THIS BLOG IS ABOUT 7" RECORDS ONLY. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY. EVERY SONG IS CONVERTED TO MP3 FROM MY PERSONAL 45 COLLECTION, AND THERE'S NOT ONE THAT I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND YOU SEEKING OUT. ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDERS WHO DON'T WANT THEIR MUSIC HEARD HERE JUST LET ME KNOW, AND DOWN IT WILL COME. CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE.
Acquired taste. Okay, I agree. During the late 70′s folk boom and the accompanying blind acceptance of, I didn’t know what to make of some of these acts. I don’t think anybody did. The Incredible String Band were English so I put the time in to find some positives. I mean everyone needed a few essential folk genre bits for the collection. And they did have some happening album covers. Seems they released several in very short order – so many that I never ended up buying one out of confusion. Then I LOOKED UP came out and started to get a few plays on the local college station, Syracuse University’s WAER. I took the plunge and bought. My two, by far, favorite tracks (‘This Moment’ and ‘Black Jack Davy’) were A and B sides in the UK. How handy.
Shortly thereafter, the SU Concert Committee booked them into a weird part chapel/part venue joint on campus. It was usually reserved for jazz events, don’t remember the name, but I did see The Soft Machine there. Most likely, they could be considdered jazz if you stretched it – and I’m glad they did – wow, great show.
Anyways, The Incredible String Band were spectacular. Featured the expanded (Mike and Robin plus girlfriends Rose and Licorice) lineup from I LOOKED UP and the about to be released U. In hindsight, the girlfriends were a bit of a Spinal Tap move sans tambourines. Still, we loved it.
Whoever Black Jack Davy was, many a song has been written about his folklore reputation. This version is not to be confused with other excellent ones of the same title by The Gun Club, Steeleye Span and The White Stripes.
And the above ‘This Moment’ (3:19), to my knowledge, is a 7″ vinyl only version. Every LP and CD contains the full 6:09 minute take.
Marc Lessner at Soul Trader in London was a most dependable source when it came to the latest, greatest dance and club releases back in the late 90′s. It was Marc who insisted I pay attention to Air, and gave me their first UK EP, LE SOLEIL EST PRESCE MOI. Despite a French aversion resulting from a few bad trips to Paris, I found Air irresistable. ‘Modular’ on Mo Wax followed and then came ‘Sexy Boy’, with an intro riff shockingly similar to New Math’s ‘They Walk Among You’, which was played down the phone to me by Howard quite early. But it was indeed the song’s similarity to Pink Floyd’s ‘Julia Dream’ that really grabbed my interest. All these years later, and I still don’t think I’ve even heard one mention of Pink Floyd when it comes to Air. Oh, and I do cherish my promo only UK single pictured above, one of many gems from the hands of Lessner. He always had my back when it came to promos bless him.
I excitedly went to see an early, maybe first, New York show at Town Hall soon after ‘Sexy Boy’ became an underground hit. It was very, very disappointing. I was shocked at how dull the whole event was. It put me off ever buying a ticket again, but not from loving the recordings.
Conveniently, despite their club royalty status, many of the singles were issued on UK 7″ vinyl. Both ‘Kelly Watch The Stars’ and ‘Radio #1′ were radio and chart hits in the UK, unlike here in the US. Once again, our programmers chose to grind their tired sounding stations to a cultural halt – I heard today that Boston’s WBCN bit the dust – put themselves right out of business with their stubborn musical policies. Good riddance.
Seems to me the excellent Animal Collective have quite good tastes – the influence Air have had on their records is worn very visibly on their sleeves. All good.
Ok, I’m not a collector of Gospel, and certainly not an expert, yet always pick up the singles in the odd event I occasionally find them. This EP was amongst Tony King’s collection, and is brimming with fervour, spontaneity and a fantastic sense of urgency. These recordings show how the preacher and his congregation combine in passionate yet tender reverence, in a way that authentic spirituals always do.
Released in ’59, the four song EP included the A and B sides of The Reverend Kelsey’s 1956 UK single ‘I’m A Royal Child’ / ‘Where Is The Lion In The Tribe Of Judea’. I’m posting the A, and ‘I’m A Witness For My Lord’, both reaching riveting finales.
