Johnny Thunders & Jerry Nolan - "Countdown Love" (7inch Single - Sucksex Records - Sex13 - 1997)

How many of you out there do you know who Freddy Lynxx is? Not many huh? Well, Freddy's a French (with Croatian) roots rock & roller who's mostly known as a Thunders copycat... Fuck NO! Freddy is one of the few that huge admirers of Thunders/Heartbreakers/New York Dolls family that did SO MUCH about keeping their legacy alive, in a time that these cats were so un-hip (that is for so many years). Not that today are within the 'in' list of the wider audience, but at least much more seem to know and respect the New York's cuties. He got a band (well, actually two) that kicked serious ass, the Jetboys and the Corner Gang, which did magnificent albums of pure n' adrenalin-driven street rock n' roll and a label under the 'Sucksex' moniker, that putted out at times unbelievable rare & unreleased toons of the Dolls/Heartbreakers familia. I wish someday catch him, even through the net for an interview...
Anyway, this thing here it's a housewreckin' two-sider, featuring of course the two late pals, Johnny & Jerry with the recordings they did at different times and different places of the "Countdown Love".  The last, it's one of the strongest moments of the Hearbreakers and it's a fuckin' shame that never recorded this dynamite officially. The song is written by Jerry Nolan and had also a third Heartbreaker approach, through Walter Lure as he recorded it for the Waldos SUPERB album, "Rent Party".
Johnny Thunders Side, are with the "Que Sera Sera" line up, mostly known as the Black Cats.It was recorded in 1985 at Tin Pan Alley Studio (London, England) and on track's background vocals are Stiv Bators and Michael Monroe! Even though what they just did was some 'ahhhhssss' and 'oooohhhhssss', it's for sure and historical moment.
On Jerry Nolan's Side we found Nigs with the Teneriffa Cowboys backing him (whatta band!) and it's easily the best execution of the song of the two versions here (my favorite still is by the Waldos!). It was recorded in Stockholm, Sweden (a place where at the time Jerry lived) back in 1983 at Decibel Studios.
That's for sure a great addition for all the Dolls/Heartbreakers fanatics out there, but if you came here and you'll never heard something else, you MUST GO AND BUY NOW the two New York Dolls LPs plus the Heartbreakers' "L.A.M.F." and leave this rarities for later.
Final Note: To this blogger, the Heartbreakers still are the best rock n' roll band ever and Tom Petty should change his band name NOW. Never too late for this, you square millionaire...
320 Kbps

3,2,1 yeah! Countdown Luv! 

Personnel:

Johnny's Side:
Johnny Thunders - guitar & lead vocals
Henri-Paul - guitar
Keith Yon - bass
Tony St Helene - drums
Stiv Bators - background vocals
Michael Monroe - background vocals


Jerry's Side:
Jerry Nolan - drums & lead vocals
Michael Thimren - guitar
Bonne Lofman - guitar
Sylo Eliason - bass
Syl Sylvain - piano??

Lemmy & the Upsetters with Mick Green - "Blue Suede Shoes / Paradise" (Sunnyside Music - STYLE777 - 1990)

For ancient Greeks there was really only one purpose for a man in life, his “Fame after death”.

Even though most of the modern Greeks (we) are assholes (and actually we have not much in common with our ancestors) this thing seems to have survived in many cases. So, I strongly believe that a great man never really dies, and I’m not talking about ‘re-incarnation’ bullshits. I’m talking about deeds and actions. And that’s the main reason for why I don’t like obituaries.

Mick Green passed out a couple of months ago. Even though I wanted to do something for him, I didn’t. Maybe was the fact that so many comrades through their blogs and web spaces did excellent at times tributes dedicated to his life and most notably his works. From the early days of Johnny Kidd to the last with the Pirates. I always liked pirates (the real ones, those on radio, anywhere). I think that were rock & rollers in every sense. So a band with a name like this must be a hell of a band. And the Pirates were a hell of a band! They did so many cool songs and albums that it's not a necessity to expand on this. As I say often here, google a little.

The only other band that comes in every ones mind (as pirates) are surely, Motorhead. If you catch already the trailer of the recently released Lemmy movie, Alice Cooper says it better and with fluency. Lemmy often made guest appearances on the Pirates gigs and had a strong bond with Mick Green. At some time in the late 80s (the worst era for music and especially rock & roll...) Lemmy recorded and soon after put out a single with Mick Green & the Upsetters (no relation here to Little Richard's band although i suspect their name is a tribute to Him!). It had Elvis' (OK, Carl Perkins) "Blue Suede Shoes" (originally this cover recorded for an NME charity album) and the Lemmy/Green penned "Paradise". Motorhead again, some years earlier and on their filthy monument and now legendary "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (EP) along with Girlschool, covered Johnny Kidd & the Pirates classic "Please Don't Touch" the way supposed to and from this day the tune stays untouchable for anyone who came to rock & roll just for money, fame or chicks. A tribute from White Trash Soul to a hero that's gone forever and also to a hero who still refuses to let rock & roll in squares people's hands!  
320 Kbps

Well it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go cat, go!  

