The Boys - "Boys Only Demos 1980" (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.3)

Boys' fourth album, 'Boys Only', remains a divisive record. People either praise it or slaughter it; there's nothing in the middle. The truth is that their last album of their first period — I mean, before the mid-life reform — was a bit deranged and isn't as accessible as their earlier work. Production-wise, I have no problem at all: power-pop, guitar-driven brilliance, and quite possibly a template for later bands like The Exploding Hearts or The Cute Lepers. As a long-time fan of theirs, I'm not objective, but I'm trying, as you can see. Anyway, the demos they cut for this LP are unbeatable, and to my ears they sound far better. It's raw, hard-edged pop, just like the early Romantics releases or anything Bomp! issued back then. You should definitely try them.

Dedicated to the memory of Honest John Plain.

Various Artists - Modernist Jukebox: Paul Orwell

 

This next one came up when I was searching for more information about Paul Orwell's influences (although it was obvious just by listening to his records). If you're not familiar with his music, the London-area genius will steamroll you with his retro energy. If you didn't know any better, you'd think it was a solo project from a member of the Pretty Things, Small Faces, or the Creation. In a word: Freakbeat! All the basic ingredients are in here, fuzz guitars, Hammond organ and tambourines. I love this guy because he's like me; he doesn't care if he's a mod or a rock 'n' roller. He likes his Fred Perry shirts as much as his bomber leather jackets. Fuck borders in any case!

So, I came across a Modculture.uk post from 2017 in which Paul picked his favorite tunes and made short comments about them. The problem is that this "Jukebox" playlist is on Spotify, and I can't stand people who listen to music on Spotify. To make matters worse, some of the tracks that this guy chose weren't in the streaming site's database. Enter White Trash Soul again to set things straight. The whole list could have easily been mine. If someone had asked me to compile an introduction to that era, I would have only changed a few songs. For example, I would have chosen the amazing original "Shadows and Reflections" instead of the punked version of "I'll Keep Holding On" by The Action. But nevermind, it's still a kick-ass song collection. Head over to the original post to read Orwell's remarks while listening to what I've made for you this time.

Purple Hearts - The Jimmy Pursey & Paul Weller Demos (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.2)

The Purple Hearts were one of the leading bands of the UK mod revival of the late '70s/early '80s and they recorded the community's enduring anthem, "Millions Like Us". At times, they closely resemble the '66 Who, and they even lend more credibility to a '66 Bowie single than the original. Of course, The Jam's influence was apparent. These are some basic and brief things that someone unfamiliar with Purple Hearts should probably know. Today's post is not intended as an introduction, but rather, it is addressed to those who have been in the know for ages. So, I collected all the studio demos they recorded with punk rock/mod punk figures like Jimmy Pursey from Sham 69 and Paul Weller from The Jam, supervising these sessions, in one place. The six Polydor demos produced by Jimmy Pursey show a rougher edge than the final versions of the well known songs like "Millions Like Us", "Frustration" and "Jimmy" (my fave one by them ever!) and they are in fact early versions of their brilliant singles! The two demos produced by Weller, "Plane Crash" and "Concrete Mixer" were originally intended for Modfather's own Respond label. They were recorded at Polydor again in 1981, but went unissued. And they're all awesome, trust me!

Cute Lepers - WFMU, East Orange NJ, 07-09-11 (Radio Broadcast, Bootleg)

 

I was dusting off my back-up HDDs this morning and stumbled upon this awesome radio broadcast of The Cute Lepers from 2011 on WFMU. I admit it, I love the Briefs, but the Cute Lepers were everything I like about punk rock. With one foot in early 80s power pop and the other one in the late 70s British mod revival. Imagine the early Rezillos singles, the Boys' first two albums with a good dose of The Chords and a retarded reverence for Johnny Thunders. Sound quality is excellent and so is the performance! Can't remember where I found it to give credit, my apologies in advance to the original uploader.

