who can name their favourite record ever must have narrow musical tastes. Therefore I've chose nine number one's.
b) Number 10 is probably the worst record ever made.
c) Reggae is my favourite music so I've chose four reggae tracks.Next time I do a top ten it'll be four different ones.
d) I didn't choose anything more than three or four years old except Prince Buster-the old favourites are everyone's favourites."
Big Youth: Hit the Road Jack
Legendary Stardust Cowboy: Paralysed
woensdag 21 december 2011
My top 10 albums as provided to WTUL's Vox Humana for the Spring 1984 edition, just weeks after I had joined the staff. I still listen to all of these albums.
1. The Beatles ABBEY ROAD
2. Talking Heads '77
3. Mott the Hoople ALL THE YOUNG DUDES
4. R.E.M. MURMUR
5 Otis Redding THE HISTORY OF OTIS REDDING
6. The Jam ALL MOD CONS
7. Bob Marley And The Wailers RASTAMAN VIBRATION
8. Al Green GREATEST HITS
9. T-Rex ELECTRIC WARRIOR
10a. Love FOREVER CHANGES
10b. Squeeze ARGYBARGY
1. The Beatles ABBEY ROAD
2. Talking Heads '77
3. Mott the Hoople ALL THE YOUNG DUDES
4. R.E.M. MURMUR
5 Otis Redding THE HISTORY OF OTIS REDDING
6. The Jam ALL MOD CONS
7. Bob Marley And The Wailers RASTAMAN VIBRATION
8. Al Green GREATEST HITS
9. T-Rex ELECTRIC WARRIOR
10a. Love FOREVER CHANGES
10b. Squeeze ARGYBARGY
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