A bit of a Dutch mini-supergroup (featuring various ex Brainbox, Cobra, Machine and After Tea members) who only managed this one single during their 72-74 existence. Easy Come, Easy Go is a delightful overtly pop number that didn’t know shame; repeating its chorus over and over…Anyhow it sticks in the mind and fits right in with the best in Dutch 70s Pop with a sprinkling of late 60s Kinks and early T. Rex with a very evocative lead vocal and a mighty hook. The B side is more dreamy with some nice backward guitar.
Primevil –Too Dead To Live/Fantasies –LM 7144 (1972 US)
Yes, this is the same Indiana combo who released the coveted Smokin' Bats at Campton’s LP in 1974. This is the group 2 years previous with a rarely documented self-released single. Although the B side was later re-recorded for Smokin' Bats, Too Dead to Live is exclusive to this release. Too Dead To Live (great title) nearly lives up to expectation. It’s a raucous basic Riff -Heavy Rock-Blues Work-Out with a good line in twiddling leads and mouth organ exhalations. Supposedly the band were not too enamoured with the sound on the single and destroyed most copies
Image –Witchcraft 71/Hot Blood –Chaparral C1306 (1971 US)
Frog-Witch Hunt/ Living Dead –Jam 39 (1973 UK)
70s Exploito-Occult Fun this time... Here we place a British entry by John Cameron which was featured in Psychomania…(you know the film - wild youth biker gang commit suicide to come back as the Living Dead under the gleeful eye of Beryl Read) vs an obscure US entry that screams out to have featured in a movie. I couldn’t find anything on Image; just that they were from Illinois. The pressing is poor (all 3 copies I have heard have noisy intros), but the track builds nicely and goes into Heavy Psych mode with a wild manic African Black Magic bit. HEAVY!
Transfer –Play It Cool/How Can You Change Me –Self Release - S80 24809 (1974 US)
Time to name a mini genre here…. I could just about file this under "Records that sound like The Flamin’ Groovies" (Flamingo period), as it has that tight gritty rhythm guitar groove very much like FrÜt’s Snatch n’ Grab It in fact. Other tracks in the genre could include Midwest’s Heaviness or Homegrown’s Loaded. It’s not heavy enough to be classified as a Bonehead Cruncher, it’s not Rural Rock, but it stands at the tail end of Garage with a tight and streamlined sound featuring a noticeable Stones influence. Anyhow not much can be found on Transfer, they seem to have operated out of Duluth Minnesota and that’s about it, unless someone out there knows more.
Thanks to Collin for another hot tip. Enjoy!
Onwards and forwards with the third release by Michigan teen sensations Dwarf. We are now 2 years on from Gotta Get Louderhttp://purepop1uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/dwarf-gotta-get-louder.html and the boys would soon turn into men, but were still a long way from being drink legal. Nick Piunti’s Another Chance has a certain air of disillusionment about it. Although a vibrant and a great Proto Punk’ tune, you could initially be led to believe that the boys were nearing burn out (at 17!!!). However, the song itself was more about not fitting in and a plea to be heard above Disco and the Prog AOR morass prevalent at the time. Nick explains:“I wrote that song because Disco was in full tilt and I thought that rock bands were being replaced by DJ.'s, hence we weren't gigging as much as we would have liked… I think the band was in a bit of a lull because we didn't sound like any of the bands that were on the radio at the time. Boston, Kansas, Journey, we didn't connect with that kind of thing. And it was before I discovered Tom Petty, Elvis Costello and others that I could relate to…”
Melodic and riff strong the single is further enhanced by a sublimely chaotic delay that provides an interesting mish-mash of sounds and makes it quite unique.
Terry Williams -Wig Wam Bam/Where Did All The Good Times Go? – MGM K14611( US 1973)
I don’t know what’s more absurd – the fact that this solo effort by the lead guitarist from KENNY ROGERS & THE FIRST EDITION exists OR the fact that it’s so good. …cos it’s both: extant, absurd and beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt essential.
