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

See ya next year!

Crushed Butler - "Uncrushed - First Punks from the British Underground 1969-1971" (CD, RPM - 2005)

The perfect example of someone being ahead of its time. Of the few bands deserving the tag 'proto-punk'. Legendary Jesse Hector, Darryl Read and Alan Butler's three piece dynamite and predecessors of the Helter Skelter and the sadly underrated Hammersmith Gorillas (later just Gorillas) was probably Britain's own answer to MC5's soul guttering rock & roll (Whaaat? The Deviants? Come on, you must be joking right..?)! Hippie haters and prog-rock's squall enemies, were just what the Tubes immortalized with their classic "I was a Punk before you were a Punk" a few years later...Back to the basics rock & rollers, primal screamers and ex-mod mobsters. Waaaaaaayyy too wild to be compared with any other act of their time. They blew Slade, Atomic Rooster and Mott among many as the story smugly is saying now and they set the parameters for the generations to come (glam, pub rock, punk). Sometimes I really wonder what the public was then thinking by consuming massively Led Zep's pseudo blues crap...? If you think you 're offended by the last statement, stay away - if not, well this is the shit!

**** DON'T BUY ****

A site full of Johnny Thunders boots that 've been made available through the years by all of us fans for all of you fans, hoards up shamelessly! I tried in the past to communicate with them and buy their things just to be sure but guess what... They NEVER replied. I tried for the second time by asking if anyone of you guys had a boot I was looking for a long time (and they're selling, the one Johnny plays with the Heroes) for download, but they got lucky again. This time I don't need any proof. And if for many people I'm a pirate too, OK but I'm telling this: Even pirates have ethos ... and balls! AND I DON'T MAKE ANY MONEY OUT OF IT.  It's all for the love of Rock & Roll and all you regulars here know it well. They didn't even tried to change Brian's tape scan as you can see, all the 'dirt' and the 'shadows' are there, the same as the one we posted - yep in such heights boldness had come for some people. And the prices they are asking from you guys are enormous. So, if someday catch anyone in person selling stuff made through here available just for FUN and education, I swear to Link Wray's memory (and that's a very serious sanction for me) I'm gonna put both of my dirty smelling Cons up his ass! And that's a threat! I mean it...
Even though in the past, all of our links were deleted, I NEVER get a message saying me to remove anything, never a complaint from someone that had the legal right... And I'm writing this on an eminent position of the blog from day one. I want to believe that this happened because of the integrity and the desire this space shows through the years. But I'm getting second thoughts right this moment. I let you know when my anger goes away...

Take care.

Mihaleez

Cock Sparrer - "The Decca Years" (CD, Captain Oi! - 2006)

Oi!  He-he, I’m quite sure some loyal eyebrows have been raised to the view of a Cock Sparrer post here at White Trash Soul but hey, stop the chattering and listen to what I've got to say first. 

No, I didn't changed my mind about Oi! in general, even though there are quite a few lies lying there ‘bout racism and fascism matters… And I know it now cause I've been fooled too! There’s a HUGE gap between bands like the Business or Screwdriver and the Sparrer or Sham 69, OK? And that’s the easy part cause all you have to do to witness the above (the truth actually), is just to give a listen to those bands stuff! I’m not going to write more on this, but it was a good way for opening today’s pick. Cock Sparrer are IT, period! Most people knows the band from the “Shock Troops” territory which for punk rock at least it’s a CLASSIC but for my disturbed point of view, Cock Sparrer’s glory days were the early ones where their boot-boy, loud, raw and hooligan sound had more in common with the Small Faces and original Slade, than Sex Pistols… 

Cock Sparrer themselves separated group’s existence with punk ‘trend’ by citing constantly the inimitable ‘We‘re not punks – we‘re football hooligans!’ phrase. Btw, Decca for some strange reason (company’s entire history somehow have been build upon peculiar decisions…) seems to have seen ‘punk rock’ early on in boot boys like the Sparrer or Slaughter & the Dogs but for some even stranger reasons drop them when they were ready to cash in… The Beatles 'legacy' resurrected? Perhaps... So, the Sparrow (as the ‘Sparrer’ should be pronounced) in those days were nothing but a hard edged pub rock band! Heavily influenced by their country’s previous years’ heritage on R&B only this time played even sloppily (and aggressively)! For many years band’s 'immature' FANTASTIC recordings were left to the hands of the bootleggers. I believe this stand out Captain Oi! release is the first one that gathers all the stuff (and more). It worth’s his price alone for the original (and SUPERB!) version of “I Need a Witness”, a song at least for me previously bonded with the Little Roosters fame and history (what a band!). Rolling Stones’ “We Love You” is being treated the way the younger and snotty-er Jagger/Richards should have did, and “Runnin’ Riot”, “Taken for a Ride” and “Planet Suzy” are showing the way for the sound about to come with Sex Pistols and their followers. Boogie riffs in hyper speed and tradition rejection by the oxymoron of doing it by looking at the roots!

Don't know if it's a myth or something but the story says that the Cock Sparrer were at first Malcolm McLaren's look for his 'big plans' but they denied making a deal with him due to the fact that they didn't wanted to cut their hair as the devilish manager demanded... True or not -  a cool one, right?

Pic taken from Punk77.co.uk

Henry Rollins on "L.A.M.F.T.M.J.B." !!!

Click to enlarge!

Hey! This is really something special for the White Trash Soul team and we thought it's cool to share it with you guys and gals. Henry Rollins dedicated the most of the second hour of his radio show on our 'L.A.M.F.T.M.J.B.' essay! He blog-ed about us on his site and L.A. Weekly the day before and what wrote and said on air, makes us REALLY PROUD and somehow red faced, cause after all you all know we are down to earth kids, right? Hehe!
I grew up with "Damaged" and "My War" so it's kinda easy for you to understand how much honored I felt with this. The same thing for Jean Philippe cause we both know who Henry Rollins IS!!!
Anyway, if you want to check it out too here it is:



Thank you Mr Rollins! Stay tuned for more Rock & Roll!

The Senders - "Goodbye Cruel World" (CD, Action Records - 2000)

Hi there!
You know, the hardest thing in this blog thing situation is what to write the second time you present a band or an artist from your 'pages'? To think what you haven't notice the first time and put it down. But what about the third? OK, I guess is not that hard if this band are the mighty Senders from New York and happens (naturally) to belong on your 'favorites' close club.
We 're leaving out this time the usual Johnny Thunders references and go further, straight to the point. So this album's my fave. Even though is from latter period of the band and has original ace guitarist Wild Bill Thompson playing in half of the songs. Cause you know, on the rest there's some Freddy Lynxx guy (he-he!!!) filling his shoes! Hmm, I guess the Senders and the Thunders relations would never stop, cause Freddy's like the only one ever never mimic the Saint but carried the torch of his unique style playing to the new generations. The production's great, the performances are SWINGIN' and the songs as usual a prefect blend of originals and splendid taste cover toons (from Willie Dixon to the Stones and from Gene Vincent to the Crazy Teens!). You really have no idea guys HOW MUCH I DIG bands in the vein of the Senders, like the Red Devils or the Fabulous Thunderbirds! This greasy punkitude R&B wailin'! I wish they were more of that heritage around today...

