Various Artists - Nothin': Sixties Wild Punk and Raw R&B (White Trash Soul 60s Punk No.5)

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm repeating myself and I know I actually am. It's like listening to The Ramones and Motörhead albums basically, but I secretly hope that all of this is just as enjoyable for you as the songs by those legendary bands. I mean, what else is there to write about '60s garage punk that hasn't already been said? The same thing happens quite often with the songs I choose to take in. I can't and don't want to remember whether I've included them before or elsewhere and obviously I'm probably not introducing you to anything you don't already know or haven't listened to before.

I'd like to think that there will always be younger listeners and visitors, and that they will always find something new here. There's really no reason for this blog to exist if not to present something to people that might make their lives a little better. Yes, I'm one of those hopelessly romantic fools who believes that books, records and films can improve our miserable reality. Fortunately for me, it works still. Sometimes. Isn't that the essence of art after all, its offering and its necessity? Obviously, I consider rock 'n' roll to be an art form, especially when performed by teenagers who have the minimal of potential and are brimming with adrenaline, hormones and anger - emotions that they don't know how else to channel.

I've had this compilation on my phone and iPod for a while now. While I don't think there's anything here that fans of the genre don't already know or have on their shelves, I still think they'll enjoy it because it's been put together like a DJ set in a smoky basement club or something. For newcomers and youngsters who haven't already been immersed in BFTG - like series, this will be quite a wild ride. When I started picking out the songs, I wanted them to be as R&B and black rock 'n' roll-based as possible. I was keen for them to have harmonicas, maracas and tambourines maybe even more so than fuzz guitars or trashy organs. I wanted to hear Bo Diddley rhythms and Elmore James slides played by white punks out of their minds and had been raised in hell. And I wanted there to be plenty of snotiness. There are bands from all over the world, USA, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Oceania. Grab a beer and let's get started! 

1. Keep Me Covered - The Frays
2. You Got What I Want - The Boys Blue
3. I'll Be There - The Sons Of Fred
4. She'll Be Sweeter Than You - Nix Nomads
5. Things She Says - The In Crowd
6. Come Back Baby - Screaming Lord Sutch
7. Let's Make It - Cuby + The Blizzards
8. What'cha Gonna Do About It (Alt. Version) - The Small Faces
9. Please Go Home - The Rolling Stones
10. I Want You - Belfast Gypsies (Them)
11. 80-96 - The Dantes
12. Bad Little Woman - The Shadows Of Knight
13. Dance Girl Dance - Greg Barr & The Barr Association
14. I'll Make You Sorry - Our Mothers' Children
15. In And Out - Larry And The Blue Notes
16. You Don't Love Me - The Little Boy Blues
17. We're Pretty Quick - The Chob
18. Hate - The Stoics
19. Ugly Thing - The Creatures
20. I Need You There - The Chessmen
21. Project Blue - The Banshees
22. Hot Gully Wind - The Master's Apprentices
23. Cry (Over Her) - The Malibus
24. Like What Me Worry - 006
25. Nothin' - The Ugly Ducklings
26. Double Decker Bus - The Count Five
27. I'm Walkin' Babe - The Unusuals
28. Get Your Baby - Mark & The Escorts
29. Caught You Red Handed - Jolly Green Giants
30. Don't Go I'm Beggin' - The Untouchables
31. Don't Crowd Me - Keith Kessler
32. Hidden Charms - Link Wray And His Ray Men
33. Born In Chicago - The (Dirty) Wurds
34. Sitting There Standing - The Chocolate Watchband
35. At The River's Edge - The New Colony Six

The Chesterfield Kings - The Greg Prevost Years, 1978-2002 Singles and EPs (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.9)

As I've said many times before, I'm just a rock 'n' roll nerd who likes to share my thoughts on artists who I think should be more well-known. I'm not preaching to the converted either. Most of the time, when I sit down to write I don't know how to start or finish the piece you're reading, but I do know that I don't want to be just another person telling the story of these artists. If you weren't aware of them but like them, then get off your lazy arse and do something, we're in the internet age for fuck's sake and everything's just a few clicks away, if you are not on magazines and fanzines already (too bad for you). So, I'm not going to tell you The Chesterfield Kings' tale.

