Haapy Mondays - Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches

Same time my brother's friend hit me with the emotionally savaging Stone Roses he dropped this on me. It had just come out. I didn't play it much, but he gave me the disc and said, "Try it - maybe later."

That fall I ran off alone to Europe for many months. I brought some tapes with. On a whim I had recorded this for the trip. It rolled over me through endless train trips and hostel nights. Shaun Ryder and I bonded over a lot of herb and belgian beers. If The Stone Roses dragged my ass through the darkness, it was Happy Mondays that, if not quite saved me, at least kept me high enough to avoid it for a while. And that gets 'em some props.

I use it to clean house anymore, but it's still pretty therapeutic.

amg:
At their peak, the Happy Mondays were hedonism in perpetual motion, a party with no beginning and no end, a party where Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches was continually pumping. The apex of their career (and quite arguably the whole baggy/Madchester movement), Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches pulsates with a garish neon energy, with psychedelic grooves, borrowed hooks, and veiled threats piling upon each other with the logic of a drunken car wreck. As with Bummed, a switch in producers re-focuses and redefines the Mondays, as Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne replace the brittle, assaultive Martin Hannett production with something softer and expansive that is truly dance-club music instead of merely suggestive of it. Where the Stone Roses were proudly pop classicists, styling themselves after the bright pop art of the '60s, the Mondays were aggressively modern, pushing pop into the ecstasy age by leaning hard on hip-hop, substituting outright thievery for sampling. Although it's unrecognizable in sound and attitude, "Step On," the big hit from Pills, is a de facto cover of John Kongos' "He's Gonna Step on You Again," LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade" provides the skeleton for "Kinky Afro," but these are the cuts that call attention to themselves; the rest of the record is draped in hooks and sounds from hits of the past, junk culture references, and passing puns, all set to a kaleidoscopic house beat. Oakenfold and Osborne may be responsible for the sound of Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches, certainly more than the band, which almost seems incidental to this meticulously arranged album, but Shaun Ryder is the heart and soul of the album, the one that keeps the Mondays a dirty, filthy rock & roll outfit. Lifting melodies at will, Ryder twists the past to serve his purpose, gleefully diving into the gutter with stories of cheap drugs and threesomes, convinced that god made it easy on him, and blessed with that knowledge, happy to traumatize his girlfriend's kid by telling them that he only went with his mother cause she was dirty. He's a thug and something of a poet, creating a celebratory collage of sex, drugs, and dead-end jobs where there's no despair because only a sucker could think that this party would ever come to an end.

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Tom Jones - Live In Las Vegas

For some reason I thought I posted birthday wishes to Da Man last month, but apparently I failed.

Laugh it up, but the dude still gets more action in a single weekend than you'll see in your life.

Happy 70th Birthday, TJ!

More panties than a man can handle.

amg:
Tom Jones' greatest strength is as a showman, making Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas one of his strongest records. As he tears through his well-constructed show, the vocalist works the reserved crowd into a near-frenzy, which makes him sing stronger and more dramatically. However, Tom Jones is at his best when he is at his most melodramatic, so this isn't a flaw. Jones' impassioned performance and the absence of weak material make Live in Las Vegas one of his most consistent records. Not surprisingly, it was also his biggest hit, peaking at number three on the American album charts.

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Pussy Galore - Historia De la Musica Rock

My favorite pussy, and their last.






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The Beta Band - Three EPs

Been so long. Forgot what it's like.

