The Beach Boys - "Mok's SMiLE Fan Mix" (CD-R, 2001)

Hey, I’m with a few days off after an exhausting tour on most Greece’s cities for work for about half a
month. So we came to my old lady’s parents yesterday to spend days supposedly ‘relaxed’. Of course no rest when you have two little boys around but can’t complain, I REALLY like the way they’re making my wife MAD (he-he)! So here I am once again, trapped in a city that has ABSOLUTELY no relation to rock & roll and art in general, a house with no stereo but three TV sets (go figure…) and as confederates to me, an iPod and a tablet with a good measure of music and books (BTW, go catch Bobby Keys autobiography, it's a must read)... There is only a big chain record store in the city with a good 99% crap on its shelves and nothing else… Having nothing really cool to do anyway I decide to give a chance (poor me) and kill time in there. For about an hour I was hanging around with no luck at all but with a weird confidence in companion and right when I was ready to give up, BOOM, The Beach Boys’ SMiLE Sessions Box dusty and unvalued, almost thrown behind shit like Michael Bolton was waiting patiently for how long who knows, for someone like me to understand the treasures locked in! I did one last move to check the price even if I had instantly determined to proceed and then there’s another surprise for yours truly… A ridiculously low price to make things even better... There's God somewhere, Brian Wilson was right!
I rushed myself home, opened my laptop, ripped the damn thing and spent the next few hours by trying to read the booklet or Keys’ book, but no way sir! I mean what in the world was I thinking of? Is there a way to hear such a gem and doing at the same time something else except maybe for chain smoking totally released from anything that's annoying?!
I’m pretty sure there’s no need to tell you people what SMiLE is for pop culture in general. There’s no way someone seriously involved with music to not know the whole story, mystery and legend that surrounds Brian Wilson's and Van Dyke Park’s masterpiece for so many decades. After countless bootlegs and reconstructions we’re able at last, to have an officially released monster and another one by Brian and his band (2004’s ‘Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE’) to fulfill the drawing!
Did I just say ‘reconstruction’? Oh well, there are many of them around the net and if you’re a Beach Boys lunatic, you’re gonna have already most of them if not all, right? Of them all I always carry with me on my external hard drive the ones been made by Purple Chick and Mok! I mean, listen again to these 'fan mixes' if you hold ‘em and take notice that in many cases predated ‘Sessions’. Brilliant, exceptional labors by fans for fans only! And you know our approach to this already cause we 've tried many times something similar, so anything created with love and passion by fans through this space always going to have reverence!
In case you 're getting it for the first time, here’s another chance to hear Mok’s SMiLE Version, arguably one of the best around generally and not only to the ones been made by fans. Words bellow by Mok himself:

"I did this Smile edit back in 2001 way before Brian put it all together and basically, it brings in all good quality elements of the original recordings to form a nice listening experience. It's not an attempt to create a complete album, but for the sake of being completionist, it includes almost every available piece from that era, just edited together in a more cohesive manner.

It seems the more time goes by the more nostalgic I get about the time before BWPS. That might not make sense, but there was a lot to dream of then, when Smile was a perfect figment in out imaginations, different each one. Although I was thrilled at Brian's finished album, this 'version' will always have a spot in the rotation. It was quite a surprise to me that after Brian's was done, people would still want to hear what I did - maybe it is that nostalgic thing in others as well. Of course, nothing sounds like the '60s... I continue to be amazed at how it seems every few weeks I am sending out a few more copies. The thing I enjoy most about it now is reading people's comments back - the connection we make through the material. Common emotions linking people in different states and countries. Anyway, just glad to know that there's other folks out there who 'get it' too. Feel free to pass it along to anyone you think would get something out of it.

I'm uploading it in an effort to post my original contribution to this phenomenon that so many were and are involved in creating and perpetuating.  Hopefully some folks will get a kick out of it, and for others, perhaps just a point of reference.