I listened to the latest Kings album the other day. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't The Chesterfield Kings either. I don't know how Andy Babiuk should call his 'new' gang, but to me it's simple: No Greg Prevost - no Chesterfields! End of discussion, thanks for your attention. To be honest, I don't care who owns the rights to the name, although I'm pretty sure it was Greg who set up the band in 1978 in Rochester, ΝΥ. Prevost is a very important figure to me, even if you are trying to put aside the Chesterfield Kings. A culture vulture and rock 'n' roll enthusiast of the highest order, he has written hundreds of essays for legendary magazines such as Ugly Things and Kicks, as well as his own fanzine, Outasite. He liked the same way the 60s garage punk unknowns and the Brian Jones-era Stones as the New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers or Motörhead, Alice Cooper, Muddy Waters and Nancy Sinatra. To me at least he is as important as Lux Interior.

This compilation is a pissed-off take. Don't get me wrong, I love Andy almost as much as Greg, but I'm not going to change my mind. The Chesterfield Kings ended the day Greg walked away. And here's the epitaph. A much needed (I believe) compilation, encompassing all of their singles and extended plays, including those that that went unreleased or were bootlegs. Most of them (if not all) have been out of print for like ages, so if you're new to their game you won't be able to find them easily or at an affordable price. This is the Chesterfield Kings' heritage as recounted by one of their most devoted fans.

Various Artists - Introspection: Lysergic Mod Echoes (White Trash Soul 60s Psychotropia No.3)

So, here’s another installment in my series about all things Mod becoming freakier and punkier. It is certainly nothing new for connoisseurs, but it's definitely worth checking out if you're new to these sounds. I'd like to remind you that I create these compilations primarily for my own enjoyment, not to demonstrate my extensive knowledge or to seek out the least known band. I mean, I used to like to be a snob bastard once but I'm not interested in that anymore. And of course I'm no expert in anything...

In this new volume, I have also included some bands from the US that are better known as garage punk acts that they were tempted to replace methamphetamines with LSD, and they definitely fit in with these Brits. Speaking of this, there’s a psych update on 'Gloria' as 'Gloria ‘69' for example by the Shadows of Knight with guitar and bass overdubs and without the consent of the band that I have to admit I like it so much! Or a 1967 release of the mighty Attack with their take on a Standells' hit from 1966. Or 'Baby I Need You' a fantastic one-off release by the The Curiosity Shoppe (what a name!) with a heavy organ-driven sound and fuzzy guitars, often compared to the early Deep Purple (I have the same aversion to Deep Purple that I have to Pink Floyd, with one exception: I think of their embryonic Mark1 phases as totally different and brilliant!!).

Of course, I had to include The Action and their full-length version of 'Brain'. Every time I listen to the "Rolled Gold" demos, I try to understand why this amazing band didn’t have the chance to properly record these tunes. They're up there with the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" and the Beatles' "Revolver" and fuck you very much if you disagree. Reg King was, without a doubt, the best vocalist on both sides of the Atlantic and this music, man, I mean ouch! - psychedelic but obviously still in love with Soul and R&B, so much ahead of their times! The End's 'Introspection', parts 1 and 2, which gave this compilation its name, is another example of the era's 'what the fuck?'. Produced and championed by Bill Wyman and Glyn Johns of the Rolling Stones, it is the equal of "Their Satanic Majesties" or "S.F. Sorrow", and far better than "Sgt. Pepper's" (to this day, I still wonder how the Fab Four managed to record such a terrible album that is still widely regarded as a classic - give me a break). Both parts has intricate harmonies, heavy Hammond organ, wild guitars and of course as a previously Mod band, a hard hitting soul groove!  

I can go on forever for Loose Ends’ amazing rendition of ‘Taxman’ with the added organ and the dancefloor friendly sound or Sharon Tandy’s and Les Fleur De Lys ‘Daughter of the Sun’ haunting, occult-themed freakbeat monster or Powder’s take on The Who even though they were from San Fran, or In Crowd’s demo for "Blow Up" before The Yardbirds stole their thunder, but I need to work also, even if I don't want to...

Note: I know I've used some of these songs in previous compilations before, like 'Grounded' by The Syn on Lyres' Under Influence, or different mixes of them like with Pretty Things' 'My Time' in its original form with the brass section this time, but I had to 'cause, you know what, I really fuckin' love them and I wouldn't want it any other way.

