Reviews of tasty and obscure hook-filled rock'n' roll releases (Glam, Heavy Bonehead Crunchers, Powerpop, Pop/psych,Garage, Surf, 60s Girl Group Rock)...Plus any quirky musings that tickle my fancy...
I created this blog in order to stimulate interest, share discoveries and encourage people to go out and search for the original vinyl. Hopefully this blog might also encourage labels to actually compile some of this stuff officialy.
I'm off to Holland tomorrow, spending Saturday at the record fair in Utrecht. Hopefully I'll return with a mountain of garish picture sleeves...In any case, I don't expect to post anything before Tuesday. In the meantime -take care! All the best Robin
The Mad Hatters –The Humphrey Song/Loving You Ain’t Easy – Epic S EPC 4151 (1976 UK)
The Mad Hatters were in fact Mike Batt with Chris Spedding and this song was based on a very popular 70’s advert for Unigate Dairies. The Humphreys were red and white straws (or more probably milk drinking elemental spirits) who “humphreyed about” nicking other peoples’ cow juice. Mike Batt beefed up his original Humphrey March into this very weird single that somehow adds its own sinister spin. The chorus and the near subliminal ghostly whispers are positively eerie … Here is a link to more information on the original campaign including some videos of the original adverts: http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/images/humphrey/humphrey.html
Watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out –there’s a Humphrey about!
Harpo – My Teenage Queen/ I Don’t Know Why – EMI 4E 006-35115 (1974 Sweden)
Prior to his more widely known Peter Sarstedt/ om-pah band hit Moviestar, Sweden’s Harpo (née Jan Svensson) released this Neanderthal Glam Thumping Cruncher to little effect in ’74. Perhaps the fact that the lyrics have him lusting after a 15 year old Teenage Queen curtailed his chances of a worldwide hit, but today they would more likely get him listed on the S O register. The track is great though, perhaps only a killer guitar break short of making the top grade. Still what a scary looking guy… Leo Sayer meets Skeletor anyone? ANYONE????
Stud Leather – Cut Loose/ Emma Louise –Seabird 63002 (1974? French issue)
OK, you’ve got to look beyond one of the most ugly sleeves ever as Cut Loose is a frenetic primitive Punker powered by slap-back echoed drums, raw guitar and a simplistic piano pounding. The track builds and builds and the vocals get wilder, ending in near hysterics. The track finally turns into a wild cacophonous Freak Out concluding in a final explosion…Hallelujah indeed - it’s totally bonkers! The B side is more like a late 60’s mild Psych Pop number and is a haven of sanity in comparison. Again not much of an indication who this was. The single was released on Dart in the UK and both tracks were written by Roger Cook and Alan Kerkham. Thanks to Ryohei of Warehouse in Japan (http://www.ware-h.com) for doing a trade for this.
Matayo –Matayo/ I like Rock ‘N’ Roll – RAK 222 (1975 UK)
Matayo is in fact Paul & Barry Ryan and this gem of a track is hidden on the other side of a truly ghastly Disco-Funk workout. I guess The Arrows beat them in the title race; so here they only LIKE Rock ‘N’ Roll whereas you can only really love or hate it… I like Rock ‘N’ Roll is a Rocker, but it really takes you somewhere else entirely as well. The strange and eerie production is superb –the massed choir and churchy organ are positively drowned in reverb and give the song a real hypnotic feel. Somehow I think of The Raspberries on Quaaludes or it could have fitted on that first Eric Carmen album if only Eric was hanging out with Alex Chilton at the time. The organ drone is perhaps Paul Ryan’s touch as he went for a similar effect on his Natural Gas single (Maple Annie MA 107), but whoever was responsible, kudos are due all round. Paul and Barry Ryan released another single under this pseudonym –Can anyone recommend it?
I didn’t have the heart to edit the track, so click on the title to enjoy it in its full glory!
Thomas Dean –Oh Babe/ Same –Privilege PVA 7001 (1974 US)
Released on TerryManning’s Privilege label, Oh Babe is a fine slice of US Anglophile Glam. Thomas Dean is in fact Thomas Dean Eubanks who was in Rock City with future Big Star members Chris Bell and Jody Stephens (the Rock City album was issued on Parasol a couple of years ago). Oh Babe is pure T.Rex meets Memphis Tennessee, the vocals and attitude are true Brit, but the addition of the Memphis horn arrangement after the solo drops the track somewhere in the Mid Atlantic. My copy is a promo, but the regular B side Try A Little Harder can be found on the Rock City CD and sounds like an outtake from Big Star’s Radio City album.
Warwick –Let’s Get The Party Going/How Does It Feel –RAK 211 (1975 UK)
Once again I was alerted about this single in an issue of BompMagazine over 30 years ago! I still cherish those magazines as they have turned me on to so many great releases and those reviews still stand as a great benchmark of quality and taste. Anyhow Let’s Get The Party Going is a sumptuous Glam update of the Wall of Sound, to my ears it would have been a great follow up to Hello’s Star Studded Sham single as produced by Phil Spector. The sound is wonderfully full with its mass of strummed acoustics over which the power chords shimmer and shine. The wonderfully deep toms sound like timbales and the bed of backing vocals surround and support the fine lead vocal and you are left with a breathtaking-goose-bum- inducing all time classic. It’s truly a crime that it didn’t get the airplay at the time and become the huge hit it deserved to be.
