I Gave You The Diamonds, You Give Me Disease

After seemingly a dead serious promise to keep up with this blog, I've clearly let things bog me down to the point where I'm unable to string together a bunch of words and upload some serious records to share. Well, seeing as I'm an unreliable fuck at the best of times, this should be no surprise. But on the upside between April and now, I've accrued a lot of terrible albums to share. This was a recent gem I Give You Diamonds, You Give Me Disease: The Exile Outtakes. It's pretty much as nasty as one would expect it to be. What blew me away were the alternate takes of such signature tunes. The early 'Tumbling Dice' song 'Good Time Women' was pretty much the best thing I've heard all week. And the original is one of my all time favourite songs. The basic structure is there, that quality is present, but that relaxed heroiny groove is replaced by a more uptempo beat. If 'Hillside Blues' or 'Travellin' Man' doesn't make you want to commit war crimes, then there' just no pleasing you.

Dolled up in Neon, Strut your Wares down the Street

At the risk of already becoming redundant and/or predictable, I've come back to post some more about the Forgotten Rebels, but in this case I come bearing actual albums. These are all out of print now, so I don't feel bad. The main impetus for this post was the recent acquisition of This Ain't Hollywood. I snagged it from another blog, which claimed it was a vinyl rip of their 1981 album. Now, it nearly is a vinyl rip of the album however, for some reason in place of the original version of 'Surfin' on Heroin', there is the 1986 remake that appears on The Pride and Disgrace. The remake distinguishes itself from the original by being slightly longer with some additional sound effects, namely puking. It's still great...just not the original. But every other song on This Ain't Hollywood is just as good as I remember it being. I think I mentioned earlier that it's been at least 15 years since I've heard the album in anything other than a hissy old dubbed cassette. I'd forgotten how good 'Memory Lane' with its "I won't stop and stare, I'm far away but not there..." refrain and the title track is just as fantastic as ever. Same with the pissy 'England Keep Your Stars', which is worth repeating in full:

I remember you so many years ago
What I saw in you, I don't know
I saw stars when I opened your door
They landed on our fair shores
Their novel accents made them so rich
While I'm stuck playing In a rotting ditch
Now London don't swing like a pendulum do
England keep yer starts

So won't you keep yer stars
England Keep yer stars
Won't you keep yer stars
England keep yer stars

Through Canada and America they played the biggest arena
They took money from our pocket then they got ripped off
I wanna be so bloody rich, I wanna be a snob
and make my wife a bitch
Now London don't swing like a pendulum do
England keep yer stars

Radio loves the English bands
Radio loves the American bands
Have they censored Canada to get their money from foreign lands?
Rebels like us who have it rough
Canadian radio will not play our stuff
Now New York don't swing like a pendulum do
England keep yer stars

So in honour of getting this long awaited album I thought I'd put up their debut In Love with the System and The Pride and Disgrace. I probably like the debut as much as the This Ain't Hollywood, and this version also contains some bonus tracks of their earliest songs like 'Forgotten Rebel' and 'Reich 'n Roll'. The Pride and Disgrace released in 1986 tones down the obvious glam rock of their previous album and bounds more towards straight rock and roll. You can't really call an earnest cover of the Beatles 'Rain' punk rock, although perhaps the lead-off track 'Ethiopia' with it's ragging on LiveAid (i.e. Ethiopia, forget about, Ethiopia, the whole bloody thing is a sham...what do we ignore our own poor with rich rock stars and celebrity boors) can still make a case for them being pissed off. And the rape-murder story 'Little Girl' still kind of freaks me out. ('...and you found, yes you found a brand new romance, little girl in the snow, you should have stayed home, baby it's cold out there tonight'), but these are buttressed against wonderfully goofy tracks like 'I Am King' ('I'm so great, I'm so cool I am the king and the Rebels RULE'), 'Live Strippers' and 'Underwear'. It's actually a better album than I remember.

Also, as promised in that previous post. A shot of me getting ready for the Rebels show in 1992. It is 10am.

I Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Away...