PS: I must thank one more time WTS faithful 'follower', Steve, for handing me this in a better bitrate til the day find it somewhere in its real condition. Thanks man!

Norton Records Needs Your Help!

Damn! Sometimes I’m thinking ‘bout this old Greek proverb my grandma used to say to me and I shit my pants from the horror: “When man doing plans, God’s laughing my child…” and you know, I declare my self an atheist… 
The good thing’s that I’m not talking about a person’s health this time, so from my point of view at least if you’re OK in this, FUCK all the rest! But after seeing this morning Miriam’s post about  hurricane Sandy's maniacal appetite on Norton records warehouse, my mind instantly rolled to the silly thought if this ‘upper force’ has something against real rock & roll..? I mean, about a decade back the fire destroyed Estrus stuff too and I’m starting to think if all these lunatic preachers/evangelists are true eventually… Of course I’m kidding, but I still like the ancient devil related mythology on rock & roll, hehe! And I’m doing black humor cause I can’t really do something more at the moment…The pics and the videos are sawing a knee deep situation to the label I owe the most of my R&R education, and If I was a New Yorker I would have been a volunteer/helper from day one. So you know what you have to do after reading this, right?

There are MANY ways to help the label with the able stable get up on his knees again. A donation button has been set on the official website for all the international/overseas Nortonians. HELP THE LOUD SOUND REBOUND!

Norton Warehouse...

Various - "The Ace Blues Masters, Vol. 2 - 4th and Beale and Further South" (CD, WestSide - 1998)

I've bought this CD in a second hand store some years back, that was in a good 99% a load of crap situation in its four light green painted bordello like walls. And it was really a treasure thing waiting to be rescued from the cesspool of Madonna, 50cent and Puff Daddy waste of plastic and alumina. And I was such a dick then to pick it up just for the Frankie Lee Sims stuff, but man, I've LEARNED so much through this and in a good part what is actually the real primitive raw blasting rhythm & blues music!
As I said, the driving force for me to buy it was Frankie Lee Sims' "Walking with Frankie" an amazing song I first heard from the Barrence Whitfield & the Savages hyper frenetic debut and wasn't containing on another one Sims CD comp I had. And OK, Sims' songs are standouts obviously but NO LESS impressive are also Joe Hill Lewis one man band pounding (here in a previously unissued 1954 session) or Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup's by 1952 (Yes! The one a young, greasy and pink suit wearing Elvis cut his song and wrote history with "That's All Right Mama") all for the legendary Memphis Ace label! I'm no blues expert but I know when something's REALLY GOOD and honest and if you 're in a mood for some serious crankin'/blastin' Rhythm & Blues action, well, here's a very good shot of it!

The Jim Jones Revue - "Savage Heart Documentary"

The Crushers - "Glory of the Day" (CD, Soyuz Music -2002)

Hi there. Not in a good mood, so right from the start I have to apologize my self to anyone that haven't got a reply yet by my side. I'm trying it but I'm not succeeding. I know this misanthropic cheer and when it gets me (thankfully not so often), makes a 'very difficult' person for someone to deal with but at least I know it (some people don't) and I'm warning public to not giving me any attention. This fuckin' situation, this collapsing society finally seems to come to an end... If you see anytime soon Greece on your TV screen in riot and our cities on fire don't get worry, THIS IS WHAT WE ALL NEED actually! Greece's the new 'Weimar democracy', a strange and outrageously experiment and if you haven't noticed it yet - I'm pretty sure you're gonna face it too quite soon...
Anyway, enough with that shit. I wasn't sure in what to post. Maybe some Strummer/Clash would be perfect for the occasion, but I'm parking this need when it's time for my Left-wing anger to come out, he-he! Looking through my CDs found this. And I must give credit to my friend Peris from Lost In Tyme for getting my attention to these cool Russians. The Kinks, the Hollies, the Who (of course!), the Troggs and the Animals are key influences for the Crushers, but the whole feel brings in mind a wild dimensioning American garage psych gang! I mean, this is a shit hot piece of wild rock & roll and came straight outta Moscow, who would have think it, right?! I'm definitely convinced that the Crushers some years from this moment gonna be treated like monsters of the garage genre for the 00s, believe me. Truly amazing combo!

Roky Erickson and the Aliens - "Mine Mine Mind / Bloody Hammer" (7inch, CBS - 1980)

Hi there. My good partner mailed me this the other day:

"Just got the Roky Erickson single shown below. I always thought 'Bloody Hammer' was his best song, as strong as the Elevators 'Roller Coaster' or the Stones 'Gimme Shelter' or anything from the Stooges LPs. Killer track, but I've always been disappointed by the mix found on LP or CD. Kinda loud but muddy. The single version has a much clearer mix, especially on the drums (which are buried on the LP mix), intro is slightly different and it lasts longer. I don't think it's available elsewhere. Play it loud!"

I always thought of these Aliens accompanied Roky records' as Elevators equals and quite (if not much) underestimated. So, who am I to disagree? Play loud then!

 

Chuck Berry - "The London Chuck Berry Sessions" (CD, Chess/MCA - 1989 ~ Original Release 1972)

"CHUCK BERRY'S GOTTA BE THE GREATEST THING THAT CAME ALONG, HE MADE THE GUITAR BEATS AND WROTE THE ALL TIME GREATEST SONGS, NOW DO YOU REMEMBER ALL THE GUYS THAT GAVE US  ROCK N' ROLL?"

 - BRIAN WILSON

"IF YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE ROCK N' ROLL ANOTHER NAME, YOU MIGHT CALL IT CHUCK BERRY!"

 - JOHN LENNON

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHUCKSTER!!!

