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?

Hear a full version of Oh-Bah-Um-Dee-Dum

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.

Hear a full version of Hey America America

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!

Hear a full version of She Moans



Hear a full version of Bolweevil

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?

Hear a full version of Rock ‘N Roll Queen

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!

Hear a full version of Firewater

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...

Hear a full version of Hold on To Your Fire

Hear a full version of Doctor Fantastic

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!

Hear a full version of The Battle For My Love

Hear a full version of Rock ‘n’ Roll Feeling

Tony Savage Band - Bye Bye Bluebird

Tony Savage Band –Bye Bye Bluebird/ Faster Than Lightning –Living Sound LS 102901 (1977 Aus)

Talk about picking an obscure Vanda & Young track...I mean choosing the B side of Haffy’s Whiskey Sour’s Shot In The Head takes some beating in the obscurity stakes.
Of Tony Savage himself I can’t find out anything...Unconfirmed rumours speak of a band winning a competition resulting in the recording of this single and/or perhaps a tenuous link with TMG. One clue is that the recordings took place at Atlantic Studio which forges a link to the Aussie Surf band The Atlantics (the recordings were also engineered by Peter Hood). The Atlantics also had their own Chicago imprint in the 70s...Please fill in the gaps!

Bye Bye Blue Bird is a bright,rocking take of the number with the band sounding supremely confident. Faster Than Lightning (written by Tony Savage) is a pounding Bar Boogie number sporting a loud electric piano with the amusing lyrics conveying the bragging attitude of a 14 year old Sharpie...

Hear a full version of Bye Bye Bluebird

Hear a full version of Faster Than Lightning

Johnny Dick -The Warrior

Johnny Dick –The Warrior/ She Was My Babe –Albert Productions AP-10949 (1975 Aus)

Johnny Dick seems to have sat on many a rotating drum stool, having drummed with the Billy Thorpe’s Aztecs, the La De Da's and Stevie Wright among others. Check his bio above.
The Warrior was JD’s first and seemingly only solo outing. Produced by the mighty Vanda & Young team, The Warrior is a fine entry in the unrepentant, un-PC Red Skin Gimmick Glam sub-genre. More convincing than Adam and The Ants, once it gets going the chorus just rips. Oooh-Ah-Oooh-Oooh-Ah! (words of wisdom indeed...) Johnny Dick certainly raises my tepee!
More obscure Vanda & Young coming soon. Thanks to Luke of http://wallabybeat.blogspot.com/ for turning me on to this corker (check out the Sparkle and Beaut singles!)

Hear a full version of The Warrior

Linda Kendrick –Sympathy For The Devil

Linda Kendrick –Sympathy For The Devil/ He Wrote Me A Letter –Dawn DNS. 1063 (1974 UK)

Linda Kendrick –Sympathy For The Devil/ He Wrote Me A Letter –Pye PY 3106 (1974 French issue)

Sympathy For The Devil is an overblown but fun production by Lynton Guest and Jimmie Edwards (Stumpy, Washington Flyers). Although toned down lyrically, Linda’s version features a choir, lush orchestration along with neat harpsichord runs and Stonesian slide. There is also an edited demo version which in order to shorten the running time; cuts out the first verse thus emasculating its impact and flow. Linda later went all Plastic New Wave-y with her take on Stupid Cupid.

Hear a full version of Sympathy For The Devil

It Means Nothing To Me...

Oh...VIENNA
Just back from a jaunt through 3 former Eastern Block countries, ending up in Vienna where I got the opportunity to check out the record stores... And boy what a great city and the shops are full to the brim with vinyl!
Checked out 6 stores and five of them were great for finds. I would have needed more than my allocated 6 hours and I only scratched the surface in many of them.
The main shops of note were Moses Records, where they was a huge selection of cheap singles and the amazing institution which is Teuchler. The shop has existed as a family business for 60 years and the current owner Jean-Marc has been running it for 40 years. There are 1000s of singles and it took more about 3 hours to get through ¾ of them plus the stock in the shop represents only 30% of the vinyl they hold...the mind boggles. Scout Records also had a fine selection as did Music Und So. Those 4 shops also had very friendly staff and owners. Anyhow I ended up with nearly 50 singles, some of them still unheard (probably a fare share of turkeys...), some favourites –Stud Leather –Cut Loose (German pic sleeve), Matchbox –Rod, Tracey Dean plus some spares...

