The Nashville Teens –Ella James

The Nashville Teens –Ella James/Same (Promo)–UA 50880 (1971 US)

This is an absolute killer version of The Move Song. If anything it rocks harder than the original and features some blistering lead guitar breaks and a wild pounding piano. The single was issued in the UK on Parlophone with Tennessee Woman on the B side. I assume that this was the same version as issued under the Arizona Swamp Company moniker (see review March 28th). Any other great late Nashville Teens tracks out there?

Click below for soundclip

Bloom –Don’t Break This Heart

Bloom –Don’t Break This Heart/Can I Get You For The Night –Philips 6012 704 (1976 NL)

Don’t Break This Heart is a classic traditional Power Pop tune very much in a similar vein to The Poppees or Smyle. The cover also wears its classicism on its …sleeve and recalls The Scruffs’ LP. A couple of members of Bloom later reappeared as part of Bloem after merging with another Hilversum band Teenager. The main guy in Bloom/Bloem was Joost Timp, son of TV celebrity Mies Bouwman.

Click on title for full version of Don’t Break This Heart

Panther – One Man Band

Panther –One Man Band/Evelyne –Polydor 2050 362 –(1975 NL)

After one unforgettable first single (see review January 15th), and a so so follow up, Frank Klunhaar AKA Pantherman seemed to have developed a serious personality disorder. He may be trying to look tough on the cover, but it’s obvious that he had lost his nerve –the mask is gone and his claws are clipped. These lyrics say it all…

Shall I be a rainbow rider or a diver in the sea, or a lover or a fighter…

No Frank! We want you to show us your claws and bite us! One Man Band is OK and it perks up at the end with some neat backward guitar and a strange street musician interlude, but we are a long way off from the genius that was Pantherman for just one perfect single.

Click on title for soundclip of One Man Band

For trading purposes...

Hi

I have the following singles available for trading, you can contact me via email (purepop1uk@yahoo.co.uk) with titles you would like to trade. Apart from the Spiv single (Pye) and Bubbles (Decca), there are still over 70 singles I am looking for (that I know of!).

I may be putting some of these up on ebay in a couple of weeks.

All the best

Robin

(sleeves rated first)
Abacus -Indian Dancer (DEMO) York UK EX
American Jam Band-American Jam (DEMO) Parlaphone UK EX
Captain Captain Groovy & His Bubblegum Army -Captain Groovy.../Dark Part of My Mind (Pic sleeve) Ariola Ger EX/EX
Firebird -Two Wheels Bell UK EX
Galahad -Rocket Summer (Pic sleeve) Bell Ger EX/EX
Hector -Wired Up (DEMO) DJM UK EX
Kristine Sparkle -Hokey Cokey/ Baby I Love You Decca UK VG+
Light Fantastic -Take Me, Shake Me Blue Jean UK EX
Living Force -Ride Ride Ride/Some People Chapter 1 UK EX
Mustard -Good Time Coming EMI UK VG (slight warp)
Ning -Machine (Pic Sleeve) Decca Ger VG+/VG+
Peter D. Kelly -Rock To The Juke Box (DEMO) DJM UK EX
Rats -Turtle Dove (DEMO) Good Ear UK EX
Rubber Duckie (10CC) -A Teenager In Love (DEMO) EMI UK EX
Sensation -Black Eyed Woman/Baby (Pic Sleeve) Sirocco Fra EX/EX
Shelby -Dance With The Guitar Man (Pic Sleeve) Ariola Ger VG+/VG
Solent -My World Fell Down Decca UK EX
Yellow Bird -Attack Attack (Pic Sleeve) Ariola Ger VG/EX

Tiger - Crazy

Tiger –Crazy/Bloody Blue Monday –BASF 0515573-5 (1974 DK)

Not to be confused with the Tiger of I Am An Animal infamy (see entry February 16th '07) this lot were an off shoot band formed by The Walkers drummer Poul Denhart. Tiger seem to have also released an album, as the back of the Pic sleeve says -Har du Tigers nye LP? (Well I don’t, but on the basis of this single I definitely need one!). Crazy is a superb meeting of T. Rex and Chicory Tip –You may dig the naff synth, but you will certainly swoon to the perfect Marc Bolan impersonation and shudder to the loud HEYs. It has a strange and heavily flanged production with a charm of its own, although it plays havoc with the stereo panning. The B side is also fine, a slower 50s number again very much in T. Rex mode.

