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JOE SIMON - Nine Pound Steel / The Girl's Alright With Me - SoundStage7-2589 - 1967

I recently grabbed a small stack of Joe Simon 45's and they are all pretty impressive. He got into more of a funk sound later in the 70's, which isn't exactly my bag, but his earlier, more soulful songs are incredible.

Both sides of this record are great. One side's a slow mourner, the flip is a dance floor burner.

Enjoy.

Nine Pound Steel:


The Girl's Alright With Me:

THE VELVELETTES - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' / Throw A Farewell Kiss - V.I.P.-25013 - 1965

This is another group I heard for the first time on the One Kiss Can Lead To Another box set. If you don't have it, make it a priority, it's essential.

It took me a while to find a clean, fairly-priced copy of this record. Worth the wait though. Both sides are nice.

He Was Really Sayin Somethin':


Throw A Farewell Kiss:

AARON NEVILLE - Tell It Like It Is / Why Worry - Parlo-101 - 1967

I had the great misfortune of renting Pirate Radio this week, primarily on the strength of it's soundtrack and it's trailer (better than the feature.) I have no delusions of being a film critic, but goddamn what a sack of shit. I have to assume they spent the bulk of their budget on Philip Seymour Hoffman and licensing for the songs (which were all pretty great) and couldn't afford to hire anyone to write a decent, or even coherent, screenplay. It sucked in a very serious way. As I mentioned, the soundtrack is excellent, but the official release left off some key tracks. Most notably absent is Aaron Neville's 'Tell It Like It Is.'

I grew up relating the man's name to warm 101.3 (Rochester's soft rock radio station) and commercials for cotton, which didn't inspire much confidence when I saw this single in a thrift store, but in the spirit of binge-buying and shit-collecting, I bought it.

I guess 'Tell It Like It Is' was quite a major hit in '67, but I wasn't around for that and was therefore unaware. I dropped the needle on 'Why Worry' first and pretty thoroughly neglected listening to the A-side for ages. These things happen when you buy too many records to digest at once. As it turns out, both sides are top notch.

On a side note; Am I the only one who thinks it's strange when there's commercials for naturally occurring things like cotton?


Tell It Like It Is


Why Worry

CLIFF NOBLES - Love Is All Right / The Horse - Phil-L.A. Of Soul-313 - 1968

I ended up with a useless copy of this record, warped and scratched to shit, and I was dumb enough (luckily) to risk my needles to see what's the deal. Totally worth it. So I searched for a cleaner copy, and here it is. This is flawless music.

The other side is the same song with the vocals stripped, which somehow became a big hit. Don't really get it.. sounds so bare without Cliff's vocals.


CLIFF NOBLES - Love Is All Right


CLIFF NOBLES - The Horse

JODY REYNOLDS - Fire Of Love / Daisy Mae - Demon-1509 - 1958

"I gaze at evil with softened vision and want to kiss it's filthy mouth."

This is the note I wrote to myself, and actually nailed into the dresser next to my bed, in my sleep at some point recently. I've been self-medicating for the past few days in an effort to dull the intolerable wisdom tooth pain in my face, drifting in and out of cat naps, and never actually sleeping like a human, so I can't pin-point exactly when this little note-to-self was written, but, unfortunately, I get it. What the fuck is wrong with me..?


Jody Reynolds - Fire Of Love:


Jody Reynolds - Daisy Mae:

FRANK SINATRA - Rain In My Heart / Star! - Reprise-0798 - 1969

Winter, so far, has been fucking brutal. I seem to recall last year's winter being much more tolerable, I'd almost go as far as to say it was a warm one.

I remember a particularly strange day from last winter, right about this time of year, when I woke up on Johnny's couch, all confused, and decided to call out of work and take the train down to Coney Island. I walked around, up and down the boardwalk with my coat in hand, the wind feeling suspiciously warm. I could write some real syrupy shit about how beautiful it was, but that's not exactly true. In theory, it could've been, but there was a lot of darkness for me to sort through. At one point I remember sitting on the sand, thinking to myself "there's something wrong with everything." Some woman with the brightest yellow coat I'd ever seen walked past me and asked if I was OK, said I looked worried. I told her I thought I was going blind, which made no sense at all. At another point I was sitting at the end of the pier and I had this retarded urge to just jump off the edge, or maybe punch myself in the face really really hard, or, if nothing else, just sit and weep like a small child. I'm glad I didn't follow through with any of those things though, I would've looked like a fucking idiot. Eventually my sense of loneliness scared the shit out of me and I went back home.

I think I can say that this year isn't feeling as dark as last, although I can't exactly say that it's full of light either. Maybe it's most accurate to say that it's being filled with a bunch of really confusing colors.

What connection does any of this have to Frank Sinatra? I dunno, maybe none, but there's something quite heavy about this song. At moments it makes me wanna empty my bank account, spend it all on a custom suit, and walk straight into the ocean.