The Flaming Stars - "London After Midnight - Singles, Rarities and Bar Room Floor-fillers 1995 - 2005" (CD, Big Beat - 2006)

This greasy haired wild bunch of Londoners should have been my fave band ever. I mean, the Flaming Stars are the only 'round the dark and fluid basements that for so many years are able to reflect so perfectly my moods, my influences in all aspects of what people think of as 'art'. They named their-selves probably after the amazing Elvis song (which along with 'Crawfish' belong to the all time faves WTS pantheon) blending brilliantly and uniquely twangy surf, outlaw hardcore country, southern fried Sun/Meteor rockabilly, straight ahead R&B with Rat Pack's brat class, 60s garages original feel, Bukowski oozed lyrics and the Peckinpah originated set up, in a lethal cocktail no real rock & roll admirer could or would like to resist!
Every coin has two sides they say and the Flaming Stars stamped theirs on the penny that has the Godfathers on the other. Forget the easy and for me totally out of place comparisons with the Tindersticks or the Bad Seeds. And if Cave's not that far from them, at least in frame - the Tindersticks look like some 'Brian Ferrys' to my eyes where the Flaming Stars are the Only Ones with Dean Martin on the mic or the Voidoids with Jarvis Cocker. No wonder for a band that had its roots on the Earls of Suave (a legendary outfit with ex-members by the Gallon Drunk, the Headcoats, the Cannibals and the Sting-Rays!).
What amazes me the most though are their guitar dual channeling arsenal. They were handy enough to combine Link Wray with Ennio Morricone and the glam days of  Lou Reed in a way that sounded at least natural to these ears. The creepy organ/piano was squinting with the one eye turned to Jerry Lee and the other to Human Expression's mournful melodies and the hypnotizing (in many cases) rhythms were in dept of the Velvets nonchalant drug addiction minus the art-faggotry element. Their singles and CDs had sleeves with a direct line/tribute to all the cool crime novels and sleazy paperbacks of the 50s (check the permanent link on the blog for Max's AMAZING book, 'Straight from the Fridge, Dad' - proceed without second thoughts!) and it was the main reason for starting buy them when they were a completely uknown act to me. The DRUNKEN night back to the late 90s Athens at An's basement wasn't just a memorable show (Max on the liners seems to have the same opinion as me) but a Dionysian celebration. Here's a perfect compilation, the way such releases should be done. I wonder if they're still around?

Buy it HERE

Pic taken from Ace records website

The 13th Floor Elevators - "The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators - Original Stereo Mix" (LP, Inernational Artist - 1966)

Fuck fake ass psychedelia, SF late sixties hippie scene, peace, love and understanding! What the world (still) need's punk rock! In a time that bankers and religion leaders doing whatever the fuck they want, we 're not having the privilege of 'peace'. I live in a land that day by day all its social spar is collapsing in front of your eyes gloriously and swankily. Everything's for sale now (history, ethos, consciousness - the far right is growing rapidly and all this to the place that gave birth to democracy...) and you just don't have the right to remain in silence. Fuck your generation baby! And somehow all these shit are linked for me with the hippies. I mean, call me crazy you might be right, I never read for a 'leader' of today to admit he was part of the punk scene, but many for the opposite. I wish Joe Strummer to had an influence even a minor to some jerk up there but (naturally) he was not.
The Elevators were the only psychedelic band ever, all others were a bunch of lame ass imitators or some 'let's get some drugs and shag some chicks with a good reason' wankers. Period! OK Syd Barrett's Floyd were the European similar/twin but from there nothing else stands for psychedelic, at least for me (you see - I'm a very Democratic person, he-he!). And what seems crazy and weird to me still is the birthplace of this band. I guess Texas wasn't always the world center of obscurantists... And this is as groundbreaking as a record can be! Come on, you don't need me to tell you HOW IMPORTANT the Elevators were, right? A possessed bunch of acid punks, flushed on drugs and armed with the most dangerous rock & roll of their time. Roky was always a stoned murmuring James Brown in a mix with Dion and Syd Barrett and this album is the shocking ancestor of a generation about to come with 'dope, guns and fucking in the streets'. Thankfully Roky didn't had Syd's future. From time to time fed us with masterpieces like 'I Think of Demons' and 'Don't Slander Me' to quench our thirst. Anyway, what the WTS team has to offer is NOT the usual CD recently remastered version (or not) , but the old plastic grooved STEREO. I was never good at it so here's what Jean Philippe sent me along with the links:

"And FWIW, here's my 2 cents usual audiophile shit contribution (btw, what follows is also true for 'Easter Everywhere'):

As far as we know, the REAL original stereo mix of the 13th Elevators has never been reissued (even as a bootleg). In the late 70's, a slightly different mix was released by International Artist label. These LPs are known as 'Masterfonics' version (because that's what you can read in the dead wax). A good mix, but not as good as the true original stereo mix (some unnecessary echo/reverb was added), which has crystal clear high frequencies. Over the years, 'The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators' has been reissued countless times, unfortunately not from the original mix, but from a very poor copy made from Masterfonics LP. You can easily tell which is which: on Masterfonics LP, the intro of 'You're Gonna Miss Me' has some distortion, and the intro of 'Don't Fall Down' is missing a few notes. The same mix was used for the pricey 2012 vinyl box set 'Music Of The Spheres'. International Artists record label claimed their stereo version is 'a remastered version of the original stereo mix', but that's not true, as evidenced by the aforementioned flaws found on the Masterfonics version. The 2010 CD box set 'Sign Of The 3-Eyed Men', contains an alternate stereo mix, not the original mix. Frankly, those two box sets look incredibly cool, but are a major disappointment sound quality-wise.

The first pressing of 'The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators' is now very expensive and hard to find in good condition, but I'm lucky enough to have a very cool friend (JF) who owns a top mint copy –amongst many other Elevators rarities, such as the insanely rare French EP. So thank you JF, for allowing me to pick up this priceless LP from your collection to rip it for WTS readers pleasure. "

The Mono Men - "Don't Know Yet" - "Lie Detector/Jack The Ripper" (7", Lucky - 1992) & "Just A Girl" - "Over The Edge" (7", Lance Rock - 1992)

Hi there! Just came in from a few days off the modern civilization. No internet, no phone calls, lots of tasty meat and wine and a good cold as a bonus. Not much to say, actually who needs any introduction to the mighty Mono Men? High school buddies of the Fastbacks, adherent friends of the Nomads, label honchos of the Estrus empire and along with Mudhoney my fave bands during the 'grunge' days from the whole Seattle/Washington area. Not your average 'garage-revival' band for sure. Here in a couple (I suppose) out of print singles from 1992. Allegedly disbanded from 1999, with a few 're-union' shows thrown in 2006 and a good M.I.A. thing going on since... I know many 'garage-freaks' didn't like them, possibly due to the fact that never were part of the genre's fashion/trend but I don't give a shit about it. They were cool enough to shake my ass and hold my interest for years. Just for this alone they deserve every bit of my WTS respect! Like the back sleeve says:
 "There's more to the Mono Men than sluts, booze, and gravel-spittin' custom woodies!"
And as it usually happens on singles, all A-sides are Mono Men originals ("Don't Know Yet" & "Just A Girl")and all B's are inspired kick ass cover versions of tracks with origins on Link Wray ("Jack The Ripper"), Billy Childish ("Lie Detector") and the Wipers ("Over The Edge").
Laaaaaaaaaaateeeeer!