Ex-NEW CHRISTY MINSTRELSTerry Williams, by 1973, after more than five years of touring and mind-boggling strings of consecutive hits, had begun to show ‘signs of middle age with weight gain and patches of gray in his beard…Although he made up for it by wilder dress and hair.’ Not my words, people, but the words of Wikipedia dot com.
So, in whatever burrito-truck-funk Williams found himself in, he – after releasing a few other solo singles – found himself in the sunken-living-room clutches of perpetual KIM FOWLEY companion, MICHAEL LLOYD. One can only guess that it was Lloyd who initially hipped Terry to THE SWEET’s year-old hit; perhaps suggesting that it might go down a storm with the hot-panted and panting jailbait crowds crowding the miniscule mirrored dance floor at Rodney’s English Disco. In any event, he was wrong and it didn’t and Terry went back to Kenny Roger’s Roasters where he continues to check in on what conditions audiences’ conditions are in to this day. That said, this song more than belongs in the pantheon of great U.S. Glam Rock-n-Roll with great Skydog FLAMIN’ GROOVIES’ guitar and exquisite production by Lloyd. If you thought THRILL’s take on LOU REED’s ‘Hangin’ Round’ was a reductive improvement, then ladies and gentlemen welcome to Heaven.Oh. I didn’t include the 45’s b-sde as it’s a soppy ballad later covered by DONNY OSMOND (real talk). You’re welcome!
Hear a full version of Wig Wam Bam
Thanks to infrequent collaborator Collin the enlightened and inspirational scribe for digging this one up and writing about it so eloquently. Visit his bloghttp://www.braveoldwaves.blogspot.co.uk/
I Drive (Superstar) –Castle in The Sky/Coming on Home –BN 45-114 (1974 Spain)
I Drive were an Altringham based band who took a trip to Germany and ending up staying there when their van broke down! As I Drive they had a collectable LP released on Metronome in 1972, then for some reason two band members relocated to Spain where this fine single was recorded and released.
Castle in The Sky has a bit of everything, but somehow doesn’t lose its sense of direction. It has a firm identity and features great playing with ample riffage. Of particular note is the lead guitar sound which has a nice slapback delaywhich really comes into its own over the two sides. Castle in The Sky is probably the stand out part Hard Rock, Glam (you can just about hear the eye make-up) with a sprinkling of not too invasive prog. Coming on Home is a sturdy T. Rex type rocker again featuring fine guitar and some Move-like bass lines.
Read the story herehttp://www.city-erlangen.de/graham/drive.htm
Desperated Company –Higher/Can Somebody Tell Me –Foon F4535026 (1977 Belgium)
Higher was the first of the two singles that Belgium’s Desperated Company released in 1977, but Higher is their stand out moment being a prime example of 60s Beat influenced Powerpop sounding like something that could have easily been released on Titan (or on Outrage) at the time. The B side is also cool, melodic but with a more straight ahead Boogie flavour.
At least 2 members of the band are still active today as Desperated Company still ply their trade as a cover band servicing the local Belgian population at private functions, clubs and other forms of merriment…
Scorpion –It’s All Over Now/Wolf’s Mouth Song –Green Light/MNW 0020-MNW-37 S (1971 Sweden)
One year on from the Kim Fowley infused I Am The Scorpion LP, Bo Anders Larsson returns with this two sided Killer single. Kim Fowley doesn’t appear to be present this time, but both sides are strident examples of top notch early 70s rock at its best. It’s All Over now is the Valentinos/Stones classic, although credited to Wally Whyton who recorded a song of the same name in the late 50s. Anyhow the version here is full of proto punk venom, wild yet fully realised in its own setting. Wolf’s Mouth Song is a heavy stoner instrumental with hard guitar to the fore which positively screeches by the end. Hot stuff!
Just a gentle 7 hour walk around the stalls today...