Anyone with a spare of his first UK single ‘The Wedding Ceremony Of Sister Rosetta Sharpe And Russell Morrison (Parts 1 & 2) – please email me.
All the behind the scenes drama, politics, tension and sleeze associated with Ike & Tina Turner is an endless source of stimulation for this voyeur. Get hold of every last cd booklet accompanying their reissues, and especially the box sets (the Time/Life one is hugely advised) and study. The countless sessions and musical chairs will never really be figured out, but when this bunch was on – they were truly on. Whether as an after thought, or a genius parallel business model, The Ikettes were the bomb. ‘I’m Blue’ premiered them to vinyl and was probably an unexpected hit. The first of many sizzling, gutteral vocal performances – you could always depend on an Ikettes single.
‘Peaches & Cream’ sounded fantastic on AM radio in ’65, and I was well excited to see that summer’s Dick Clark Caravan Of Stars make a Syracuse stop. The Ikettes took the stage in silk fringed orange mini dresses and gyrated though four numbers including this one. Being afforded the benefit of headliner Tom Jones’ full brass back up band transformed it into a crazy wild Soul revue. Not surprisingly, these weren’t The Ikettes at all, at least not the ones on record. Still through Ike’s revolving door it seems everyone was an Ikette for a minute, so who’s complaining. Considering they followed Them on stage after ‘Here Comes The Night’, ‘Call My Name’ and a rousing ‘Gloria’, and upped the stakes is proof of their power.
Like The Flirtations’ ‘Nothing But A Heartache, ‘I’m So Thankful’ is one of the great Motown records that was never on Motown. You’d swear it was recorded right there on Grand Blvd.
Sticking with the euphoric fantasy of 60′s Mod clubs around London’s Soho I touched on in the last few posts, it’s irresponsible not to include Billy Preston. ‘Billy’s Bag’ was christened hip, no small reason being it’s issue on the Sue label. Nice hammond groover, as the in crowd would say.
It’s not news that I’m a sucker for covers of ‘Sunny’. I hated the song when it was current, check my Bobby Hebb post from November ’08, but have since sobered up and done my penance. Amongst my collection is this fake (I’m guessing) live version apparently attempting to recreate one of those very club nights mentioned above. Again, nice hammond groover, again as the in crowd would say.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band’s version from their EAST / WEST album was my inroduction to Allen Toussaint’s ‘Get Out Of My Life, Woman’. Seemed like all of a sudden, I was seeing Allen Toussaint’s name in the fine print on a bunch of records. All those ignored-by-everyone-else details on the labels were fireside reading for me. A $1.99 mono cut out of his RIDE YOUR PONEY / GET OUT OF MY LIFE, WOMAN album was irresistible around the time, brimming with Allen Toussaint this and that. I was hooked.
‘Working In The Coalmine’ always felt just like…working in a coalmine. Even though I was a youngster addicted to English rock music, it still left loads of room to fantasize about the deep south and it’s chitlin circuit. Anything ethnic was a big magnet, and always on first listen. I’d heard Sam Cooke’s ‘Chain Gang’ but this sounded like working on a chain gang. The pipe clinging sound effect probably being the clincher for a kid. Yeah, Lee Dorsey has the vocal torture down pat too. Definitely rivals ‘Honky Tonk Women’ for best intro.
Sorry but isn’t this the ‘Wang Dang Doddle’ riff? I’m expecting to hear Jimmy Reed start singing any second.
But these are all good things. I think it’s what’s called a scorcher. Deep studio funk was an inviting description I read recently as well. It’s the soundtrack to a black and white, smokey club segment whereby the music always ends to early – and before the days of Shazam, so you’d never know who the fuck it was.
Didn’t hurt that ‘Shimmy Shimmy Walk’ released on Sue. You just know for sure Guy Stevens played it at those romantic sweat boxes off Wardour Street in the 60′s.
Okay, so the title isn’t as good as his ‘Cheaper To Keep Her’, but the groove is crazy. I own just about every single Johnnie Taylor ever made, and definitely all the ones on Stax. None of them can touch this. Like with most, Booker T & The MG’s are clearly playing all over it and unbelievably, ‘Testify (I Wonna)’, never gets props. It wasn’t even included on the box set, THE COMPLETE STAX SINGLES. Sorry. I’m confused. Not only was it a single, but a classic Don Davis production.