Frank Sinatra - Rain In My Heart:

LOVE - Alone Again Or / A House Is Not A Motel - Elektra-45629 - 1967

I flew back to Rochester a few weeks ago for a super quick visit (just long enough to justify the cost of the flights..) and it was pretty awful. I kept thinking 'how could this shithole manage to get worse?' but it certainly did. Tyler chauffeured me to an old haunt to see some of the people that used to alternately entertain and irritate me, but they all died I guess. Oh well.

Later we ended up somewhere else, drinking whiskey (and Tyler a Coke most likely. [or was it Milk..? Who can remember?]) out of a bottle shaped like a horse head. Some girl nearby was making some comment about hating love, she looked angsty and punk enough to mean the human emotion, but it turns out she meant Arthur Lee's Love. What a retard.

I ended up at Tyler's, drunk, trying to make Leah jealous because now there's only one degree of separation between me and Vincent Gallo's dick.

LOVE - Alone Again Or


LOVE - A House Is Not A Motel

THE TOYS - May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone / On Backstreet - DynoVoice-218 - 1966

"May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone" was included in the incredible "One Kiss Can Lead To Another" girl groups box set and to me was one of the initial stand out tracks. I believe this is their last single for DynoVoice, and seems like the toughest to find. It took me a while to find a remotely clean copy.

Turns out the B side is pretty great too.


THE TOYS - May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone:


THE TOYS - On Backstreet:

LITTLE WILLIE JOHN - Fever / Letter From My Darling - King-4935 - 1956

This may be a bit premature since I've barely listened to the B-side of this single, but I can't contain my enthusiasm for this record. I must've listened to 'Fever' 12 times in a row when I first put this on my tables. Dead serious. 'Letter From My Darling' may be amazing as well, but I have to wait until I get over this song before I can even try listening to it objectively.

The other day I decided to break up my normal daily, after-work routine of wandering around aimlessly like a lost, mute child by planting myself on the floor of a record store to dig through their 'garbage bin' 45's. (Since I have no money, and bargain bin wears are all I can afford.) Typically digging through these boxes is a tiring and unrewarding experience, however, I think someone made a mistake (or is retarded) and mis-tagged a bunch of really good stuff and stuck it in the crap box. I think I ended up with 25-30 45's & spent less than 10 bucks. All good stuff; this record included.

Two of my all-time favorites (Elvis & The Cramps) do amazing versions of 'Fever,' so I figured it would be near impossible for someone else to come close to either of their takes on the song. Now, you'll have to excuse me for my ignorance, but somehow I missed out on Little Willie John's original. I guess it could have something to do with the fact that I was born 26 years after it was released. (Maybe. I dunno.)

But Goddamn! was I missing out. Where Elvis and The Cramps make 'Fever' work so well with a very minimalistic approach, Little Willie John's rendition is a blast of kinetic energy and it's bursting at the seams with soul. While this is still technically the same song that Elvis and The Cramps have done so perfectly, they move in such different ways that there's really no comparing them. Willie John's 'Fever' took me by surprise though, I have to admit. This song kills me. It makes me so fucking pumped I just wanna spin-kick Mike Neault down the stairs and do a little tap dance at the top.

Enjoy..

(note: this is an old entry, re-posted to include the song.)

Little Willie John - Fever

:::: A Couple Points of Interest ::::

1. I've been DJ'ing in Brooklyn more and more and it's been really great. I'm spinning all 45's (except for the occasional LP when I step outside for a minute [a 6 hour shift requires a few breaks..]) Here's what's coming up..

:: Friday, July 10, 10pm-4am - THE BOULEVARD TAVERN (579 Meeker in Greenpoint)

:: Wednesday, July 22, 10pm-4am - K&M (225 North 8th St. in Williamsburg)

:: Saturday, August 1, 10pm-4am - THE BOULEVARD TAVERN (My Birthday Party!!!)

Plus more to come. Be there.


2. How could Sky Saxon's death go so largely unnoticed? He got the short end of the death stick in almost the exact same way that Darby Crash did. Both were entirely overshadowed by a mega-celebrity's death (John Lennon and MJ) and it's a real shame. They were both crucially important in their own ways to the music surrounding and succeeding them, yet they were forgotten within minutes of their deaths. Sky's music has been far more important to me than MJ's, so I guess this is my attempt to pay tribute to him. I'll be sure to play all of my Seeds 45's when I DJ tomorrow night.. RIP Sky.


3. Sirius Radio's "Underground Garage" show is nearly unlistenable. I try to get into it, but the truth is that I just don't care about A LOT of what they play. Maybe it's that I expect something different to come from a station named "Underground Garage." I dunno. I usually just stick to the 50's station. Consistently much better.


4. If you haven't, check out the blogs on my little side list. Some great stuff. My two current favorites are Derek's Daily 45 Blog and People Mover.

All for now.
PsychedelicElvis

THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN - I Put A Spell On You / Nightmare - Track-2582 - 1968

What a freakshow.




Arthur Brown - I Put A Spell On You


Arthur Brown - Nightmare

THE SONICS - The Witch / Keep A-Knockin' - Etiquette-11 -
1965

I'm certainly not going to waste much time writing about this band. You should already know the basics, I mean, this is an essential building block of most of the good / important stuff that followed.