Thanks again,
Mark

Fan Mix - "Mok's SMiLE" - finished 6/28/01 ~ This is *my* created mix of Smile, long before the master finished it himself. Enjoy!
Source: Various boots (original silvers) > Pro Tools 5.2 (Mac) edit > bounced to 16-bit/44.1 kHz AIFF > FLAC (Total time - 62:28)

Here's a rough idea of what's on this disc and the work that went into it:

1 - Our Prayer
This is a synchronization of the beautiful stereo mix with the mono mix found on bootleg (which I believe is a more coherent sound).
2 - Heroes and Villains
This is an amalgamation of all of the great pieces of Heroes, in an order I find appealing. There are attempts at increasing the clarity of the mix made by using the isolated vocal tracks from Sea of Tunes synchronized with the main mono track (making a rough stereo). Longer than I would like (8:00) but I feel complete by the end. (probably 3rd most worked-on)
3 - Barnyard
Pitch matched the instrumental track from bootleg with the demo piano and vocal from the GV box. It fits, amazingly, although a considerable amount of elbow grease was applied.
4 - I'm In Great Shape
The 'waking up' sounds of H&V sections mixed into the actual wakeup "mornings tumble out of bed..." vocal/piano demo by Brian (a bit cleaned up).
5 - Do You Like Worms
IMHO, the right pieces in the right order, this track sounds amazing. I believe one of the finer sounding tracks, 99% in stereo. Vocal clarity was obtained by mixing splits (again) into the stereo track.
6 - Child is the Father of the Man
Hard to get great quality, since most of the material comes from acetates, but I mixed several different 'takes' and 'remakes' of this song into one, satisfying another completions urge. Nobody's thought of *this* yet. Lots of work went into this (probably 4th most worked-on).
7 - Look
Not much editing, just judicial eq to clean up - the sequencing of this song and the next are key.
8 - Good Vibrations
A GV 'greatest hits' edit - the best parts of this song mixed as if it was whole. Now I hear this edit when I hear this song on the radio (and it hasn't ruined it). Find it in your heart to forgive my hacks, I think it's worth it.
9 - Holidays
Segueing out of GV, Holidays is not edited, just cleaned up as well. This track and Look were 'done' IMHO. A clever way in and out of GV.
10 - The Old Master Painter
A tough edit of the stereo instrumental with the mono vocal mix. These do not sync up well, but my crossfades take care of the wonky-ness.
11 - He Gives Speeches
Padded at the beginning and faded out at the end, a minor touch-up to the "beginning of side 2" (for me).
12 - Wonderful
The version from the box set, unaltered. This is beautiful, and never should be messed with.
13 - I Love to Say Da-Da
I know, I know, Cool Cool Water isn't Da-Da, but I felt this made a better flowing track with the two edited together (water chant drops in the middle).
14 - Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
H&V intro is Fire. This segues quite nicely into Cow, and that dies out.
15 - Friday Night
After the craziness, the 'rebuilding' smoothness comes in. Stereo Version was cleaner, sorry for the right channel only woodwork. (Woodwork is always in mono!)
16 - Reprise
A reprise of the H&V theme, with no H&V-specific vocal. I thought it went well here. A cleaned-up edit and fade makes it leaner, but still nice.
17 - Vega-Tables
This was just love from the beginning. This plays everything I want to hear of Veg, with only a slight weird phasing that could not be avoided. So many sections with so many edits, this was probably the most intensive editing on the project. Mostly stereo (where it counts) and I 'never was lazy' putting it together.
18 - Wind Chimes
Almost the same edit as on the box set, but using stereo sources from the bootlegs for (better?) sound.
19 - CabinEssence
This incorporates the 'instrumental' sections from the boots (I can't ever go without hearing that) with the completed Carl vocal version from the box set. I cleaned up some of the vocals on this track so they stand out a little more.
20 - You're Welcome
Regardless of the intent, I couldn't resist putting this on there. Very little work involved, but it might be noticeable to others...
21 - George Fell Into His French Horn
I clipped a small section of this because I heard the segue from this track to the next in my head months before attempting this project. It makes me laugh and works in a way you would never expect.
22 - Surf's Up
One of the hardest things to work on in the project and ultimately the most rewarding. I love the stereo backing track, but wait, there's now Brian's demo vocal (and only Brian) in sync! Pitch correction, time compression, whatever it took, I had to do it just to see if it could be done. This was the whole inspiration for the project, and the last thing I worked on. Try not to cry when you hear it the first time. Goosebumps every time.
Ultimately it's too long and overstuffed to be an 'album', but there never was an album, and this is my way to feel totally complete with Smile (if one ever can)." - Mok

Good Vibrations anyone?!

