Various Artists - "Songs DMZ Taught Us - 28 Beat & Proto-Punk Originals To Scare The Shit Out Of Your Local Mohawk Caricatures!" (WAX CD 003)

Welcome to our 3^rd installment on what this space regards as ‘heroes’, leavin’ out almost always what the large crowd might thought or not on what is ‘rock & roll’! WAX CDs are here at WTS HQ, a rejuvenescent breath and each time me and Jean Philippe exchange ideas, rip records and design the covers of a ‘new release’,  we’re in a “speed’ situation! And DMZ were/are for both of us a legendary outfit. Of the few in their era that wore proudly the then unknown roots of punk with the Sonics, the Wailers or the Troggs. A band that pre-dated Lyres and the whole 80s garage revival movement (or trend) by far! No paisley shit, no mop top pretentiousness, just raw undisputed energy deeply sourced to every Kennedy era US town daddy's garage and teen faces full of acme and raunchiness!

We knew that in 2011 most of these songs if not all, are well known but there’s always a new field to seed your weeds right? This time most of the tracks ripped by Jean Philippe and with a good reason. He transferred most of the songs here from vinyl records instead of CDs (I was about to do the opposite, i know... I'm a lazy bastard!) and gave our label the marking we declare! WAX from waxed godammit! Our pattern was every single DMZ release through the years plus a new Munster release of a Lyres line up represented by the 4/5 of DMZ. So, as our title proudly pronounce, what you get is "28 Proto-punk & Beat" rave-ups, by the original artists (in some cases not) "to scare the shit out of your local punk caricatures"! And believe me, these blasts they'll do it snugly! So long.
*No bootlegging on WTS - WAX CDs. This is ONLY for Soul Self Satisfaction and/or educational purposes. Share and dance freely!

Frankie Miller - "Once In A Blue Moon" (Chrysalis, 1972 - Reissued by Eagle, 2003)

My white trash soul fixation had started a loooong time ago, when i was in my teens when dudes like Rod Stewart and Steve Marriott both came first to picture as Sam Cooke's Caucasian ghosts/reincarnations. Through the pass of the ages and MANY records after (should i say thousands?), the large amount of respect on the two aforementioned lads is still there, but thank God I found some more on this hunt for trying find the'best' of them all. OK, I know it's a stupid thing (at least) all this madness - cause such thing quite simply doesn't exist, but as i said that's an adhesion of my mind and i can't do really much to stop it. An also fellow traveler on the blog-sphere, Mr. Ratb0y, posted some days ago some things by a great Swedish band who liked their wine cheap and their women nasty. But who doesn't right?!  Well, these Diamond Dogs guys are truly fantastic and i had the chance some years ago when along with my buddies we were printing a real magazine 'bout things we like (some might call it fanzine), to interview their singer Sulo. I can't remember if this chat finally made it, cause not long after we blew the whole thing but for sure this fine chap taught me a lesson. Actually wasn't just a lesson but a whole new chapter in the rock & roll history for me, the way i like rock & roll histories to be told or written. And he poked me to go find all the records by a Scottish long forgotten and whiskey soaked voiced pal, who's name is Frankie Miller. And i did it. And i found out that was more (as always) in this passion of mine to discover. And i tell you guys and gals, if you don't already come face to face with his records, well grab this chance I'm giving you now and let the rocks do the roll. This guy holds now (along with Scott Morgan) the scepter on what dazzled you in the first lines of this post.
That's his debut, and the band's backing him from stem to stern is no other that the pub-rockers fabuloso, Brinsley Schwartz! And that's reason enough to make this record yours. Imagine something like a next door Faces, and you're in. Hope this be to you as tasteful was for me, the first time was up against it!

The Mar-Keys/Booker T. & The MG's - "Back To Back" (Atlantic/Stax, 1967)

Hi there! I had an argument (all my life seems to be an argument but i really like it, haha!) the other day 'bout some same old stupid debate, on who's the best guitarist ever walked this earth, blah blah, blah. OK, i have a tremendous respect for Jimi but he was a bit too show-off for me. You know, my negative/reactional nature drove me all these years to go find some 'replacements' as answers to the 'public's opinion' on many things considered as 'classics' or 'untouchables'. So you can't hold all these Eric Claptons, Jeff Becks, Richie Blackmores, Stevie Ray Vaughans and let me preach in the names of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Link Wray and Steve Cropper!
And all this weekend was an enormous trip to what great Steve Cropper did. From Booker T & the MGs to Mar-Keys, and from Blues Brothers to every single southern soul star was choiced to back up as the master six stringer of the Stax/Volt factory. For some strange reason this record wasn't heard more than two times since the day bought it. For some strange reason i listened to it back to back, four times in a row. A live at Paris back in 1967 recording, when the Stax/Volt Revue, was setting up Europe's stages on fire. Really now, this is as hot as it gets, and for sure one of the best and most underestimated live documents ever! The two legendary Memphis outfits, with Steve Cropper of course doing his thing, delivering the most solid groove ever waxed! This is substantially what should be called 'party music'!

The Five Aces - "Shout & Shimmy" (Saagaloo Records, 2007)

Hey, it's Friday. Even if you're not in the mood, Fridays almost always work fine to your cheer, right? And if anyone of you people going to have a party this weekend, make sure not forget to put this thing on. Damn, i still haven't found it on CD (dissapperead from the face of this earth quite quick). All i got is this compressed version but it works just fine til the time this pep pill come finally on my hands. You know, i usually write my own opinion for what i like to present, but Mark Lamarr covered me entirley with the following piece. Wickedly sinister Hammond hard driven and at the same time, suave pre-Soul R&B, to do the boogaloo! File Under: Sharp dressed ass shakin'! Give yourself a spin.

"Imagine the Small Faces meeting the Poets and jamming with Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker at a late night 60's blues session. THAT is the Five Aces." - Mark Lamarr, BBC Radio