Rockin' Bones - "On Fire" (CD, Vinyl Lust - 2001)

Of the longest running punk & roll outfits in Greece (they were born back in 1991) if not the longest, Rockin' Bones proved to anyone was betting against that they're tough enough to get over line up changes, fights, death (ex-Personality Crisis, Fuzzy - R.I.P. brother) and the square prosaism of the country's non existent rock & roll culture. Once upon a time blood-brothers of my favorite Cosmic Teds (for a short but very fond period they were actually the two most dangerous gangs of the city and Teds guitarist Adonis jumped in for a single on Bad Elvis), but still in good relations with the legendary Last Drive (they share Earthbound's duties two of the band members). Alex K of the Last Drive in fact co-produced this CD, unfortunately their only full work to day. From the 'Last Drive (again!) in an early Social Distortion mood' opener of "Son of Reptile" to the closing rip roaring version of (you know...) "Ace of Spades", you can hear a band making real its album title, knowing and using all the best parts of this ancient music just for (your) fun. I can't remember how many times I pogoed with "Go-Go Baby" (still do the same, my fave Rockin' Bones tune along with "Torpedo"). If you're expecting with this to witness something new, you're in the wrong place pal. If not, well, that's a 100% rock & roll rotgut. As the Bones moto says: "If it's too loud, you're too old!", he-he!

Kevin Junior of the Chamber Strings needs our help...

Am I late on this? Don't know, hope not... I guess never too late for such things. I just found that Kevin Junior, yep Chicago's own last bandit, balladeer supremo and healer of the heartbroken is suffering from the life threatening disease of endocarditis. Isn't ironic? As I checked on the net, he's in great need of an open heart surgery, and as you might know or guess such things costs lots of money. You know already that I never asked before and I never will for someone to donate my own ass. But just like in Scott Morgan's case some months earlier, all I'm asking is your generosity and nothing else for a guy Alex Chilton marked as "something special", Chrissie Hynde babysitted, Epic Soundtracks created music with, Wilco covered, Dave Kusworth and Nikki Sudden played along, and many people (among those count me on) still rating him as the next Peter Perrett! Hope you get well very soon man...

Friends of Kevin Junior - Help this heart of gold get fixed...

Heroin Hell ...A very cool piece on Kevin.

Ruins ... Buy the brilliant compilation of Rarities,Outtakes and B-Sides 

The Chamber Strings  Facebook page

-Kevin Junior with Dave Kusworth, London 1998-

Scott Deluxe Drake & The World's Strongest Men - "Beneath The Bloodshot Lights" (CD, Rank Outsider - 2009)

I LUV those Drake brothers, two underestimated forces and wild flame holders of real rock & roll! From the first time these poor treated ears blasted to The Humpers sounds (it was the mid 90s with 'Live Forever Or Die Trying' on... Epitaph a move that crabbed many of us -  NOFX, RKL and the Humpers under the same roof... WTF?!), I knew that was it! Swiftly these Heartbreakers sounding creeps became naturally household darlings, one thing lead to another and not much later the names (and the records) of the Suicide Kings, the Joneses and the Vice Principals took place on my table too. It was a time when I was thinking a lot that I had to find something new to re-birth my interest and the Humpers with the Lazy Cowgirls were the ones that did it first (then came those early misanthropic punk rock action fueled outbursts of the prime-era Hellacopters, the ultra-party anthems of Devil Dogs and the no-fi assault in the vein of the Kids meets the Pagans meets the Saints of Teengenerate). To this day I remain a HUGE fan of their family tree.  And I am waiting with my breath hold for the upcoming Lovesores full LP/CD and there's not a week from the time I mentioned that I haven't placed something Humpers-related on my stereo.
This came to my hands from Scott 'Deluxe' Drake himself. It was sent for review for our many times mentioned here old zine along with some pins I'm still proudly wearing of. And my face is still in a smilingly state when I'm looking at the label's printed logo...RANK OUTSIDER! Yep, the one that got ex-Lazy Cowgirl Patt Todd on the driver's seat. He-he, I wasn't wrong after all.
This is if I'm counting right Jeff's third solo effort, but who cares about order anyway? The only thing I'm anxious (actually I'm not - just to say something...) every time some new Humpers related thing hits my turntable/CD player is to see if they moved a little, but NO, you can't teach an old dog new tricks! Thankfully!! As I read on Sugarbuzz : "He was every bit the embodiment of rock n' roll motherfuckery - half unstoppable punk as fuck delinquent rabble-rouser, half old-school show-biz, born entertainer." Ha, I go for it buddy, top notch stuff!

CD still available through here

Scott Deluxe Drake on Reverbnation, Garage Punk Hideout and Myspace

 

Mohair Colin's Back!!!

-NO! It's not Wilko...It's Colin, man!-

Hi there. You know, since my first try on the amature 'music journalism' world, about 15 years back, I noticed almost swiftly that the thrill of talking about your passions (in our case rock & roll) with the ones creating it, helping it and in many ways carrying the torch, is comparable only to good food and sex. OK, I'm into hyperbole as usual but actually this feeling is coming close for me. I had the good fortune to spoke to many people through the years and in a good 99% of them, all the guys from 'my side' (zine publishers, scenesters, concert organizers etc) were the best and with a good reason... The one Tuff Darts immortalized with the phrase "It's all for the love of Rock & Roll"! I idolized writers and fanzine publishers the same way I did with musicians. And I still feel the same in a way. Thay're as much as important are the artists.  I mean, what rock & roll woulda been without SNIFFIN' GLUE, PUNK MAGAZINE, CREEM, KICKS or UGLY THINGS (among countless, happily)? And I'm rating THAT high another one, hailing from Canada this time with a sharp title and with even sharper material in its pages. Colin Bryce's MOHAIR SWEETS. At the time MOHAIR was in print, no bank wanted me to have a credit card (yeah those pricks that now begging me to have more) and unfortuantely the printed part had to be wait some years to come in my hands. But the transformation of MOHAIR into webzine made things easier for a period. Fast forward with the start of this blog and to my ad for SWEETS back issues came to my mailbox Colin's own reply.
"Yeah, I have some, no need of money just send me an address" was his answer. From then I have the honour to call him a friend. Always gentle, always nice and always true. I tried to kick him start again something cause boy, he got things to share believe me! The guys from Eyeplug anticipated me but I'm SOOOOOO GLAD he came back. And he promised me something for this space too - like the memoirs I have the pleasure to witness on our private conversations! So, till the time Colin Bryce write something for WTS exclusively (he-he) check -among other things- the cool interview he did with Tav Falco. Great read, trust me...