The Rolling Stones - "Metamorphosis - Bootleg Version" (CD, Maximum - 2002)

Stones anyone?
I never thought I had this! A very pleasant discovery of the past days dive on my old hard drives!! Original Metamorphosis LP was just another subject of hostility between ex-manager Allen Klein and the band back then. A rare/odds collection with a messy story, pressing and sound.
Bill Wyman supposedly in communication with the other Stones members accumulated this compilation (mind you, still the only 'official' with outtakes/rarities of their catalog). Right away Klein (owner of all of their early work...) took in charge and released it... The legend says the whole controversy began on the material that's imprisoned in vinyl's grooves. Allegedly Bill Wyman's point of view was perhaps closest to a fan's and Klein's to a banker's... Personally don't give a shit in what both sides said or the hardcore fans/purists... Metamorphosis badmouthed and that's a completely unfair situation.
What you rock & roll fan get is first rate demo material on songs the Stones gave away to other artists (some of them later thank god, redone by the band) in a time Andrew Oldham was trying to be the European Phil Spector or something! You know, in mid 60s Jagger and Oldham created and All Star session team that had in its set (among others) Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Mike Leander in order to cut demos of Jagger/Richards 'leftovers'... And many of them as the legend says found their way to this shady release. Like the Johnny Thunders favorite (mine too) "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys"... Is that pop heaven or what, people?! You get for instance the Jagger's vocal on the same backtrack that used for Chris Farlowe number one hit or a great Chess studio outtake on Chuckster's "Don't Lie to Me" or Beggars Banquet/Let It Bleed oddities like Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why"... Not bad, right?! I'm telling you, NOT BAD AT ALL!!!
What this boot comes to fix is the most important, though, and that's the sound. I read in many internet sources that real US release had suffered by muddy sonics and bad pressings. Don't know... What I know for sure is that this Russian boot has deep and rich output. And it has also great packaging (a thing many bootleggers don't care for). They could have been easily WAX staff members if they have passed it for free to the public and not selling it...
They have used UK's pattern and added 10 more tracks in the best ever released audio quality! Personal favorite (along with "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys")? "If You Let Me" an oddity from Between The Buttons (another infamous Stones album and another personal heartthrob of yours truly). Dig!

WAX Stuff Revisited!

Hey! It's been a while since the last time, I know and I'm sorry for all you guys and gals if I let you down... Too much to do too little time... I was checking my emails every two or three days and I was keeping notes on what you're asking, so I decided to begin from where I left off and to start with what I promised.
We don't have as much spare time as we want to or as we used to, but we 're not going to let also those creeps making money on our labor. And here goes a HUGE thanks for the way you embraced our 'projects'!
This post restarts White Trash Soul! All missing or not WAX stuff, re-upped for all WTS friends who came late to our company.  I wasn't able to FLAC our first volumes, even if I wanted to... And that's because I made the terrible mistake to keep the lossy files on my hard drives and not the ones I originally ripped in WAV... As you already know probably, many of them were picked from vinyl slices and that's not a piece of cake situation...
Don't worry though, from Volume 5 and on all are in lossless!We're no dead yet, stay tuned for more Rock & Roll!

*************************** Happy Holidays! **************************

Check Comments for your Xmas Present!

          See ya next year!!!

WAX's Cramps series were bootlegged, be careful!

Hey, not a usual post this one. I'm away from home for a business trip but along with JP we're working (for a
long time as a matter of fact) on a two set WAX hit, so keep checking we're almost done... We're gonna thank our friend Steve properly when it's time, cause what you're gonna get, is some seriously rare and worth-checking shit! I mean SERIOUSLY!!
Did I just said 'WAX hit'? Look we're not going to stop for some greedy bastards out there on what we're doing, no way. I know you all know, how many love, passion and singularly time we are putting into these WAX projects... And we're doing it cause we like to share stuff that's not available elsewhere. Our intention is similarly to a 'manufactured' release, if not even better with accurate artwork and sound. JP have spent plenty of times hours and hours on sound correction matters. And you know, that's a tough thing cause: 1. We're not pros and 2. We're trying doing it without ruining it. 'Sound correction' for record companies nowadays means in many cases a totally different end result in comparison with what the band have recorded originally. And if you 're a regular White Trash Soul visitor, you know already that we are 100% 'Original Mix' guys and not 'Revisited'... So, at first was this Jap motherfucker who took our 'LAMF Cassette Mix' and without shame, sold it (still doing it...). Of-course he removed any WTS signature from it...This time this jerk wasn't able to remove any of our logos, but that didn't stopped him anyway... Thanks to our friend Rocka Rolla (take a look at our blog & roll section for the cool site under same name), we 've been informed that our Cramps Wax series (My Daddy Drives a UFO Volumes 1 & 2) are sold on iOffer by a prick under 'kickingmozart' name. Since he's a visitor of our blog, I want to inform him about my smelly Cons too... They're not a pleasant situation on somebody's ass... So be careful stupid fuck and remove our stuff from your shitty page cause everything by WAX's created by fans and is shared for FREE by fans... There's something you don't get in the last phrase? It's not difficult to find who you are, you know...
When I get back any deleted WAX release will get the re-up treatment, that's a promise!  And if you ever see elsewhere some prick to sell our goodies, please drop us a line. Help us keep rock & roll at least through here, a leech free situation...

