CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - Lookin' Out My Back Door / Long As I Can See The Light - Fantasy - 1970

I feel a little funny liking Creedence as much as I do. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because my mother refers to them as 'Creedence Clearwater Survival' and that bugs the shit out of me. I correct her every single time, hoping she'll get it right eventually so I can enjoy their music without THAT in my head, but it's useless. They are, and forever will be, Creedence Clearwater Survival to her.

Ironically, my mother is the reason why I own this particular copy of this single. She spotted it at a garage sale, or auction, or something, I'm not sure, I'm not a very good listener, and brought it home for me. She's pretty cool, quirks and all.

This record's pretty cool too. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" is one the best songs CCR ever released. John Fogerty was spot on with his production, as usual, and the song writing is all aces. The hooks and leads are precise and never overdone, and the lyrics are probably Fogerty's crowning achievement. John gets home from tour, gets loose on some brain drugs and starts seeing all sorts of craziness out his back door. Shit, get me a flying spoon, I wanna take that ride.

The B-side, "Long As I Can See The Light" has all the qualities to add up to a HORRIBLE song. Let's count: John is trying his best to get super soulful, there's possibly the worst sounding keyboard I've ever heard, and worst of all, the goddamn SAX SOLO (fuck off, Fogerty.) When all is said and done though, it comes off, definately not 'good,' but at least somehow endearing. (Not sure how.) Dudes that loves Bob Seger and His Silver Bullshit Band like this song. Mechanics and plumbers and electricians will all dance to this song at their weddings. It's THAT bad, but I can still appreciate some unnameable quality of it for whatever reason. Maybe it just means I can look foward to a life of plumbing, who knows? (Shit, I hope not.)

Regardless, this single is cool. So is the majority of CCR's output (until the very end.) I don't know why so many people hate them. Maybe it's their rural appeal. Oh well. I'm not the one missing out.

The Dude agrees. (And, of course, The Dude abides.)

PsychedelicElvis

THE KNOCKOUTS - Darling Lorraine / Riot in Room 3C - Shad - 1959

There was a band called the Knockouts that played in or around Dunkirk, NY in the mid to late 90's. They sounded like the Ramones covering Dion and the Belmonts and had a hit single (as far as I was concerned) called "I'm In Love With A Tenth Grader." To boot, they were pretty cool guys.

This is NOT a record by that band.

The top side of this record is cute. It's a lot like 'Earth Angel' but replace the Penguin's sugary vocals with something a bit more rockabilly influenced. All the sentiment is still there, just a bit rougher around the edges. Apparently this song slipped through the cracks and never really charted, though it was the closest the Knockouts ever got to a hit.

I actually bought this record because of the promising title on the flip side, though it doesn't quite live up to expectations. This is an instrumental song that sounds strangely similar to 'Rebel Rouser' by Duane Eddy. The intro "There's a riot goin on in room 3C" is pretty funny though. I'm planning an instro podcast here, it'll likely show up on that.

Alright.

PsychedelicElvis

TERRY STAFFORD - Suspicion / Judy - Lana - 1964


So I kind of disappeared for a minute there, huh? What can I say? I've been really busy with a few other projects, and things in life got a little retarded, so this thing got neglected. Likely story, big deal.

Well, I've had this post saved as a draft for a really long time, and I finally realized that it's because I don't have a lot to say about this guy, so I'm not going to pretend that I do. The bottom line is that Suspicion is a great single, and Terry Stafford owes every bit of his (fleeting) success to Elvis and his producer. Elvis released Suspicion two years before Terry (on his Pot Luck LP,) but the Stafford version has a slightly different instrumental treatment that I think works a bit more effectively than Elvis'.

The B-side is nothing. Terry still does his best Elvis impersonation, but this time on a song that accomplishes nothing in it's entire 2.5 minutes.

I guess when you add it all up, Terry Stafford was kind of a hack. Well.. so what? It doesn't make his version of Suspicion any less enjoyable.