Some nice if not midblowing stuff...BUT
.... -There is the little matter of this unreleased Phil Spector acetate from 1966 which featured in the Luclle Ball in London TV special...It looks like it was one of only 4 acetates made...
You can watch a newly edited clip from the show and hear the song loud and clear. It's a great tune and performance with a wonderful wall of sound and a near Pet Sounds middle bit. It appears that this is Phil Spector singing himself
Reporting back from Utrecht where the first day was not always the usual fair... First things first. The records. One thing that has changed in the last couple of years, it that it has become more and more unlikely to pick up cheap Glam/Proto Punk singles. There are still plenty of cheap singles, but where you could unearth gems before, the word is now out and you are now likely to find them in the €20 -€50 bracket. Some dealers even have Junkshop Glam sections on their stalls. Still there is plenty of great stuff out there although you may now have to pay a price.
A great mixture of classic Garage Punk (Haunted / Oxford Circle and Freakbeat (The Dakotas' The Spider and The Fly) along with great Supachief and Jerusalem pic sleeves. The choice of the bunch might well be Scorpion's It's All over Now/Wolf's Mouth Song (Sweden)
At Last The 1958 Rock and Roll Show features Ian Hunter on bass.
Some more Glammy stuff including 2 entries from East Germany, fierce Gallic Punk and the pre Fickle Pickle single by Samsun. Particularly nice is the I Drive Superstar single. Thanks to Mauro who got a full cheese fondue together behind a record stall (with Absinthe!) which provided much relief from the Frikadelen and frites...
God how time flies. November seems like it was only a few weeks ago...
Anyhow I fly off tomorrow. I will have time to check out the small outdoor fair on Thursday then it's back to the wonderful madness from 7am on Friday. There are bound to be some prized hot ticket items with the Swedish mob bringing back a good chunk of Michel Terstegen's collection. So will it be a case of 10 expensive buys or 100 cheap ones?...let's see
Carriage Company –The Beasts/Come Along –CBS 4144 (1969 Belgium)
The Beasts was the first of 5 singles released by this great Belgian outfit. It is also the most far out of their releases. The Beasts is just full to the brim of ideas from the Biblical opening to Fuzzed out Heavy Rock through Easybeat chord changes all the way to the Sleazy Blues/end Freak Out. The Beasts is an incredible trip, but God knows what they were trying to do. The singer does a wonderful job out-taxing Wally Tax and shines across both sides while the guitar playing is cutting and a model of controlled lunacy. The B side Come Along is slightly more sane, but still a raucous affair featuring again some great guitar and further tempo shifts
Rippa –Witches Brew/Same –Rocky Coast Records RC 19762 (1976 US)
Here are the Galahad boys Gerry Morris and Tony Atkins on what must be the most obscure entry in their catalogue. Although a bit overblown; the production values apparent in Rocket Summer still linger. It is a strange Heavy Rock/Glam concoction, with a severe case of–“OK we have this new mixing desk and all this outboard –how far can we go? Oh that’s handy, there is a horn section in the next studio...” I suspect drugs and too much time to mix. Enjoy
This is probably one of the most basic, shambolic yet gripping slices of Bonehead you will ever find. The playing is just so…well crap, but somehow riveting, it’s just like watching a car crash, or in this case a band implode, in front of your eyes, well ears. COP KILLER!!!! Are these a bunch of bikers who had free time in a pal’s studio? Did they ever get to even rehearse this opus? With names “Jew” on lead guitar, ”Mad Dog” on bass, “Biggy” and “Sticks” on drums they give Peppermint Ridge a good run for their money and deserve your full attention. This is actually the B side to Driving Pusing (sic) a gooey piece of rambling stoner absurdness by what might be a different bunch of people. Ah those mysteries…
Clapham Junction –Emily on Sunday/Good Time Music –Du Monde SDM-309 (1970 Australia)
Emily on Sunday is a classic piece of Aussie Freakbeat/Powerpop with crashing Who-like powerchords and Anglophile inflexions similar in approach to what the Raspberries would emulate later on. It’s not a full frontal assault, but a great performance making all the right melodic noises. Clapham Junction were from Sydney and this was their sole release with singer James Willebrant then moving on to Toby Jug. Emily on Sunday is backed an OK cover the Katz/Kasenetz workhorse Good Time Music
Hear a full version of Emily on Sunday
Hear a full version of Good Time Music
Here's a nice clipping provided by Robyn Cahill (Tony's (Purple Hears/Easybeats) sister)
Cagney –Gypsy Sunrise/Sun on The Run-Cagney 6093-198 (197? US)
Apologies for all the crackling on this one, but it’s worth it. Gypsy Sunrise is a fabulous Bubblegum tune played with loud conviction with a fuzzed-up yet tasteful guitar player ably supported by a monolithic cowbell Imagine a garage version of Boston attempting the Archies catalogue... It’s tuneful, rockin’ and a real classic in my book. No information on this one (Mark Dutton get in touch!) but it’s near perfect in construction and execution.