A nice one to have on Vee Jay, but even nicer on UK Fontana. A Northern Soul classic, a Mod favorite, lot’s of descriptions have been pinned on this baby. Part of a healthy chart run in ’65 – she had five BILLBOARD Top 100′s. Pretty much all of her Vee Jay output is worth having. Good songs, most of them have been covered too. This one’s a perfect snapshot of the time period’s all nighter club ambience. Best left alone, kinda like ‘Be My Baby’.
1959, the year this double sider mid-charted, also marked the end of his time with Atlantic. A few raw R&B singles spilled into his later ABC Records output, like ‘Busted’, but as it turned out, this was the end of a real deal era, not unlike Elvis pre-draft or The Rolling Stones with Brian Jones. Unfortunately there are many examples.
Love Sculpture covered ‘I Believe To My Soul’ on BLUES HELPING. It’s where I first heard it. I played the record a few years back, this after a long, long patch of collecting all the originals, and God did it sound white. Ouch. Still the recording is nicely time period, meaning plenty of crystal clear separation with lots of space exposing all the good and bad. Despite the sugary rockabilly of Dave Edmunds’ later stuff, he was obviously a pretty flash guitarist at the start. Ray Charles’ version is everything I could have wished for – brings me right to some fantasy juke joint backwoods honky tonk, whatever those places were described as. I like to think this is what it sounded like.
In similar fashion, The Rolling Stones OUT OF OUR HEADS included Hank Snow’s ‘I’m Movin’ On’. I was nuts about the track and convinced some friends to come see him at The State Fair. He was playing straight C&W by then though (’69), and did not rock out in the slightest. I bet it was probably way better than I could appreciate at the time.
A reoccurring event: ‘Night Of Fear’ moving in and out of the slot known as my all time favorite single. THE BEST OF THE MOVE was the only cd in the car this past week, so when the iPod ran out of juice during a four day break out of town, in went the disc.
‘Night Of Fear’ had charted in England during December ’66. Just after Christmas day I ventured to Smith’s Records, my local, to pour over BILLBOARD. The Hits Of The World section to be exact. It was always a first stop once picking up any issue, as well, the singles review page and Bubbling Under The Hot 100. The record had jumped from #42 to #17, and with a band named The Move, I was already sold. Unlike today’s just-a-click-away reality, the long wait to hear this one began then and there.
I’m pretty sure the first time was on AMERICAN BANDSTAND in February, the Rate A Record segment to be exact. I’d always have my reel to reel poised for this bit, you could count on at least one gem to be played. Thinking about the programming and record company politics of the day, I’m guessing Rate A Record was much like today’s Specialty Show play, where radio will squeeze in some not yet proven releases that deserve an airing. Regardless, I was ready, and played that taped version, with Dick Clark talking over the intro and outro, easily hundreds of times. I still hear his delivery subliminally during each play of the actual record to this day.
I know Roy Wood hates ‘Night Of Fear’, he told me so. When I asked him to do me a jukebox tab, he was totally agreeable. But when I said ‘Night Of Fear’, a dreadful grimace crossed his face and he asked me to please pick any other song. I chose ‘Blackberry Way’ but prodded. Apparently, he never thought ‘Night Of Fear’ was very good at all, hated the recording and despised it being an A side. No amount of complimenting him otherwise changed his stance. What a shame. He should be so proud.
Well, I loved this song. All it’s twists and turns hold memories of the time, the weather, what was going on at school, what other records I was anxious to hear and own, how fun life was just being a little kid. Lots of reasons to play it over and over all these years later.
It could have been awful, and left a nasty void, had John Lydon not delivered as powerful and contemporary a debut single for his new band as this. Do you remember the video that accompanied it? Equally great.
Johnny Ramone always planned to quit before the band got “fat, bald or lazy”. Despite everyone coaxing he and Joey back to the stage after their ’96 retirement, they did leave a timeless image of themselves, just as John planned, by never doing so. Whether by design or not, The Sex Pistols are in the same boat.
Lydon often hung out with Michael and Howard at Elektra around the time ALBUM was released in ’86. What a fucking hysterical guy. No question, he was a great night out.
Listen: The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum / The Fun Boy Three FB3Lunatics.mp3
I never bought into Terry Hall’s vocals with The Specials. He may have been sincere, but his pouty photos were a put off, plus I preferred the ska originators over the revivalists.