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Allmusic.com: That Oasis and Radiohead, the two biggest names in U.K. rock during the '90s, separately made claims in 1999 about creating a "Beta Band record" (even though neither band actually did) speaks volumes about the impact of The 3 E.P.'s. With reference points literally all across the map, the Beta Band still managed a sound that was startlingly fresh, broadly appealing to fans of jam bands, indie rock, electronica, and Brit-pop, which is no small feat in and of itself. Rather than a full-length debut, per se, The 3 E.P.'s is, as the name suggests, a collection of three limited-edition EPs which were released between 1997 and 1998 on the U.K. indie Regal Records. As such, the songs display an off-the-cuff charm which is as refreshing as it is unforced, revealing a natural progression by the band from humble folk/indie rock beginnings ("Dry the Rain," made famous in a brilliant scene in 2000's High Fidelity) to full-out psychedelic pop endings ("Needles in My Eye"). Throughout The 3 E.P.'s, rather than employing the typical verse-chorus-verse song structure exhausted by '90s alternative rock, the Beta Band successfully mines Krautrock, the Canterbury Scene, hip-hop drum loops, and even '70s funk and soul to build their songs around infectious beats, grooves, and melodies. And while many of the songs cause instant head-bobbing (witness High Fidelity), they are also helped along by Stephen Mason's alternately mantra-like and free-association vocal lines, which also manage to display a trace of sadness and introspection amid hippie-ish come-together sentiments. Despite a couple of experimental clunkers (the overly long instrumental "Monolith" and the rap during "The House Song"), it is precisely the Beta Band's skill at juxtaposition which prevents The 3 E.P.'s in being merely an exercise in met expectations (like the vast majority of '90s alternative rock). Although much of the album's popularity stemmed from its contrast with the tedious state of music upon its release, The 3 E.P.'s indeed transcends on many levels. Only a band without anything to lose or gain could create music like this, and in the end eclecticism has and will rarely sound better.

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Helios Creed - X Rated Fairytales

Space age sweat rock. It's hot in the hot tub!

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Allmusic.com Recorded with a fairly straightforward backing band (bassist Mark Duran, synth-player John Carlan, and drummer/keyboardist Bill Roth), Creed's first solo album still turned out to be something touched with the unmistakable mark of Chrome. The production was often murky and strange, effects processing was everywhere, Creed's vocals sounded on the edge of sanity, and, of course, the guitars. Still creating one massive rock surge after another, with feedback piled on top of feedback and, likely enough, more pedals than anyone had ever seen at any one time, Creed showed once again why his guitar-god reputation exists in the first place. That his first solo album continued the true vibe of Chrome where Damon Edge's own use and abuse of the name made him a laughing stock probably wasn't that surprising in the end. Creed himself thought of this album as a more stripped-down, less "stony" affair, but it's mostly a matter of splitting hairs from an outside perspective. Considering that the title track itself is an acoustic guitar-led acid folk number with appropriate crumbling guitar noises in the background and post-hippie vibes everywhere, one has to wonder what Creed considers to be really stoned music. The most crisp the album gets is with the rhythm section, which often has a good full-bodied punch to it (and if anything sounds a bit like the work of Can, one of Chrome's inspirations). There's a little less stuff about alien takeovers and lurking gods outside the solar system and the like -- there's even a semi-cover of the old Chuck Berry classic "Johnny B. Goode" -- but then again one almost-dancefloor number is called "Sex Voodoo Venus," so go figure. "Showdown" is also a pretty focused, rhythmic number notable for chunky riffs rather than extended soloing, while the "You don't like me/I don't like you" lyrics are pretty funny (and maybe about Edge -- and who could blame him?).


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Swag - Catchall

15 or so years ago, while working on a project for the television network I was employed by, I spent a little time in an edit suite in Nashville. Doug Powell, the graphics guy assigned to my project, and I spent a few days with one another and, as happens, we spent a lot of time chatting as images were rendering. The subject was often music and we discussed the fact that he was a musician and songwriter doing graphics to pay the bills.

The second day we were in the suite he brought in a demo of some songs for his album. He had recently been signed by RCA after Jules Shear had introduced him to an A&R guy there and was hopeful about finishing the record soon and its release. The songs were great - Todd Rundgren, Jules Shear, and a host of other power pop masters had obviously been big influences. We stayed in touch after I left Nashville. He sent me unreleased Jules Shear demos and kept me posted on his album status.

