Roy Orbison - Pretty Woman 7"

I'll be honest, my introduction to the song "Oh Pretty Woman" was not through Roy Orbison. It was through Van Halen. I was discovering Rock and Roll around the time Van Halen released "Diver Down" and so that is where I first heard this song. I think it was also a single off the record so I probably first heard it on the radio. I'm not sure on my facts here but I think that even when I heard the song on The Loop (WLUP) or WMET in Chicago they included "Intruder" the Eddie Van Halen instrumental that leads right into "Oh Pretty Woman". I know that really has nothing to do with Roy's version, but I just wanted to make sure everyone here knew that they should also seek out that song as well and to make sure they also listen to "Intruder" with "Oh Pretty Woman" because the two really should be played together. I had "Diver Down" on tape and always just considered that guitar as just the intro to the song.

So now onto the original. Diamond Dave did a great job with his version of the song, but this version is where it all began. This version I'm posting is from my 45 and is pretty scratchy. I think you should go to Itunes or find a CD that has a clean copy of this song because it really is a classic. Roy's voice is was truly one of the magical voices in rock history. The adjective "beautiful" isn't often used in describing vocalists in rock. I mean really rock and roll is more about the energy and the personalities. Many times a beautiful voice isn't really a quality that is sought after. I'm not saying that you don't have to be able to sing or that being able to sing isn't a good quality, but I am saying that Roy has almost a crooner quality to his voice. In a way the genius of Roy's work is that he has a sort of traditional pop vocal style put over some great rock or country music. It's a nice combination that I think puts him into his own category. So give this old chestnut a re-listen and see what you think.

Side 2 explores the range of material that Roy took on. This has a Spanish flavor as you would guess from the title. Roy's voice perfectly fits the genre. He sounds like a cowboy in the west riding the trails down near the border. This is song that is a serenade song with which his "beautiful" voice works perfectly. I didn't know the song so maybe it will be new to you as well. I must admit that I had hoped that the song would be entirely in Spanish, but alas just the one line in the chorus is. So while that was a slight disappointment, to you that may be a plus. You can understand all the lyrics. If you don't understand "Yo Te Amo Maria" I believe the translation is I love you Maria. I never studied Spanish, but I think that is right.

Enjoy!

01 Oh Pretty Woman.m4a

02 Yo Te Amo Maria.m4a

Porter Wagoner - What Ain't To Be, Just Might Happen 7"

This first song is kind of like Country version of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin. You remember the song. The one with Robin Williams in the video. Anyways I make that connection not because it musically resembles that song at all. I say that because the basic theme of the song is to not worry about things you have no control over and just live your life. Worrying about those things as this song says, "won't do no good". That's Porter's double negative, not mine.

Musically the song is happy and catchy. It has one of those fun back up singers that I love in so much of the country music of this time.

The B-Side is from the same album and is written by Dolly Parton. I've written here before about my love of Dolly. She of course is how I got introduced to Porter's work. Anyways, typical of many of Dolly's songs, the lyrics are beautiful and full of great imagery. I don't know enough about Dolly's work to know if she ever recorded this song as well. If she did I'm sure it is even more beautiful. Until I get an answer to that question I have this recording. Hope everyone likes it.

Enjoy!

01 What Ain't To Be, Just Might Happen.mp3

02 Little Bird.mp3

Guns N Roses - Don't Cry 7"

This isn't the best Guns N Roses song by any means. To be perfectly honest I had pretty much checked out of the whole Guns N Roses thing by this point. The thing that makes this interesting is that the B-Side is "Don't Cry" with alternate lyrics. Maybe you can find this version on some CD somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look it up and figure ignorance is bliss. I'm just going to assume that you can't find this anywhere else and that it is out of print, therefore justifying this post. I know that is a pretty lame rationalization, but hopefully you don't care.

Enjoy!

01 Don't Cry.mp3

02 Don't Cry (Alt).mp3

Demented Are Go - Hotrod Vampires Limited 7"

Here's a somewhat more recent release. I figure it is probably okay to post because this was a limited release and is long out of print. This EP was my introduction to Demented Are Go. I got this this one based completely on the fact that it was in the psychobilly bin at Amoeba and because I like the cover and title. Then I opened the record and before I could even turn on the record I saw the insert with the photos of the band in all their zombie makeup. Things were looking up at that point. Then the icing on the cake was that the music was also tough, hard and ghoulish. Perfect.