Gidians League -Hey! Did you Know You’ve Got Your Face On Upside Down/You’ve Got a Mind of Your Own –Parlophone R 5933 (1972 UK)
Let’s stick then with Robin Goodfellow (see review below) for this bouncy Bubblegum ditty he wrote and produced prior to signing to Pye and being relegated to Dawn. OK, it is a lightweight piece of fluff but a most enjoyable one thanks to its catchy chorus. It harks back to the pure Bubblegum sound of ’68 but adds a quintessential Englishness to the proceedings. What a great title anyhow...
Hear a full version of Hey! Did you Know You’ve Got Your Face On Upside Down
Robin Goodfellow -You Know Me Now/I'm Suddenly Alive -Dawn DNS 1057 (1974 UK)
Here’s a great
classic unheralded UK 70s pop single with a nod to Glam. It reminds as much of
Hetherington as it does Marc Bolan, that guitar is pure T. Rex in any case. You Know Me Now is
damn catchy tune with a nice and bouncy production and the B side is also cool too. Robin had another earlier single
on Pye (Why Am I Waiting) which is nearly as good while leaning more
torwards David Bowie. I haven’t found much relevant information on the Net, so
if anyone want to fill in the bits. You're more than welcome...
Sugar –Hot Damn/Let It Roll –Lady Records UR-898 (1976 US)
Driven by a gleaming cowbell, Hot Damn is a thumping piece of Riff Rock leaning towards Bonehead Boogie with Glam overtones provided by the camp vocals. These guys were not Glitter clad cross-dressers, but the singer comes across like a truck driver in stilettos with his amusing delivery. The lyrics are a real hoot -Good ol’ boy ethics on how Atlanta boys only want to rock while dissing non-Southerners and wussy English accents. Hot Damn is a joyfully dumb yet juicy Georgia peach.
US –He’s Coming Back/You’ll Never Know –Straita Head Records (1975 US)
This looks to be a San Diego band who enlisted Johnny Almond (Ex Zoot Money/John Mayall and half of Mark –Almond) as a guest on the A side of this single. Not sure why 20 seconds of Sax warrants such star billing…Anyhow -He’s Coming Back has a heavy early 70s Who influence, but is even closer to Side Three/Overnight SensationRaspberries or Artful Dodger stuff. Enjoy the stunning lead guitar over the ending…Very tasteful. You’ll Never Know is Almond-free and it’s a blistering high energy rocker again with a bit of Raspberries thrown in with some top lead guitar. Straita Head was a production company and a well-known Hair Metal club in the San Diego are in the 80s, but you can safely date this single to the mid-70s as Johnny Almond signed to ABC in 1975. A killer double-sider.
Ian Stuart Lane and The Davelto Swingers - Don't Rock Me Baby (If You're Fine And Fair)/ See What You Can Do With Your Life -Greenwich Recording Company GSS 103 (1972 UK)
Here is a sublime piece of early 70’s UK lushness recalling Sunflower era Beach Boys with some unexpected chord changes. It also has a certain Spectorian elegance in its production values which predates some of Roy Wood’s Wizzard’s releases. There isn’t much about Ian Stuart Lane or his swingers to be found, although he sang backing vocals on Cherry Vanilla’s Bad Girl LP 6 years further down the line.