The Taxi Boys - Taxi Boys (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.1)

 

The poor sales of the Real Kids’ first LP prompted Felice to become a roadie for the Ramones, but soon after returned to Boston and formed the Taxi Boys (the name was obviously taken from an old Real Kids song), whose two EPs continued the Real Kids' tradition of the highly energetic 60s influenced garage rock 'n' roll, only a little poppier production wise. Felice and the gang (half former Real Kids members and half future ones) are in fine form on both. The Taxi Boys dates from 1980 to 1981, and the last thing they released was in 1982, but by then they had returned to the Real Kids name again. After all, all these songs were written as Kids songs, according to John Felice. 

Gathered here are all their recordings as Taxi Boys of course and if you need a few pointers to go on, there's still plenty of Eddie Cochran guitars and Heartbreakers-esque melodies, only this time filtered through the Shoes or the Flamin Groovies from the late 70s point of view. 

The Sonics - Live & Home Recordings, 1964 (White Trash Soul 60s Punk No.1)

In terms of savagery and frenzy, they were the closest thing ever to Little Richard, just a little more amped up (ok, VERY!). The Sonics were white trash souls like you and me, absolutely and madly in love with R&B and rock'n'roll. Punks like the Parypa brothers, Gerrie Roslie, Bob Bennett and Rob Lind paved the way for anti-racist behaviour, not Elvis. Roaring guitars, pounding drums and fevered howls trying to imitate their black idols invented punk rock in the garages of their fathers around the world, not Malcolm McLaren. And dad Parypa recorded almost every Sonics rehearsal in the early 60s, including, of course, these ones. The live recordings are captured by a man in Seattle named Doug Patterson, who owned an Ampex tape machine and frequently wrote on tape the Teen Time shows on KTNT-AM Tacoma Radio to collect songs for his own teenage garage band. Fandom indeed! Since these recordings were made before the release of their debut single "The Witch", the focus is on covers and instros and the audio is definitely good for AM radio broadcasts that are six decades old.

This homemade product/selection comes from Norton's "Savage Young Sonics" and "Busy Body!!! Live in Tacoma, 1964". If you don't already have these, head over and buy the vinyl — it contains some of the rawest punk rock ever recorded!

The Cannibals - Pure Trash (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.16)

 

A few days ago, I read online that Mike Spenser of the Count Bishops and the Cannibals is in poor health. I've made several posts about him and his bands in the early days of this blog. I guess it's time to restore some things, at least for the younger ones.

Mike Spenser grew up in Brooklyn and became an important figure in the British garage punk scene in the 80s. He played with The Cannibals, ran club nights, a record label and hosted radio shows. Before that, he had experienced far more than many of his peers, for instance he witnessed the original Rolling Stones and hung out with the New York Dolls. He was friends with Joe Strummer from the 101ers days and helped form The Clash by turning down Mick Jones to be the singer in his new band. Hell, even McLaren courted him for fronting the Sex Pistols!

The Cannibals are exactly what their name says. The most primitive thing to come out of England in the late 70s and throughout the 80s, and they were the founders of ‘trash'. The term was coined one day when the Cannibals—many of whom later formed the Inmates—were riding in his old van. They decided they needed a name for their music. They weren't punk in the conventional sense, but they certainly embodied the punk ethos. They were musicians steeped in the traditions of rock 'n' roll, R&B, and garage punk. Then Mike said, "We're trash, pure and simple."

This is an assortment of songs from every period of their career, showcasing a range of their lineups and releases. Some of these songs are rare, while others are more widely available. As with all the compilaltions I share, this one was created for my own joy at first. This is not wimpy stuff mate - it's all raw, raging real rock 'n' roll with lots of ripping guitars, tons of fuzz, and mostly screaming vocals.

Get well soon Mike!

