Purple Avalanche -Oh-Bah-Um-Dee-Dum

Purple Avalanche -Oh-Bah-Um-Dee-Dum/ When I Saw Her –Roulette R-7046 (1969 US)

Amazing, this odd Bubblegum tune has it all...even those who haven’t been bitten by the Bubblegum bug will find ample entertainment within. It chugs, bugs and contorts itself into a splendid approximation of Wild Honey era Beach Boys attempting to work within a 1910 Fruitgum Company framework with added mouthed splutterings recalling Driftin’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. Anyone with any info on this bunch?

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Children of The Morning –Hey America America

Children of The Morning –Hey America America/ Children of The Morning –Hansa 12632 AT (1973 German issue)

This is the first and least known Children of The Morning single, the other being Ku Klux Man check that one out here: http://crazeekids-music.blogspot.com/2009/04/children-of-morning-ku-klux-man-1974.html

Children of The Morning was the creation of one Shel Shapiro (Norman David Shapiro), best known as leader of Italy’s The Rokes, but why in 1973 would an Italian based Brit write about the Kent State Campus killing from 3 years previous? Perhaps a more apt name would have been Late Waking Kids. Sound-wise you could think of a protest infused John Kongos with Donovan tendencies over the mother of all slapping Gunshot beats. It’s not often you hear the FWord sung on an A side at the time and stay tuned also for some fantastic guitar moves during the final third.

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Alan Lee Shaw –She Moans

Alan Lee Shaw –She Moans/ Bolweevil –Alaska ALA 15 (1974 UK)

She Moans is a fine gleaming specimen of Punk before Punk cloaked in the best of Junkshop Glam by future Rings and Maniacs members Alan Lee Shaw and Rod Latter. It’s quite surprising that this came out on Alaska in 74 and has John Shroeder himself on production duties.

Alan Lee Shaw: My act was myself and Rod on timbales and the image was definitely Glam as with everything else that was ground breaking at that time. Lots of satin I seem to remember...John Shroeder was a dead ringer for Peter Wyngarde all medallions with side boards and seriously moustachioed...

...........................Alan Lee Shaw and Rod Latter circa 1975

Recorded at Pye Studios in the early summer of ’73, She Moans kicks off with kick ass Wah Wah and then rocks out in prime Proto Punk fashion, although the demo-y drum sound does hold its impact back somewhat, but the tempo is frenetic and the hook nice ‘n catchy...She Moans is definitely on a par with the best Streak tracks but stands out proud on its own merits. Bolweevil is more Bluesy a bit like a Howlin’ Wolf number with crushed velvet replacing the gruff and Johnny Thunders channelling Hubert Sumlin somewhere along the line.

Q: What were you trying to achieve with these recordings?

Alan Lee Shaw: I was going for a bit of the old primal scream attitude approach. At the time I always got a buzz from the harder end of music. Of course Glam was the cloak that covered popular music at that time, and I wasn't against it. I think She Moans was considered the most commercial track by the record label and that was that. We were all young and wanting to get on the boards and get our story across.

Q: How come you were a duo –why no bass player?

Alan Lee Shaw: Yes a duo. I don't think there is bass on the record (Note: In fact there is some bass, it is most obvious on Bolweevil). Rod (the drummer) and I were buddy's from school days and had been in bands in Cambridge and we pretty much stuck together. Duos were not unusual then Tyrannosaurus Rex, Medicine Head and we were a tight unit, it seemed to work. We played colleges and pubs also did the old Marquee in those days and we went down as exotic oddies for want of a better word. When most punters wanted to hear the Eagles they got us...

Q: What happened after the single?

Alan Lee Shaw: Alaska was just a small label run by John Schroeder. He put singles out that were meant for the charts as pop hits and if they didn't get the nod from Radio1 there was no more investment. Anyway as a snotty upstart I didn't in the end see eye to eye with John or Ken Pitt (Manager) so an amicable parting of the waves followed. After the single was released Rod and I went to live in London in ‘75 still as a duo playing original and Velvet Underground covers, until Punk hit in 76' when all hell was let loose and we became Rings (with Twink) and then The Maniacs.

I wonder how this single escaped me for so long, it somehow didn’t register on the radar, but She Moans is another important piece in the Glam/Proto Punk puzzle –Thanks to Alan Lee Shaw for all the info. Enjoy!