R.I.P.

Ronnie Fujiyama - "Coney Island / New York Groove" (7inch single - Scratch Records - 1997)

I got a friend who's (very) sick about porn. I like porn too but the guy seems to like it better to watch movies than fuck...

Anyway, this friend's passion are Jap gals with uniforms. Every kind of uniforms... and I have to tell you also that he's not much into music or cinema.

So, once upon a time and surely some years ahead of Tarantino's masterpiece "KILL BILL", was in my place waiting for me to set up and go out for kicks. As he fooled around and poke on my records collection, waiting for ages to get my hair done of course, I heard him screaming and jumping wailing - "WOW - wow that's not the girl from the 5.6.7.8's...?"

The gel fell off my hands since this bastard never knew who Chuck Berry or Johnny Thunders was for example, so how in the hell knew about the 5.6.7.8's..? You guess the answer, right?! 
After Uma Thurman's Hatori Hanso generated massacre & success, these gals thankfully attracted a wider audience making hopefully some more people to give a shot in this devil's music.

Ronnie Fujiyama is the band leader. Of course she’s a waaaayyy cool chick and we're sharing the same passion 'bout the Ronettes and Ronnie Spector especially (that's how her 'English' name came from).  Ronnie has a lot of friends in the States. Most of them if not all, from NYC. The Devil Dogs were among them and I worship the evil powers of Rock & Roll every time I put this 45 on a turntable!  The Dogs do their thing the way they used to do for so many years and Ronnie screams, twists and shouts like a true juvenile delinquent bitch. Something like a cross of Ronnie Spector, Wanda Jackson and Nikki Corvette with the Ramones backing up plus Johnny Thunders doing the solos! I’m quite sure that this two-sider’s already a rare item and as far as I know, never make it to digital format for both the Devil Dogs and the 5.6.7.8’s. And that’s a shame. So, I did the rip and here it is in its all big apple glory! More points for the beautiful ala power pop front sleeve!

320Kbps

Personnel:

Bass - Steve Baise 

Drums - Ron Salvo
Guitar - Andy Gortler
Vocals, Guitar - Ronnie Fujiyama

Recorded in NYC in October 1997 

Ronnie Fujiyama w. the Devil Dogs! 

The (Hammersmith) Gorillas - "Gatecrasher / Gorilla Got Me" (7inch single - Chiswick - 1977)

Some people might call 'em proto-punks, some others, savage pub rockers but who really cares?

Excellent rock & roll trio, lead by the (now) cult figure, sideburns extraordinaire and arguably one of the very first mod punks in the island, Mr. Jesse Hector!  I'm not going to tell you now Jesse Hector's story. Google a little bit man, but in his CV are bands like the 60s cult freakbeats, the Clique or the early 70s Britain's answer to the MC5, Crushed Butler! Sheer energy, wild attitude, raw sound and lousy clothes are for what the Gorillas mainly remembered so many years after their demise (1981). The punks of course loved them and for a brief time, were among punk movement's best hopes. Sadly never reached the heights really deserved but on records like this single (on Motorhead's & Count Bishops' label - Chiswick) easily someone understands why these freaks still are cult legends! Imagine the early Kinks in a punkier, filthier and rawer mood and you'll get the picture right away! Flaming sideburns indeed! 

320 Kbps

Gatecrasher!

The Lyres - "Baby I Still Need Your Lovin' / Gettin' Plenty Lovin'" (7'' single - Norton 45 013 - 1992)

OK, i know that i must went too far with all the Lyres / DMZ mania here, but sorry lads, i just can't help it! Monoman's alone responsible in a big way for what I'm hunting or listening for many years in my home stereo. That's another 7inch single, got out by the good folks at Norton back in 1992 and as you might guess, it's a KILLER! The line up here has no less than the 3/5 of the DMZ kick ass supersonic - housewrecker crew and except for the well known "Baby I Still Need Your Lovin'", a staple among the Lyres fanatics, there's also a savage monomaniacal cover tune of the Esquerita classic, "Gettin' Plenty Lovin'" that's hot as hell! Beantown delirium excellence! Oh, and both front and back sleeves are at least, fantastic!
320Kbps

Baby I Still Need Yr Lovin'! 