The (Four) Shells - Whiplash, Their Singles (White Trash Soul Greasy R&B 2)

 

One of the more obscure records from Chi-Town is "Whiplash" b/w "When I’m Blue" by the Shells on Jerry Butler's short-lived Conlo imprint. Not much is known about the Chicago-based Shells (they probably had roots in St. Louis), except that they had another Jerry Butler-produced single on Volt/Stax in 1966 as The Four Shells, "Hot Dog (My Baby's Comin' Home)" b/w "Reputation" and their members were brothers Charles and James Calvin, plus Willie Exon and Billy Harper. This infectious, driving first 45 was full of 100% pure party songs and are also two of the few soul tunes that gets played outside the (northern) soul scene because of The Cramps' appreciation and the lo-fi garagey recording with the distorted guitar bends (the opening licks on "Whiplash" sounded like it was taken from a 1964 Pretty Things session, and its inclusion in iconic compilations like "Shakin' Fit","Born Bad, Vol 7" etc). The Volt sides are equally great danceable numbers but the Southern Soul horns have taken guitar's place as leading force and instruments. Of the bands that I wish they had done more.

Icky Renrut - The Icky Renrut Sessions (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.15)

Icky Renrut, a not-so-well-guarded pseudonym of the ever hustler string-puller Ike Turner and his raw 50's R&B St. Louis recordings of the Kings Of Rhythm are some of the hardest and wildest that Ikey and his whammy-bar guitar ever put on wax, an essential black rock'n'rollercoaster drive! Captured to tape long before Tina came on the scene, loud and aggressive as hell, it really is indescribably hard. I mean, "Jack Rabbit" is a Richard Penniman-entrenched banger with a truly unreal insanity that has to be heard to be believed! Turner released two singles on the Stevens label (No. 104 and No. 107) under the anagram "Icky Renrut" because he was still under contract with Sun for a few months and he didn't want to cause friction with Sam Phillips, and both rockers feature singer Jimmy Thomas. 

The legendary instrumental "Prancin'" with staccato outbursts, bends over the fretboard, ultra-fast finger vibrato and smooth chords was shelved until 1961 when Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm re-recorded it as "Prancing" with a horn section for Sue Records. Here's the original from 1959. "The Rooster" reveals that Turner had his ear pressed to the radio whenever Duane Eddy or Link Wray came on, and "Hey Hey" was another Little Richard-esque stormer! And you know what? I LIKE IKE! I know he was a lousy person in real life, but when it comes to music, he's really on par with Johnny Otis and Muddy Waters for me. And oh, Jimi Hendrix was just another guitarist compared to him, actually there is no comparison to Ike Turner with the many guitar "gods" of yours.

AUTHENTIC 50s PUNK! 

Various Artists - Two Siders (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.14)

45s are the midwives of rock'n'roll. I mean, Sam Phillips didn't need to wait until Elvis had a dozen songs to start the mayhem, did he? There was no need for every small label in the world to have a big budget to release the music that mattered, or for some artists to wait for someone to record them and release their work. DIY and punk rock before punk rock even existed. Thank god for those round 7-inch fetish objects!

There are some singles (that's what they were called in ancient times) where you really couldn't decide whether the A-side was the right choice over the B-side. And there were a lot of them, some even still waiting for someone to dig them up and discover something new. So I decided to make (what else?) a compilation of a handful of my favourite 45 rpms that contain some of the rawest, most brutal and soulful rhythms ever recorded on both sides. Again, dancing was my main goal, after all, it always has been. If the music doesn't move your ass, your legs and what's between them, why bother?

Well, here you'll find Baby Huey & The Babysitters' early garage punk movers, Lousiana Red's Blues boppers during his time with Laurie, Big Al Downing at his poundingnest rock'n'rollingnest, soulful screamers by Bobby Parker, Carl Lester & The Showstoppers' Mod Club anthems and Mercy Baby (drummer of Frankie Lee Sims) with Frankie Lee himself on guitar doing the boogie! Young Jessie, Long John Hunter, Phil Flowers, Ace Holder, Lazy Lester, Bad Smitty, The Kavetts, Lil' Ray and many more are on board, thirty four (count 'em!) frolic swirlers from the best possible sources and loudest rips. 

Enjoy your weekend lads and lasses!