This all may have been a bit harsh on my part looking back. Even at the time, it only took one listen to ‘The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum’ and my whole view did an about face. In fact, that first play, coming out of Radio 1 early one rainy morning in Howard’s Hammersmith flat on Agate Road, set the perfect scenario.
I remember it vividly. Hot tea in hand, I just stood there until the record finished. It sounded so different, maybe even groundbreaking as they say, a bit like The Dixie Cups ‘Iko Iko’ mashed up with David Essex’s ‘Rock On’, although I doubt either played any part in it’s creation. I dare say it still stands out today.
The chances of hearing this on any US oldies stations these days seem pretty slim. It was not always the case. I came to appreciate ‘Maybe’ even more in the 70′s, a result of Janis Joplin covering it with her Kosmic Blues Band. I searched out The Chantels version desperately after she did a killer version at the Syracuse War Memorial in May ’69 – having no patience to wait for hers later in the year. Within weeks of that show, Janis appeared on the syndicated program, MUSIC SCENE, wearing the same crushed velvet outfit. It’s one of the few bits of footage that really captures her:
I was reminded of all this today, when finding a copy of The Chantels crazy rare album at an Episcopal Church Of Christ yard sale in a small upstate town, where we stopped for some lunch. It was a gem amongst many. Not to mention the sweet potato pies, the cornbread/mac & cheese/string bean platter from their food stall and a whole lot of 45′s.
Nothing like the sight and sound of Shirley Murdock making her way down the hallway at Elektra to visit Bob Krasnow – kitted out in high, high heels and tight, tight dress. She brought it to a whole new level. About twenty minutes after said sighting, my phone rang – Bob wanted me in his office. I couldn’t believe Bob had remembered my infatuation with her. By this time, they’d been joined by her producer, Roger Troutman, famous for his WB/Reprise band Zapp and his own solo hit, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’. I was in heaven and Kras with that big smile on his face.
Her debut single ‘Truth Or Dare’ didn’t get the props it deserved, and admittedly the 80′s production dated fast, with a revival yet to be planned. But man, what a track.
Listen: Gin House Blues / The Amen Corner AmenGin.mp3
Listen: The World Of Broken Hearts / The Amen Corner AmenWorld.mp3
Listen: High In The Sky / The Amen Corner AmenHigh.mp3
It’s interesting that despite today’s technology, and all the immediacy of it, things in 1967 were happening pretty fast too. ‘Gin House Blues’, released on July 21 (according to the above hand written test pressing) actually charted 6 days later on July 26, peaking at #12. Almost as unlikely a mainstream hit, it’s followup, ‘The World Of Broken Hearts’ spent six weeks in the UK Top 50, reaching #24. Singer Andy Fairweather Low’s strangled delivery didn’t initially appear to have mass appeal, but subsequent singles, like the near US hit ‘High In The Sky’ proved otherwise. Indeed, The Amen Corner took Roy Wood’s (should-have-been-a-single for his band The Move) ‘Hello Suzie’, to a UK #1 in ’69, the band having left Deram for Immediate by then. Their album only (except in Holland) version of The Soul Survivors’ hit, ‘Expressway To Your Heart’, apparently became a much played track in the Northern Soul clubs.
For the record, let me share some factual information: all promotional A labels from UK Decca and it’s subsidiaries (Deram, London, etc), up until mid-’69, were shipped in white sleeves. As tempted as you may be to put a company stock bag on them – it’s just not correct. Hence, any of the records I post in white sleeves are there for authenticity. The UK promo of ‘The World Of Broken Hearts’ pictured above is the ’69 reissue, by then being shipped in the Deram company sleeve. Oh, in the US, Deram promo singles shipped in Deram sleeves by the label’s second release (The Move ‘Night Of Fear’). Only the very first US Deram promo 7″ (Beverley ‘Happy New Year’) came in a plain brown sleeve. What can I say, I am completely obsessed with having my records in their correct covers.