Only a few hours before I depart these shores again...stay tuned. The next review will be up in a couple of days

Badge –Sing Don’t Speak

Badge –Sing Don’t Speak/California Saga –Pagoda 256 (1973 Argentina)

Argentina? Yes, I have picked up a few interesting ones from this country as there were a clutch of Glam-tinted releases at the time. One particularity is that several of them were covers of the hits-of-the day –check out Albatross’s English AND Spanish cover of Abrazame Y Complaceme (c’mon...easy to work out...). Another particularity is that the Argentine 45 in fact often played at 33.3rpm! Although Argentina had a healthy underground scene, Glitter did not gain a strong foothold in Las Pampas, some like Norah had to move to Spain in order to fully accomplish their stomping mission (more on her soon). John Bright’s I’ve Tried It is suitably raucous, but its country of origin is uncertain as is Sunday's who released the splendid Hard Way To Go. Still, there is bound to be more to be discovered from Argentina and South America in general.
Anyhow Badge’s cover of Blackfoot Sue’s 2nd hit is pretty credible, it has a nice bouncing groove and the fuzz is fuzzy in a matchbox-kind-of- manner, and is on a par with the Italian Multiple Sound’s Ultra fuzzed up version (I need that one!!!). Badge released at least two singles as they also covered Blackfoot Sue’s Standing In The Road. It is still unclear if they ever covered Glitter Obituary...

Hear a full version of Sing Don’t Speak

Bear Brothers –Bondiago

Bear Brothers- Bondiago/Red Shoe Trucken- Dart ART 2023 (1973 UK)

Bondiago is an interesting Fuzzed up crossover semi-instrumental track which sits at the cusp of Glam, Prog and Pounding Discotheque fodder (1973 mode). There’s even a hint of Riders on The Storm in the keyboard motif. It all ends up sounding a bit like Galahad with bushy moustaches on the soundtrack of an obscure Spaghetti Western... On Red Shoe Trucken, the Brothers up the stomping, again the mix of genres is similar with chants and prominent Hammond and it’s all very hypnotically repetitive. Producer/song writer Keith Bonsoir, mainly produced Reggae and Disco, but also produced The Glammy Run For Your Life single by Bo –Jangle.
In Germany, where this record was released in a fine looking sleeve featuring the sprouting brothers themselves, the slides ended up being switched, but were they German as some have stated? Or a UK duo? Five years later the Bear Brothers would commit the collectable 12 inch Zsha Zsha Zsha, also produced by Keith Bonsoir, but Funky Disco does not warrant losing any more dead skin over ...

Hear a full version of Bondiago

Hear a full version of Red Shoe Trucken

Limonaya –Walk, Walk, Walk

Limonaya –Walk, Walk, Walk/Waiting For The Summer –CNR 141.286 (1974 NL)

Starting off like a near approximation of the Tigers on Vaseline, the track then turns into a mostly straight ahead rock affair. Not stupendous, but catchy and certainly a worthwhile addition to the eclectic CNR catalogue. Haarlem’s Limonaya featured ex Bintangs Ronald Krom with Rob ten Bokum , Rob van Donselaar and Aad Hooft, so I’m not too sure as to why only two band members appear on the sleeve. It seems that Walk, Walk, Walk was the only Limonaya release

Hear a full version of Walk, Walk, Walk

My Version is Better than Yours Part 12: Tim Moore vs. The Dirty Angels –Rock and Roll Love Letter

Tim Moore - Rock and Roll Love Letter/The Night We First Sailed Away -Polydor 2001689 (1975 UK)

Dirty Angels - Rock and Roll Love Letter/Same –Sire SAA 719 (1975 US)

OK, perhaps the Bay City Rollers had the best produced version, although the subtle chord change hook at the top of the chorus is kind of Rolled Over http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNLdOx5zcRs

The cover by the usually anaemic Records suffers from plodding drums (BTW, I am not completely down on The Records –Starry Eyes is a classic song best enjoyed in its album version due to the fine 12 string overdub).

But here we have the original version by Tim Moore. It is the longest version by far with a nice dense and compressed sound. The Dirty Angels cover oozes rock and roll attitude and a perfect US adaptation and a non-LP track to boot. If you don’t already know the Dirty Angels, their Tell Me is a Powerpop classic and is available on both their albums. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-eT-qk2efE

Whatever the version -Rock and Roll Love Letter is the perfect Powerpop tune!

Hear a full version of Tim Moore



Hear a full version of The Dirty Angels

Beadfreak –Crazy Motorcycle Freak

Beadfreak –Eve of Destruction/ Crazy Motorcycle Freak –Rotten Rat Records R-1001/1002 (197? US)

Note quite Uge, Wild Man Fisher or The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, but Beedfreak does his best to up the stakes on this Novelty biker number. The gravely atonal vocals, make the record stand out but also grate, making this a pretty much a one-off experience. A much better record would have ensued if the over present harmonica had been replaced by a fat fuzz...The Rotten Rat label’s address is in Brooklyn, so someone must have info on this release.
Eve of Destruction is also pretty much out there, but less so when considering that the gruff vocals are not a million miles away from Barry McGuire’s delivery, although eve of destruction comes out more like heave of destruction...Again someone/somewhere must be sitting on a few boxes of this one, still dreaming of a bright empty highway ahead...