Someday I really hope to see these guys live. Not long after I got this record they were going to come play California. I got tickets and I was excited and even a little scared. I showed up the night of the show and was told at the House Of Blues that the band had visa problems and were denied entry into the county. I couldn't believe it. I've been keeping an eye out for their return, but I haven't seen it yet. I saw Hellbilly played for them and they were pretty good, but I still wish I could have seen Demented Are Go.

So until then I have this selection to listen to.

Enjoy!

01 Hotrod Vampires.m4a
02 Out Of Control.m4a
03 When Darkness Falls.m4a

Iggy And The Stooges - I'm Sick Of You 7"

Here is a true legend of rock. I of course can't even try to compete with all the writing that has been done on Iggy. If for some reason you're not up on who Iggy is and his impact, leave this blog and go do a google search to get up to speed. If you don't like reading, then just sample these three cuts to begin your education.

"I'm Sick Of You" starts of remarkably subdued for an Iggy song, but then it gets going. The iconic Stooges guitars start to tear it up. Iggy lets loose and the next thing you know you're in noise heaven.

"Tight Pants" is a Stonesy/punkish number complete with hand claps and a healthy dose of swagger.

"Scene Of The Crime" also has all the elements of a great Stooges song. Iggy's vocal delivery drips with snotty attitude. Again the shreddy garagy guitars. There is also a great driving bass underneath everything and lastly someone is just pounding on the piano. Truly "Jerry Lee Lewis style pounding.

I know Iggy is still about and still performing, but I really wish I could have seen him back in the 70's with The Stooges. From the archive footage I've scene and recordings like this I can tell that his shows must have been an amazing electrifying experience. I imagine it had all the energy of a hard core punk rock show mixed with some truly great song craft and showmanship. It is just hard to imagine or know how to compare it to something today.

Enjoy!

01 I'm Sick Of You.m4a
02 Tight Pants.m4a
03 Scene Of The Crime.m4a

The Cure - In Between Days 7"

I'll be honest right up front. The Cure is one of my favourite bands. Definitely in my top 5. I also recognize that these songs aren't rare and you can find them easily. This B-side was on the "Staring At The Sea" cassette and was release in recent years on the Rhino 4 disc boxset of B-sides and rarities. Worth every penny if you are any sort of Cure fan.

But there maybe those out there that aren't as fanatical and may not know how great this band is. This single is soooooo goooood. The A-Side is one of the great Cure singles. It is a perfect pop song. For me it also brings up great memories of my youth being at the Chicago Blowout skateboard competition where Tony Hawk skated to this song. The B-side "The Exploding Boy", though is also great. I don't mean great for a B-side, it is just great. This is one of those times where you shake your head asking how this cut didn't make it onto an album. Why is this a B-side? As you get into The Cure you find that this actually happens a lot with them. They just write great songs. They write too many great songs and so they have to put some songs on singles. There are only a few bands in my opinion that can do this consistently and The Cure is at the top of my list. Hence the reason I buy all their singles and why I recommend that "Connect The Dots" boxset. And to drive the point home even further I have to say that this song is probably one of my favourite songs. That list of course is pretty good, but that is the nature of making a favourites list by The Cure.

01 In Between Days.m4a

02 The Exploding Boy.m4a

The Go-Nuts - The Donut Prince And The Pauper 7"

The cover alone was worth the couple bucks I spend on this one. What the hell. Really. What the hell is that all about. This however isn't a blog about record covers. This is about sharing music. So what's the music like. Well its just goofy. My favourite song it th "Go-Nuts Theme". This sounds like these guys were pitching a kids cartoon to cartoon network and wrote this song to go with it. It's catchy and TV friendly. It even sounds like a retro TV show theme from the 70's. I don't know exactly what it is, but the song and the whole concept of the band brings The Banana Splits to mind. I'm not saying the song sounds like the Banana Splits theme, but maybe it is just the concept of a them song for cartoon like characters.

Anyways the other funny part of this band is the claim that they are "The World's Greatest snack rock superhero and gorilla entertainment revue!!!" And yes that is 3 exclamation points. I give them props for even coming up with that claim. I give them props for coining the term "snack rock". I don't know where they came from and I don't know where they went, but I'm glad the Go-Nuts left us with this little gem from the 90's, the decade of geek rock. It doesn't get much geekier than these guys.