The Heartbreakers - "L.A.M.F. - Original U.K. Cassette Mix" (Cassette/Tape, Track - 1977)

AT LAST! Thanks to our friend Brian Young of the kick-ass rockabilly gang Sabrejets fame, we are able hereabout White Trash Soul HQ after a long and hard trying, to finally witness the original (and now legendary - known also as UK) cassette mix of punk & roll's ultimate uterus 'L.A.M.F.' ! I'm so damn bored to repeat myself so if you're a rookie on this read here first, you may need some introduction cause what you're going to face up within post is quite simply something of a 'holy grail'.
The story goes a little back, during the 'pre-production' days of 'L.A.M.F.T.M.J.B.' when along my buddy Jean Philippe tried our best to come up with a cassette copy of the album but as you maybe already know, failed entirely. Like a Deus x machina somewhere in there and out of a sudden, Brian makes his appearance volunteering but the sensibly tight schedule of the Jets doesn't let him feed our hunger on time. And you know what, some times in life something's not happening for the best. I know this now may sound like some soft-boiled crap to you all, but I do believe it.
Anyway, on our subject and the verdict says clearly this: Yes, the cassette has the original U.K. mix as most of us know for ages like the back of our hands - minus the mud! Yes, it sounds GREAT! Yes, it was a fuckin' bad pressing issue that caused the whole trouble (and legend). Yes, you still NEED to hear this if you consider yourself a serious rock & roll fan. What still mess ups my mind though are those two "why"s?
1. OK, obviously something went wrong with the pressings and the disbanding of Track Records a little later hold up things for a while maybe, BUT... when the bloody tapes (all those!) came to Leee Black Childers' possession or Jungle's afterwards, why not anyone thought to release properly the original mix instead of the 'Lost '77 Mixes'? We live at the digital age goddammit, we were able to hear in the past years without any sound difficulties for instance Slim Harpo kicking the shit out in a 1961 concert or the Link Wray's lost Cadence album for half a century but we can't do the same for the Heartbreakers original mix!!?
2. And what was Track's possible thinking for sending different tapes/mixes to other countries for their own L.A.M.F. releases (not to mention the singles...)? Anyone?
The cassette proves in the end that the 'breakers were right chatter up about it. From the first two concluded  plays I'm able to say that it sounds powerful, dirty and furious as we hoped or better, fantasized! The vocals of Johnny and Waldo for the first time have BALLS (if you think already had, listen up to this baby, ha!), and Billy's bass lines are audible and fat like Bon Scott's Rosie's ass! Oh, and somehow Jerry's drums sound louder. It's not THAT different from the 'Lost 77 Mixes' but in a way it is (I don't know how to put it right, you have to listen for yourself).
So where the mix issue lies? Perhaps on the surviving tapes Alan Hauser got from Childers, don't know. But that's not the answer to my own question No.1. If we're able here at WTS to track down a decent cassette copy, I'm definitely sure that the Heartbreakers rights keepers have (a lot) more chances to find a better one and master from it, if actually the reason why for all these, is a possible loss of the original mix tapes... Shit, I know I'm sounding like I'm bitching now and Brian told me that Alan's an OK  guy, but I got through so much trouble finding this after 15 years or something... you know what I mean?
Anyway, I came home from the office quite late the day Brian's package arrived and I waited for kids to go to bed first. I made the rip and gave a quick shot... I was blown! The first hour of the new day was running its first steps but I couldn't wait till the next morning's arrival to deal with again... I started the upload immediately and mailed Jean Philippe:

"I'm putting up this moment Side 2 of the Cassette Mix, it's 1:30 in the morning I can barely keep my eyes open but you NEED to hear this buddy! I gave a quick (about one minute of each song sliding the bar of the player and all this through my laptop's speakers) listening and it's definitely different! It's the UK mix indeed but with no fuckin' mud around it. A little bit speed-ed up also, don't know if it's because of the tape recorder or Brian's copy, but for a quickie attempt it sounded like the real thing. I need to hear this tomorrow with less wine running through my vains and through my stereo's speakers but don't know man, I don't think it sounds like the Italian, French or any other pressing. "

A few days later came my buddy's answer:

"Well, well, well, you were right, I was wrong! The cassette mix is definitely different from other mixes. I reduced speed by 3% (but it seems faster still), cut the wav files into individual tracks and uploaded it to our account. There's some (expected) hiss on the tape, which could have been easily removed, but I left it as is. I noticed L&R channel are reversed on some tracks (eg. 'Pirate Love' has guitar inro on the left vs. on the right on other pressings), but not all of them (so that's not Brian's mistake in plugin' his gear). What's not easy to tell is 'how much' this mix is different from others. A good part of the difference might be due to the media (tape vs. vinyl) and rig (tape player vs. turntable). The cassette is not muddy, but it doesn't have much bottom end, and sound is quite midrangey. Is it because of the mix or the media/rig? Some tracks are very different though: 'Baby Talk' and 'Going Steady' for example. 'Baby Talk' seems to be what the UK LP would be if it wasn't muddy. 'Going Steady' drums intro is different from other versions (including UK LP). It would have been a blast if we didn't have France/Italy LP already. Anyway, it's nice to finally hear it and know the truth. "

Indeed, 'Baby Talk' cassette take is by far the best we have heard (at least me)! If we had it during the creation of 'T.M.J.B.' would have kicked 'Lost 77' s ass without second thoughts! But as I said, it was meant to be this way. A full post dedicated to the 'media' a couple of thousand lunatics around the world for ages are/were looking for! There's really no need from our side to bull more. You all going to have in a while your own point of view. Just to complete WTS stuff's blurbs I'm adding the one Brian wrote me for the tape had sent me (the old fashioned way, on paper with a cool Sabrejets logo up left and a signature at the bottom- I dig you man!):

"I have heard lots of different stories about LAMF mixes. Some people insist that the French or Italian albums are much better sounding. It's not something I've ever worried too much about. When I bought LAMF (when it came out) I played it to death anyway. I think the problem isn't that it sounded THAT bad - but it does sound pretty feeble in comparison to the records which bands like the Pistols released which cost thousands and thousands of pounds... and took months to record.
It must have been really disheartening for them though - as some of my pals saw The Heartbreakers on the Anarchy tour and everyone (even if they didn't like the band!) told me they blew the Pistols/Clash etc offstage every night...
So if whoever was recording the band could have captured that live sound then it really would have been a killer album...
But there are too many buts and ifs... for sure Track were a waste of space compared to some of the other labels BUT in fairness they DID advertise the first singles and the album a lot. Perhaps the Heartbreakers should have chosen a less controversial topic for their first 45 too... not gonna get much airplay with a song about smack!
Certainly a different producer would have helped - but you can't rewrite history - and even though the reviews at the time mentioned the muddy mix, most people who bought the album couldn't care less. At the end of the day the in fighting and bickering over the album destoyed the band - but that was their own fault. "


What's left now is the hope Jungle to create a box with deep care for all those rumored different mixes that stayed in the can. I mean, who doesn't want to hear 'L.A.M.F.' in a sixties girl pop sounding mix? 