Must Read: “He’s Good-Bad But He’s Not Evil….” Tribute To Cheetah Chrome by Pepsi Sheen & The Rocknroll People…

Hi there. I'm breaking the silence just to let you know about THIS! And this is rock & roll journalism at its
best!! I must admit and apologize to the guys over at VEGLAM, that I wasn't taking walks as often as I used to in the (near) past... The presence of Pepsi Sheen squiggle made me instantly light up a cigarette, let kids to fool around with the computer (I don't do this usually, I'd like them to play with real toys), grabbed my tablet and took in every word along with the whiffs! You know, I had in print almost every Flash Metal Suicide article of Pepsi and Stu but I sadly lost 'em two years back with the move to our new house... Hope someday find them all again somewhere... Anyway, I missed this kind of rock & roll writing... Way to guys! Hook in!!

PS: Sooner or later, we're gonna hit with another WAX thing... Stay tuned for more Rock & Roll!

The Ramones - "The Ramones" (LP, Philips - 1976 ~ Japan 1st Pressing)

You know already that we don't want or like to post things that's in print or easily approachable. Except to this, there's nothing more to say or add as well... I mean, what in bloody hell should I think of, for such a classic that haven't been quoted earlier? Anyway, if you still want my two cents, here it is: The Ramones fist eponymous long play is perhaps, an eminent reason for rock & roll's salvation back in the dark AOR and prog days of the '70s as the old cliché is still saying! As important for your life, if you consider your self a rock & roller, as your heart, your ears and your dick! The three chord assault magnificence and the very example and meaning of "Less Is More" phrase.The true American rock & roll look up (I mean, Chris Montez! Now that's what I call a good taste!!), the horror movies and comics subculture, the glue - sniffing, the ripped jeans, leather jackets and sneakers (now) fashion trend, the pop tendencies and the need for speed, all of these and more, are gathered in here! If you can't find up right in the front sleeve, the well known Sire logo it's because that's the first Japanese pressing... I'm pretty sure, you get it now (if you haven't by now), why we did those exceptions and offered two kinda 'different' Ramones LPs, right?! He-he...

The Ramones - "Leave Home" (LP, Sire - 1981~Italian Reissue)

Without any question the first six long plays by the Ramones are beyond any review policy (YES you must count "Pleasant Dreams" too, as an overlooked classic)! I bought for the first time "Ramones", "Leave Home" and "Rocket to Russia" about 20 years back, all three on the same day and I've played them a millions times ever since in their countless editions. "Leave Home" remains to this day my favorite Ramones output.

I guess a 'fave' item gets the prize/title by the way it fits with someone's character. And the Ramones second hit, did this for me instantly. A record title as laconic and to the point as their two and a half minute blasts. Vitriolic, sharp, impressible and funny (but never dumb as many dorks claiming) lyrics and with the often mentioned 'slicker' production by Tony Bongiovi and Tommy Ramone sounds to this day an even better approach than the one Phil Spector tried with "End of the Century"! A blasphemy? Probably but who cares anyway?! We're talking about punk rock here mate. Actually, we're talking about powerpop..!
I mean, dive your turntable's needle on the grooves and judge for yourself. Does any record by Elvis Costello or Dwight Twilley have more 'power' than this!? Come oooooooon! And when we're saying 'pop' we must agree on what we are talking about, OK? Cause I'm 100% with Joey's and Dee-Dee's side of thinking on what 'pop' is (or sadly... was). I fell in love with the Ramones because I was first in love with the Ronettes, the Crystals and the Shangri-las through the (very) few 45s of my parents. And "Leave Home" has many songs with the same over the top pop quality all these 60s girl groups had. And those pop blasting tunes are the ones that made me say from day one, "That's it, man"! Cause you can rave with any possible right from your side for trademark brudders songs like "Pinhead", "Commando" (fuckin' brilliant!!!) or "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" but let me hassle now and go all the way for "Oh-Oh I Love Her So", "Babysitter", "Swallow My Pride" and "I Remember You" cause sorry brothers, those are the real stand-outs with the aforementioned top class pop quality! Give a listen to the pseudo Spector sounds and the woo-hoo vocal harmonies in here, and see downright that worked waaaaaaaayyy better than what Spector himself captured a few years later!
OK, clearly I can go on forever on every single track about this monument's knack, but I have to put a full stop now (I mean, I didn't even mention the unapproachable taste of the band by choosing to cover The Rivieras!).
So, we're perfectly sure by now that you did get the message from the "Italian Reissue" on the post's title, why we pick on something you probably have already and in many formats or editions. Yep, that's right, Jean Philippe's back again!