Hear a full version of Crazy

My Version Is Better Than Yours Part 5: Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Back Again –Little Sammy Gaha vs Harley Quinne

Little Sammy Gaha- Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Back Again/Come ’N’ On Strong –Pink Elephant 22.701-H (1973 Dutch issue)

(Little) Sammy Gaha was a wild hairy Australian who cut several singles and also did soundtrack work mostly in France. The song is a classic with a cool arrangement highlighted by driving cellos & strings very much in the style of Roy Wood and ELO.

Harley Quinne –Rock And Roll Is Back Again/My Lady –Bell 1282 (1973 UK)

Harley Quinne chose the song as a follow up to their hit version of New Orleans, but it sadly didn’t repeat its predecessor’s success. It’s a good rockin’ version very much following the same arrangement but with a more polished yet gritty production by Cook/Greenaway.

So here you have it two versions of this great song and I for one am not sure of the winner…

Click below for an edit of Little Sammy Gaha and Harley Quinne

A Little Shopping Trip Part 4 (Return from Utrecht...)

I picked up over 40 singles during the 2 days at the fair in Utrecht… It was fun but pretty heavy going walking up and down the aisles for over 7 hours each day, It is really HUGE. Utrecht is a nice town and it was the first time that I had time to go beyond the station and convention centre.

This is some of the stuff I found, I’ll review a few of them over the next few weeks once they’ve been more or less digested:

Panther-One Man Band(the 3rd Pantherman single), 2 Kin Ping Meh singles, Balls –Fight For My Country (French Pic Sleeve), A great French Pic sleeve of Trevor White’s Crazy Kids, Hush EP, Old 88 (French Pic Sleeve)

Some nice German sleeves: Abacus-Indian Dancer, Captain Groovy And His Bubblegum Army, Ning –Machine, Yellow Bird –Attack Attack, Tiger –Crazy, Shelby, Smoke, Crash Brothers, Galahad –Rocket Summer etc…

More Dutch stuff including Peter And The Rockets (including Angeline sung in French, Heart, Left Side, The Ball, Blue Planet, Cardinal Point (the fab Grand Pretender!!!), Lemming, Melody –Stepping Stone, Cherrie Vangelder-Smith, Smyle, Catapult, Little Sammy Gaha (Thanks Jos), Bloom (great Power Pop from ’76) and more…

Return To Utrecht...

Yes, it's definitely the best record fair I've ever been to, so I'm flying out at 6:35am to get there for the early entry. With two full days at the fair I'm bound to come back with some choice goodies and more stuff to write about and share!

I'll try and report back on Sunday evening...

The Casuals –The Witch/ Good Times

The Casuals –The Witch/ Good Times –Dawn DNS.1069 (1974 UK)

Very late single by The Casuals who I believe by this time bore no relation to the Jesamine line-up. The group was probably Chris Evans and Rob Moore AKA Kansas Hook/ American Jam Band. The Witch is an OK 70s Hard Rocker spoiled by the vocal histrionics –we’re nearly in Judas Priest territory here and a long way from the Casuals’ 60s bouffant hair pop. The B Side is a surprisingly fiery work out of the Easybeats tune. They omit the main riff, add an incongruous keyboard part and muddle up the lyrics, but they certainly make it their own!

Click below for edits of Good Times and The Witch

Jungle Jim – Big Fat Oranguman

Jungle Jim – Big Fat Oranguman/Neasden Melody –Pye 7N.45092 (1971 UK)

Stretching the jungle theme in order to find a tenuous link with The Soho Jets seems churlish as common silliness cements these 2 releases together perfectly! Big Fat Oranguman is prime novelty Bubblegum pop with an abundance of grunts and wildlife sounds –It even sounds like that some of the jungle noises were created through scratching (Hip Hop Stylee)!!!!
I hope you’ll enjoy this as it’s great FUN!

Click on title for a full version of Big Fat Oranguman

Soho Jets –Hi-Heel Tarzan

Soho Jets –Hi-Heel Tarzan/ Night Flight –Polydor 2058 525 ( UK 1974 )

This is Grant Stevens’ first single with The Soho Jets. Although not as classy as Denim Goddess, it makes up for it by being incredibly silly. Yes, this is Daktari in mascara answering the call of the wild and meeting up with a gaggle of Jungle Umpa Lumpas on backing vocals. Where’s me loin cloth? The B side plays it straighter and comes across like a rockier Sparks track off Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing…

Click below for a soundclip