Top Ten Of The Week-Dreaming Of 2000

This month promises to be the most viewed month here at Crabby's Top Ten and Music Review Consortium.   Getting close to the 2,000 mark our advisers told me to add something sensational in order to bring new viewership in and perhaps using Justin Bieber and Maroon 5 to the fray might guarantee about 20 to 30 more views than previous.  Sometimes that might backfire too. The Can't Review Them All Bog with Maroon 5 roared out of the gate but has now been stuck around 55 views. Which may not unseat the final blog of Paul Revere/Mel McDaniel to which it trades spots with the Best Of 2011 or Blanda Blackmore Blues.  Anyway, Justin Bieber's album will be the number 1 record of the week and Maroon 5's latest is out this week.  I'd love to but I just can't find it in my heart to review Justin's CD Believe.  But will probably will settle for the new Blues Traveler, provided if it isn't in digipak.....(The Blues Traveler is pretty good, the Best Buy version has a bonus disc of six more songs and you can live without them but it's a bonus disc for fuck's sake.  The Maroon 5 I passed, since it was in digipak).

Hard to believe it but we are at the halfway point of the year already.  And we've done a lot in traveling and making the summerfests that have been around the area.  Irish Fest was somewhat a bit boring, Dennis McMurrin, had a laid back funky feel but so laid back at times it almost puts me to sleep.  And Patchy Fog had a family of dude with the shakers and tambourines to keep the beat going that it felt like being in a hippy community.  The person I was going to meet up with, may have gotten to the Irish bar with friends and decided not to show up, which is okay by me.  Which also freed me up into going up to the Sip n Stir for Mike's 59th Birthday party.  He used to sing in the band but since he got tired of no shows and egos he retired to a Karaoke career.  I'm not a big fan of that so I rarely go up there but damn if he didn't throw a microphone at me and played Tequila  so I actually got to sing or shout out the word of said song.  There Mike, R U happy now?  You got me to sing on a karaoke song, don't do that again. ;-)

I must be losing my mind.  I was going to go hang out to Half Priced Books on Sunday and then go watch Dark Shadows but forgot that HP Books closes at 8 on Sunday nights, and now Barnes & Noble closes at 8 on Sundays too, they used to close at 9.  Basically, I just said the hell with it, went to Dollar General and picked up some air fresheners and went home. I'll just rent the video or take the night off and catch the late night showing.

The Linn County Fair is this weekend.  Up and comer Country star David Nail plays Wed. night, Pop Evil (whoever they are) is the rock act Thursday and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band plays Friday night.  Would be fun to go see them but since we're busy at work that won't happen.  Plus lots of Tractor Pulls, stock car races and other fun things that making going to the fair fun.  That's all in Central City.

It's top ten time.  This week's specials are following.

1.   Free Ride (45 remix)-Edgar Winter Group 1973  Interesting post from the Besides It's A B Side Facebook site on 45s and the different sounds and takes that vary from record.  Back in the days of the 7 inch black circle, 45's would have a brighter or louder mix or a version that differs from the album version and this is a case in point.  You rarely ever hear the 45 version of this song, mostly the stolic version that appears on the album.  Which isn't bad, it's just there's a more lively guitar lead on the single version.

2.  Runaway-Samantha Fish 2011  Not every girl wants to grow up to be another Madonna, nor Lady Gaga or starts a love affair with dance beats and autotuner, believe it or not when I say there's some women out there that are listening to the blues and having dreams of making it in the spotlight.  I'm not a big blues fan myself, if I am it is usually the Chess artists of long ago or Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Her CD came out on the German Ruf Records (Omar & The Howlers) and of course Best Buy doesn't have it but the local Half Priced books did and therefore I thought would be worth a listen.  Sam comes from Kansas City, one of the homes of the blues and has traveled the regional scene although further research showed that she hooked up with Dani Leigh and Cassie Wilson for Girls With Guitars that Ruf put out last years.  A contrast of styles, of Dani Leigh's Janis Joplin vocals to go with Fish's Bonnie Raitt.  It may seem like a novelty at the time but they're no different than Pistol Annies while the PA's are country, GWG are blues that play real guitars and Samantha knows her riffs and influences very well (Stevie, Bonnie, Koko Taylor too).  Here's hoping Sam Fish can join Susan Tedeschi in the blues department of being well known and being a legend like Bonnie as well.  She's got the goods and Runaway, the album is great (but since it came out last year won't qualify as one of the ten best of 2012).