Personell:

Jeff Conolly - Vocals, Organ, Tambourine

Paul Murphy - Drums

Richard Carmel - Guitar

Rick Coraccio - Bass Backing Vocals

The Outta Place - "Outta Too!!" (Mini LP - Midnight Records - 1987)

"This band sounds like Neanderthals banging rocks together!"....
The above quote says precisely how these primitives were sounding... New Yorkers with only two Mini LP's on their legacy, but those two minis were some of the best examples of how a 60s punk band may sound like, originally! They started at 1982, they died at 1984 and make the Fuzztones or the Chesterfield Kings sound like the Monkees! Punk savages & garage primitives like few around even in our days. I wish more so-called 'garage' bands, takin' their steps. You can find here their first release, on Midnight Records too, under the title "We're Outta Place" or "New York's Own Cave Teens". I did a rip of their second and last one "Outta Too!!" which i think is better cause it has only blur noise, screams and tons of fuzzzzzzzzz!!! "Outta Too" was completed and issued 3 years after the band's break up and it's full of anger, rip-roaring raw energy and two (maximum) chords of handless-ness! Full distorted mono for those in the know! For the history, Mike Chandler not much later fronted the over the top rock n' rollers, Raunch Hands and Jordan Tarlow for a moon was on the Fuzztones crew...
As i said, the way a garage punk gang MUST SOUND!
320Kbps

The Cynics - "Rock 'N' Roll" (Get Hip - 1989)

Hey lads! What's up?
It's been a while since the last time, but i was on a small vacation trip to Milos island slacking, swimming and eating fresh seafood. I needed this thing to relax a bit. Anyway. I'm on a 'Garage Punk' mood this period and dusting off many records of my collection i re-found this SHIT! Yeah, i know, who already doesn't own this monument? A long player full of distortion and raw energy! Many times you have read these words for describing a record, but just a handful are so close to the real meaning of these headwords! The Cynics began as a "garage" band but with the passing of time more elements mixed up in their blender. I fuckin' love "Blue Train Station" LP, but this "Detroit Punk" approach still make me jump up & down like a kid. Fuzz, buzz and booze! The same thing happened with the Miracle Workers. Everybody knows about the "Inside Out" LP (Voxx) but not many gave the attention really deserved a record like the "Roll Out the Red Carpet" (Triple X)... A few years ago my little brother and his best friend came to my flat and as we discussed about music, all they telling was metal. No second thoughts i put this platter on, dive the needle on "Cry.Cry.Cry" and the little fuckers left looking at me with their mouths wide open through-out the song! If you haven't listen to it already, well here's your chance. Fuzz N' Scream at its FINEST goddammit!  That's of course a vinyl rip of mine. I read somewhere that recently Get Hip re-released this monster but I'm not sure if a compact disc is able to re-produce this manic energy that's still slaved on the original plastic... In a few words... ROCK 'N' ROLL!!

320 Kbps

Tracklist

Side Rock:
A1.Baby, What's Wrong?        
A2.Way Its Gonna Be        
A3.Girl, You're On My Mind        
A4.Get My Way        
A5.Tears Are Coming        
A6.Business As Usual        
A7.Cry, Cry, Cry  
Side Roll:   
B1.You Got The Love        
B2.Close To Me        
B3.Different Worlds        
B4.Now I'm Alone        
B5.What You Get        
B6.Last Time Around        
B7.The Room

The Stomachmouths - "I'm Going Away * Eegah * Cry" ( 2nd 7'' Single - Got To Hurry - 1986)

The Fall of 1985 found the Stomachmouths with an addition. Anna Nystrom played the organ and sang back-up. In their sound nothing changed actually . The same wildmen, playing the same snotty and outta control 60s punk. The follow up to the hugely successful debut 45 released through Got To Hurry records, a label based on Stockholm and basically a record store. It had three monsters in the same vein of their first and manic 45rpm. Wailin' vocals, blast this mutha out guitars, a rhythm section that instead of keeping things at a normal state, derailed them and one of the coolest farfisas the last 30 years at least. The personal favorite "Eegah", still remains one of the coolest surf instros written by a garage band. The legend wants it to be inspired by an Arch Hall Jr. movie. One more thing that made me love immediately this piece of vinyl, was the front sleeve. The band in a classic 60s pose, wearing tailor made suits and ties in a way most original garage bands looked like. Once again, forget the mop tops, this is the real thing!