"I have checked various vinyl versions (8), and this is clearly the best one (to my ears). Japan original is probably better, but it's expensive. The French original sounds quite good, but it's got some very unpleasant distortion on several tracks. The recent Rhino reissue has also some pressing problems, and both US and UK originals are not great to my ears. All these pressings have harsh vocals & guitar, which may be viewed as 'rawness' (read: 'true punk sound'), but to me it sounds like pressing flaws. I don't know much about CD's, as I've only heard a Japanese remastered CD, and this cheap-looking Italian vinyl reissue (from 1981) sounds richer & cleaner to my ears. I like when inexpensive records sound the best!"

He-he, I'm sure you know straightly when my buddy's saying something about fidelity, can't do no wrong!

As I was going to bed for siesta, took with me Bomp's PowerPop Special issue from March 1978. Greg Shaw had seen on the Ramones the same things I was telling you in the lines upwards:

"The Ramones are now a pop group more than a punk band. Their aggressive wall of guitars sound has been accepted as part of the pop vocabulary, and where the mainstream of Punk has gone to greater extremes of offensiveness, the Ramones have become a very positive, life-affirming youth explosion. (...) If you can imagine the Beatles having emerged at a time when the doors of radio were more than momentarily shut against them, and making their first 3 albums without the benefit of any hits, you'd have it. (...) Someday, Dwight Twilley will be a star. And someday, the Ramones will be a legend."

As much as Greg's prophecy went to the dustbins about Twilley, the exactly opposite happened for the Ramones! Crank it up once again!

PS: "I Remember lying awake at night / And thinking just of you / But things don’t last forever / And somehow baby / They never really do"...  We miss you SO MUCH Joey and Dee-Dee...

[Re-Up!!!] Flamin' Groovies - "Shake Some Action" (LP, Philips - 1976 ~ French original pressing)

From Kicksville66

The Gunslingers - "Better Out Than In" (CD, EGO - 1995?)

I found this on ma hard drive courtesy of our good friend Steve. That's a MEGA RARE item of a fuckin' amazing rock & roll band from UK. I remember told him not to give away the link cause I wanted to post it in here and through all my fallen times, Steve waited and kept his promise. Thanks buddy! So it's time to fulfill mine. I know this 'Gunslingers' name has too many claiming its paternity but these guys are the ones, you really need to know! And if you are already a glam punk & roll fan, I bet you're familiar by now to their classic 'Never a Dull Moment' (if not, Midnight Rambler took care of you here). The sad thing's that there's not too much info out there and I really wonder why? You get loads of crap from stupid mediocre sleaze bands and when it comes to those that really matters, you have nothing, zero, nada...
Anyway, for all of you guys and gals having a Facebook account, I found this page for them, so if you ever get there tell them Mihaleez sent you, he-he.
And you know, what I hated on most sleaze bands (not all) and adored to the glam punk, were the same things from a different angle: The influences, the style and the production. The sleaze bands were more of a hairdresser's salon artifact in a time the glam punks were the streetwise motherfuckers of your bad fame corner. The first ones stole the Johnny Thunders rulebook and became millionaires and the last ones were the cursed flame torchers that stayed forever to a cult status but won the dignity and the appreciation of the true rock & rollers! And the Gunslingers were right up my alley with their Faces on puss and boots approach! Let's not forget the Crybabys connection... Not to mention they supported Motorhead... Hope someday someone pick on their stuff and make a proper re-release...