Keep the rocks rollin'!

The Crybabys - "What Kind of Rock & Roll?" (CD, Castle/Sanctuary - 2003)

You know what, what's best in The Crybabys is not their bloodline (Honest John Plain of the Boys/Lurkers, Darrell Bath of Dogs D' Amour, U.K. Subs, Nikki Sudden among others, Robbie Rushton of Whizz Kids, Gunslingers and Leslie Riggs – Cheap & Nasty, The Godfathers), even though the credits from the past and future outfits, reel of a lot for the band's DNA. The Crybabys were a British institution on dirty, street and most importantly good time rock & roll not unlike or less important than those of the Stones, Faces, Mott and T-Rex trademarks and I'm not fucking joking! Too gifted to be press darlings (for some strange reason, Kerrang's readers voted them as the best band then...), too real to exist long, too ugly to become a girls room poster (that's a compliment, we're talking about rock n' roll here - don't fuckin' forget it!) and in general a fine example of the ‘too much too soon’ curse that's haunting the all prime movers. And for some strange reason my (utterly disturbed) brain have place them in the same position with The Georgia Satellites but this gang of drunk pirates (a tip to Johnny Depp, next time by-side of Keef try these nasty cockeyed motherfuckers...It's time to make a penny or two alright?!) were more colorful. Where the Satellites 'ave used the Malcolm Young boogie school riffology,the 'Babys tried instead Marc Bolan's. Something of a Dirty Strangers next morning personality crisis of a wild gang bang party with Slade the night before and you're getting close. Forget the bleach blonde anorexic fake wild ones of the era, they're not worth a shit in comparison!

PS: That's the MK I Crybabys complete (?) recordings. For more on this GREAT rock & roll mob look at the SOTD training school. BTW, even though I don't use the so-called 'social networks' shit, I noticed that the 'babys have an official page on Facebook, constantly updated with cool pics and information. So, if you have an account already, be sure to take a walk in there.  

-Pic taken from the Crybabys FB page-

The Infections - "Kill..." (CD, Rip Off - 1997)

A nineties punk rock classic, period! If I was punk enough I would have stay only to the previous statement, true to the genre's attitude but I'm a middle thirties prick now and it's a dumb thing to pretend something I'm not now. At least my former 'punkiness' kept the honesty part, right?
If someone in those days would have said me that it's better the Rip-Offs died, I would have probably abused him. The history proved however that it was a necessity I can do without. Cause today and after countless repetitions, no Rip-Offs, no Supercharger and no Zodiac Killers could come close to The Infections' strength and balls! They were completely ferocious, totally supercharged and outright edgy carrying those Benzedrine guitars and a full Heartbreakers/Dead Boys/'77 (in equal doses) approach on their savaged creations, I mean WOW! They possessed three 'singers' and on their sole single posed with these infamous bleeding shirts for the cover, just like the Heartbreakers had and did, so I was 99% sure even before proceed that it's going to be a blast! And I was always more of a Shane White guy than a Greg Lowery. With "Kill..." he proved the better way he was the one everyone should mention. He didn't let Lowery do his thing here and thanks to evil powers of rock & roll, it was a smart decision! I mean, of course I dig Lowery and I do know that the guys exchanged some poison many times in the past and I don't care to get a side, cause I'm only interested to talk about music but Shane is nearest to what I have in me mind as 'punk rock'. Let's not forget that Shane right after created the mighty but criminally overlooked Loose Lips, OK?! Anyway, "Kill..." has a sliiiightly better sound than the Rip-Offs recordings (I'm sure I read somewhere that they recorded on 8-track when the Rips used only 6 tracks - two channels over in punk rock makes a difference I suppose), in a way more....hmmm 'fat', especially on (what else?) the guitars, which they spit up AMAZING amounts of distortion, tube buzz and energy; making me still wonder how this utterly 'in the red' shit captured so perfectly!?A to the max wailin' punk boulder for the generations to come.

The Chimiks - "Modern Storm" (LP, Frantic City - 2012) OUT NOW!!!

You know summer's not a good season for taking care things. At least for me cause I'm already late a month on this (sorry man!)... And I tell you my fault's became bigger when yesterday gave it the listen! Bart sent me another fuckin' dynamite, keeping up high the standards Frantic City Records habituated us for years now (The Wild Zeros, The Pneumonias, Atomic Suplex, The Skeptics, The Beavers, Heartbeeps, etc).
The press info says something for the Dwarves subsequent obvious influences, BUT these guys here for sure were good students in class for the '60s Punk' lessons and especially those chapters for 'Back From The Grave' volumes. The guitar shaves and slash throughout long play's existence by squinting the one eye on the Stooges tradition and the other on every single creepy garage riff came outta the States during the early sixties. I haven't heard Chimiks earlier stuff but I'm definitely sure with this piece of plastic they entered today's global punk rock major league! The fact that WTS's favorite engineer Mike Mariconda, put hands upon is another safeguard for "Modern Storm" 's wild and savage sound. I assuredly can tell that Tim Warren's gonna envy Frantic City for this! Now where the fuck did I placed those Dirtys and Los Ass-Draggers CDs, cause my appetite's open?!

Order the storm here!

Dave Kusworth - "Tambourine Girl (The Spanish Album)" (CD, Sunthunder - 2008)

Yay! Just came in from my vacations. Shitty thing right? My knees and my head deny any further moves except those they have used the last 10 days... Basically I'm not in any mood at all and my stupid mailbox on my job's PC is full of crap that I don't want to touch my hands upon. I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway, I was about to post something else but Mr. Rambler's great Jacobites 'Old Scarlett' hit, in coalition with some Dave Kusworth 'requests' by Steve and two more other friends the previous days, turned my head to this 'rarities, out-takes and demos' compilation as the booklet says. Not sure if it's the best place for the newbies but it's waaaaaayyyy cool for all the Kusworth/Sudden/Jacobites fans. The sad thing's that even though the booklet has cool photographs has not extra information about the tracks, the bands or during which sessions were recorded but as I said, if you're already a fan you'll guess in a way which songs have the Bounty Hunters behind, which the Tenderhooks and which Dave and his all star friends personnel (my fave Darrel Bath appears among them).  Ballads never was my cup of tea, I'm sure I wrote it before somewhere in here, cause if there's something I can't stand in life is some pathetic dude mewling for a 'beautiful girl' who dumped him blah-blah-blah, BUT Dave Kusworth and Nikki Sudden had (and in case of Dave's thankfully still has) this rare Stones/Faces/Crazy Horse/Johnny Thunders heartbreak touch that even a cruel asshole like me can't resist!
I wanted to attend this post also with an unpublished interview I did with him some years back, but no @#$! sign in 2 Terabytes of back-up HDDs... That's a shame cause it was kinda sort but kinda cool as well.
Later!