PsychedelicElvis

THE DOORS - Love Me Two Times / Moonlight Drive - Elektra - 1967

I can't honestly say that I'm a very big fan of the Doors. I think Jim Morrison was kind of a phony douchebag, and musically the band didn't do a whole lot for me. Granted, there's a few songs here and there that I really enjoy (People Are Strange, and End of the Night are both pretty rad,) but as a whole it's not my thing.

However, My pal Cory was visiting me here in the city a while ago and turned me on to the fact that the Doors 45's, specifically this one, are hilarious and amazing when played at 33rpm. This song, that I typically wouldn't miss if I never heard it again, is pure genius in this capacity. Morrison sounds the best he ever will with a super-dropped pitch, in ultra slow motion, sounding like a drunken bear who's been huffing glue for the past several hours. It's really quite amazing, the transformation that occurs with a simple flip of a switch. And this little trick kept us entertained for quite some time. After listening to this song several times in a row (honestly worth it alone just for Jim's retarded howl before the big gay solo.) we played around with other 45's to see what else sounds better in slo-mo.

For the record: The Doors should never be listened to on 45 (because it sucks) and Arthur Brown 45's, as killer as they are normally, were MEANT to be played at 33. That shit is terrifying.

Try it on..

PsychedelicElvis

NEAL FORD AND THE FANATICS - Get Together With Me / Pain - Hickory - 1967

The Fanatics are a band that seemed to release either amazing songs or absolute shit. Never really anything in between. Their polarized tendencies are perfectly illustrated with these two sides.

'Get Together With Me' is a useless, regrettable pop song and ultimately a waste of 2 minutes. I don't understand how a group of guys who can turn out gems like 'Woman' and this record's flip can willingly release such sugar-pop bullshit. It's not that I write off candy tunes as a whole, as a matter of fact I have a real weakness for a well written pop song, this just doesn't happen to be one. At all. It stinks.

Luckily, 'Pain' alone is worth this record's weight in vinyl. It's actually pretty surprising that The Fanatics aren't listed next to the garage and psych staples like the Blues Magoos or Count Five. They certainly released enough quality tunes to be a real contestant. While 'Pain' isn't the best thing they ever released, it certainly is enjoyable and could hold it's own on any given garage comp.

Maybe it's because they released so much garbage that they don't get the cred they really deserve...

Wah.

PsychedelicElvis

((( CRASH #1 )))
Hosted By Psychedelic Elvis

It's been a while since I posted some actual music, so here's a new mix of free tunes. I kept it a bit shorter this time, and a bit more focused (by my own standards.) There's a bit of an underlying theme here...

Hey, if you download this and dig it (or hate it,) return the favor by leaving a comment. I just wanna know if anyone actually grabs these or if I'm wasting a lot of time creating and posting them for no one.

::: Crash #1 :::
1. Link Wray - Hidden Charms
2. The Fanatics - Woman
3. The Electric Prunes - Get me to the World on Time
4. Bobby Freeman - Big Fat Woman
5. The Zombies - Tell Her No
6. The Rolling Stones - Dandelion
7. Arthur Brown - I Put A Spell On You
8. Shadows of Knight - Bad Little Woman
9. The Pretty Things - Honey, I Need
10. Mitch Ryder - I'd Rather Go To Jail
11. The Nightcrawlers - You're Running Wild
12. The Music Machine - The People In Me
13. Gary U.S. Bonds - New Orleans
14. The Kinks - I Gotta Move

DOWNLOAD: CRASH #1

PsychedelicElvis

BLUES MAGOOS - One By One / Dante's Inferno - Mercury - 1967

This record's B-side is really the most noteworthy thing about it. More B-sides should be treated like this. I guess the standard practice was to pick the hit for the A-side, then stick a boring, pales-in-comparison track on the flip side and I guess that's the most functional approach if your main objective is to sell a song, but where's the fun in that? Blues Magoos got something right when they stuck 'Dante's Inferno' on the flip of 'One by One.' This isn't even a song. No melody, no harmony, no structure of any kind. Just noise, effects and yelling. Right on. Why waste a side of vinyl on something so boring when you could release something completely retarded and amazing? Kudos, Blues Magoos. This single is right on.

PsychedelicElvis