Anyway, I really love the mix of this particular single. It's not the cleanest mix I've ever heard, but it's fitting, and charming.

This is one of my favorite bits of my collection.

The Sonics - The Witch


The Sonics - Keep A-Knockin'

THE RAINY DAZE - That Acapulco Gold / In My Mind Lives A Forest - Uni-55002 - 1967

I sort of hate the A-side of this single, so I'm not going to mention much about it or post it. It's a flaky, stupid song and I think radio stations did the general public a favor by banning it once they realized it was secretly about weed, though they should've banned it because it's bad, not for it's veiled subject matter.

The real gem here is 'In My Mind Lives A Forest,' a wonderful pop-psych song all around. As usual, the stellar production quality plays a big part in making this song as good as it is. The song starts with a perfectly fuzzed-out guitar, but gradually fades into the mix as the song morphs into something much cleaner, more pop oriented, and doesn't fully reappear until the closing seconds. The songwriting is great (the same people responsible for Strawberry Alarm Clock's 'Incense and Peppermints,') and I'm a sucker for a real cheap sounding organ tone, most audible during the choruses.

There's a pressing of this single with 'That Acapulco Gold' on both sides. BEWARE.

The Rainy Daze - In My Mind Lives A Forest

FRANKIE FORD - Sea Cruise / Roberta - Ace-554 - 1959

'Sea Cruise' was a big hit for Frankie Ford. Interestingly, the track was written by Huey 'Piano' Smith and originally sung by Bobby Marchan, the cross-dressing soul singer best known for singing 'Don't You Just Know It,' although Marchan's vocal was later replaced by Frankie Ford's using Smith's original instrumental track. This was the only time Frankie's name made it onto the charts.

'Roberta,' in my opinion, is the better of the two tracks though. This one was also written and played by Smith, though I'm not sure if Marchan's vocals were recorded and stripped from this track as well. I'm convinced that I've heard this song on some film's soundtrack (possibly a John Waters film?) but after some searching I still can't place it. Does anyone know for sure where else this song might have ended up? It's been bugging me since I bought this record.

Here ya go...

Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise


Frankie Ford - Roberta

WANDA JACKSON - Right Or Wrong / Funnel Of Love - Capital 4553 - 1961

Wanda is a living legend. I saw her live a few years ago and even though she's old as dirt, I thought she sounded as good as ever. I was completely wasted. I'm not sure how closely those two details are related..

Anyway, try to not like 'Funnel of Love.' I believe it may be impossible, unless you have shit for taste.

Wanda Jackson - Right or Wrong


Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love

MARIANNE FAITHFUL - This Little Bird / Morning Sun - London - 1965

Marianne's marriage to Mick Jagger seems to overshadow the fact that she released a few wonderful records in the mid 60's. It's a bit of a shame.

Here's a great single; a personal favorite. Two sad, beautiful songs by a woman very much the same. Marianne was kind of a mess for a while there, huh?

Separately, but related, Marianne is responsible for one of the few Beatles covers that sounds better than the original. The song is "I'm A Loser" and was released on her 1965 self titled LP.

(This is a re-post with files added.)

Marianne Faithful - This Little Bird


Marianne Faithful - Morning Sun

THE CHIFFONS - Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind But Me) / The Real Thing - Laurie-3301 - 1965

This is certainly one of my favorite 45's that I own. Both sides are right on.

'Nobody Knows' was written, and possibly produced, by Brute Force, the genius behind 'What A Lonely Way To Start The Summertime' by The Bitter Sweets. Again, he created a very catchy, girl group friendly song with darker overtones and amazing, vaguely psychedelic, wall-of-sound-esque production. The combination of girl groups with heavy reverb seems to be largely fail-proof.

'The Real Thing' is another great song, this one is a lot more soul based than the top side. Just about perfect songwriting here. Be warned: this one will stay with you for a bit.

There's a later press of this record that includes 'Did You Ever Go Steady' instead of 'The Real Thing.' This, the first pressing, is the one to find (especially since 'Did You Ever Go Steady' was also included as the B-side to their later single 'Sweet Talkin' Guy.')

Incredibly, I found this one in a 33 cent bin...

The Chiffons - Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind But Me)


The Chiffons - The Real Thing

COUNT FIVE - Peace Of Mind / The Morning After - Double Shot 106 - 1966

This is Count Five's chart-flopping followup to Psychotic Reaction. Honestly, it's not nearly as good, but it's an interesting single, in a way.

Peace of Mind isn't the best song ever, but it's got some really good psych freakout-ish instrumental breaks which are clearly the highlight of this record. The only bits of this song that I don't like much are the verses. Vocally, this track is pretty lackluster.

The Morning After, as a whole, is a pretty misguided, pointless song. The only thing of remote interest on this track is so burired in the mix that you really have to be listening for it to catch it. During the instrumental breaks there are some funny little psych noise effects that I like. Too bad they're barely audible..

Both of these tracks were included on the Psychotic Reaction LP.

Count Five - Peace Of Mind


Count Five - The Morning After