I have had several copies of Erasmo Carlos' excellent 1972 lp "Sonhos e Memórias." It has that great early 1970's Polydor Brazil production quality and this track, "Bom Dia, Rock 'n' Roll" has got the Creedence hoodoo down to a science along with some great early rock/Beatles stylings with late tropicalia filtered in there. It also has one of my FAVOURITE early 1970's gatefold covers (Elvis, Lennon, Jagger, Dylan, Hendrix, Warhol, Monroe etc). Somebody rolled a few too many on my "nicer" gatefold copy. While Jovem Guarda may not be your thing, and Erasmo has some weaker moments in his early catalogue, he struck gold in 1970-1972. Why do I bring this up? Although I doubt that Stars in the Sky ever heard "Bom Dia, Rock 'n'Roll," it has that same Fogerty jog where I expect the Kessel Brothers (like Erasmo) to start name checking Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry et al in Portuguese inflected English. Why do I bring up Stars in the Sky? Does the comparison below of Stars in the Sky make "Bom Dia" a proto "Shake Some Action" styled track?
Moonlighting from his own Back Door Man, Phast Phreddie penned the "Pharmaceutically 45" columns in the early Radio Free Hollywood. What jumps out to me in this column from #2 in June 1977 is his inclusion of Radio Birdman's "Burn My Eye" ep - you could probably count on one hand the number of copies of that ep floating around the US at that time. Obviously, the U.S. release of "Radios Appear" on Sire changed the likelihood of RB sightings and I found my used copy in the bins at Rhino in the early 1980's. But a compilation of just the then-new tracks he reviews in this single monthly column could make a best of the 1970's lp hands down: Devo, Roky, Radio Birdman, Droogs, "I Got a Right/Gimmee Some Skin." - and just think of all of the amazing records still to be released from June 1977 though December 1979!
The best version of "Burn My Eye" other than by Radio Birdman itself for me hands down is the version by Monoshock on the S-S comp. I saw them play it at a practice followed by an equally unwound version of the Pink Fairies' classic "City Kids." Maybe they will play them in Portland in March. Who knows? Given that neither is available as a split single, here is a pretty hot 50's styled live take (with equally awesome 1980's aussie hairdos) by the Girlies:
Digging in the barn I came across the first two issues of the great Radio Free Hollywood from April 1977 and June 1977. Cover stars the Dogs ripping into "Slash Your Face" no doubt. June 1977 at the Whisky? In 2013, it is a no brainer to see all three multi night shows. Wasn't quite the case back in 1977. Yeah, I am enjoying "Two Sides to Every Story" (in parts) and that picture of Gene could be a portrait of me in front of my barn today in a vintage Swandri. Just listened to the Van Halen boot "Demo Daze" with the world premier of "Running With the Devil" and "House of Pain" live on Rodney on the Roq December 14, 1976. Great covers by Van Halen circa 1974 of James Gang, Bad Company and Sugarloaf with Mark Stone on bass. Sweet! The Rodney/Fowley THREE night TEN New Wave Bands? That dear friends, is the source of GERMICIDE by the Germs with the great Belinda intro. Where were you? Waiting in line to see Star Wars again that month. Hah! Also dig (cut-off) Shock without Kip and before "This Generations on Vacation." Lookin' far more Dubrow than Masque at that point. More RFH here soon . . .
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Finally, the Dogs back in 1971 at Lansing Catholic Central High School, in Lansing, MI caught on super 8 with a dub over of "John Rock":
Now if only Clark had included Monoshock's "Walk to the Fire," the Dead C, Claw Hammer, the Dirty Three, Royal Trux, Haino, "Torch of the Mystics" and the Nephews and ya got yerself a 1995 party mix. Optional copy of the Blackjack Records catalog on top of a case of Lucky Lager. Located in a box in the barn and destined for recycling. From around the time of the press junket for "Kids" in 1995.
“It sounds like one of those records that should’ve been made years before, and will undoubtedly be admired for years to come.”
"Eddie Cochran meets Freddy Cannon meets the Shadows of Knight meets the Strangeloves meets Richard Hell . . . a composer, lyricist and vocal eccentric of tremendous verve and capability”
Alan Betrock on witnessing the recording of Richard Hell and the Voidoids “Blank Generation” at Electric Ladyland’s Studio A, March 1977.
