Houby Days came and went and the crappy weather pretty much took away the outdoors stage so the only bands that did play were on the band stage next to Aces And Eights. The weather has sucked, five days of rain, five days of cloudy weather and five days of March weather in May. And it continues to rain. Maybe we won't have a summer.
BMG continues the glorious task of reissuing Emerson Lake And Palmer albums, this time out if you haven't already gotten them, you can get Works Vol 1 and 2 and their all time classic Love Beach.
I guess the love affair with Record World has died. Blogspot reported after a long streak of 100 plus views we haven't gotten out of 38 to 40 range of total views. Over the weekend, I had 41 views and yesterday 29 folks from around the world came to read anything. The Blogspot all time most read blogs is a joke, I still have only 9 of 10 blogs posted. I'm still over 7,000 views of the month but I can bet you next month we won't clear 1000. Somehow the Bruce Stanley memorial has fallen out of the top 9. Last weekend, his mom joined him in the great beyond. She finally succumbed from demteria. I think she was 95.
Passings; Roger Moore, the best known and longest lasting of the James Bond players, passed away Monday, he was 89 and lived a long good life.Till cancer claimed him...Wendell Goodman, Wanda Jackson's husband of 50 plus years and her manager as well died suddenly on Sunday Night after a show. He was 81...Jimmy Lafaye, beloved singer songwriter on the Austin Music scene passed away from cancer on Sunday, he was 61.
The days of 100 plus views are done, I haven't gotten out of 50 views according to the Blogspot tracker, which doesn't work very well. I suspect those are the actual views.
On that note: Record World will be on hiatus for a while. I'll be busy working on music projects and seeing where the road leads. From time to time if something of note comes up it will be posted. But I have finally gotten bored with the music news and views, after 15 years of blogging, we all know this come to be.
Goodbye doesn't mean forever.
(the love affair had ended is about Record World the blog, it has been a labor of love, that's all)
Records from my youth: Dave Clark Five-Glad All Over (Epic 1964)
It's hard to believe when you listen to them nowadays is hard to believe they were next to the Beatles in records sold and while they could generate some hard rocking hits, their albums were spotty and sometimes cringeworthy such as the fucking awful Doo Dah and really bad Beatles rip offs (She's All Mine and No Time To Lose which Dave Clark apes Twist And Shout). Certainly Dave Clark knew he was nowhere near the caliber of Lennon/McCartney and his shrewd businesslike mannerisms made it clear he was in it for the money more than the music, which the rest of the band suffered greatly. Nevertheless, the one element that made The DC5 worthy was he had Mike Smith as vocalist, Smith may have been the most grittiest of all British singers and he could have done well doing blues and soul covers, in fact Do You Love Me is more punk garage than Contours Motown and that might be one of the original punk rock numbers much to Dave Clark's chagrin. The instrumentals are filler, Chaquita is Tequila and Time is Lenny Davidson going for a passable jazz but you won't remember it. And they managed to turn Stay into a fucking trainwreck with the oofs and Ahs, which hardly a effort to make it more just another filler song. However, this album is saved by four numbers of note, Do You Love Me, Bits And Pieces and Glad All Over, with the call and response that while inferior to The Beatles is actually one of their best all time two songs, and the 1:53 throwaway I Know You which I still love to hear (although Clark found it not worth to include on that 50 Greatest Hits limited edition 2 Fer that Hollywood Records issued for a couple years and is hard to find). So does four good to great songs make this album worth hearing over the 7 shitty to so so to subpar numbers that are on this album? There will be defenders of the DC 5 and their recording output but in reality these 7 shitty to subpar songs don't stand up. And there are debates on if Dave Clark played drums on this (legend has it Bobby Graham who was the British Hal Blaine of drums who played on a lot of better known songs, You Really Got Me by The Kinks etc) but I'm guessing it's Clark's sloppy drumming on the ending of Bits And Pieces. I actually found a copy of this LP in fairly good condition (usually Dave Clark albums, the grooves have worn off from so much playing, even on the crappy Doo Dah) and upon hearing it, the mono mastering was terrible, distorted and drenched in compression and echo. But it does capture the excitement of the DC 5 in it's glory, the hits do jump at you. But in the end, the DC5 was very limited by their manager/leader who really hasn't bothered to reissue his music outside of the better known hits and perhaps he had the right idea. I don't deny the DC 5 had good musicians, their leader was simply a tyrant. And The Beatles were the better and most lasting of the two bands.