Sadly, the exec who had signed him moved to Mercury, and although he took album with him, just as it was released a new label prez fired the A&R guy and stopped promotion on the album. Doug, nursed his wounds and cheered himself by touring with Todd Rundgren. Rundgren also liked Doug's stuff and agreed to produce his second album, but Mercury rejected the recording and dumped Doug.

Doug went about recording and self-releasing his stuff out of Nashville and getting chummy with his fellow musicians there. Although his music collected good reviews and showed his talent, his best work came not as a solo artist, but with a bunch of buddies as a lark.

In 2001, Doug, along with Ken Coomer (Wilco), Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick), Jerry Dale McFadden (Sixpence None The Richer), and Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks), formed a one-off group, Swag.

Catchall, their only full-length release, is like a tour of pure pop history - a joyous, raucous, party that delights the senses. Sounding in turns like the Beatles, Elvis Costello, and even Cheap Trick (the Petersson penned Ride, adds the twist of actually namechecking his real band), they have a gas and you can tell this was a labor of love for all of them. It's a shame this was the extent of their work - the collaboration ultimately dissolved in lawsuits - but it's worth it.

Of interest:
Lone
the McCartneyesque Near Perfect Smile and Different Girl
Please Don't Tell Her
the Costelloesque Eight
& Louise

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Kain - The Blue Guerrilla [1970]

Apologies for the false advertising on that "flurry" of 1970 releases. I was briefly detained. Gylan Kain of the original Last Poets is here to make up for it. Nothing I could type will elucidate this album more than "Put it on now".

So, do that if you can. I'm leaving through the back door. You didn't see me.

Look out for The Blue Guerrilla

The Blasting Concept, Volume 1: An SST Compilation

Once upon a time, compilations mattered. Probably because they didn't get released at the rate of five per week like they seemingly did in the mid-90s. Some held lasting influence, cracked the ground open, spawned dozens of derivative and unique rock groups, made us hate our parents more, huff spray paint, stick safety pins through our parts and give voice to a reservoir of black and brown exurb anger which was previously expressed via habitual masturbation, self-loathing or slasher films (this author excepted).

This did that, and more. It and its next gen pal comps (See: The Wailing Ultimate) stuck a blockbuster up our asses, thank God. I saved my dishwasher gig money and bought each of these records.

SST changed our lives.
Allmusic: SST was one of the most important indie labels to emerge out of the punk rubble. Based in L.A., the company would soon list such seminal '80s bands as the Minutemen, Black Flag, the Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, and Sonic Youth as part of its roster. This early roundup from 1983 spotlights tracks from all of these bands, save for Sonic Youth. San Pedro's finest, the Minutemen, get the lion's share with four songs from their debut release. Black Flag follows suit with three fine sides from its Jealous Again album (plus some singles), while the Meat Puppets contribute two from their own maiden release and Hüsker Dü is tapped for "Real World" from the Metal Circus EP. And rounding things out are solo shots from Saccharine Trust, Stains, Overkill, and Wurm. A must for the historically minded punk fan.

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Bonnie Prince Billy - Blue Lotus Feet EP

This Oldham guy has churned out many remarkable EPs, many remarkable (and some not-so-remarkable) LPs and many an envy-inspiring moment with keen, heart-tugging couplet n such. So, simply, he's a fan favorite of thou here in the Roxx Shire and the glaring absence of him in these nether regions has its one reason. This EP circumvents said (not said) reason, and thankfully allows for worldly distribution and the sharing or foisting of what are miraculous songs in an nonmiraculous time, made by largely nonmiraculous people.