Enjoy!

01 The Fabulous Go-Nuts Theme.m4a

02 Skinnybones Jones.m4a

03 The Fabulous Go-Nuts Theme (Outro).m4a

04 The Fabulous Go-Nuts Theme (Intro).m4a

05 Eat It All.m4a

06 The Fabulous Go-Nuts Theme (Outro).m4a

Or the whole thing here.

The Ray Coniff Singers - A Spoonful Of Sugar 7"

If you ever wondered what exactly "sickenly sweet" means, then this record if for you. I'm going to have trouble even describing what you'll hear when you listen to "A Spoonful of Sugar" here, but I'll try and break it down. First of all the song is basically about sugar. So the topic is sweet. Then if you recall the original from Mary Poppins it is a pleasantly sweet song. I mean you can't get a much sweeter voice than Mary Poppins can you? But then this adds this extra layer of sweet in not only the choral vocals, but the arrangement is even happier than the original if you can imagine that. This sounds like the cute little puppets in Small World came to life and were hired to sing this song. Now that is a lot of sweet. So much sweet that you may even feel a little sick. Hense sickenly sweet.

Another a thing that kills me about this song is the new lyrical intro.
Oh Mary Poppins is her name Oh Mary Poppins is her name She flies through the air with her umbrella And if you get a chance to go You ought to try to see the show You'll hear This song It's one you're sure to know

You'll hear it and just ask "what the hell?" Where did those cheese ball lyrics come from. Then if you're like me you think who cares, I'm just glad I've had the chance to hear them because I wouldn't have believed it.

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is of course similar in vein. I think it may cross the sickenly sweet line and venture into land of being offensive to the ears. The blanding out of phrasing and the colorful accents from the original may be a little too much for some people. I don't know that I could argue. But if you're one for hearing oddities and trainwrecks then you may enjoy this. To me this sounds like super white people making an already white guy song even whiter.

So take a moment to forget everything you remember about the original Mary Poppins and give these two a listen.

Enjoy!

01 A Spoonful Of Sugar.m4a
02 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.m4a

David Houston - Will The Circle Be Unbroken/I Wonder How John Felt (When He Baptized Jesus) 7"

Here's one for your Sunday afternoon.

A few years back my wife was asked to play the organ at a funeral. The family asked her to play "Will The Circle Be Unbroken?". She asked me if I had the song and it turned out that I didn't. Well I think I went on the internet and found it and she was set. But now that I was sensitized to the title I came across this record within two weeks of that event. So even though the funeral had passed and I had already downloaded the song I bought this record. It turned out to be pretty good. "Will The Circle Be Unbroken?" is given a great treatment here. There is a fantastic organ laying the bed to the song. The opening few bars are great. Catch the soulful organ work after the first line. David Houston then gives the song a good country soul feel. The steel guitar is a nice country counterpoint to the gospel tone.

The B-Side makes me smile for two opposing reasons. The lyrics in my opinion are just about as cheesy as they get. Now I'm don't have a problem with a song simply for being religious. In fact there are quite a few gospel or religious songs that I like. But there are songs which when I hear make me think that they are just songs to capitalize off of some religious novelty or idea. They seem more like a commodity than a true expression of someone's faith. This is one of those songs. On the other hand I love the arrangement and the voices on the song. I find the chorus extremely catchy. I love the backup vocals. I love the harmony. Buried deep in it is one of those great Oakridge Boys type bass voices (think "Elvira"). Then as much as I find the lyrics to be silly and sort of insincere, David Houston sounds amazingly sincere, especially toward the end when he really cuts loose. There is this moment where he jumps to this falsetto voice. My ears perk up every time. At that moment the song becomes great. It's in the last 10 or 20 seconds of the song, but it is a great finish.

So turn off that televangelist and get your spiritual edification here.

Enjoy!

01 Will The Circle Be Unbroken.m4a

02 I Wonder How John Felt (When He Baptized Jesus).m4a

Sam The Sham And The Pharohs - Little Red Riding Hood 7"

This is a record that I don't even remember when I bought it. I'm sure I bought it simply because it had a song named "Lil' Red Riding Hood" and I knew of Sam The Sham. But then it just got lost in the shuffle. I must have brought it home with a big pile of other records and and it never made its way to the turntable, that is until this past fall. I can't even remember how it made its way into the rotation, but it did just in time. I had just finished (or thought I had finished) making my Halloween mix for 2007 when I put this record on. It was like divine intervention that I heard this song before I actually started burning discs to give out. I played it for my wife and she couldn't believe how great it was as well. I think we must have played this record about 5 times in a row that night. So I digitized the record and added the song to the 2007 Halloween mix and the rest as they say is history.

