Peter Nelson –Good Scotch Whisky

Peter Nelson –Good Scotch Whisky/I Am A Ship –Peacock PEA 502 (1972 UK)

Time to dull your conscience with some Good Scotch Whisky... This is one of two solo singles released on Peacock by this ex Flower Pot Men and White Plains member. Good Scotch Whisky is a moody tale and a real atmospheric number helped no end by the murky production, cavernous toms and underlying fuzz guitar. There is a Peter Nelson who is currently Chairman of the distilling industry training committee, but sadly it’s not the same guy as our Peter Nelson passed away 3 years ago.

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Oh and a happy New Year to all...Much more coming soon including: Cut Loose -The Stud Leather story, more on the Nederglam comp "Clap Your Hands And Stamp Your Feet" plus tons more reviews and sound clips.

The Garnets –Go Leila

The Garnets –Go Leila/ Go Leila (Choir Version)-Prom 6.11895 (1976 Belgium)

Go Leila is another fine piece of Mutant Euro Pop by these Flemish masters. It’s once again written (but not produced this time) by J. Vincent Edwards. It’s a fine follow up to Indian Uprising and Daddy’s Coming Home, but with added drama and a certain Michel Strogoff feel. This is especially true of its B side that sounds like it’s sung by the full Red Army Choir to quite an amazing effect. God knows what they were thinking of…The single was produced by Sylvain Vanholmen who also produced that great Paul Cass single Mini Marianne. It looks like The Garnets actually recut Go Leila in the mid 80s, but I can’t confirm if it is a Balalaika version or not…

Click on title for full versions of Go Leila AND Go Leila (Choir version) Over 6 minutes playing time!

Loco –At The Local Dance

Loco-At The Local Dance/The Man –BUK 0612457-0 (1975 German Issue)

With the word Local in the title you could forgiven to expect some form of Wurzel-like hay-making clog dancer, but I am pleased to report that At The Local Dance is an uptempo Glam Rocker with a nice chord change and probably the LOUDEST HEYs ever cut to disc. The tracks were written and produced by Steve Fearn who…er...wrote the B side of Wurzel Rap!!!! So there is a country bumpkin link!!!. Loco were probably from Leicester and the single came out on BASF in the UK.

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Flanelcat –Yer Big Girl’s Blouse

Flanelcat –Yer Big Girl’s Blouse/Rub-A-Tommy –UK Records –UK33 (1973 UK)

Obscure and wonderfully bizarre concoction released on Jonathan King’s UK imprint, but surprisingly, JK had no involvement in its creation as he simply bought it in via a licensing deal. It certainly fits in with some of the weirder JK B sides as it sounds like a real homage with its barrelhouse –where’s-my-wallet-beat nailed down by ample stomping and banging; recalling a Boot Boy Handful of Cheek with added rallying Oi chants.

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The Bone –Everybody’s Gone Into April

The Bone –It's An Easy Thing/ Everybody’s Gone Into April -PoisonRing Records PPR 712 (1970 US)

And here’s another great Greg Shaw discovery from 35+ years ago! It’s a driving Powerhouse Pop track sounding very much like some unreleased late 60s Kinks track. It’s a great tune in its own right, but they just had to have been huge Kinks fans as it resonates pure Kinkdom and the vocals are effectively channeling Ray Davies. The A side is not quite as marvelous, still close to the Kinks; it adds a Vaudevillian feel to the proceedings. The Bone were from Massachusetts and this single was released on Connecticut’s Poison Ring Records. It appears that some members then moved on to form The Tweeds.

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The Reactions –Summertime Rock ‘N’ Roll

The Reactions –Summertime Rock ‘N’ Roll/Liberty –Vogue 45.x.12127 (1975 France)
Just as we are freezing our toes off, please accept into your life some Summertime Sub Bolan Bubblegum Boogie …Summertime Rock ‘N’ Roll is basically a severe case of “I got a chorus and I ain’t afraid to use it”. It’s so repetitive, it makes Frost’s Rock ’N’ Roll Music sound like Bohemian Rhapsody! It’s a damn catchy tune featuring a rather curious yet fetching chord progression. Half way through its short run time, the beat also doubles up to great effect. The Reactions were a French affair (Lalanne, Foscolo and Meyer as writers), but it was recorded at Trident Studios in London and mixed at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia. The B side is basically an abridged and dressed down Tubular Bells coming in at under 3 minutes. A definite improvement in my book!

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Tigers on Vaseline –The John Scene

Tigers on Vaseline –The John Scene/ What My Hairdo –Philips 6012353 (1973 NL)

The John Scene is the 2nd second single the Tigers released on Philips and it’s fine slice of open minded Glam, not of the crunching variety, but really special all the same. If you look beyond the obvious Bowie references, you may be reminded of Willie Nile or even Rodriguez (Sugar Man) albeit with a strong and strange Euro slant. The production by Boudewijn de Groot (who also plays guitar) is bright, full and inspirational helping to make this diamond really shine. The B side What My Hairdo is plainly bizarre and is worth either one line or a whole thesis. Tigers on Vaseline then shortened their name to Tiger and released one further single on Philips - Hot Amsterdam before splitting.

The John Scene is NOT included on the forthcoming NederGlam comp “Clap Your Hands And Stamp Your Feet”, watch this space for official news soon.

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