You can buy it HERE along with other cool Sunthunder releases.

Photo taken from the Dave Kusworth Facebook Community

The Dogs D'Amour - "...Straight??!!" (CD,China - 1990)

I'm writing these lines the day before my second round of vacations. At fuckin' last! I'm feeling a wreck with almost done batteries and the feel of a neurasthenic. In one word, EXHAUSTED! And I don't know yet if the place we 're gonna stay has an internet connection. My wife's booked it so I suppose that is not going to have (for the obvious reasons)... OK my mobile has, but you can do much from it. Thinking of this, I thought to post something before my way to some cool beach with lots of bikinis (hopefully) taking a walk in front of my eyes (Am I sounding like a dirty old man or what?!) and some cold beer tankards!
On our subject now, I suppose many of you have this, right? It's not something rare or not well known. And some Dogs D'Amour fanatics rate it as the starting point for the years to come deep gutter dive. But who cares? That's the first Dogs thing I ever bought and I still like it as much as the (broad example of ) 'In The Dynamite Jet Saloon'. But I kinda agree too that it was their last dazzle of the sparkling era. You know what I like most on all these classic DDA albums? The contrasts! They looked and acted like some pirate incarnations that had nothing else to do in this boring age than to play rock & roll. It was their way of stealing women, drinking heavily and travelling around the world perhaps. And all this mix it up now with the beautiful lyrics of Tyla, damned poetry kinda, something of a Byron or a Rimbaud clothed in Chuck Berry riffs. But what I dig the most are the influences, cause a good 80% of these bands, had the Dolls as role models and not the more b(l)ooze British Invasion pattern. These UK brats knew where to look for inspiration, trust me. The Faces and their cheap wine and women feel emerged from every song with the Dogs D'Amour signature on. So, on the downright ironic titled 'Straight??!!' , Tyla and the gang is one step before the fall with all its good and bad reflections. What a beautiful disaster!

See ya in a two weeks (more or less) mates. Keep the rocks rollin'!

Freddy Lynxx - "No Pleasure Thrills" (LP, Sucksex Records - 1996)

Freddy Lynxx's "Hurt Me"? You can say so. I'm doing probably the usual mistake and even though I'm not counting the great Croatian/French rock & roller as a copycat (in fact the opposite), this statement to the eyes of those not knowing him maybe do so. What I'm trying to say's that this is Freddy's acoustic masterpiece. And it's as good (if not better) as his (mine's, yours etc) idol. Quite rare item as I noticed from a quick walk through the net, more than the 'electric' drenched albums of his. I really can not understand the reason why some re-issue (or not) label(s) don't pick upon Lynxx's works and they remain still a dexterous people's game to cash-in on the fans thirst for infrequent quality's rock & roll, cause Freddy Lynxx still is one of the handful around with THAT scarce chop and class! And we must (us bloggers...you know pirates, thieves etc. for the music industry CEOs...) chuck our own backs cause we're the ones passing the message to the 'new' fans that those great artists maybe never had through their independent issues the ability to approach... Enuff with the self approbation (masturbation?)... This album's GREAT! Freddy's such a cool cat that always had 'stars' to accompany him. And here they are again. Johnny Thunders (naturally!), Nikki Sudden, Nicky Hopkins (yes, the Stones' one!) and Johan Asherton, all take a walk though this vinyl's grooves. And if that's not an impressive line up then what it is, right?! Freddy & Johnny combine forces for a great take on the Rolling Stones 'As Tears Go By', Nicky Hopkins chops the 88s for Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay' and Johan Asherton's taking the mic. Tammy Wynette's 'Apartment #9' has my beloved bandit Nikki Sudden sharing the vocal duties with the 'Cover Side' to hide two more gems (the one's The Heartbreakers more sensitive in a way execution of 'I Love You'). In the three songs of the  'Uncover Side' the quality's stays the same. The funny thing's that when I first listen to this album (I can't remember who handed me this to get credit, not my rip - just two days back found it & grab it in a mart thing situation) I found my self disappointed cause at the time all I wanted was another Jetboys thing... Sometimes luck's with you and you don't even know it. 

Later!

The Dogtown Balladeers - 'Antique Wine & Roses" (CD, Perris Records - 1996) & "All Dressed Up In Dreams" (CD EP, Perris Records - 1995)

Oi! Everything’s fine out there? 
You know, I’m in the mood for nothing! I’m bored like a lazy dog in the street’s corner. We‘re having down here one of the hottest summers the last 10 years at least, so I believe you can imagine the state I'm in under an every day 40 degrees of Celsius body baking… All I have in my mind is one word and that is ‘VACATIONS’. Two more weeks and then, ha-ha, remember me I’m gone! I tried a couple of times to find something to write about, but laziness conquered every move. Actually laziness is the reason why I’m writing this too. I’m in the office and (guess what…) I’m bored again! JP’s on vacations already (you lucky bastard!). We’re working on  some ideas (well, to put it better we’re trying to try to put our selves into this mode but it’s not fully working as you can guess easily) for a new WAX ‘release’ but we both have empty batteries – take some rest buddy, we have a full winter ahead! And I finally finished this great Keith Richards book, ‘Life’. Absolutely brilliant, hilarious and perhaps the best companion for your beach/mountain excursions. I mean, it’s totally understandable through this why the guy was able to write such great songs - fantastic storyteller, and the life he lived... sometimes you find yourself envy his luck! Great read indeed. 
Where was I? Ah yes, one of the emails WTS inbox swallowed all these days of absence was by Steve, a great guy as it turned out. He brought me some of my requests and along with these, a present...these ones here. Thanks man!I had Dogtown Balladeers CD in a small bit-rate old download and nothing else. What a band! They sure deserved some better fortune. I mean, I love dearly the Quireboys (especially their matured "Rock N Roll" phase) but the Dogtown guys were way better. Stonesy/Faces songwriting, Hanoi Rocks feeling (Sam Yaffa was the man behind the board), a cool guest set throughout the recordings - from Izzy Stradlin to members of Electric Angels, The Throbs, Kix, Blackeyed Susan and Black Crowes, and a good impression of a big fuckin' party full of empty bottles and mountain flush ashtrays. Semi-electric /semi-acoustic rock & roll,with obvious Motown influences, great lyrics, cool harmonies and melodies destined to be loved by every fan of good ol' time rock & roll. As the band said, "Three chords, a cloud of dust and a bad attitude"! 
Later!

