Top Ten Of The Week-RAGBRAI Time

This week features the annual bicycle ride across Iowa and they been doing this for over 40 years now.  And for the first time in years, the bike ride will come through on our roads on the way for an Anamosa Friday night stopover.  Thursday Cedar Rapids will be the host to spend the night and Counting Crows will be playing.  It means that getting to work on Friday might be a bit tricky but then again it should be fun for the bike riders to pass through this town, co worker Doug Schrum will be taking part of the bike ride as he has been for the past 15 years (and then some).

Despite me posting less blogs, the viewership here has been excellent.  Still a good chance we might clear 2,000 for the second straight month but riding on the blog that has gotten me there.  Wish I can find another blog that can do that well, otherwise I might be more than just a speck on the blog site. Hey Folks, thanks for stopping by our wonderful town.  Here's a happy couple in front of the old Viola School.

 


The summer heat and blustering temps has pretty wrecked the corn crop for the farmers here and I have enjoyed the sunshine a lot more than the Farmers and Ashley Hinson/Nicole Agee of KCRG with them continue to cry and bitch about no rain.  To which I actually starting changing my TV watching habits and not watch them at 11.  I am trying to not do anymore Pepsi due their stupid commercials and with Nicki No Talent Minaj.
 
You're not going to get a big concert when you open a can and drink the corrosive crap like the third grader director who thought of that jingle.  There's other drinks I can choose that has that corn sugar to go with.  But then again, if the drought is killing all the corn, they may have to cut out the high fructose corn crap too if you think about it.  Or super unleaded gas.

The week's Top Ten.

1.  Hot And Nasty-Black Oak Arkansas 1971  There's hardly any love for Black Oak and Jim Dandy, who influenced David Lee Roth as the legend goes but back in the old days their Southern Rock Boogie was done by Jim Dandy Mangrum' ugly vocals.  That's not a slam on him, in fact Keep The Faith was one of most played 8 tracks in my collection with that Awwwwwww RIIIIIIIIIIGHT intro that he was famous for.  When this came out on 45 in 1971, AM radio passed on it and it didn't chart at all.  Produced by Lee Dorman and Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly fame.  Atco reissued a live version of this (45 I do have) that got a bit more airplay on FM and it is more wild and free, but it does stay true to the studio version (but with an extra verse to boot).

2.  Heart Attack And Vine-Tom Waits 1980  Heard on a Madison underground FM station and the title track to his final 1980 Asylum effort and you can start hearing the sounds that would shape more into his breakout Island years.  Basically I have no use for radio anymore; if you're stuck in this neck of the woods, any place you go to has that shitty soft rock KDAT and their Train 2 fers or Mr Mister's Broken Wings or the Boss' Glory Days which is fast approaching Hungry Heart as songs that I never want to hear again.  But when I go short distance and can't use the CD discman, I'll pop the radio on and see what's on (nothing).  The station was 91.7 but never did the call letters but they played a while variety of tunes of reggae, George Jones White Lightning, bluegrass and Tom Waits.  And new age Sunday Mornings.  The only radio station that I listened to for more than 10 minutes up there.

3.  I Know How You Feel-Asia 2012  You do know that Asia has a new album out don't ya?  And you do know that the original guys have been back for a good five years right?  So what does your local classic rock station play for Asia, do they mention the new album?  Nope but they'll play you Heat Of The Moment.  The original Asia have made their third straight album without any additions or subtractions of key members and XXX has gotten great reviews from people who have heard the album.  Omega, the last album was in the same way but nobody mentions that one.  Phoenix, the first of the comeback albums was kinda lackluster but when I was listening to that album in the car, I remember one of the tires blown out.   Since Clear Channel/Cumulus has restrictions on new music, nobody is going to hear XXX unless you go get a copy of the album at your local Wally World or Best Buy is you still have a Best Buy in business.  And if they don't have a copy then you're SOL.  But the fool DJ at the classic rock station might  mention there's a new Asia album out and it sounds like this (puts on The Smile Has Left Your Eyes).   http://blog.billkopp.com/?p=833

4.  World Upside Down-Jimmy Cliff 2012   I actually  thought Jimmy died a few years ago (maybe that was his music career) but surprise he's back and he may have made his best album since The Harder They Come or Wonderful World Beautiful People and he may have found a perfect ally in Tim Armstrong, the mohawk hair dude from Rancid.  Never liked Rancid all that much, Armstrong's vocal never did anything for me but as a producer he knew what sound to get into making Rebirth, the new Cliff album to which Armstrong produced.  The guy knows his ska and reggae for sure.  It's another new album from a artist that nobody cares about except hard core fans or fans that actually like music better than auto tuner.  It might get my vote for record of the year and I did get myself a copy of this album from Best Buy..............up in Madison. Fucking Cedar Rapids didn't have it.

5.  Hell Cat-The Bellamy Brothers 1976  They had the best song for 1976 (Let Your Love Flow) which was radio ready for the masses, still remains catchy as hell and can be heard on KHAK and the dammed KDAT as well as KMRY.  Hard to tell what Curb/Warner wanted to marketed them as, country or soft rock and so the followup single they choose this little rock number to which is my favorite track off their debut album and believe it or not the old FOX 100.7 (known as G100) played this for a couple weeks in the middle part of July.  Made it to number 70 on the rock charts.  Third single Satin Sheets (written by Willis Alan Ramsey) Limped to number 73 (never seen the single myself) and Highway 2-18 didn't even chart.  After that they gave up on the rock pop and went country and made it back to number 1 with If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me.  And continued to make fine country music to this day.  But I still like the lesser known and most of their first album.