Sex Pistols - "Nevermind The Bollocks... Here's The Sex Pistols" (CD, Virgin Black Triangle Edition - 1986)

Hi there! Hope you're well most of you guys and gals, if not all.
I know it's been a while, since the last time. Many things have happened and to tell you the truth I wasn't sure if I want to continue this space. Actually, after the assassination of a young anti-fa rapper by the name of Killah P a few days back by the Nazis of Golden Dawn I felt that I was at the gates of depression.
The last four months I bought only a handful of CDs. I wasn't in the mood to hear or write something. Our lives hit bottom and we're still trying to keep this country in a Union, that clearly never worked and never will... The only things made me happy were my family and my basketball team, no other. Not even rock & roll, the most important element so far in my life..! I was checking to see if I had any comments to approve but I wasn't interested to reply... So, don't get me wrong that I didn't, cause we're in trouble down here. I talked to my faithful partner JP, only a few times... We're still trying to get ourselves together and put a new WAX shit, but as I already told you, I wasn't in the mood and it's all my fault.
So what happened? Straightly, I don't have a clue. I was ready half an hour back to press the 'DELETE BLOG' button and something hold me back. Fuck man, I was ready to throw over what I've built with your help and all this for some jerks that are ruining our lives... So, I'm not! Maybe you don't really care about what I'm writing this very moment but I understand. You came here for rock & roll and that's what I'm gonna give you. Cause rock & roll was ALWAYS this driving force that change your mood, your life, everything! I was listening to the latest Kurt Baker single and I was thinking "Man, this is what power pop should be!". I was hooked by its dynamics and felt for the first time in months, ALIVE! So, YES, rock & roll can clearly save your life and make you stronger.
I found also my old comrades from the Gang Bang zine and we're trying to get and publish again a new fanzine. It's time to feel again keen and to give my kids the dad they want and not the not feeling well jerk that comes from work after 10 hours and had nothing to share. Maybe two blogs and a zine are TOO MUCH but I'll try keep them all, so please be patient for the lack of constantly posts cause this time WTS is re-inventing its presence. There's no reason to post when I'm not in the mood just 'to post something', you know... I haven't talked as you imagine to JP, but I will and I'm pretty sure he's gonna back me up once again.
So, what do we have here? The most important LP in rock & roll history, in a very rare as those stupid audiophile dudes claim, pressing, with a dead flat transfer and a perfectly balanced sound. I was pretty sure this was a boot (there's no bar-code in the back) but from a (very) quick internet search I discover the opposite. The legendary now 1986 'Black Triangle Edition' is in fact a very rare Jap Toshiba EMI CD. Never had the usual OBI and it's celebrated by both fans and audiophiles as THEE one made justice! Not my rip, a Russian friend send it to me. I did notice as well many torrents with this but what the hell, here's another one if you 're interested.

Democracy? What are you talking about mate...?

“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;
 Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist;
 Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;
 Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;
 Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

  Martin Niemöller 

Yep that's it! Greece's officially under a new junta administration. Cause not even the military junta back in the late 60s ever shut our national radio and television... As our anarchists cleverly said, "Greece was the place Democracy was born and the place is about to die"... Guess what..? It just happened!!!

Flamin' Groovies - "Shake Some Action" (LP, Philips - 1976 ~ French original pressing)

You know, taking breaks from something you REALLY love, doesn't mean necessarily you won't be interested anymore. Something like this, happened to both of us here at WTS the previous months. I've started a new blog the previous year exclusively dedicated to my fave basketball team and as the games were getting tougher and the attention on this bigger, I naturally turned my head more into it (the back to back European Championship title didn't help things either but you know, I'm not complaining at all!). Same thing for JP. He had found a place (a 'sonic-masonic temple' in fact as I like to call it, I'm teasing you bro, he-he!) to share his knowledge and passion on all things technical that I'm not able to understand and get right and as a result of all these was more or less, this site to have fewer posts as it used to had...
But we're back! We sit our lazy ass down once again for a double shot of WAX love and some mo' cool things for your listening pleasure, starting with this!
Perfect timing's everything in life, right?! I had in my mind to 'reply' to my friend Gyro and his great recent  Flamin' Groovies posts on Twilight Zone with something 'rare', but JP and without knowing it gave me something even better! A European (French) pressing of the 'Shake Some Action' masterpiece!! "Big deal" some might say, "who needs another SSA post"? Well, everyone! As my buddy mailed me:

This French pressing sounds different from the US or Canada LP I've heard (and also different from CD). They are quite muddy. Not as bad as LAMF UK, but too much bass and not much highs.The French version solves this issue.

Boom! The basterd was right once again!! I've had it in two supposedly different CD versions previously (mind you, the one a Jap) and never ( I mean, NEVER!) heard before this POP jewel sounding SOOOOO good and fresh! I was totally aware of the good job Philips did back then with the single (who handled Sire releases in Europe and picked mysteriously on the amazing Capitol 'version 2' take for the single - a BRILLIANT MOVE!) but not for the long play!!! Do I need to say more?

PS: Stay tuned and check constantly for re-ups...