The One With The Birds/South Side Of The World 7" lyrically, sentimentally, gut-wise stands up to the best... I can't draw the proper comparison. Something from Drake, Cohen, Dylan... not sure. It's flawless. Birds especially is a close favorite, at once dry and witty and sincere and sweet. That's like the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of music, dig? I list it in my top 20 of my stupid life.
Southside of the World is a gospel number with no end. Lumbering and sanctimonious but a compelling tale, nonetheless. Makes you feel good about all the shit and ugliness in your life. Builds character, no? A hymn for diversity and experience... Huzzah for our differences.

give me donkey ears !

give me honkey tears !

give me black blood !

and that of queers !

to mix with my own

The flipside has Oldham churning out some really lovely versions of some Krishna Klassics. Little hummable mantras to keep with you breakfast to your nightly pre-bed silver haze schvitz. The titles track is especially endearing.

All of this B-side is raw, simple, unprocessed and like it's cousin A-side awash in that warm stuff that drew us to this real music stuff anyways.

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Wikipedia: Blue Lotus Feet is the name of a Bonnie 'Prince' Billy EP released on UK record label Domino Records in 1998. It consists of the "One with the Birds" / "Southside of the World" single (previously released on Palace Records in the U.S. the same year), as well as five Hare Krishna songs, first performed live by Oldham during a session for VPRO's "De Avonden" broadcast on Dutch radio on 15 October 1998. The English translation of the krishnas is taken from "Cosmic Chants" by Paramahansa Yogananda, as originally sung and recorded by the Monks Of The Self-Realization Order.

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Moondog - Moondog (1969)

The Chicago post got me thinking about Jim Guercio. He was quite a wunderkind with Columbia Records, writing songs and producing hits for Chad & Jeremy and the Buckinghams. When Chicago took off, as well as the hit-packed album he produced for Blood, Sweat and Tears, he had clout with the label - a lot of clout. He used that new muscle to get label deals for artists he was fond of. The avant-garde composer/street artist Moondog (aka, Louis Thomas Hardin) was one of them.

This was the first (and best) of two albums Guercio produced for him in 1969 and 70. Guercio gave the compositions the depth and respect they deserved. 41 years after its release and 11 years after Moondog's death they still sound fresh and beautiful.

You will certainly recognize Lament 1, Bird's Lament, but everything else is as rich if not as familiar.

amg:
Moondog's second self-titled album (the first one came out in 1956 on the independent jazz label Prestige) was the idiosyncratic composer's first release in 12 years, and it shows how much Moondog's already rich music had matured since 1957's The Story of Moondog. Where Moondog's '50s records were jazz-based, Moondog showcases the composer's orchestral side; producer James William Guercio assembled an orchestra of over 40 musicians from the classical and jazz worlds (including flutist Hubert Laws and bassist Ron Carter), and although the pieces are quite compact — ranging from the expansive three-part ballet suite "Witch of Endor" to the eight-second spoken poem "Cuplet" — Moondog uses the expanded range of tonal colors and dynamics impressively. For someone who spent most of his career performing solo on a street corner in Manhattan, Moondog's arrangements on pieces like the jazz-canon's "Stamping Ground" are not only admirably complex, but also richly melodic. Although Moondog is often thought of as a mere exotica novelty, thanks to the composer's eccentricities, it is, in fact, one of the finest third stream jazz albums of its era.

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Meat Puppets - Out My Way EP

Hot. High. Hairy. Head. the Pups emerge from their noodling psyche weirdo shock and engage in blistering power chord Topisms. Always reminds me of the humidity of Midwestern summers, cool waters, smokiness and rarely wearing a t-shirt.

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Allmusic.com: When originally released in 1986, the six-track Out My Way EP was supposed to be a stop-gap release -- guitarist/singer Curt Kirkwood had broken his finger, and needed time to recover. Musically, the EP showed that the Puppets were moving on from their early punk sound to a more traditional rock direction. But the band's originality was still offered in abundance; for example, the album-opening "She's Hot" sounds like a jam session between ZZ Top and the Talking Heads. Also included was the spacious sounds of the title track, the carefree "Not Swimming Ground," and an explosive reading of Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly." The 1999 Rykodisc reissue more than doubled the original's track listing, containing such standout rarities as a Black Sabbath-esque reading of "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (from 1982), a fragile cover of the country classic "Burn the Honky Tonk Down" (originally popularized by George Jones), plus the experimental "Backwards Drums."