Grade B-
Monday, May 22, 2017
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Week In Review: Chris Cornell RIP
I just woke up and looked at the news feed that Chris Cornell, lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave passed away last night at age 52. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/18/528899410/chris-cornell-powerhouse-voice-of-soundgarden-and-audioslave-dies-at-52?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nprmusic&utm_term=music&utm_content=20170518
It was revealed that Cornell, hanged himself last night after the concert. Thoughts and prayers to his family. http://www.mtv.com/news/3014074/chris-cornell-tribute/
Houby Days are coming this week, where many bands and musicians will be taking part. The big story around here is that The Acousta Kitties are no longer, Cathy Hart wanting to do more time away from the gig grind, but she is working on a new music project. The Acousta Kitties had been a big part of my acoustic guitar gigs and I'll miss them. In the meantime, Julie And The Mad Dogs return next week to Rumors.
Mandy Mamiman has departed from Wishbone Ash after being with them for over a decade and Mark Abrahams has taken his place.
As you may have noticed I haven't done much posting although there continues to be rock and roll news. Basically, I have been doing other things and while the ratings have been pretty good, I have been simply burned out. I think this month might be the most lackluster of all months. The bare bones of music news and even Chris Cornell's suicide hasn't gotten me to post.
I haven't gone away, I'm still buying music and such. I am just living life. In real time.
Like you should do.
It was revealed that Cornell, hanged himself last night after the concert. Thoughts and prayers to his family. http://www.mtv.com/news/3014074/chris-cornell-tribute/
Houby Days are coming this week, where many bands and musicians will be taking part. The big story around here is that The Acousta Kitties are no longer, Cathy Hart wanting to do more time away from the gig grind, but she is working on a new music project. The Acousta Kitties had been a big part of my acoustic guitar gigs and I'll miss them. In the meantime, Julie And The Mad Dogs return next week to Rumors.
Mandy Mamiman has departed from Wishbone Ash after being with them for over a decade and Mark Abrahams has taken his place.
As you may have noticed I haven't done much posting although there continues to be rock and roll news. Basically, I have been doing other things and while the ratings have been pretty good, I have been simply burned out. I think this month might be the most lackluster of all months. The bare bones of music news and even Chris Cornell's suicide hasn't gotten me to post.
I haven't gone away, I'm still buying music and such. I am just living life. In real time.
Like you should do.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Townedger Radio Part 30-The Final Installment
Townedger Radio 30-The Final Show Playlist 5/17/17
Broadcast on Lucky Star Radio
Promised Land-Elvis Presley
Sweet Little Lisa-Dave Edmunds
You Better Think Twice-Poco
Rock And Roll-Bo Diddley
Close To The Borderline-Billy Joel
Everybody Went Low-John Hiatt
Woman-Free
C'mon And Swim (Part 1)-Bobby Freeman
Ring A Ling-Johnny Otis Show
Love Me Like Crazy-Doc Starkes
Bottle Of Wine-The Fireballs
Love's Made A Fool Of You-Bobby Fuller Four
That's What Life Is All About-Paul Collins Beat
The Living End-The Tearaways
Syllables-Drivin And Cryin
Shame On You-Neal Ford And The Fanatics
I Ain't The One-The Angels (Angel City)
Walking Contradiction-Green Day
Now And Always-Rockpile
Earache My Eye-Cheech And Chong
Up In Smoke (reprise)-Cheech And Chong
https://www.mixcloud.com/LuckyStarRadio/townedger-radio-30/
Broadcast on Lucky Star Radio
Promised Land-Elvis Presley
Sweet Little Lisa-Dave Edmunds
You Better Think Twice-Poco
Rock And Roll-Bo Diddley
Close To The Borderline-Billy Joel
Everybody Went Low-John Hiatt
Woman-Free
C'mon And Swim (Part 1)-Bobby Freeman
Ring A Ling-Johnny Otis Show
Love Me Like Crazy-Doc Starkes
Bottle Of Wine-The Fireballs
Love's Made A Fool Of You-Bobby Fuller Four
That's What Life Is All About-Paul Collins Beat
The Living End-The Tearaways
Syllables-Drivin And Cryin
Shame On You-Neal Ford And The Fanatics
I Ain't The One-The Angels (Angel City)
Walking Contradiction-Green Day
Now And Always-Rockpile
Earache My Eye-Cheech And Chong
Up In Smoke (reprise)-Cheech And Chong
https://www.mixcloud.com/LuckyStarRadio/townedger-radio-30/
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Singles Going Steady: Prom Tunes From Davenport
Saturday I spent the whole day in Davenport and managed to find some interesting forty fives of note. It was also prom night at the ball park as Quad Cities got blown to bits 13-3, and most of the crowd was people attending the prom upstairs. Sorry to say kiddies that your music of today really sucks.