Bill Case –I’m Your Hero/ You Gotta Know –Bellaphon BF 18529 (1977 German issue)
Here is a weird one, created by Alan Blakley and “Chip” Hawkes as an extra-curricular Tremoloes excursion. Slip inside the cover and you will find two striking examples of top notch Crunching Glam. I’m Your Hero is a real stunner; a wild intense performance enlivened further by some fine specimens of Moog noodlings. Gary Glitter joining Black Sabbath channeling Chicory Tip. You Gotta Know starts in a quieter yet meaty fashion. It has a certain T. Rex meets Led Zep feel and really rocks out by the end. Both songs seem curiously out of date for 1977 and all the better for it. I believe this only got a German release and I can’t just see some Bellaphon A&R guy complaining with the lack of Punk potential on the label and coming across the sleeve photo in a draw. Ja Ja das ist Punk! So I wouldn’t be surprised if this project had been hanging around for a couple of years. As for Bill Case? Who knows…but what a midriff! It’s nice to know that there are still oddities such as this one still laying around out there
Factory –Time Machine/ Castle on The Hill –OAK RGJ 718 (1971 UK)
Here is a real MONSTER that doesn’t know when to quit. This is essential Heavy Psych cum Bonehead Crunching Proto Punk madness…Think of The Stooges if born in an East Sussex barn fed on exclusively on fermented scrumpy and ‘shrooms. The proceedings start all quiet and subdued then it all literally burst out of the vinyl with blistering lead breaks and a crazed lead vocal falling somewhere between a Jesse Hector and a goat-like Roger Chapman. The whole performance approaches the grandeur of Open Mind’s Magic Potion, only here Time Machine just goes on and on and on; squeezing as much sleazy noise and prolonging the madness until it reaches its delirious fuzzed-out ending. This Factory is not to be mistaken for the Factory who issued the psych gem Path Through The Forest, this lot were formed around the nucleus of Andy and Tony Qunta with Lol Cooksey and Geoff Peckham. Based in Hastings; Factory were in operation between 1970 and 1976. Although encouraged at different times by Robin Gibb and Roger Daltrey, Time Machine was their sole release. The B side is tamer, yet a fine example of early 70s Brit Psych owing a large debt to 1968.. There is plenty more information and photos of the band scattered around this great websitehttp://ninebattles.com
Burning -I'm Burning/ Johnny B. Goode -Utopia 42520 (1975 French Issue)
This is the last Spanish installment on Purepop for a while and this time we feature the English language version of Burning's first single "Estoy Ardiendo". Burning is a long standing Spanish institution, but to these Anglo-Saxon ears this is their finest moment mixing Crunching Glam with straight-ahead Hard Rock moves. The B side is no more than perfunctory.
Norah –Nobody Gotta Be Home Tonight/ Let’s Do It Again-Novalo NOX 229 (1974 Spain)
Let’s stay in Spain for this 2nd helping of screeching from crazed Argentine nutter Norah. You may remember the previous episode, if not go herehttp://purepop1uk.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/norah-battle-for-my-love.html and return afterwards. Anyhow Nobody Gotta Be Home Tonight finds our punked out Chipmunk in fine fettle, balancing a tango based backing with awkward male backing vocals and other craziness…Just what were they thinking of? The B side is more straightforward and it’s a rousing piece of Quatro-inspired pounding Glam with scuzzy Moog, male waiter vocals and the usual vocal histrionics…Olé!