Of all the urban legends in music, probably my favourite is the one about Merry Clayton. As the story goes, her incredibly incendiary performance of 'Gimme Shelter' during the Let it Bleed sessions induced a miscarriage. The funny thing about urban legends is they always seem particularly unbelievable, Rod Stewart's semen story notwithstanding, but listening to her on that song, frankly, it doesn't seem that out there. Her vocals are quite literally hair-raising, particularly the 'raaaaape, muuuurdddder' part. In addition to that notorious song, she also backed another ridiculously famous tune, 'Sweet Home Alabama'. On her solo debut Gimme Shelter she never quite burns down the house, but it's fantastic to have an entire album of her voice. In addition to her own cover on the title track, which while no way as intense as the original, there is a wholly unnecessary cover of 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters'. I fucking hate that song, so it's my problem. Others may find it lovely. Her cover of The Doors' 'Tell All the People' is, however, really good. But some of the more powerful, and near hair-raising moments are on the slower numbers like 'Here Comes Those Heartaches Again' and 'I Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Away'. I don't exactly know why Merry never took off as a major artist. It's weird how things work out.

You Can't Get There From Here

I don't know if these guys really looked like this, but I hope they did. Wrapped in bullets and carrying guns. This was the only picture I could find of the band, so I assume they're all dead. I actually first found a mention of this band on Skynfan's Guide to Rock 'n Roll and while the songs were good, the actual listening experience was terrible because it was an awful rip. However, Usenet pays off again with four of their albums. If you like, for lack of a better term, 'southern rock', then you will almost certainly dig Potliquor. They don't have the epic southern mystique of the Drive-By Truckers or Lynyrd Skynyrd. They're more along the lines of Marshall Tucker Band or early ZZ Top with a bit more dixie swing. They also remind me a bit of Lucero. Anyway, this album, Louisiana Rock & Roll, has been a favourite of mine this week. Great rock & roll music, done right and clocking in around 40 min. They probably should have been bigger than they were, aside from an interesting curio from a bygone era.

How Does Your Light Shine?

Full Disclosure part 1: I really only wanted to hear this band because of 'Mama Told Me (Not to Come), which was featured prominently in the film Boogie Nights. And it took a lot of effort to start exploring this band because I honestly associate it with another, considerably more horrible film, The Big Chill which featured 'Joy to the World'. Anyway, I could never find any proper albums of Three Dog Night and they basically fell off my radar. Which brings us to Full Disclosure part 2: The only reason I reignited my search for more Three Dog Night was the television series Lost, which featured their song 'Shambala' in an episode from their third season. Ridiculously catchy, I went on looking and sure enough, found a whole whack of their records on Usenet, including Cyan, their 1973 album on which you will find that tune. Imagine my surprise that while 'Shambala' is the catchiest song on the record, it's actually chock full of great songs, despite having uniformly disastrous song titles ('Happy Song', 'Play Children Play' etc.) I literally ended up playing the album all day long. In contrast to the Boz Scaggs album from last week, this music is VERY dated, and is undeniably from the year 1973 which was a great year, in my opinion. Anyway, give this record a shot.

Another Day, Another Letter

So a month goes by without a post. As far as resolutions for the new year go, this one clearly got blown to hell. I promised myself if I started doing this I'd be regular about it, and a goddamn month has gone by. My reader must be terribly disappointed. So to make up for that, a BOZ SCAGGS ALBUM! Obviously a joke, right? Not at all, a super album that should be heard by all. When I think Boz Scaggs, I think 70s AM radio and not the good 'Nights Went Out in Georgia' kind either. However, I was surprised to see that one of the degenerates from the Obner board put a Boz song on one of his monger mixes ('Loan Me a Dime' with Duane Allman, which is not making its first appearance here, appearing on Duane's Anthology). It was a fine bit of music that had me seeking out more. First thing, is how out of time this probably sounded in 1969. Country-soul, bloozy rock, it's surprisingly not-dated. In fact, it might sound like someone current trying to sound like a throwback. Except again, it was ahead of its time in 1969. The closest cousin to this would probably be the the stuff on Let it Bleed that's not 'Gimme Shelter' or 'Monkey Man'. His following albums had their Moments, haha, but nothing as great as this simple record.