But then again, this batch of 45s isn't much better.
1) The Battle Of Kookamonga-Homer And Jethro (RCA 47-7585) #14 1959
Homer and Jethro remains a soft spot in my heart as they were one of the best country duos that can cover country songs for fun and games and this was their only showing on the billboard pop chart. A parody of The Battle Of New Orleans, this may have been the inspiration for the movie Meatballs almost twenty years later, the simple fact of boys going to camp during the summer and discovering girls and if lucky, finding them swimming with their bathing suits on, or less. B side was them remaking Waterloo.
2) Chit Atkins, Make Me A Star-Don Bowman (RCA 47-8384) 1964
Bowman, on the other hand was not as funny as Homer And Jethro and somehow RCA held on to him for a good long time, this was his first RCA 45, his last would be in 1971 and he would move on the Mega for a couple more. Backed with the Anita Kerr Singers and the famed RCA session players, Bowman yucks it up and attempts to do Wildwood Flower, with flawed results. Sheb Wooley was better, B side was I Never Did Finish The Song.. Which is as mundane as the title suggests.
3) Careless Hands-Jan Howard (Challenge 9112) 1961
Future country star but on this song goes for a Connie Francis sound. The guess is that Jan is using the the famed country sessions players that did so many recordings for Decca/RCA etc etc. The backing vocals are MOR pop than country and a bit dated so to speak. B Side Let Me Know is uptempo country somewhat like Lynn Anderson would do later on in the 60s. I like this song better. Including that bass scatting background singer.
4) The Son Of Rebel Rouser-Duane Eddy (RCA 47-8276) #97 1964
Duane's last chart placement and further proof that followup to big hits don't usually guarantee the same results. But I don't care, I love Duane Eddy's stuff, the Jamie stuff rocks but going to RCA, Eddy begin to embrace a more muzak and MOR sound. The whooping shouts and the chorus reminds me more of Billy Vaughn than Lee Hazelwood Then again I rarely see any RCA singles that are not scratched up to holy hell either. This is playable.
5) Elusive Butterfly-Bob Lind (World Pacific 77808) #5 1966
He benefits from Jack Nitchize's arrangements and although the song is probably the best thing Bob ever written, it's not one of those all time favorites that I'd play, probably once a year and that's that. B side Cheryl's Going Home, might have been the A side till the DJ's flipped it over. Not exactly memorable. Lind had two other songs that reached the top 100 but I have never heard them. And not about to start now.
6) Dance Only With Me-Robert Knight (Dot 45-16256) 1961
Teen pop I suppose, although I'm not sure this is the same one that did Everlasting Love years later, but I'm guessing this is the same Robert Knight that did Isn't It Lonely Together A variation on the Drifters' Dance With Me I suspect. B Side Because sucks.
7) My Heat Cries For You-Ray Charles (ABC Paramount 45-10530) #38 1964
Baby Don't You Cry #39
I think Guy Mitchell did this way back in the 1950s as a straight pop number. This was during Ray's attempt to re do country music, but it's more MOR pop than country but Ray really puts his effort into this song and it becomes stronger than it should have been. B side Baby Don't You Cry is a more big band bossa nova sound, but I can't help but hearing the introduction sounding a lot like The Doors Break On Through To The Other Side. Perhaps the Doors maybe listened to this?
8) Take A Girl Like You-The Foundations (Uni 55210) 1969
More sunny pop from the gang that gave you Build Me Up Buttercup but this didn't chart on the Billboard top 100 although it did on the regional charts. Can't understand why this didn't do better. B Side I'm Going Be A Rich Man is perhaps their most hard rocking number but you'll never hear it on the radio. It almost passes off as a garage rock song.
9) Then I'll Count Again-Johnny Tillotson #86 1965
Johnny's 45s seem to find their way over here and most of them I enjoyed a lot. This one, not so much, he's still using the teen idol pop via country way. Written by Chip Taylor (Wild Thing). Since it clocks two seconds over 2 minutes, you hardly notice it much. Neither did the compilers of Johnny's Greatest Hits that came out on Varese, they left it off.
10) Hot Smoke And Sassafras-Bubble Puppy (International Artists IA 128) #14 1969
Granted from the rest of the Davenport finds, I managed to find something from BDW today, this little hard rock number that still remains one of the best hard rock garage songs ever. Reissues still have a crappy mix, so I rather much hear this via an old scratchy record. One of the few times somebody one upped on Ted Nugent during the Amboy Dukes period.
