Posts Tagged ‘Philips’

Dark Shadows

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

robertcobertillbewith-you1, Dark Shadows, Barnabas Collins

Listen: Dark Shadows Theme / The Robert Cobert Orchestra DarkShadowsTheme.mp3

darkshadows, Dark Shadows, The Robert Cobert Orchestra, Philips,

Listen: Shadows Of The Night (Quentin’s Theme) / The Robert Cobert Orchestra DarkShadowsQuentinsTheme.mp3

charlesrandolphqentinusa, dark shadows, The Charles Randolph Grean Sounde

Listen: Quentin’s Theme / The Charles Randolph Grean Sounde CharlesRandolphQentin.mp3

If I had my real dream come true, it would be to move into Collinwood, the daunting, cavernous mansion where the supernatural presided, on the rocky, stormy coast of Collinsport, Maine. It was home to DARK SHADOWS’ Barnabas Collins, Dr. Julia Hoffman and the Collins family. Fill that vast mahogany library with records, set up an AM Radio station, and just play suspenseful music for the rest of my life – enrapturing all the late, very late, night drivers lost on the dark back roads of rural Maine. Those roads can scare the lifeout of you – they have me. Sometimes when driving there in the early hours, I’ll just turn the headlights off for several seconds. Seems like an eternity, it’s terrifying. Mortifies Corinne and the kids to no end. But seriously, I watched DARK SHADOWS religiously after school every single day. Even in the summer, I’d draw the blinds and wish the howling wind and rain were really outside. So yes, to have a stormy night, every night and every day too, ocean crashing on the rocks and me beaming obscure records into the pitch black atmosphere would be heaven on earth.

The Pink People

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Indian Hate Call / The Pink People

Listen: Indian Hate Call / The Pink People PinkPeople.mp3

Little is known about this single. Likewise the band. I’d love to meet the A&R person who decided to sign them. I do know it’s the second of their two releases and I’m still waiting to see a photo of this bunch.

I’d say the single’s appeal falls somewhere between The Novas ‘Crusher’ and The New York Dolls version of ‘Stranded In The Jungle’.

Blue Cheer

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

Feathers / Blue Cheer

Feathers / Blue Cheer

Listen: Feathers From Your Tree / Blue Cheer
Feathers From Your Tree / Blue Cheer

OUTSIDEINSIDE, Blue Cheer’s second album, was their pinnacle. They recorded some of it on a pier in NJ, and had mikes on the NY side of the water as ambient devices. You can really get the resulting effect on tracks like ‘Come & Get It’. This was the most inviting scam yet – at the time. I listened to Side 1 over and over and over. It was a favorite for ages. They had just come off a massive Top 10 single with ‘Summertime Blues’ and album VINCEBUS ERUPTUM. Now let me clue you in: you need both the mono and stereo versions of VINCEBUS ERUPTUM. It is massive in mono and in stereo, well it’s the only album I know of that has complete left/right separation with drums all in the left channel, guitars all right. It sounds fantastic, why others have never followed is a surprise, although probably some have and I’m forgetting.

So OUTSIDEINSIDE was the terrific followup, and everything was all set for world domination. Then clunk. Promotors started blackballing them, beginning with Bill Graham’s Fillmores, because of volume. He seemed to have a mean streak that fellow, he did the same thing to Family. Then radio didn’t play either single from this second album and it all just went cold. Guitarist Leigh Stephens decides to leave. Boom. End of story. ‘Feathers From Your Tree’ was the second single, even came with a picture sleeve – and in headphones (like all the tracks on the album) it was a drug takers dream come true. Right up there with The Pretty Things’ SF SORROW and The Pink Floyd’s THE PIPER AT THE GATES albums. Sounds swirling and switching speakers at record pace. Dickie Peterson is one of the world’s greatest vocalists too, that’s just fact.