I'm Hung up on Dreams I'll Never See

It's hard to believe that Duane Allman has been dead longer than he ever was alive. As far as 24 year olds go, he's left a helluva legacy. When I think about that, I'm profoundly saddened at the loss of such a gifted musician, completely awed by the fact he did all that before hitting a quarter century, and a little disgusted at myself for not doing anything of any significance at nearly 35 years of age. Maybe that's overstating the case a bit, but jesus christ some people really manage to accomplish a lot in a very short period of time. And one is left to ponder the usual cliche of what would have been had he managed to live on. What else would he have done? Would he decide that riding a motorcycle was dumb and he then convinces Berry Oakley of the same, and he also remains with us? Would the Allman Brothers Band have grown significantly greater as evidenced by the incredible Live at the Fillmore? What about solo work? Continued genius or slow fade? Further, could he have convinced his brother not to marry Cher? Would he have Jason Patric killed in Rush instead of Gregg? I mean, the questions are limitless really. The Anthology I and II set does an excellent job of covering the truly great work of Duane Allman. The contributions he put forth in rock, country and soul really are awe-inspiring for someone so young. After listening to these sets I'm inspired to go and do something meaningful, but I'll probably just go pour another drink and play this again. Meaningful is a very relative term.

Anthology I
1. B.B. King Medley: Sweet Little Angel/It's My Own Fault/How Blue ... - The Hour Glass
2. Hey Jude - Wilson Pickett
3. The Road of Love - Clarence Carter
4. Goin' Down Slow
5. The Weight - Aretha Franklin
6. Games People Play - King Curtis
7. Shake for Me - Jr. John Hammond
8. Loan Me a Dime - Boz Scaggs
9. Rollin' Stone - Johnny Jenkins
10. Livin' on the Open Road - Delaney & Bonnie & Friends
11. Down Along the Cove - Johnny Jenkins
12. Please Be With Me - Cowboy
13. Mean Old World - Eric Clapton, Duane Allman
14. Layla - Derek & the Dominos
15. Statesboro Blues - The Allman Brothers Band
16. Don't Keep Me Wonderin' - The Allman Brothers Band
17. Stand Back - The Allman Brothers Band
18. Dreams - The Allman Brothers Band
19. Little Martha - The Allman Brothers Band

Anthology II
1. Happily Married Man - Duane Allman
2. It Ain't Fair - Aretha Franklin
3. The Weight - King Curtis
4. You Reap What You Sow - Otis Rush
5. Matchbox - Ronnie Hawkins
6. Born To Be Wild - Wilson Pickett
7. No Money Down - Duane Allman
8. Been Gone Too Long - The Hourglass
9. Stuff You Gotta Watch - Arthur Conley
10. Dirty Old Man - Lulu
11. Push Push - Herbie Mann
12. Walk On Gilded Splinters - Johnny Jenkins
13. Waiting For A Train - Boz Scaggs
14. Don't Tell Me Your Troubles - Ronnie Hawkins
15. Goin' Upstairs - Sam Samudio
16. Come On In My Kitchen - Delaney and Bonnie
17. Dimples - The Allman Brothers Band
18. Goin' Up the Country - The Duck and the Bear
19. Done Somebody Wrong - The Allman Brothers Band
20. Leave My Blues at Home - The Allman Brothers Band
21. Midnight Rider - The Allman Brothers Band

When I Get Off of this Mountain, You Know Where I Want to Go?

This is a bootleg I've been just dying to come across. Usenet floods of the shittiest bands happen on a seemingly hourly basis and the good stuff is well, very rare. Does anyone really need 17,000 bootlegs of Uriah Heep concerts from 30 years ago? The answer, of course, is no. But every so often, gems like this are uploaded and then the wheels really hit the pavement. The Last Moving Shadows is 2-disc CD-R Band bootleg from Massive Attack Discs, probably named after Ron Horning's 1988 article "The Moving Shadow of Richard Manuel" from Village Voice, about The Band's former lead singer. Disc 1 contains live recordings from various venues 1984-1986, disc 2 is from a good quality soundboard tape recorded at The Band's concert at New York's Lone Star Cafe, February 8, 1986, less than a month before Richard died. This is the first time I've seen a bootleg from The Band in one of these usenet groups and I hope this is the start of a series I can post. Of the boots I do have from the Stones and Springsteen among others, the sound on this one is the absolute best, I mean just fucking marvelous. As I write this, I've got "It Makes No Difference" on a top volume. I know it's a horrible cliche, but music like this is few and far between in the year 2008. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Actually, they never really belonged in their time either. Nobody ever really made music quite like this.