Various Artists - "Shakin' Fit!" (CD, Candy Records - 1992)

Well, when was the last time this space honored the last word of its name?
Quite long back right? I was checking up to see what to offer and I discovered that somehow "Shakin' Fit!" slipped my attention. OK, three years back I had through these pages the first (vinyl and with less tracks) incarnation ("Whip It On'Em"), but here's the 'full' version, the one most people knows. Actually this CD gathers the first two vinyl volumes of the three these series had but I can't remember their names right now and Crypt's website doesn't have them now listed to make everyone's life easier. This is probably my fave of all these millions official/semi-official and bootleg comps about Rhythm & Soul. Great sound, great packaging and great song selection! And you know, some of these gems have been introduced to the younger generations by the Detroit Cobras' movement for the salvation of Black America's VERY IMPORTANT rhythm tradition! It's not the 'rare' factor that makes this CD such a COOL accumulation, but the SWEAT! You can actually smell a thousand people's body fluids (or more!) dancing to the sounds of Mickey Lee Lane's "Hey Sa-Lo-Ney", Don & Dewey's frenetic "Heartattack", Don Gardner's twangy ass-shaker "My Baby Likes to Boogaloo" or David Jones "Boss with the Hot Sauce" (you can do no wrong with a song having a title like this!). The Nuggets equivalent for 60s Rhythm & Soul!

The Nerves - "One Way Ticket" (CD, Alive - 2008)

Name your favorite power pop band quickly. Come on, you don't need to think about it, just drop the name your mind's database finds first.
Flamin' Groovies? OK, an obvious choice, but what I need is something less obvious, so drop another...
Badfinger? Mmmm, I'm sure you can do better, too boogie to fit in don't you think?
Cheap Trick? Way cool, but those hard rock twists they got sometimes... don't know.
The Raspberries? Wimpy and campy, you know...
Big Star? Now, you're talking man, but... a bit dark for a springtime post... Remind me about them when the winter is setting in, OK?
Dwight Twilley? Oh great! Wait a minute... I'm not in the mood to make a vinyl rip now man. I know I'm a lazy bastard but since Jean Philippe came to pic, my mind's have cool down about it so...
The Nerves? BINGO! I thought you never gonna tell it man! You know, I must admit I'm cheating a little here cause that's what I had in my mind from the first moment but I thought it was easily for someone knowing my taste which is probably my fave powerpop group, man! The words 'seminal', 'trademark', 'irresistible', 'ultimate' are synonymous with the Nerves short lived existence. What you get here's everything! The beyond any critic classic 7'' EP, the embryonic Paul Collin's Beat diamonds ("Walking Out on Love", "Working Too Hard", "You Won't Be Happy"), bonus studio material, live and demos. More or less the varia Nerves output. I adore Paul Collins Beat's first two and all Plimsouls works equally but let this be the subject of another time's case. After this, you have really no excuse to cite "Hangin' on the Telephone" as a Blondie tune...

Jeff Dahl - "All Trashed Up" (CD, Triple X - 1999)

A true Underground hero for how long, three decades now? I'm only having good words about Jeff Dahl, in everything got involved through years passing! He managed to have a pure rock & roll career without selling out his punk rock ethos not a single time, he had putting out fanzines (Sonic Iguana especially, belongs to the better ones ever printed, up there with Ugly Things, Sniffin' Glue or Kicks), released records to amazing artists through his own label Ultra Under (Freddy Lynxx, Gunfire Dance, Jacobites) and who knows what else am I forgetting now?
I remember asking him for an interview some years back, sending him the questions and after a month of no reply and without getting back at him, I received an email asking me if he ever answered my questions... I was amazed! And you know,  they were lots of 'heroes' that said me they 're gonna give me an interview but never replied, not caring for the love and time I have put into these questions... NOT Jeff though! Saying all this, there's no way for such a cool person to not having a CV of ass-kicking and purely honest (at least) records .
A three chord wonder in the very close meaning of the title! Check out if there's still around somewhere (my friend Mr. Rambler from SOTD had posted them both quite back) the sadly never re-printed and an only  for the fan club release of  Glamfag volumes/tributes for instance (only 500 pressed). A very basic, almost childish approach on 70s glam numbers by Suzi Quatro, Alice Cooper, New York Dolls, David Bowie and Sweet among others well known and not, that somehow and due to Jeff passion's re-birthed with a Dead Boys/Heartbreakers prism and a know for the first time freshness!
This one's for sure in my top-5 Jeff Dahl list and perhaps, the last one I ever enjoyed from start to finish. In "All Trashed Up" Jeff for the first time gives us more of the glam element of his sound, without of course dumping the well known Thunder-esque guitar styling.The album features as well Mr. Michael Brooks, guitar slinger supremo of the Beat Angels (great band!) on some tunes and you know what this means... A full twin attack blazing and bastardizing Mott and Dolls, New York powerpop in the vein of the early Boyfriends and Ramones with the usual Heartbreakers/Dead Boys feel. If Jeff had in mind to make a variation of the glam Bowie produced period of Lou Reed, he failed entirely...Thank God, he-he!!!