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Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago Transit Authority

The recent phase around these parts really isn't complete without this band. They cranked out the epitome of soft rock in the 1970s and only got worse in the 80s. But they really didn't start that way.

In 1969 these guys debuted with a double album, all but unheard of at the time, or even now. It was no soft rock serving (though it had a few sprinkled in.) Under the guidance of manager/svengali Jim Guercio it fused the latin, jazz, and psychedelic influences of the time (a case can be made from this record alone that Terry Kath's chops were matched only by Hendrix) and created something that, if not entirely original, was certainly not commonplace. It rocked hard, and was often fearless (see the 15 minutes of Liberation or Free Form Guitar if you doubt me.)

This record was more or less constantly played on my stepfather's reel to reel deck in 1970/71 and as a 9 old kid I remember how difficult it was for me to comprehend all this coming from just one band, let alone from the same album.

They would make better pop with their second album (though curiously as severely edited, and thus more radio-friendly, movements from very long suites - a major bone of contention between the band and Guercio that led to a parting of ways in 78) and hone their soft rock niche over the coming years, but this first record was the most diverse and interesting they would ever produce.

amg:
Few debut albums can boast as consistently solid an effort as the self-titled Chicago Transit Authority (1969). Even fewer can claim to have enough material to fill out a double-disc affair. Although this long- player was ultimately the septet's first national exposure, the group was far from the proverbial "overnight sensation." Under the guise of the Big Thing, the group soon to be known as CTA had been honing its eclectic blend of jazz, classical, and straight-ahead rock & roll in and around the Windy City for several years. Their initial non-musical meeting occurred during a mid-February 1967 confab between the original combo at Walter Parazaider's apartment on the north side of Chi Town. Over a year later, Columbia Records staff producer James Guercio became a key supporter of the group, which he rechristened Chicago Transit Authority. In fairly short order the band relocated to the West Coast and began woodshedding the material that would comprise this title. In April of 1969, the dozen sides of Chicago Transit Authority unleashed a formidable and ultimately American musical experience. This included an unheralded synthesis of electric guitar wailin' rock & roll to more deeply rooted jazz influences and arrangements. This approach economized the finest of what the band had to offer — actually two highly stylized units that coexisted with remarkable singularity. On the one hand, listeners were presented with an incendiary rock & roll quartet of Terry Kath (lead guitar/vocals), Robert Lamm (keyboards/vocals), Peter Cetera (bass/vocals), and Danny Seraphine (drums). They were augmented by the equally aggressive power brass trio that included Lee Loughnane (trumpet/vocals), James Pankow (trombone), and the aforementioned Parazaider (woodwind/vocals). This fusion of rock with jazz would also yield some memorable pop sides and enthusiasts' favorites as well. Most notably, a quarter of the material on the double album — "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?," "Beginnings," "Questions 67 and 68," and the only cover on the project, Steve Winwood's "I'm a Man" — also scored as respective entries on the singles chart. The tight, infectious, and decidedly pop arrangements contrast with the piledriving blues-based rock of "Introduction" and "South California Purples" as well as the 15-plus minute extemporaneous free for all "Liberation." Even farther left of center are the experimental avant-garde "Free Form Guitar" and the politically intoned and emotive "Prologue, August 29, 1968" and "Someday (August 29, 1968).

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A documentary was produced in 1970 by NBC - a sort of cinema verite look at the music industry through the life of a band. As it happened that band was Chicago just prior to the release of their second album. The doc just showed up on youtube last month and it's fascinating, both for its look at Chicago before they had become huge stars, and for the cultural window it provides. Plus Guercio is soooo damned young, skinny and serious. In 3 parts.