3.  Take A Heart-The Sorrows 1965 Another obscure oldie that didn't make it across the pond, this was found on the Piccadilly Story (Castle/Sequel/Sanctuary) that came out on CD but I'm sure you didn't know about.  They are considered to be the ultimate freakbeat band of that time, recording for Joe Meek and then later for Piccadilly in the UK although further research showed that Warner Brothers released this (WB 5662) as a single  If this sounds familiar it's of Don Fardon who is lead vocals on this, he later did first version of Indian Reservation (later taken to number one by The Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em2xu0j-oss  

4.  I Blame You-Michael Shelley 2000  Do you know it's been 3 years since Michael Jackson passed away? I know where I was at, down at the La Quinta Inn in Mesa enjoying the 108 degree heat and searching for more music that nobody else knows about.  Such as Mr. Shelley who sounds a bit like Freedy Johnston but more laid back.  He recorded a couple albums on the power pop Big Deal Label (which are still around but dammed if I know what type of music they're selling now).  Big Deal fell apart and Shelley moved over to Bar None to record this album and title song to which he got Dennis Diken of the Smithereens to play drums and give it a harder sound than on previous efforts.

5.  Red Hot Chicken-Wet Willie  1972  Best known for Keep On Smiling, Wet Willie was the more R and B influenced bands that came on Capricorn and their albums did make it to CD till the Universal/Polygram merger to which Phil Walden pissed off about the whole deal pretty much quit putting out the Capricorn Reissues.  Some have stayed in print (Allman Brothers, Elvin Bishop, Captain Beyond) but most if not all Wet Willie fell by the wayside.  One Arizona adventure I found Wet Willie 2 and Drippin Wet for 5.99 at Hastings in Kingman but I picked both up as curio.  Sold Drippin Wet off but kept WW2.  For some reason the cheapest found at Amazon sells for a un fucking believable 166 dollars?!?  I like the know the logic behind why it's so high on the cost list.  Cheaper ones go for 80 bucks at EBAY. Update: Amazon had a cheap one for 39.95.  A bargain so to speak.

6.  Let The Music Do The Talking-Aerosmith 1985  Nobody expected much from them when they signed up with Geffen and put out Done With Mirrors, a album that basically is Ted Templeman recording them in one take and seeing where it would lead.  Originally done by Joe Perry Project that version was a bit better thought out than the toss out words that Steven Tyler did on DWM.  Everybody in the band bitched about Templeman's recording process but the album is a garage rock classic if you take it as a garage rock classic. Once they started working with Desmond Child and other song doctors, they got the hits back but as for myself I enjoy Done With Mirrors quite well in this day and age.  At least the FOX don't overkill that album like they do with Love In A Elevator or God Forbid on KDAT, I Don't Want To Miss A Thing to which they sold their soul to the devil Diane Warren for a number 1 hit but rock fans don't play that song.  Hell, I don't even own a copy of that song.  And I'm better off for it.

7.  I Just Want To Hold-Mick Jones 1989   Telling Lou Gramm to take the rest of the career off, Mick Jones does his first and only solo album with some guest stars of note.  Namely Dennis Elliot of Foreigner fame on drums, Ian Hunter co writes and sings back ground and Ian Lloyd of Stories makes a cameo but perhaps a side note that Billy Joel plays on this cut, doesn't say what he does but I'm guessing that's him on piano in the background.