The Rest of the Finds (and soon to be redonated)
The One Fingered Symphony-Rod Lauren (RCA 47-7786) 1960
Wild Imagination probably was the A side but this is teen idol pop with a heart. Not bad.
I Don't Want To See Tomorrow-Nat King Cole (Capitol 5261) #34 1964
LOVE #81
Later in his life Nat Cole went to a more country sound, like what Ray Charles was doing and for contemporary country at that time, Cole could rival Brother Ray. I can listen to it, B Side LOVE has a bounce jazz like Mack The Knife. Cole might have been listening to Bobby Darin at that time.
Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On-Dean Martin (Reprise 334) #22 1965
It has that arrangement that made Everybody Loves Somebody a big hit and while this arrangement was getting tedious this still crack into the top 25. Jimmy Bowen produced, Ernie Freeman did the arrangements, Earl Palmer is playing drums. B Side I'll Be Seeing You is even more tedious.
The First Thing Every Morning-Jimmy Dean (Columbia 4-43283) #91 1965
Lor Crane (Chad And Jeremy) had a bright idea of taking the Jimmy Bowen way of making Jimmy Dean do songs in a pop vein. Didn't work very well. Sounds like a weaker Everybody Loves Somebody. B side Awkward Situation tells a story about a man talking about the birds and bees to a kid that knew more than his dad. (But I'll give him five buck to hear how much he really knows,meaning his child, the punch line). Good for a chuckle.
Goodtime Charlie-Roy Clark (Capitol 5047) 1964
Roy Clark, helluva country guitar player but gawd his albums were spotty as hell. This song you can file under half assed predicament. B side Application Of Love is worse.
My Devotion-Tab Hunter (Dot 45-16205) 1961
Laughable teen idol pop garbage. B Side Wild Side Of Life is another misstep, to which Hunter talks rather than sings the song. There are great teen idols, and there are good ones and there are so so ones and then there's ones that are simply bad. Guess where Tab figures in this.
Gotta See Jane- R. Dean Taylor (Rare Earth RE-5026) #67 1971
Taylor scored big with Indiana Wants Me and then failed to find the decent followup. This sounds like Indiana Wants Me Part 2. Taylor would try a couple more times and then faded to one hit wonder status.
But then again, this batch of 45s isn't much better.
1) The Battle Of Kookamonga-Homer And Jethro (RCA 47-7585) #14 1959
Homer and Jethro remains a soft spot in my heart as they were one of the best country duos that can cover country songs for fun and games and this was their only showing on the billboard pop chart. A parody of The Battle Of New Orleans, this may have been the inspiration for the movie Meatballs almost twenty years later, the simple fact of boys going to camp during the summer and discovering girls and if lucky, finding them swimming with their bathing suits on, or less. B side was them remaking Waterloo.
2) Chit Atkins, Make Me A Star-Don Bowman (RCA 47-8384) 1964
Bowman, on the other hand was not as funny as Homer And Jethro and somehow RCA held on to him for a good long time, this was his first RCA 45, his last would be in 1971 and he would move on the Mega for a couple more. Backed with the Anita Kerr Singers and the famed RCA session players, Bowman yucks it up and attempts to do Wildwood Flower, with flawed results. Sheb Wooley was better, B side was I Never Did Finish The Song.. Which is as mundane as the title suggests.
3) Careless Hands-Jan Howard (Challenge 9112) 1961
Future country star but on this song goes for a Connie Francis sound. The guess is that Jan is using the the famed country sessions players that did so many recordings for Decca/RCA etc etc. The backing vocals are MOR pop than country and a bit dated so to speak. B Side Let Me Know is uptempo country somewhat like Lynn Anderson would do later on in the 60s. I like this song better. Including that bass scatting background singer.
4) The Son Of Rebel Rouser-Duane Eddy (RCA 47-8276) #97 1964
Duane's last chart placement and further proof that followup to big hits don't usually guarantee the same results. But I don't care, I love Duane Eddy's stuff, the Jamie stuff rocks but going to RCA, Eddy begin to embrace a more muzak and MOR sound. The whooping shouts and the chorus reminds me more of Billy Vaughn than Lee Hazelwood Then again I rarely see any RCA singles that are not scratched up to holy hell either. This is playable.