The B-Side is a pretty great little rocker. You'll want to grab a partner and tear up the dance floor when you hear it.

Enjoy!

01 Lil' Red Riding Hood.m4a
02 Love Me Like Before.m4a

Fantastics/Drifters 7" Something Old Something New/Kissing In The Backrow

Here are a couple catchy numbers, both of which I had never heard. I knew the Drifters and the name of the Fantastics was familiar, but let's face it they aren't exactly my generation. Well, for my money I like "Kissing In The Backrow" the best between the two. I've found myself humming this one quite a lot recently since I put it on the old Ipod. I personally think it sounds like a 70's Elton John/Bernie Taupin number like "Island Girl". Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

1 Something Old Something New.m4a

02 Kissing In The Backrow.m4a

The Chesterfield Kings - Barbara Ann 7"

A year or two ago I saw The Chesterfield Kings opening for The New York Dolls. They were good enough for me to pick up this recor when I saw it. They put on a very Stonesy show which fit in well with the evening. David Johansen was basically doing his best Jagger impression the whole night. It should be noted here, though, that the real reason I went to the show was to see the Supersuckers and to be brutally honest, they stole the show. If you ever have the chance to catch the them do yourself a favor and do so. They will rock your socks off. If you have a chance to see them do one of their country sets you should definitely jump at the chance. Anyways enough about The Supersuckers. The Chesterfield Kings are very much like The New York Dolls in concert. They've been around since the late 70's coming out of that sort of New York punk scene. With that said this record is nothing like that. When I bought this I was thinking I was going to get some sort of re-invention of these Beach Boys songs. What I got, however, were two faithful respectful renditions of the songs. They pretty much sound like they were recorded back in the 60's and have all the fun and flavor of the originals. I like them. Hope you do too.

Enjoy!

01 Barbara Ann.m4a

02 Girl Don't Tell Me.m4a

Redux - Jacky Ward & Reba McEntire - Three Sheets To The Wind/I'd Really Love To See You Tonight 7" (redux 10.27.08)

If you asked me to name or identify a single Reba McEntire song I'm afraid I couldn't do so (except these two songs). That's a sad state of affairs given the fact that she is one of the biggest and most successful recording artists ever.

I can tell you that essentially that her success started with this release. Allmusic had this to say.

"Two and a half years into her recording career, with very little to show for it, McEntire was paired with labelmate Jacky Ward for the two-sided single "Three Sheets in the Wind"/"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" (the B-side a cover of the pop hit by England Dan & John Ford Coley), which reached number 20 in July 1978."

"Three Sheets In The Wind" is a catchy old country number treading familiar ground, drinking and sad stories. The title is was attracted me to buying this in the first place. I have a soft spot for songs about drinking and country songs about drinking many times rank on the top of my list. There's just something about the genre that really lends itself to the subject.

Even though i bought the record in hopes that "Three Sheets In The Wind" would be good, what I found was that I really loved the B-Side "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight". I didn't know the title, but once I heard the song I was like, "I know that song". It's really a nice pop song. And this treatment is definitely more pop than country.

Both of these songs have shown me a glimpse into Reba's appeal. I'm sure I'll check out more of her work in the future based on just these two songs. Maybe you will too.

Enjoy!

01 Three Sheets In The Wind.m4a

02 I'd Really Love To See You Tonight.m4a

FYI this is a repost of this entry after being taken down because someone complained about copyright infringement. There of course wasn't any infringement on this page because this page only contained links to other pages and no actual material that could be considered copyrighted except for maybe my words. So to hopefully avoid any confusion for whoever complain the above links have been disabled. (10.27.08)

Thee Stash - Should I Suck Or Should I Blow 7"

Thee Stash is one of Billy Childish's many projects. I think maybe there is this 7" and perhaps another and that is it. If you're not up on who Billy Childish is you have a lot of reading to do. I didn't know who he was until a few years ago and I felt like I had been living in a closet for not knowing someone who is so prolific. But then again he's prolific in a DYI underground sort of way. He also has a about a gazillion different projects and so it is hard to keep track.