6.  I'm A Man-The Yardbirds 1966  One of the first albums I ever got was The Yardbirds Greatest Hits for a quarter at a garage sale years and years ago as a 11 year old and I still have it to this day.  The greatest band in the world that the greatest guitar players, the best years was when Jeff Beck was tearing it up for them.  Used to be that the Old Gold station now KFMW (crappy modern crock) played this a few times in the early 70s which makes my heart grow fonder for the long forgotten underground and oldies that nobody seldom plays anymore.  One of most potent three minute songs ever recorded and even tops Bo Diddley if you can believe that.

7.   Thunder Island-Jay Ferguson 1977  After years of toiling about, Jay got a big top ten hit with this song to which I think I wore out about 3 45s of this (for some reason The PRC Asylum 45s always were made shitty and didn't last over five plays.  So I bought the album and it turned out to be pretty boring.  I liked the previous album and his Jo Jo Gunne stuff but Thunder Island the album just turn out to be a MOR mess.  Found the CD to see if my opinion would be different but it really hasn't.  Out of print and collectors are looking for this although Moondog Music had this for 5 dollars the past year or so.

8.  Echoes-Camel 1978   I'm sure Tad knows more about Camel than I do.  Rhino put together a collection of choice cuts but I found their 1984 farewell live album Pressure Points and compelled me to seek out anything within reach.  Nude, the 1981 album I didn't quite know how to take and while Decca in the UK put their music, Janus and Arista did the releasing over here.  Breathless the album showcase them more as a poppier Pink Floyd and this cut isn't the Pink Floyd marathon from Meddle but Camel's version is at 7 minutes and flows quite well.

9.  Cadillac-The Kinks 1964  Certainly Bo Diddley is one of the greatest names in rock and roll that he might have been more celebrated and cherished by the British bands, The Pretty Things taking their name from one of Bo's songs.  Hell Bo may have started heavy metal (or Elmore James) for all we know.  The Kinks would later become one of the best bands but at the beginning they were feeling their way through.  On a side note there was talk that Jon Lord played the piano on You Really Got Me but looking at Jon Mendelson's Kink Kronicles, his tragically flawed Kinks book  Arthur Greensleeves comes up as the piano player, not Lord or Nicky Hopkins.  And so does a couple other books, you gotta love the internet for that urban legend or myth.  And Bobby Graham plays drums as well.  Their first album You Really Got Me, was the sign of the times, make a great hit single and add plenty of covers although I have no idea what prompt the Kinks into not only doing the crappy Bald Headed Woman but worse the Driving On Bald Mountain, two turds contributed by Sal Talmy.  But this rave up song of Bo Diddley is a fun listen.  Basically recorded in mono, Rhino issued the album in stereo and the mix is annoying, including when the harmonica goes from one speaker to the other and doesn't get back to where it was till part of the last verse.

10.  Fire Ball-Mercy 1968  B side to Love Can Make You Happy, one of more sappy songs to ever hit number 1, they throw an about face and does a guitar surf number with plenty of fuzz to make it Nuggets worthy.  I had  a cousin in Illinois that had a bunch of 45s and of course they had Love Can Make You Happy but I played the other side to see how it sounded and it just about blew me away.  Kind of like Thunderbolt, the B side to Tommy James' Hanky Panky.  Due to the high charting position of the A side, Warner Brothers made Mercy record about 10 other sappy love songs but Fire Ball remains their defiant rebel punk rock son.  And a cult favorite judging by how many versions of this song is out on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87XUhR4BHRc


Five other things.
Water Song-Dennis Wilson 1978
Justine-Ocean Colour Scene 1992
Capsule-Dan Kibler 1998
So Fine-The Mugwumps 1965
If Anybody's Gonna Get Funked Up (It's Gonna Be You) (Colin Wolf Mix)-George Clinton 1996

Review:
 

Love And Theft (RCA-Sony Nashville)

A lot has happen to these guys since the last album and their big hit Runaway, they lost a member and Disney booted them off their label roster.  So in a attempt to claim some of that classic country everybody loves, ya know babes shaking it, trucks and more babes and making love to babes, Love And Theft has thrown their lot into the trailer trash country rock that is the normal nowadays.

The album starts out okay with their top thirty hit Angel Eyes, the best track off this album by the way, they explore something of a John Mellencamp type of rock and country with Inside Out, the second best track.  And then after that, it goes downhill in a hurry, they throw in another so so rocker with Running Out Of Air and then have more songs about sex with a babe with Amen. and then three ballads in a row concluding with the bizarre Town Drunk.

After that it's a desperate attempt to try to get something played on the radio. She's Amazing sounds like a throwaway Lonestar wouldn't touch and then, you have the final act of desperation with Girls Like To Shake It (inspirational chorus: Shake it shake it shake it all night, Shake it shake it till the morning light)  and then teaming up with the worthless Warren Brothers (co wrote Red Solo Cup) for Girls Look Hot In Trucks which namechecks George Strait and George Jones for country value.  And gets the wrath from the dude from Farce The Music.

Yes I like a good country album myself from time to time. Pistol Annies come to mind, so does the latest from Don Williams but Love And Theft remind me of another band that started out good and then went down the loo, The Lost Trailers.  They made a decent album for Universal/Republic that didn't sell and then went to Sony Nashville and the dreaded BNA label for two turd albums.  World Wide Open, kinda reminded me of The Gin Blossoms if they went Nashville, which is a compliment, but the S/T Love And Theft goes down the same road that derailed The Lost Trailers.  Girls Like To Shake It is something like Acky Breaky Heart, it's mindless fun.  But not something you want to be caught at home listening to.   As well as the rest of this album.  Now they're recording with Dallas Davidson's Bro Country crap songs.  They're no better than Florida Georgia Line.

Grade: C-

Select cuts: Angel Eyes, Inside Out.