1. Barricades - The Koobas
2. Try It - The Attack
3. For All That I Am - The Creation
4. Children Of The Sun - The Misunderstood
5. Evil Woman - The Troggs
6. Baby I Need You - The Curiosity Shoppe
7. Grounded - The Syn
8. Introspection Pt. 1 - The End
9. Introspection Pt. 2 - The End
10. Brain - The Action
11. My Time - The Pretty Things
12. What Shall I Do - The Artwoods
13. Wooden Spoon - The Poets
14. Taxman - Loose Ends
15. Daughter of the Sun - Sharon Tandy & Fleur De Lys
16. Walking Through The Streets Of My Mind - Timebox
17. Don’t Know Which Way To Turn - Force Five
18. I Can See Your Face - Pneumania
19. Just Help Me Please - The Outer Limits
20. Blow Up - The In Crowd
21. Gloria '69 - The Shadows Of Knight
22. Hate To See Her Go - Powder
23. Purple, Purple - Spontaneous Generation
24. Down Down - The Silence
25. A-Minor Explosion - Don Shinn & The Soul Agents
26. Hush - Kris Ife
27. Black Cat - Brian Auger
28. Groovin' Slow - The Sound Barrier
29. I Must Be Mad - The Craig
30. Searchin' In The Wilderness - Allen Pound's Get Rich

Big Boy Pete (Miller) - Cold Turkey: The Sixties Recordings (White Trash Soul 60s Psychotropia No.2)

 

Big Boy Pete (real name Pete Miller) is an innovative guitarist from Norwich who recorded some eccentric and wacky tracks in the '60s. These have gained quite a reputation among psychedelic and freakbeat collectors over the years. He started out as a member of the relatively unknown Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers before going solo in late 1965 with 'Baby I Got News for You', a song that's featuring lots of punky, fuzzy and distorted guitar (I wonder if Jeff knew about it, this tune wouldn't have been out of place in a Lyres' set or record). Miller was joined by Peter Frampton and members of the Herd, at least for this and over the next few years he wrote and recorded demos for his own pleasure. In 1968, a second single came out, the largely unheard at the time 'Cold Turkey' under the name Big Boy Pete, a much compiled mod-psych nugget by now, and eventually relocated to San Francisco to work as a producer and engineer, occasionally releasing albums on small labels mostly. 

The above pretty much sums up his life. Miller's recorded output started being released in 1998 and has since gained a cult following with a good reason: This guy had recorded some seriously quirky garage psych stuff! Really now, Pete Miller is a criminally underrated artist and producer. When you hear his stuff from the '60s, it's as if you're witnessing a secret session with Syd Barrett fronting the Kinks, with Joe Meek pushing the knobs and running the tape. Many compilations have been released since then, most of which are worth your hard-earned money, but I have chosen to focus on recordings he made from the '60s. 

The Raveonettes - Rave On (WTS Popkid No.8)

 

The Raveonettes sound ingredients: '50s rock'n'roll, Jesus and Mary Chain's noise pop, Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, The Everly Brothers' harmonies, Buddy Holly's ghost and Velvet Underground's dark, a little bit of C86 jangle just for spice and the '90s love for electronica of Primal Scream. Now, mix all these elements together with cult noir movies and '70s VHS wild b-movie erotica. This Danish duo certainly look like they could have come straight out of the Andy Warhol Factory, don't they? Have you ever pondered what the outcome might have been if Sonic Youth had been a Cramps tribute band or if The Ronettes had been the singers for Suicide? I suppose you can already see where this is going...

Following the huge success of 'Love in a Trashcan', The Raveonettes could have repeated the formula that brought them fame and fortune without losing their charm. However, they chose to delve even deeper into their darkness, continuing to produce small masterpieces to this day. Rather than stealing glances backwards, they pick up where they left off. Even when tragedy struck. (Sune Rose Wagner was in a long-term relationship with the late American fashion designer, Katie Gallagher. Gallagher was found dead in her Manhattan apartment in July 2022, just one day before Wagner's 50th birthday. Since then, Wagner has spoken publicly about the trauma of her loss.) As Samuel Beckett said, "I can't go on, I'll go on".

Like usual, here's an unofficial compilation of what I think are their best compositions and recordings, which, as far as I know doesn't exist in any form, especially with these songs.