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Reinstated sound clips

Hi
I have reinstated about 30 sound files that went AWOL during the Divshare debacle. All posts should have working links to sound files going back 1 year (15th of August 2009)
Before that I guess 50% of sound files are still missing
Please let me know if I have missed any, or if there are any mistakes
Thanks

Cross Section –Rock ‘N Roll Queen

Cross Section –Lovin’ Song/ Rock ‘N Roll Queen –Cross Section AAM (1974 UK)

Bands releasing their own records certainly didn’t start in year “0” as is proven here by the first and most likely only single by the totally unknown Cross Section. It just happens that a copy of this single has popped up on ebay advertised as "Glam", so I present to you the track in question to enable you to make an educated decision if it’s worth bidding for or not...

Rock ‘N Roll Queen is in fact the B side of the weak and anaemic Lovin’ Song. The first thing you will notice on Rock ‘N Roll Queen are the low production values, so the Boogie element doesn’t quite kick ass as it should and the Glitter element doesn't exactly sparkle, still the voice over is different and the lead guitar tries its best within the limitations. So... who from Mr. Astley, Morton, Jeffery or Savage will be the first to announce themselves and tell the story?

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Sunchariot –Firewater

Sunchariot –Firewater/The Only Girl I Knew –Decca F13407 (1973 UK)
Firewater is yet another example of White Man empathizing with the plight of the Red Skin in crushed velvet flares and platform boots. More Po-faced than the Garnets, Abacus or Johnny Dick, Firewater can’t help but end up a very daft venture despite its intentions. It sounds like Sunchariot actually believed what they were singing and secretly wished they were XIT whilst recording this. OK, the track shares a similarity in the pounding department with Abacus’s Indian Dancer, but is more of a straight rock affair. However THINGS develop as the track progresses...to keep our throats from getting dry...heya heya heya...Once the mass tribe vocals enter the fray around the two minute mark-it all goes NUTS...just lay on the Peyote and put your trust in Producer Robert Danova as he attempts to outdo Thief of Baghdad(Sting) in the vocal arrangement department...Moronic? Yes, but good fun!

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Classic 70s Pop: Libido –Hold on To Your Fire vs. Apple Pie and Custard –Doctor Fantastic

No gimmicks this time, just two fine tunes that deserve wider recognition. They both grabbed me the same way, sweet, cute but certainly not bland...

Libido –Hold on To Your Fire/ Same –Mooncrest Moon 2 (1973 UK)
Starting off like a prime Badfinger track with lush doubled acoustics, the track builds into subtly orchestrated track with some fine lead guitar. The vocals are gorgeous conveying both sweetness and sass. A fine fine track. Has anyone got any information on Libido?

Apple Pie and Custard –Five Sisters/ Doctor Fantastic –Philips 6006 439 (1974 UK)
Somehow hidden on the B side of the Jaunty Five Sisters, Doctor Fantastic is an undiscovered pearl. Although somewhat quirky, Doctor Fantastic has real poignancy. The vocals have this Englishness and innocence about them and those backing vocals fit the mood of the overall performance perfectly and add that extra ¼ “ to your smile...

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Norah –The Battle For My Love

Norah –The Battle For My Love/ Rock ‘n’ Roll Feeling –Novola NOX 220 (1974 Spain)
Sounding like Anita Garbo on helium crossed with Minnie Mouse, the lanky haired Argentine Norah belts out both sides in a very individual and total singular fashion. The Battle For My Love is built upon a frenetic tempo with squidgy Moog and sports a tremendously catchy tune. You’ve got to hand it to the song writers for recognising a good chorus when they wrote one and returning to it over and over like an infernal groundhog day leitmotiv. The backing vocals are a real hoot –check out the Hispanic waiter overtones which elevate the chorus into a curse that will engrain itself into your brain (Battle, it’s the battle, it’s the battle for your LOVE!); I bet you’ll be singing along and alone, when you least expect it...The B side is a more straight forward crunching Glam affair with its HEYs and is very similar to Bobbie McGee's Rock ‘n’ Roll People with a dose of Sparks, loud proud and vehemently on the Hell raising side. Bloody Norah!

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