8.  Police Dog Blues-Blind Blake  1927  From the Blues Story that Shout Factory put out about 10 years ago, which is a nice sampler of the different styles and types of blues and most of it was represented with the exception of Universal holding their masters hostage and not allowing any of the Chess stuff to be put on that album.  Which is one reason why I hate mergers and major record companies and believe that if EMI gets sold to Universal they'll only hold back more masters and leave out key elements in the blues. Blake is one of those forgotten blues player although he could do rag time just as well as the blues.  He recorded for Paramount (Not the ABC Paramount but rather a small Wisconsin label that was home to other blues acts) for about six years and then disappeared in 1932, whereabouts unknown for all time.  Blake did influenced Hot Tuna that recorded a few of Blake's songs for their albums in his honor.  Perhaps Samantha Fish would like to take a whack of some of Blind Blake's number for future song requests? ;-)

9.  Ginny Come Lately-Brian Hyland 1962   If you think about it, the teen idols of the early 60s were not as puke inducing as the acts of today (Old man here, GET OFF MY LAWN.....) Bobby Darin could finger pop with the best of them and even the odious Paul Anka could pop out a cool number as well (as well as Bobby Rydell, 'snaps fingers') and Hyland kinda falls in the middle between a Darin/Ricky Nelson and Rydell/Anka.  But then again I continue to get opinions that I should just stick with the classic rock era and quit messing around the new music or anything before 1958.  Um, doesn't work that way, especially with a record hoarder who's looking for more and more of the obscure.  He's still working the the Peter Udell and Gary Gold tag team that gave him the hit with Sealed With A Kiss.  Most of Hyland's output is now in the hands of the dammed Universal umbrella (ABC Paramount, Phillips, Kapp, UNI) and MCA did put out a best of that captures most of Hyland's hits although I enjoy his failed Phillips single 3000 Miles, which was produced by Snuff Garrett and features Brother Leon Russell as band leader.  This did reach number 21 on the top forty although Oldies radio doesn't play it.  One of a few singles that I found at Iowa City' Salvation Army that decided to sneak in with the rest of the 45s that I took home.  And the record plays very well.

10.  Rock Me Baby-Paraphernalia  1982  This is for Mike Swearingen and this is his birthday present from me.  His very own spot on the top ten.  A long time ago (3 decades and then some)  my band was looking for somebody that could sing and my best friend suggested his cousin who was in a who's who of Iowa bands of the 70s.  Suede comes to mind, (not the UK band mind you but a horn driven band that sold out many dance halls and bars according to the lead singer).  We were not very good, and the bass player was spending most of his time in the Marines, while the rest of us were working crappy jobs or playing in other crappy bands.  Most of Paraphernalia's stuff is out of print and the only thing out there is a compilation of the better known songs, I.E. songs that they didn't fuck up or missed a note.  Don't bother looking up the band, they don't exist on the internet and The Paraphernalia band that's out there is not our band.  This song comes from the infamous Live At The Waldorf Astoria, a tongue in cheek album of 6 covers and a strange original called Heavy Medication (don't ask what it means, even the guitar player's mind draws a blank on why he wrote the song in the first place).  This song shows how we sounded live, lotta out of tune guitars, a screaming singer trying to outshout the guitars and bass on the ten knob and the drummer was playing cymbals more than actual drums.  A total travesty but at that time we were thinking we were on the verge of world domination.  Which could be further from the truth.  However a couple years later, the band made it to the OK Lounge on Dec 7 1984, a day that will live in infamy and under a full moon too.  Nowadays, the bass player still dreams of playing in the band, the drummer would rather do top tens and hang at record stores and the lead singer is the Karaoke star of Crown Karaoke of Robins Iowa, who plays Saturday Night at the Sip N Stir and continues to badger the drummer and bass player to come up stage and pick a song.  To which the drummer declines and prefers to sing solo....so low that nobody can hear him.    But you're all free to join the fun whenever you're in this one horse town.  Tell him Crabby sent ya.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crown-Karaoke/141448602575579?v=info


No room at the inn:
Pressure-Billy Joel 1982
Sunshine-Johnathan Edwards 1971
Banks Of The Ohio-The Carter Family With Johnny Cash 1960?
All Alone-The Cultivators 1999
Theme From Z Cars-Johnny Keating  1962


Read of the day: The Pleasure Seekers, a all female band that made a couple singles for Hideout and Mercury but mostly known for the Qutaro Sisters. http://rockprosopography102.blogspot.com/2011/04/pleasure-seekers-cradle-story.html