As you might think from the artwork the songs are basically Clash songs with new lyrics. They're fun and have plenty of punk attitude.

Enjoy!

01 Should I Suck Or Should I Blow.mp3

02 We're Selling Jeans For The U.S.A..mp3

Jerry Reed - Patches/Stray Dogs and Stray Women 7" - 1981

This one goes out for all the people my age who grew up on "Smokey and The Bandit" and "Scooby-Doo". You may relate to my love o Jerry Reed. Now I'm not any sort of authority on his work, but he does hold a special place in my heart because if the strong influence and memories of "Smokey And The Bandit" and "Scooby-Doo". Both of which Jerry played keys rolls.

Such a strong impression Jerry made on me as a little kid that even when I was trying to be a cool kid growing up who would have nothing to do with country I still would sing along to "Pretty Mary Sunlight" and "East Bound and Down". And now as an adult I am trying to pass on some of his legacy. A few years ago I picked up Jerry's "Eastbound and Down" album that come out with "Smokey And The Bandit". That title track became a a bit of a tradition during out family road trips. If you haven't tried it, it is the perfect song to play as you are pulling onto the expressway on ramp. It really gets the blood pumping and gets you excited to head out on a long trip.

Then there was "Pretty Mary Sunlite" which he sang on the "Phantom Of the Country Music Hall" on "The New Scooby-Doo Movies". The early days "Scooby-Doo" featured a lot of great little pop tunes. Davy Jones was a guest as many will remember and there were also some bubble gum pop songs by some generic Archie-type band during that first or second year. Well among those songs was "Pretty Mary Sunlite" and many years later I was happy to find the song on Cartoon Networks "Scooby-Doo Snack Tracks" CD, which I discovered while writing this must be out of print and is quite expensive on Amazon. It now gets frequent play on the Ipod. It is catchy as all get out and simple as hell.

Anyways, neither of those songs are here. Maybe I'll post them in the future. Today's selection is from the early 80's, 1981 to be exact. Again I new nothing about either of these songs when I bought the record. I saw Jerry Reed and figured it was worth the 50 cents. Well, "Patches" is great. It's one of those great country "story" songs about a guy named "Patches" who grew up in Alabama who is told by his dad on his dying bed that at the age or 13 the family is relying on him to hold everything together. At its heart the song has a lot of emotion, but at the same time the chorus has a funky/rocky groove to it.

The second song is a classic honky tonk about a man who is a "fool for stray dogs and stray women." It's nice enough and has a traditional country flavor to it.

Enjoy!

01 Patches.m4a

02 Stray Dogs And Stray Women.m4a

Bonus tracks

East Bound And Down

Pretty Mary Sunlite

Horst Jankowski - Simpel Gimpel 7"

Who the heck was Horst Jankowski? I have no idea. I can tell you that he recorded one weird number with "Simpel Gimpel". For the most part if is just a happy-go-lucky instrumental, but there are these crazy vocal singing "oohs", "Ahs" "doots" etc. At one moment the song seems really serious and then these vocals will come in and undercut everything. I can't help but laugh. The last couple vocalizations of "uh huh" and "mm hmm" (I think that's is how to spell such a thing) are a perfect punchline to this nonsense song.

"Charming Vienna" is nothing special. It's neither here nor there.

The record is pretty beat up and scratchy, but I think that is okay because I don't know how or where else you'll be able to listen to this.

01 Simpel Gimpel.m4a

02 Charming Vienna.m4a

Enjoy!

AC/DC - Girls Got Rhythm 7" EP - 1979

I don't think there is anything new I can say about this band or these songs that hasn't been said or written somewhere else. Sure this blog is about sharing new music, but it is also about sharing good music, so while you can find these songs on CD and many of you already own these songs I thought I'd share my rips from this 1979 EP. I figure people might also like to see the artwork as well. The B-Side songs are live. I think they are from "If You Want Blood You've Got It", but I haven't done the comparison yet to confirm that. Maybe someone out there can chime in with a confirmation.

Enjoy!

01 Girls Got Rhythm.m4a

02 If You Want Blood (You've Got It).m4a

03 Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be.m4a

04 Rock 'N' Roll Damnation.m4a

Or the whole thing here.