Iggy & the Stooges - "Unrough Powder: The Trueborn Raw Power Mixes" (WAXEP001)

Well, well, well... Is there anything about "Raw Power" that hasn't been said or written yet, especially after all those previous years re-mixes, re-masters and re-issues? Quite honestly, no. I just deleted a 3000 words piece cause it had nothing utterly new to tell... Lester Bangs did it first and it sucked too some times. Come on, feel free to abuse me for the previous line but the best thing ever wrote (and it sums perfectly the punk rock attitude) was this Troggs appreciation (RIP Reg Presley) on Who put the Bomp... I hate the 'Funhouse' review!
Include ourselves of course to the above, cause if you can recall almost two years back to this day, we have tried to give you some of our postures on the subject by posting the rare original UK CBS vinyl. So?
So, we had absolutely nothing to discover hither, at least the we way did with "L.A.M.F."  and we knew that from the very start. It was however the natural next step for us to try something with "Raw Power". I mean, the similarities with "L.A.M.F." are spotless. A hugely influential rock & roll record, a blurry history/mythology, a long lasting 'bad production' debate, a 'Revisited' like attempt (Iggy's 1997 remix) and the most important thing, is 'the other' fave ever record for the Bobcat Twins (JP must own 20 different issues)!
What we also knew was that CBS was no Track at all. There were/are many bad pressed or bad transferred "Raw Power" editions around through the years (the first ever CD edition is a very good example) but if you're looking for secretly different mixes to be found somewhere, I'm sorry no such thing here (with the only known exception of "Search & Destroy" of the UK press). Actually what we had on our hands and deserved to be used for WAX-ing was the "Original Bowie mix" in some pleasant pressings, "Iggy's remix" which btw lead us to some arguments with JP (a VERY infrequent situation - I like it, he hate it) and the often bootlegged "Original Raw Power Mixes" again by Iggy, which in most cases were barely audible but never altogether compiled. Bomp's "Rough Power" had 'em all of course if you want to object, but this WEIRD reverb/echo storm throughout the songs presence, destroyed everything and makes us STRONGLY believe now that 'some hand' added these ridiculous and totally extraneous effects just to sound 'different'. Don't get us wrong, WE LOVE Bomp and you know it well BUT this is clearly some cook kind of thing.
There was no motivation for us to deal actually with the first two well known foresaid mixes and it's easily understood the reason why of this. All of them are in print now and most of the 'different' pressings have been posted on internet many times before. If we had to touch our hands somewhere there was only one path for us to cross. The one of the 'Original Mixes'.
So why an EP this time? Cause after countless conversations my buddy convinced me he was right. Quality over quantity as he wrote me! The often recycled WABX radio broadcast has a crappy sound in all cases/releases and any thought on using it, abandoned immediately. There's no need to represent something's not worth a shit (and it ain't won't worth a shit!). On the other hand what through the ages surfaced as what was Iggy's original essay that annoyed all the jerks at MainMan, were only four songs (Search & Destroy, Hard To Beat, Raw Power and Shake Appeal). We couldn't do much except to find the best ones. And that's what we did. Look no further, these are actually the best sounding survivors, scattered in four different and very hard to find now bootlegs plus the rare as hell "Search & Destroy" version of the UK press, for the first time all gathered in one!
We found A LOT entertaining the way we created the covers with this 'hostile to Bowie' approach. After all we're not his biggest fans, he-he... We sure like what he did at times, and as you perhaps, we both grew with his mix, that's what we learned to like and love but hey, this is an Iggy and the Stooges 'release', dedicated to the most furious rock & roll ever commited to tape, so a hate note and a sour feel it is incumbent upon, right? RIGHT!!!
And, oh! One more thing... The 'badly produced/recorded Ashetons' steam engine or the 'visionary' Bowie mix are in questioning with these tapes...Hear for yourself, and let us know!

"It wasn't about production and it wasn't about being popular. It was about this gut-level expression, almost like a soul singer. And it's no accident that it comes from Detroit". 

Rod Firestone, 

Rubber City Rebels