Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Jeremy Finn - Little Angel Part 1



Jeremy Finn -Little Angel Part 1/ Little Angel Part 2 -Decca FR13675 (1976 UK)

OK, mystery revealed ( to a certain extent). This is the A side to the "mystery" track. There are two other singles that I know of by Jeremy Finn, but those are both in a disco style. Little Angel is pretty neat though, the androgynous vocals make this sound like Milk 'N' Cookies paired up with Wizard in a collision with Teddy Palmer And His Rumble Band, while making a hell of a fuss on the midnight bus.... if you see what I mean.
This is a German production, and by the accent, Jeremy must have been a German citizen, unless he was an ex-pat who had lost his identity and sense of self whilst stranded on the Continent...

Click on title for a full version of Little Angel Part 1








Mystery Track


OK, have a listen to this mystery track. It’s a rather bouncy instrumental B side to a similarly titled A side.
10 wrong or enlightened guesses or 1 correct one will result in the posting of the A side as the next review.

Answers as comments please!

Click on title for a full version of "Mystery Track".




Saturday, September 27, 2008

Adriano Celentano – Prisencolinensinainciusol -VIDEO

Here’s a video of Mr. 24000 baci with a great lesson in gobbledygook. Rock ‘N’Roll as the universal language? –here’s the proof…
Note: there’s another great colour clip of this on youtube in a classroom setting…Enjoy!

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Rockits –Gimme True Love


The Rockits –Gimme True Love/I’m Losing You –Mowest 3016 (1974 UK)

OK, let’s stay in the land of Pop for this next review…Gimme True Love was the 2nd single that The Rockits released on Mowest and to say that it recalls Badfinger would be a bit of an understatement as it sounds like it came straight off that band’s Wish You Were Here album. The Rockits comprised John Wilson and Dave Powell who would later link up with Tom Evans and Bob Jackson (Ex Badfinger) to form The Dodgers (on Island). Tom Evans was later evicted and replaced by Roger Lomas (The Sorrows, The Eggy, Zips, Renegade etc…) before reforming Badfinger until tragedy struck yet again. Like several other Mowest releases around this time; Peter Anders was involved (Tradewinds) and Kenny Laguna was probably not far away either…

Click on title for a full version of Gimme True Love



Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Blue –Don’t Wanna To Make You Cry


Blue –Don’t Wanna To Make You Cry/Mooonlight –Zuma (1982 UK)

Yes, this is the same Scottish bunch who nearly hit the big time on RSO and Rocket, but as times moved on; they found themselves on Zuma (their own label?) for this single and…guess what? It’s the best damn thing they ever did. The A side is pure Beatles to say the least, but it towers above the Merseybeat revival mediocrity of The Pleasers and enters the realm of The Flamin’ Groovies circa the Now LP. The guitar sound and descending riff is just pure Cyril Jordan. Sounds like an AMS harmonizer to me as it’s got that great double-tracked lower octave thick sound. The melody is also superb with a surprising and supremely melodic middle eight. Don’t Wanna Make You Cry is a brilliant (but unrecognised) Power Pop classic. The B side is really good as well; it’s in a similar vein but with a bit of Squeeze thrown in for good measure.

Click on title for a full version of Don’t Wanna To Make You Cry




Trevor White -Crazy Kids VIDEO!!!!

God -I never knew that this promo video existed. It puts the UK pic sleeve into context. Fantastic stuff!



Thanks to Enrico for the early warning system...

Friday, September 12, 2008

The Laurels -Underground/ The Devil's Well



The Laurels -The Devil's Well/ Underground -Pye 7N.45034 (1971 UK)

Following the release of a couple of harmony pop singles on RCA, Hertfordshire's Laurels signed to Pye and this was their second and last single for that label. Underground is a claustrophobic angst riden tube ride and is damn catchy to boot. It's only let down by a mundane guitar solo, which is a shame as the A side, The Devil's Well, features some mean fuzzy lead guitar in this 7th of this, 7th of that etc...tale of damnation. It's a fun Eddie Seago/ Mike Leander creation and the 3rd verse is made more interesting by featuring some crunching Proto-Glitter handclaps prior to the song disolving into a Devil's laugh...

Click on title for an edit of Underground and The Devil's Well






Monday, September 08, 2008

Stud Leather – Cut Loose


Stud Leather – Cut Loose/ Emma Louise – Dart ART 2024 (1973 UK)

I reviewed this great single two years ago, but the copy I had was housed in a horrid French pic sleeve. But to celebrate FINALLY finding a UK copy on the great Dart (née D’Art) label, here is the track again and this time in its entirety…There is also a German pic sleeve about, which is in no way as ugly as the French one.

To recap -Cut Loose is a frenetic primitive Punker powered by slap-back echoed drums, raw guitar and a simplistic piano pounding. The performance builds and builds and the vocals get wilder and wilder, ending in near hysterics with masses of crazed Halleluiahs!!!! The track finally turns into a wild cacophonous Freak Out concluding in a final explosion…It is really totally bonkers –So enjoy it and remember to play it LOUD!

Click on title for a full version of Cut Loose



Saturday, September 06, 2008

Inca Bullet Joe -Nothing Has Changed


Inca Bullet Joe -Nothing Has Changed/She -Philips 6012108 (1971 French issue)

Inca Bullet Joe were a four piece band from Dordrecht (NL).They were formed from the ashes of Dutch Psych/Freakbeat legends The Zipps. Comprised of Janco Barut (Guitar), Harry Thysen (Guitar), Ruud van Seventer(Bass) and Tony v.d. Hoek (drums), this single was their only release (note in Holland it came out as a 3 track EP). It also got a release in Peru!...I guess the name helped in that particular licensing deal! Produced by Dutch legend Hans Van Hemert; it's incredibly loud and heavy, like a Crunching Glam backing track played at 16rpm with FreakRock trappings. The melody isn't that noteworthy, but the overall effect of the handclapped beat is pretty impressive; especially halfway through when the track is stripped back to its BARE basics. The B side is also on the heavy side but with a Hippy-Dippy flute interlude.

Click on title for a full version of Nothing Has Changed