Hear a full version of Nobody Gotta Be Home Tonight
Siglo XX –Algo Que Nos Paso/Cerca Del Rio –Ariola 14.904 (1970 Spain)
Although there were several outfits sporting the same name, this single seems to be the only release by these Catalonian groovers. Although A side is pretty lame as it’s a cover of Chris Andrew’s Think It All Over, the B side is where it all happens. It’s a vibrant, heavy and infectious performance, with loud guitars enveloped in a great production wrap by Tony Ronald (Sigfried Andre Den Boer Kramer), just dig the cowbell and harmonies... The song sounds familiar (written by W. Erwin adapted A. Alpin) but I can’t place it. If any Spanish/Catalan brethren can help –please fill in the gaps
Suck –Aimless Lady/The Whip-Parlophone SPD 3027 (1971 South Africa)
With South Africa in the spotlight at the moment, here is another angle of kicking against the pricks with Hairy Freak mob SUCK. It seems that they had originally intended to replace the “S” with “F”, which would have curtailed their activities even further as Suck only recorded 1 LP (Time to Suck) in a 6 hour session and this was their only single. The album was mostly covers and the A side is the cover of a Grand Funk B side. It’s a wild and heavy affair and cranks up the power tenfold. The B side The Whip is the only band original and the heaviness reigns supreme with top lead guitars and tons of reverb. It’s a real shame the band disbanded after this without further any recordings as they would have been real heavy contenders on the international scene.
Jeremiah –Do It To Ya/Starlight Stampede –Artesia ACA 6562 (1975 US)
Do It To Ya was the lone record from this Houston band who pressed up this self-released single to give out at their shows. The A side finds the band honing their bar room skills from Hard Boogie to near Proto Punk. It’s a hooky energetic performance .that doesn’t pretend to be what it’s not, although the no-nonsense straight ahead riffing and 42nd Street mentions makes you think that they might have had The New York Dolls in their sights. The B side owes more to obvious 1975 Southern Rock influences.
Hear a full version of Do It To Ya
Bassist Jack Beasley was kind enough to give some background on the band and recording the single
Jeremiah was formed in 1972. Jack Beasley was the original bass player with Mike Rayburn on drums. There were two other guys on guitars, but as it turned they weren’t that serious about playing rock music. As those guys moved on to do other things, they were replaced by Jimmy Deen in 1973 and Tommy Mansell was added to the line-up in 1974. The early gigs were high school dances and proms. But they eventually started playing night clubs and private parties.
“In 1975, the band paid for some time at ACA recording studios in Houston. We recorded six original songs. I don't know who mastered the two tracks on the 45 or where the 45 was manufactured. The label name, "Artesia", was just something we made up. I think we had 600 45s made, maybe less, but no more than that...”
Although the ambition was there to break beyond the local scene and go professional, it didn’t pan out for the boys
“Our goal was to become rock stars. In the fall of 1975 we quit our day jobs and went on the road. We played mostly in Texas. We became friends with members of the band Point Blank, who were managed by the same guy that managed ZZ Top. This was in 1976 and we thought we were close to a record deal, but it didn’t happen. We played at the bigger clubs in Houston , Dallas and Fort Worth , among others. We played four to five nights a week, every week, just about. We did all we knew to do to get a record label to sign us, except leave Texas. That might have been the problem…”
What was the difference the 60s Texas Garage/Psychedelic bands and what was happening in the mid 70s?
“I believe that 60s bands, even in Texas were heavily into the psychedelic experience. They were trying to find new sounds, and a lot of experimenting was going on then, with their instruments, and also their minds (drugs). 70s bands just wanted to rock. To heck with experimenting. Find that groove. Turn up the volume. And create a sound that compelled your audience to move with the beat and play their air guitars. Although the guys in Jeremiah were somewhat influenced by the 60s music, I believe the stronger influences came from what was going on around us at the time. We covered many of the most popular rock bands of the early and mid 70s. We liked the melodic stuff, but it still needed to have that hard edge. You can hear that fusion in the original Jeremiah songs. Often in those songs, you have some very soft, melodic vocals or guitar segments, slammed up against a dynamic, hard-driving mix of guitar, bass and drums. We just couldn’t stay quiet for very long...”
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.
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