Tuesday Morning 1 AM

There hasn't been all that much happening here in YankeeBoy land these past few days. I either had a minor case of the flu or else a really bad head cold that knocked me out for a few days but I'm starting to feel a lot better. So tomorrow I'll be getting back to the job search.  My newest favorite waste of time is watching "3rd Rock from The Sun" reruns on TVLand. There's something about the whole premise of aliens living among us and the comedic situations that arise as they attempt to adapt to our ways that I find very amusing. John Lithgow is perfectly cast as the 'commander' and Jane Curtin is superb as his somewhat uptight love interest and straight (wo)man. And now for the musical portion of our program.

Andre Williams - The Greasy Chicken

Andre has had a huge career revival over the last 10 years, playing clubs and festivals around the world and recording with musicians young enough to be his kids. And while there is no question that he still has his vocal chops and that 'dirty little man' peculiar kind of charm, for me it's those original Fortune records from the 50s that I mostly want to hear.

The Barracudas - Inside Mind

Their first album is still regarded as groundbreaking, merging surf-vocal, garage and punk styles in the unique way it did. And while their subsequent records had a somewhat darker edge to them, they could still be just as exciting. "Inside Mind" is from "The Garbage Dump Tapes" which has always been one of my favorites.

The New Colony Six- At The River's Edge

In the latter part of their career The NC6 achieved some Top 40 fame with a couple of soft-pop hits but this is their very first single from their garage band days.  In fact, their first 2 albums, reissued by Sundazed, are regarded as near-classics by 60s garage music fans.

Tommy Ridgely - Looped

I don't know much about this record other than that it was recorded in New Orleans sometime between 1949 and 1954. An ode to the joys of getting totally smashed, "nippin' and sippin' all night long". To quote officer Joe Bolton, "Kids, don't try this at home."

Boris The Sprinkler - No Longer

This Green Bay, Wisconsin pop-punk combo definitely took the 3CLFS credo to heart. According to their listing in Wikipedia, they had a very extensive discography most of which I haven't personally heard. It's rare that a band can be silly and fun without sounding like they're trying too hard at it, but on this track at least, they manage to do just that.

Clifford Curry - She Shot A Hole In My Soul

This was as close as CC ever got to the big time as "She Shot..." was a minor hit for him in the spring of 1967. It's a tasty slice of upbeat soul with a nice Stax-y horn section that had all the ingredients to be a much bigger it than it was.

The Dillards - I've Just Seen a Face

The Dillards got their start in bluegrass/folk circles and eventually gravitated to more Rock oriented fare. This Beatles song however perfectly lends itself to a country/bluegrass treatment and the results, especially those lovely harmonies, are nothing less than magestic.

Eddie Bo - I'm Wise

With that syncopated shuffle beat, this has New Orleans written all over it. It's another record I know little about but that doesn't take anything away from how my enjoyment.

Fish 'N' Chips - Four Times Faster

I played this at a record party I DJ'd at once and I was surprised at how quickly this bouncy bubblegum garage nugget filled up the dance floor. 

The Michael Guthrie Band - Do What You're Doing

I'd never heard of Michael Guthrie, his band or their album but once again I have the folks at Power Pop Lovers (now Power Pop Criminals - see sidebar) to thank for bringing this back to life. It amazes me that back in 1981, when many less talented bands playing the same kind of upbeat Badfinger-esque pop were getting major label contracts, this record went totally unnoticed. Hopefully the master tapes still exist and somewhere down the road someone will decide to reissue this stone gem of an  album. 

Henry Henry - Baggie Maggie

I first heard this Rockabilly pounder on a Buffalo Bop compilation (Date Bait). What it lacks in originality and 'sophistication' it more than makes up for in sheer Rock & Roll stompability.

The Kan Dells - Cry Girl

From the cold wilds of Minnesota comes this 1965 garage rocker, another dancefloor filling favorite from my DJing nights. Nowadays this record is rather hard to find, unless you have the "Root 66" LP comp that came out back in 1984 and which is now being sold for over $100 on Gemm Music. Back in the days when these comps were coming out one after the other, nobody ever thought there'd come a day when the comps themselves would become the collector's items they now are. Pretty incredible, huh.

Love - Can't Explain [Mono]

Here's another track from Love's self-titled debut album that I wrote about a few posts back. 40 years later, it's difficult to explain how hearing this album for the first time when I was 15 years old changed my life forever. 

The Magic Numbers - Love Me Like You

As far as I know the Magic Numbers have barely registered at all with the American music buying public although they are quite big in the UK. And that is definitely our loss. Listening to them I hear echoes of Brit pop as well as a hint of C86 and a heartfelt love of 60s California surf vocals. But like the best pop music, their sound is way more than just a sum of their influences. 

The Meteors - Fire Fire

I first discovered these guys back in the 80s when I was pretty much exclusively listening to garage music. To me there didn't seem to be much of a difference between them and bands like The A-Bones and The Raunch Hands. Perhaps it was their image or whatever but for some reason they never caught on over here.

The Talismen - I Know A Girl

If I didn't already know who the band was and someone told me this was a long lost Sonics outtake, I'd definitely believe them. According to Soybomb's Garage Compilation database this has never been comped which is a damn shame. So enjoy it here folks. 
Walter Egan - Only The Lucky

Egan is best known for his lovers ballad "Magnet And Steel" but this was released a year earlier. Like his big hit, it was produced by Lindsay Buckingham and you can hear his influence all over the place. Another non-hit that shoulda, coulda, woulda been.

As much as I love writing about and posting some of the music I love, I'm beginning to feel like I'm doing this all in a vacuum. So please leave comments - good, bad or indifferent. I want to know if and how any of this music is affecting you, or if you know something about one of the artists or songs that I might have neglected to mention. Whatever it is, I want to hear it. Thanks   

Shut the gate Suzy and don't let me in