At the height of Janis Joplin’s popularity, Columbia realized they had the entire Bessie Smith catalog down in the basement of 51 W. 52nd Street just collecting dust. Janis had name checked her endless times in the press and on TV (Dick Cavett) as her primary influence. Us rabid fans couldn’t get hold of that first double reissue, ANY WOMAN’S BLUES, fast enough. I became obsessed with the first three songs on Side 2: ‘I’m Wild About That Thing’, ‘You Got To Give Me Some’ and ‘Kitchen Man’. They are primal and hilariously suggestive, just like Janis. I played them repeatedly. In fact, some of Janis’ vocal inflections are so similar – well it’s actually rather eerie. To my severe disappointment, none of the three made it to 7″ single, but just for fun (I’m assuming, as Columbia couldn’t possibly have thought a hit awaited), ‘Empty Bed Blues’ was indeed issued on the handy single format. Musically, the calamity of the noisy Salvation Army meets Dixieland band aside, it’s the voice that deserves close attention. Were Bessie Smith and Janis Joplin one in the same?
Bert Berns’ classic ‘Cry To Me’ had the luxury of being recorded by some truly seminal acts: Solomon Burke (who cut the classic original RnB chart entry), The Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things (see previous post). Often criminally overlooked when sighting legendary versions, Betty Harris not only belts out a rip roar performance for this A side, but actually out does herself on the flip ‘I’ll Be A Liar’. Also written by Burns, and as with it’s top side, produced by Leiber & Stoller, I’d bet this is the hotter of the two. The sparsity of the arrangement leaves plenty of space for her to shred the lead – pretty much scaring off any female competition. I don’t know of another version.
Betty went on from Jubilee to the Sansu label, recording ten singles there with Allen Toussaint. Although most of her work is collectable to both Deep Soul and Northern fans, my money’s on this essential double sider as the Betty Harris desert island choice.
I don’t need much prompting to give The Pretty Things a shout out. Phil May is one of music’s greatest vocalists. When I was running The Medicine Label at Warner Brothers in the 90′s, I asked then chairman Mo Ostin, during casual hallway conversation, if he’d let me reissue their 1973 FREEWAY MADNESS album, which was ripe for CD format. No problem.
Mo was the ultimate executive, they literally don’t make them that way any more. Prior to getting the green light to set up Medicine, I had a memorable meeting/job interview with him. I wanted details of when he signed both The Kinks and Family, which he ever so graciously recounted. And that was only the beginning of the many fascinating stories.
FREEWAY MADNESS, one of those Mo signings, holds some serious sentimental placemarks. Plus it afforded the band their first US tour. How insane is that? Despite their legendary status almost instantly, it wasn’t until spring ’73 that The Pretty Things played their initial US show, at LA’s Whisky A Go Go. I up and flew to California in April, like the senseless Anglophile that I was. Turned into a fantastic trip. Rich Fazekas, then part of United Artists hip college radio department, put me up for the week and introduced me to old Hollywood. UA had Family, Hawkwind, Ian Whitcomb, Man, The Move, Wizzard, endless Blue Note acts. It was the place to be. We raided, with Greg Shaw, UA’s publishing office, then anxious to dispose of their 7″ library. Talk about timing. We saw Tim Buckley at The Troubadour and of course The Pretty Things at The Whisky several nights straight. One month later, I booked them back at my college. May 19, 1973 to be exact.
Fast forward to last night. At a friend’s for dinner, I became engrossed in THE ROLLING STONES ALBUM FILE & COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY, by Alan Clayson, that was meant to be casual coffee table glancing. I intended taking a quick look, then couldn’t put it down. Learn something every day – and with this book you’ll learn many somethings. For instance, March 7, 1965. Manchester. Following a stopped Rolling Stones show at The Palace Theater, Keith and Mick taxied across town to leap onstage with The Pretty Things (Brian Jones was a room mate of The Pretty Things at the time) at The Manchester Cavern that evening. Among the songs that Mick duetted with Phil May: ‘Cry To Me’.
One hit wonder – but what a hit. An early staple for many a London RnB combo in the mid sixties, ‘Fortune Teller’ proved essential for The Rolling Stones, The Merseybeats, The Who and The Downliners Sect.
Hailing from Florida, Benny Spellman had a foot in both blues and rockabilly, via New Orleans. It was writer Allen Toussaint who provided the song, somewhat reminiscent of Bo Diddley. I guess it was the maracas. Originally released by LA’s Minit label, word is Benny was signed during the thriving New Orleans RnB goldrush at the turn of the decade.