5) Elusive Butterfly-Bob Lind (World Pacific 77808) #5 1966
He benefits from Jack Nitchize's arrangements and although the song is probably the best thing Bob ever written, it's not one of those all time favorites that I'd play, probably once a year and that's that. B side Cheryl's Going Home, might have been the A side till the DJ's flipped it over. Not exactly memorable. Lind had two other songs that reached the top 100 but I have never heard them. And not about to start now.
6) Dance Only With Me-Robert Knight (Dot 45-16256) 1961
Teen pop I suppose, although I'm not sure this is the same one that did Everlasting Love years later, but I'm guessing this is the same Robert Knight that did Isn't It Lonely Together A variation on the Drifters' Dance With Me I suspect. B Side Because sucks.
7) My Heat Cries For You-Ray Charles (ABC Paramount 45-10530) #38 1964
Baby Don't You Cry #39
I think Guy Mitchell did this way back in the 1950s as a straight pop number. This was during Ray's attempt to re do country music, but it's more MOR pop than country but Ray really puts his effort into this song and it becomes stronger than it should have been. B side Baby Don't You Cry is a more big band bossa nova sound, but I can't help but hearing the introduction sounding a lot like The Doors Break On Through To The Other Side. Perhaps the Doors maybe listened to this?
8) Take A Girl Like You-The Foundations (Uni 55210) 1969
More sunny pop from the gang that gave you Build Me Up Buttercup but this didn't chart on the Billboard top 100 although it did on the regional charts. Can't understand why this didn't do better. B Side I'm Going Be A Rich Man is perhaps their most hard rocking number but you'll never hear it on the radio. It almost passes off as a garage rock song.
9) Then I'll Count Again-Johnny Tillotson #86 1965
Johnny's 45s seem to find their way over here and most of them I enjoyed a lot. This one, not so much, he's still using the teen idol pop via country way. Written by Chip Taylor (Wild Thing). Since it clocks two seconds over 2 minutes, you hardly notice it much. Neither did the compilers of Johnny's Greatest Hits that came out on Varese, they left it off.
10) Hot Smoke And Sassafras-Bubble Puppy (International Artists IA 128) #14 1969
Granted from the rest of the Davenport finds, I managed to find something from BDW today, this little hard rock number that still remains one of the best hard rock garage songs ever. Reissues still have a crappy mix, so I rather much hear this via an old scratchy record. One of the few times somebody one upped on Ted Nugent during the Amboy Dukes period.
The Rest of the Finds (and soon to be redonated)
The One Fingered Symphony-Rod Lauren (RCA 47-7786) 1960
Wild Imagination probably was the A side but this is teen idol pop with a heart. Not bad.
I Don't Want To See Tomorrow-Nat King Cole (Capitol 5261) #34 1964
LOVE #81
Later in his life Nat Cole went to a more country sound, like what Ray Charles was doing and for contemporary country at that time, Cole could rival Brother Ray. I can listen to it, B Side LOVE has a bounce jazz like Mack The Knife. Cole might have been listening to Bobby Darin at that time.
Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On-Dean Martin (Reprise 334) #22 1965
It has that arrangement that made Everybody Loves Somebody a big hit and while this arrangement was getting tedious this still crack into the top 25. Jimmy Bowen produced, Ernie Freeman did the arrangements, Earl Palmer is playing drums. B Side I'll Be Seeing You is even more tedious.
The First Thing Every Morning-Jimmy Dean (Columbia 4-43283) #91 1965
Lor Crane (Chad And Jeremy) had a bright idea of taking the Jimmy Bowen way of making Jimmy Dean do songs in a pop vein. Didn't work very well. Sounds like a weaker Everybody Loves Somebody. B side Awkward Situation tells a story about a man talking about the birds and bees to a kid that knew more than his dad. (But I'll give him five buck to hear how much he really knows,meaning his child, the punch line). Good for a chuckle.
Goodtime Charlie-Roy Clark (Capitol 5047) 1964
Roy Clark, helluva country guitar player but gawd his albums were spotty as hell. This song you can file under half assed predicament. B side Application Of Love is worse.
My Devotion-Tab Hunter (Dot 45-16205) 1961
Laughable teen idol pop garbage. B Side Wild Side Of Life is another misstep, to which Hunter talks rather than sings the song. There are great teen idols, and there are good ones and there are so so ones and then there's ones that are simply bad. Guess where Tab figures in this.
Gotta See Jane- R. Dean Taylor (Rare Earth RE-5026) #67 1971
Taylor scored big with Indiana Wants Me and then failed to find the decent followup. This sounds like Indiana Wants Me Part 2. Taylor would try a couple more times and then faded to one hit wonder status.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Week In Review: Col Bruce Hampton RIP, Metallica In Iowa
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