“It’s like fuckin’ Little Richard” - Quine
Certain recording sessions are of such historical import that they need to be released in their entirety for research purposes. Scholars and independent historians demanded for over 25 years that the Stooges “Funhouse” sessions be released in their entirety. Market pressures be damned and Rhino Handmade stepped forward to fill the void. Now generations will be able to debate and parse the merits of the various takes of “L.A. Blues” for all time. I have been listening to the “Funhouse” box set for over ten years now and it rewards the listener with a richer experience as one gets deeper into the various takes, certain details unfurling at most unexpected places. Are these the equivalent to another generation’s big band airchecks directed straight to shellac and then traded reel to reel? Anyone say Dean Benedetti and Charlie Parker?
We have written before of both Richard Hell and Alan Betrock on these pages. That the late Betrock chose to briefly document the behind the scenes of the makings of one of the best lps of the 1970’s, nay, the last three plus decades, “Blank Generation,” well, we can only thank him. Robert Quine, as time has shown, is and was the equal of any of the various guitar greats he emulated from Ohio to St. Louis to San Francisco and back to New York again. What we need are the entire “Blank Generation” sessions released. Read on . . .
The last time I was in Denver for a court hearing, I was going down in the elevator in the Federal Courthouse after getting served some hometown treatment by a GHWB lifetime appointee, and was told by opposing counsel in cowboy boots: "Welcome to Denver, son. Now you know the difference between a red state and a blue state." Didn't ask him about the Nails, Eric Boucher, the Fluid or Frantix for that matter. In the late 1980's I sent cash to the Fluid for a record (or was it a t-shirt) and got a letter back six months later with a band photo and an apology. I seem to recall from the timing that the band situation had gotten a tad . . . messy. Cash would have been pretty handy. A classic slice of pure Americana that sits nicely with Mr. Epp and the Calculations' "Mohawk Man," which I still have on a cassette taped straight offa Rodney on the Roq probably with a bumper intro by Mr. Bingenheimer. Live to tape at Packing House, Denver. All time KBD classic "My Dad's a Fucking Alcoholic" buried in there:
To be honest, my own memories of April 1975 are kinda hazy. I do remember around that time my father taking me and my older brother to see "Tommy" on account of how into pinball we both were. I have scanned for you an excerpt from the near perfect The Back Door Man issue number two from that month. BOC cover and one of the best pieces written on the Dictators' "Go Girl Crazy" to be found anywhere. There is an ad for Spider Records on Crenshaw Boulevard offering a free game of pinball with a purchase of the soundtrack and also a free play of pinball at the store if you brought in your movie ticket stub. It took another decade for me to put my mitts on an actual copy of BDM (Stiv on cover and Phred Patterson's prescient review of "The Modern Dance" (worthy of a post here soon). What can you say about the staff faves? All killer, no filler. I doubt that if you sampled the staff of NME or Sounds in early 1975 you would even approximate the taste that runneth over here. Maybe Denim Delinquent, Gulcher, Rock Scene and Bomp could come close . . . for 1975 it didn't get any better than this. True rock animals.
I was thinking about whether to give a rambling and incomplete list of "staff faves" like that of BDM, but figured I would only be repeating their lists in large part. So onto favourite releases/live highlights of 2012 (and some I finally got to hear in 2012), so here in no particular order are some: Bill Direen and the Bilders/George Henderson at the Whammy Bar with Bill in VU guitar hero mode, Hot Knives reissue cd Grown Up Wrong, Yuck live at Laneway Festival in Silo Park, Peter Kolovos' "Black Colors" triple (!@) lp on Thin Wrist, Monoshock's reactivation and the 2011 International Hello lp on Holy Mountain, anything put out by the West Coast garage mafia (the THREE Ty Segall records, Thee Oh Sees live in NZ in early 2012, Tim Presley/White Fences and "Twins"), Heather Leigh Murray at the Audio Foundation, Dean Roberts/Tim Barnes/Hermione Johnson trio at the Audio Foundation, Lee "Scratch" Perry "Disco Devil: The Jamaican Discomixes" cd, Blues Control at the Audio Foundation and honorable mention of the Richard Youngs/Alastair Galbraith double bill at the Classic which I never got around to writing about in 2012. More on this issue of BDM from '75 soon, including an official 1975 obit for the Imperial Dogs, which describes them as the "ultimate avant punk band of all time."
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