Top Ten Of The Week-Pawnshop Finds Of The Week

Ah the bargains were good to me this past week.  These 10 songs taken from stuff found for five bucks or less at selected pawnshops and Half Priced Bookstores around the area.

1.  Flipside-The Click Five 2007   These guys were hyped up on their first album which was produced by Ric Ocasek but their second Atlantic/Lava album was slightly better, with radio ready songs such as this failed hit single and basically further proof that being on a major label and the outdated behind the times Atlantic didn't help this band at all.    Kind of has this lite power pop vibe that Good Charlotte or The Jonas Brothers were putting down at that time.  From the Modern Minds and Pastimes CD.

2.  Wild One-John Waite 1987  Former lead singer of The Babys had a major hit with Missing You back in 1983 but by 1987 he was basically on the way out at EMI.  Secret weapon on Missing You and the No Brakes album was Gary Myrick, on this Waite is assisted by Desmond Child, which explains why this single and the album bombed.  Waite would then form Bad English with Neil Schon and ex Baby's keyboardist Jonathan Cain and have a major hit with the crapola When I See You Smile in 1989.  From Rover's Return.

3.  Going Up In Smoke-Johnny Guitar Watson 1980  Dave Spich turned me on to Watson back around 1979 when we both worked at the old Marion 76 and basically Watson went back further than that.  Had some outrageous blues singles for King/Federal in the late 50s and then hooked up with Larry Williams for the ultra cool Mercy Mercy Mercy for Okeh in the 60s but Watson got more into the funky side of soul when he recorded for DJM in the late 70s.  This comes from his 1980 album Love Jones, which was found for 4 bucks sealed at Half Priced Books.

4.  Burning Wheels Turning-Electric Sun 1978     Uli Jon Roth played in the Scorpions in the mid 70s before hooking up with somebody that knew Jimi Hendrix and influenced him enough to quit the Scorps and play like Jimi did.  To me this is more closer to Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush Maxoom period.  In other words, pretty damn good guitar playing but cornball hippy dippy lyrics.  From Earthquake.

5.  Eastwood-Brad Paisley with Clint Eastwood 2011   All around nice guy and great guitar player in his own right Brad Paisley frustrates me sometimes with his choice of music or good humor.  And sometimes he tends to overplay but one thing for sure, he's more in tune with the old school country rather than new although you wouldn't know that by that duet he did with Big Mouth Underwood and the reason why I wouldn't buy his new album unless I found it for a dollar at the pawnshop.  To which I actually did.  This is an instrumental but Clint Eastwood is the whistler on Brad's tribute to Morricone Spaghetti Westerns of the 60s which made Clint a household name.  As for Carrie Underwood, there's a reason why God invented the fast forward button on the player.  From This Is Country Music.

6.  Animal-The Tokens 1967  The Tokens better known for The Lion Sleeps Tonight and other doo wop favorites pay a bit of tribute to Pet Sounds by releasing a album that even liberal minded Warner Brothers rejected the first time and told The Tokens to refine it better.  Don't know why, the album has 16 songs but only 26 minutes long and sounds unfinished at best.  From Intercourse.

7.  Underwhelmed-Sloan 1992  Alternative rock is lot different back then than it is today.   In fact alternative radio is dying, X103.9 in Phoenix changed their format over to classic rock of the 80s and 90s and call it Generation X music.  Whatever that means.  Sloan came from Canada and had a power pop sound that also recalls Sonic Youth (yuck).  This got played on the alternative station back then. But then again I noticed that alternative radio doesn't play the alt rock of the early 90s.  Sloan would make another album for Geffen that more Beatles like than Sonic Youth but never heard that one.  From Smeared.

8.  Logos-Tangerine Dream 1982  Found this for 50 cents at Housewerks in Iowa City along with a few other cds (John Waite, Ornette Coleman, Pure Prairie League).  Best way to hear Tangerine Dream is during a winter storm to which I was playing this on the way to work last Thursday when the first snowfall of the season hit and basically it's a long song even by T.D. standards at 45 minutes but it all comes together.  The next to the last album for Virgin Records.  From Logos.

9.  I La La La Love You-Pat Travers Black Pearl 1982   Probably the oddball selection from the Valley Girl Soundtrack album which has the best known stuff (Love My Way, Who Could It Be Now, Johnny Are You Queer) along with the oddball crap (Felony's The Fanatic) and at that time the only way to get anything from Gary Myrick on CD (She talks In Stereo).  Travers went a bit of new wave on the Black Pearl album and somehow this got on the original soundtrack.  Alas, some of the better songs off that movie went to More Valley Girl Music which Bonnie Hayes Girls Like Me and Sparks Eaten By The Monster Of Love can be found there.  And of course more 80s crap like Mickey.  From Music From The Soundtrack Valley Girl.

10.  X Girlfriend-Bush 1994  Had 16th Stone years ago and didn't care much for it outside of Everything Zen and this album closer which only goes for about a minute but might be the Gavin Rossdale's shining moment or a tribute to The Ramones.  The Sea Of Memories can be blamed for me to backtrack to the first album but I didn't have to look too far.  Found it for a buck at the pawnshop.  From Sixteen Stone.