Hear a full version of Crazy Motorcycle Freak

Hear a full version of Eve of Destruction

Paper Lace -So What If I Am

Paper Lace –So What If I Am/ Himalayan Lullaby –Philips 6000176 (1975 German issue)

I never thought that I would ever review a single by Paper Lace...but what if I am?
Looking like the outright winners from an all night Bavarian fisting competition, the normally clean and commercially viable Paper Lace tough it up on this non-hit outing from 1975. Rarely has a record sounded as much like its picture sleeve as this one. Obviously posed and contrived to gain entry with the Boot Boy crowd, So What If I Am is built upon a convincing stomp, with though guy vocals and silly synth bleebs sprinkled on top. It all ends up sounding rather marvellous and if it were not Paper Lace, this would be high on many a wants list, where it firmly belongs...Now if only they were sporting steel capped DMs under their elephant flares...

Hear a full version of So What If I Am

My Single collection

I have been attempting to somehow manage my record collection a bit better by entering my main single collection onto an Excel spread. There are 2 main tabs, the main one with Glam, Bubblegum, Powerpop and a few Punk singles and the one I am currently updating with the Garage Punk and Girl Group singles.
Please note these are not spare singles that I am selling or trading, but you are welcome to have a perusal. Please let me know if there are any glaring omissions on the Glam/Bubblegum section which I must own!
Also if there are any particular reviews you would like to see based on the spreadsheet, I will consider these requests, but I have to be in the right mood!
The link to download the spreadsheet is at the top of my links.
But you can also access it through the link above

Not sure why I have 15 Reparata (with/or without Delrons)...

I used to buy records, then I started to collect them, now I just accumulate...

Have fun!

My Version is Better Than Yours Part 11: P.J. Hollywood vs. Dominik -Rocket

P.J. Hollywood –Rocket/Telephone –Movie Play SN 20.917 (1974 Spanish issue)

Domink –Rocket/Telefon –Music Records 13576 (1974 German issue)

Or a case of my Rocket will go higher than yours...But both versions use the same backing tracks (produced by Peter Weinkauf) and both issues have the same B side, so not too sure of the story here.

Prior to the work he was most famous for –Donna Summer, Janet Jackson, Elton John, Tina Turner, etc...Pete Bellotte released the stomping Moonshiner on Decca using “Tracey Dean” as his pseudonym (check out: http://crazeekids-music.blogspot.com/2008/10/tracey-dean-moonshiner-1974.html ) ...and now potentially this version of Mud’s Rocket.

This Spanish sleeve actually features the same photo that was used on the cover of Moonshiner and his proud moustachioed look is on a par with his sometime partner Giorgio Moroder...Could it be that the Spanish art department just borrowed the photo from the Tracey Dean sleeve and that there’s no Bellotte involvement here?

Anyhow much is less known of Teutonic love God Dominik ( or was he a front?). His version uses the same backing track, but it’s kind of a blast to hear it in German. Below you will find both the German and English Dominik versions. The English version was released in France on Eurodisc, so the choice is yours if you have the time and inclination...Although the conclusion may be that both English versions are pretty much the same apart from the end edit, so is it just a case of with or without a moustache?

Next someone will tell me that Peter Weinkauf is in fact Pete Bellotte...then I will really be confused!

Hear a full version of P.J. Hollywood’s Rocket

Hear a full version of Dominik’s Rocket (in German)



Hear a full version of Dominik’s Rocket (in English)

Tiger –The Bomb + Tigers on Vaseline –The John Scene

Tiger –Hot Amsterdam/ The Bomb –Philips 6012 376 (NL 1973 )

Ladies and Gentlemen...time to unleash this one...here is the third Tigers on Vaseline single and in particular the more Proto than Punk –THE BOMB. Yes more Punk before Punk featuring singer Arthur Kolkert’s Eccles impersonation over a super charged guitar onslaught supplied by producer Boudewijn de Groot ...and it’s only the B side! Would you believe it also features a timbales break?...Hot Amsterdam finds the Tigers in Jacques Brel meets Liza Minelli pre-war Cabaret mode....It seems like anything went in Hot Amsterdam...

Beryl sighs cos her eyes won’t turn out a surprise,
It’s her husband who’s topping the show!
He looks smart, Super-Tart as his mother would snarl,
Suffragette of the ever-go-round,
Airport macs deal in sacks, giggling monotone tupes,
by the same time Bill does the custom-desk,
But a way of life opens when he’s lost in the dozen
Of all Factor Maxed Angels of Hell!

What?????? The lyrics even puts The Frenchies’ Lola Cola or Dillinger’s Coming to shame...