Lady is an OK rocker in a Free/ Humble Pie sort of way, but It’s the B side where the interest really lies. The title makes you think of an obscure Freakbeat/ Psych number, but as it’s from 1973, we are left with the equivalent: An obscure Glammed up obscurity. The vocals recall Sweet at times and the obligatory handclaps are there, but there is a weirdness in the arrangement and production that envelops the performance ( dig those vary-speeded vocals) and drops the song into some sort of Psych/Glam mish-mash. The poppy chorus is more like a middle 8 and only happens once after the solo, the song then turns into Be Bop A Lula and you’re left wondering what the hell it was all about! Another period curio produced by Kaplan Kaye.
Puzzle –Houla/ Do You Feel The Pain –Jam 1 (1972 UK)
Do You Feel The Pain is a 60’s style Garage Punker with a Farfisa or Vox Continental organ to the fore. Again it’s one of those out-of-sync-with-the times releases in the same bag as The One Hit Wonders “Goodbye” or Just Plain Jones' “Crazy Crazy”. Do You Feel The Pain is a bit restrained and doesn’t quite set the world alight, but at least it rocks out more than The Inspiral Carpets! The A side Houla kind of reminds me of The Hombres’Let It All Hang Out or The Yachts with a little Steam added in. This seems to be the first ever release on Jam and it’s produced by Kaplan Kaye. Expect some more from him soon…
Click on title for snippets of Do You Feel The Pain and Houla
The Electric Banana –Groovy Baby Bubblegum Music/I’ll Have to Live My Life Without Music –RCA 1931 (1970 UK)
And so on to something sweet and ever so sickly to start the weekend off… Groovy Baby Bubblegum Music is suitably emasculated and tries hard to push all the right buttons- It certainly does what it says on the tin! Sure it grates, but you can’t ignore its smarmy charm –or can you? Anyhow both sides a written and produced by one Anthony King. I presume it’s a UK production as the B side is published by RAK, but I can’t find any other clues on this release. To compensate, I promise to Ying the Yang and find something extremely hard and heavy for the next review!
Sparky –(Do You Remember That) Summertime Woman/You Gotta Have It Sometime –UK Records UK 16 (1972 UK)
The question is-how much more Troggs can you get? The answer is none more…Summertime Woman is simply an incredible Troggs facsimile from 1972 (even though it sounds like’66). It has that same pervy reptilian crawl that permeates some of the best releases from Reg and co. The Ocarina may replaced by a bluesy harp, but the illusion is perfect. The other side is also cool with its Gonna Make You vibe and blistering lead break.
Dust –Rebound/Pieces -20th Century Records BTC 1009 (1975 UK)
Not to be confused with the US power trio (with Mark Bell) of the same name, this version of Dust was possibly from Wolverhampton. Rebound is a fresh sounding slice of Glam Pop with more than a nod to 10CC (check out the Rubber Bullets rhythmic chug and the backing vocals).The single has a great production by Tony Atkins, who’s name has been appearing frequently on many recent purchases (Galahad, Thunder Road etc…) and is becoming something of a trade mark of quality or at least a name to look out for. Not as boisterous as other Black country Glam merchants, Rebound is a fine Pop tune –enjoy!
Capt. Groovy And His Bubblegum Army –Capt. Groovy And His Bubblegum Army/ Dark Part Of My Mind –Super K AZ 10694 (1969 French issue)
This is an insanely great release from the Kasenetz –Katz stable (with a little help from Ritchie Cordell). I read a review of this single in an old Bomp over 30 years ago and it’s only now that I got a copy and it’s even better than I imagined. The A side is a fuzzed up heavy Bubblegum killer tune with dark overtones. Imagine the Ohio Express on Ketamine stomping around in jackboots with a rallying call for the Teen masses to enroll - Yes, we are talking about Bubblegum fascism here! It’s just perfect from start to freak out finish. The B side Dark Part Of My Mind is another psyched out ditty but without the hooky call to arms. AWESOME !!! (As our American cousins would say…)
Just came across this compilation on the Web. It looks like it’s vinyl only. As it’s a bootleg, they haven’t included the artists for copyright reasons, can anyone fill in the gaps and confirm some of the artists? I especially would like to know who did Zap N Cat. Here is a link where there are sound clips for each song. I am in no way recommending its purchase, side 2 is pretty weak, but it’s there…
Thanks to James and Steve for filling in the gaps!
Side 1
1) Rebels Rule –Iron Virgin 2) Good Time Fanny –Angel 3) Rock To The Jukebox –Peter D Kelly 4) Beautiful Child –Buster 5) Zap N Cat -The Bubbles 6) Standing In The Road –Blackfoot Sue 7) There’s A Raver Coming Home –Sisters
Side 2
1) Will You Stop That -Ruby Pearl 2) Cigarettes Women & Wine –Chicory Tip 3) The Apple And The Arrow -Silver Pony 4) Right On –Zappo 5) Hot Rod –Willy Zango And The Mechanics –This version has a voice-over –my copy doesn’t…Is this a recent ”improvement”? 6) Peter Gunn -Thunder Road (to be confirmed) 7) Vanessa’s Luminous Dogcoat -Edwina Biglet And The Miglets
Marrakesh –The Prodigal Son Returns/Let Me Down Easy –Bell 1325 (1973 UK)
The Prodigal Son Returns opens with an intro lifted from The Easybeats’Good Time, the vocals in the verse are quite raspy and the chorus recalls T.Rex in much the same way as Chunky or Hobnail. It’s not Glam per se, but a memorable straightforward Pop Rocker that I often find myself returning to. Their previous single I Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight (Bell 1315) is also good, but more in a Pop vein with a slight Faces feel.