Tracks
Disc 1 - Various venues 1984-1986

You Don't Know Me: Tokyo Japan 09/01/83 (3:20)
King Harvest: Tokyo Japan 09/01/83 (3:42)
Bring It On Home: Capital Theatre Passaic NJ 06/09/84 (5:45)
It Makes No Difference: Atlanta GA 09/08/84 (6:24)
She Knows: Indianapolis IN 05/07/85 (2:48)
That's How I Love You: Indianapolis IN 05/07/85 (2:59)
Unfaithful Servant: Evansville IN 05/16/85 (2:52)
Across The Great Divide: Lone Star Cafe NYC 02/07/86 early show (3:46)
Caldonia: Lone Star Cafe NYC 02/07/86 early show (7:15)
The Shape I'm In: Lone Star Cafe NYC 02/07/86 early show (3:46)
Don't Want To Hang Up My R&R Shoes: Osaka Japan 08/29/83 (3:11)
Blaze Of Glory: Osaka Japan 08/29/83 (3:16)

Disc 2 - Lone Star Cafe NYC 02/08/86 late show
Organ Improv (1:40)
Chest Fever (4:48)
Long Black Veil (6:01)
Milk Cow Blues (4:17)
You Don't Know Me (2:51)
Stage Fright (5:11)
Ain't Got No Home (4:01)
I Wish You Were Here Tonight (4:58)
Ill Wind Blowin (3:25)
Mystery Train (5:21)
Up On Cripple Creek (5:16)
I Shall Be Released (3:29)
The Weight (5:34)
Willie And The Hand Jive (6:55)

The Band - The Last Moving Shadows - 1999 - Massive Attack Discs MA 990144/45

"Wait? Wait for Fucking What? It's Been Two and Half Fucking Years!"

So begins Nobody Said It was Easy by the Four Horsemen.

So I've always thought of myself as Joe Music, Jack Rock and Roll, Ferdinand Von Fuck among other personas. I'm probably a very sick individual but that's beside the point. What is the point, is that The Four Horsemen are just great, great, great rock and roll and I had no idea they existed until 2005. My brother-in-law was over for a drunkening in the awful city of Saskatoon. We were tossing back beers and listening to AC/DC or something and he asks me if I have any Four Horsemen.





To which I ask "Who the fuck are the Four Horsemen?" I must admit, I thought it might be some vaguely awful metal band, like The Bulletboys or Trixter but you know, angrier. And how does someone who doesn't really listen to music on the same level as I do stump me right off the bat? It was humbling. I considered killing him on the spot, but if I even thought about that, he'd probably would have sensed it and killed me first. Fortunately the good folks on the Obner board helped out and scored me Nobody Said It Was Easy, which was pretty cool and made a good drinking day even better. In my personal bible of Good and Evil, this is pretty much exemplary rock and roll. It's the Cult circa Electric, but with a southern flair. I love the first couple of Cult albums, but Electric was my favourite and it always seems to be a polarizing record. They both have the very obvious touch of Rick Rubin, who released The Four Horsemen's debut on Def American label, which boded well because I pretty much liked anything his was putting out on there, even The Day The Laughter Died. Basically, if Skynyrd and AC/DC got together in the early 70s and jammed it would probably sound like this. You know who you are if you like this kind thing. So crack a beer and turn this motherfucker up LOUD.

An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down

I'm not going to wax philosophic about a band as great as Faces. I will leave that to others more informed. I will say this is a fairly rockin' set from 1971 in Sacremento, with a rough sound but it's not unlistenable at all. It's unmistakably a bootleg, and after playing it at work today I'm nearly certain I was scaring people with it as they walked by the lab. Like who the fuck listens to this awful sounding stuff? I will take this time to highly recommend Ronnie: The Autobiography, easily one of the more enjoyable books I've read in awhile. Actually if would have been nice to have a bit more Faces, but the stories are still great. Same with this set. I played 'Love in Vain' more than a few times today already, and now that I've had a few, I'm sure I'll play it a few more times tonight. Drinking and the Faces just seem so right.