Oh yes and there’s more as I have reinstated the missing sound file of the incomparable The John Scene (see original review here: http://purepop1uk.blogspot.com/2008/12/tigers-on-vaseline-john-scene.html ) and added the B side, the lunacy which is What My Hairdo?
Could someone please confirm that their first single What You Will/ Alabama Shake actually exists!!!!

Hear a full version of The Bomb

Hear a full version of Hot Amsterdam

Hear full versions of The John Scene and What My Hairdo

Pax –All The Way To Memphis

Pax –All The Way To Memphis/Baby I Love You –Reca RS 2059 (197? DK)

Let’s stay in the rotten state of Denmark for this one. Tiger, Walkers, Children, Zig Zag Band or Mabel were not alone as I now bring you Pax... Apart from their accents, these bands definitely had something going with their neat and clean hair. Yes they rocked out, but their stylist and a bottle of good conditioner were never far behind. So let’s hear it for Carl Erik Simonsen, Dan Olsen, Jan Ploug, Michael Johansen and Claus Johansen. At first I was hoping that this was going a miss titled cover of Mott’s All The Way From Memphis, or even better an answer song. Well perhaps it is, I’m not too sure, but it’s a straight ahead rockin’ little number spruced up with some Glammy HEYs and those peculiar lo-fi synth beeps... No great production values here though, as we are talking small label, but All The Way To Memphis is a perfunctory rock tune that still fits right in on Purepop...although The Walkers have nothing to really worry about. So -what else is there in ol' DK?

Hear a full version of All The Way To Memphis

Tiger – I Love You

Tiger – I Love You/Jeannie –BASF 05 15574-3 (1975 DK)

I Love you was the second (and last?) single from Denmark’s Tiger. It is taken off their fine LP Superman’s Band and although not quite as life affirming as their first single Crazy, it stands firmly on its own merit in its quirkiness and general pizzazz. The Toy-like synth combined with the near-Bolan twinned with Steve Harley vocals and minimal DIY arrangements, makes this one charming little keeper. Nifty sleeve eh? They certainly had it down pat in Denmark in 1975...

Hear a full version of I Love You

Zakatek –Get Your Gun

Zakatek –Get Your Gun/Gotta Runaway –Bell 1335 (UK 1973)

Preposterous and overblown ode to the plight of the red man as only an English middle class white woman could write. Get Your Gun makes The Garnets' Indian Uprising sound positively credible and insightful!
This was Lenny Zakatek’s second single after being discovered by Linsey De Paul and it packs an incredulous punch. Dig the arrangement, sentiment, and spoken interlude... what an opus. Lenny is still playing these days, but I can’t quite imagine him singing this one as an encore, then again I could be wrong...

Hear a full version of Get Your Gun

Thanks to Ram for the photo of Lenny. Taken from the German issue of the single...

Stonehenge –Stonehenge

Stonehenge –Stonehenge/Groundunder –Bumble GE 118 (UK 1972)

The heavily Hammond infused Stonehenge is at the cusp of Library, Prog and Heavy Rock with a certain hum-along quality over a Proto Boogie/Glam chug with the intro’s crashing chords returning strategically throughout the track. Not quite Witch Hunt by Frog, put pretty cool in its obscurity. The B side is another instrumental written and produced by De Wolfe regular Barry Stoller (AKA Rhett Stoller) who wrote the Match of The Day Theme! Groundunder is Nice ‘n Heavy and highlights his dual octave guitar arrangement. Bumble is a fun label to collect with its mix of novelty and outright pop items. Barry Blue (Green) was involved with at least two releases on the label which are worth seeking out: Tank and Cartwright.

Hear a full version of Stonehenge

Hear a full version of Groundunder

Blood Chains –Suzie

What with the Divshare sound clip issues and having recently picked up a second copy, here is a good occasion to rediscover this single by the mysterious Blood Chains. The A side is a Roger Holman/Simon May composition. Since my original review (September 2006), I would say that my appreciation of it has increased by quite a few notches...or perhaps my quality threshold has dropped in the last 4 years...? You'll be the judge –see the original post below. More Holman/May coming next...

Blood Chains – Suzie/Tired Guy Of The Road –Telefunken 6.11740 (1975 German issue)

With a name like Blood Chains you could expect visions of dripping ripped flesh being torn apart by Cenobite hooks…but then again I sometimes have “high” expectations! But no, you will have to make do with a trio of dorky teens frolicking on swings. It’s a pretty good record, Suzie is medium-paced stomper with a good T. Rex-style lead doubled by sax. There’s an underlying Rubber Bullets rhythmic synth, but the production is a bit weak and the track never really takes off. The B side is more like a rockier Flintlock track (or a wimpier Jook). Once again the potential is not fully realised and the group certainly don’t live up to the promise that their name may suggest. This is a German issue, but the group and production team seem to be English.

Hear a full version of Suzie

Hear a full version of Tired Guy On The Road