The Heartbreakers - "L.A.M.F.T.M.J.B. - A Mixed Attempt For The Best Mixes" (WAXCD 007)

Hi there! Hope everything’s OK for all of you. “The Nightmare Returns”, perhaps this must be the right title/marquee for the new WAX CD. You know (I’m sure you do), when you’re young (loud and snotty) your only ambition in record buying things, is just to find the money and grab your bloody passion’s object. Actually at this age, your only ambitions are always a 'passion’s object' matter: girls, records, bikes etc. After your 25 or something, the lust’s being replaced by geekness. Come on, admit it! This entire ‘punk rock’ attitude obliterates for good. Cause the first time I purchased ‘L.A.M.F.’ (I was probably 14) had sounded to me like THEE record, THEE pattern and THEE way rock & roll should sound and look! Fuckin’ dangerous, sloppily tight (the brilliance of the Rolling Stones it’s being built on this formula and Johnny as a big fan of theirs, knew where to look) with more than obvious the evidence of the street culture (drugs… unfortunately). No problems then with fidelities, “muddy” mixes and overall sounding. Life was being taken as it had come, a day by day trip; don’t give a fuck for all the rest (except maybe once in a three months, when you have to find the way you’re going to defend yourself to your parents for the bad credits at school)! My crappy stereo and the absence of money in my pockets had left no space for such thoughts anyway. I wish sometimes to have still the same concerns in life I had then. ..
Fast forward some years from that era, in one of at the time usual daily walk in the few cool record stores of the city (now there's nothing), and a Jungle CD under the title of ‘L.A.M.F. – The Lost ’77 Mixes’ makes its presence in front of my eyes and guess what, it screwed my life ever since. A better stereo has been gained already the previous months, after a really hard trying by my side to gather up the bread-and-butter, but the a lot clearer version of the ’77 Mixes’ started almost instantly giving me the headaches. Mind that I didn’t say ‘better’ but ‘a lot clearer’. And the ‘a lot clearer’ phrase means more audible for sure, no less aggressive thankfully but not securely the one the band got in their minds (or the fans if I judge from my point of view). Oh well, who knows what do they have actually? Heroin’s like the best pussy around they say and quite logically no mind for the best possible results even if they claimed for the opposite, right? (My fave of the ‘breakers gang) Walter Lure drenched the situation in sound, with ‘Too Much Junkie Business’… In fact the added part next to ‘L.A.M.F.’ on our try here (T.M.J.B.) has been taken from this stellar sign tune for the obvious reasons. After all, all Heartbreakers ‘career’ wasn’t circled by powders, syringes and cold turkeys? Anyway, a little later came to my hands this Johnny’s ‘Revisited’ antiseptic attempt with Tony James ‘help’ (Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik), which to be honest was a huge disappointment at the time. Actually still is cause with a few exceptions (‘Pirate Love’ most notably) succeed to overpower the dynamite. You need a ‘real talent’ to do such thing, right..? I’m not sure if it’s a totally avoidable release (try find the Jap, A LOT better – still away from the ‘breakers live majesty though) but I’m sure most of us fans, got it or kept it for historical reasons mostly. Cleaning is a good idea (that sadly Johnny never did) for drugs, not for rock & roll. Adding bits and pieces to by that time recorded material, made the situation even worse. Brian Young (Rudi/Sabrejets), a HUGE Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers fan in an email he sent me on this subject have written me:

“Everyone I knew who saw the Heartbreakers live in ‘77 said they wiped the floor with everyone onstage - but if they couldn't get it together in the studio they had no one to blame but themselves. I didn't like the Tony James remix either. Too 80's and what would Tony James know about producing records anyway? He certainly didn't produce Generation X's records and when he did Sputniks they sounded feeble....He was probably just cheap... I knew A. Hauser from when he managed the raped and he's a really nice genuine guy so I know he did his best - but if you ask me a lot of the excuses for the bad sound of ‘LAMF’ are simply that. Excuses...”

The truth? Quite honestly, I'm now with the Brian's side of thinking and you'll gonna know why a little later. Btw, Brian did a very cool piece on the Heartbreakers fatal existence for the 'Punk 77' website as 'Cursed, Poisoned and Condemned' and you should check it out without second thoughts, here and here. Really cool bloke!

You probably got it that I’m a totally bloated bastard, right? If you shake your head in affirmative to the previous, means that it isn’t difficult to imagine how this fire came to me head, haha! The ‘idea’ to cross paths with record’s history, was for years something intriguing. I mailed my comrade if he’s in and the reply from the dark shelter of France came almost instantly, ‘YES’! Ha! I knew I was right for one more time to base upon JP! And just like that our deep dive in ‘L.A.M.F.’s confused route, began. Our vaults opened, records and CDs (officially released or/and not) started to come out and our thoughts on how this ‘project’ might/should be built were exchanging rapidly. That was the easy part… “We’re gonna use all the songs original pressings had as uterus, and we’re gonna pick up the best in our opinion versions plus all the extras that appeared later and we can use as bonuses, tracks that's now widely known and recorded most properly from the post Heartbreakers bands (Johnny solo, The Waldos, Jerry solo, The Heroes etc.) but hither executed from their ‘breakers themselves, OK? “ I mailed my associate. Sounds cool, right? You betcha! There goes the hard stuff. We were missing pressings (we still miss the ‘legendary’ original Track cassette – anyone? - which many Walter Lure included, bring as evidence of not a ‘bad mix’ situation but of ‘bad mastering’) so we had to find them. I remember as well that when I’ve send my questions to Mr. Lure for the interview, next email from his side was if I was writing a book or something? Imagine in what heights my grind had come! Anyway, we tried but failed to come up with the tape and somewhere in there we stopped a little to think if a 'definitive' essay from our side will be 'complete' without this DAMN (ancient to all of our readers below 16) thing? I spent countless hours on old fanzines, internet forums, every possible (little or not) detail anyway, to see if this actually apply to reality or if it's just an urban legend that almost everyone helped grow (from die hard fans to the surviving band members), as the only 'true' evidence of the 'original mix'? I mean, Walter had then written me: “The problem was in the translation from tape to vinyl because it always sounded good in the studio on tape but lousy on vinyl”…. He can’t be wrong, right? He was THERE! But where in the bloody hell can we found this and in a MINT condition? I tried ePay, but no sir! I tried the internet for a possible download, but no luck…
And then Jean Philippe’s ‘bad habit’ resurrected… My mate debouched for other countries copies/pressings! Thank god, some things never change! He wasn’t in need for any further information by me and he didn’t needed as well my ‘knowledge’ for the presumably among the Heartbreakers fans rumors for the ‘excellent’ Scandinavian and Italian pressings… At first he surfaced (naturally) the French print: 

“I gave a careful listening to the French ‘L.A.M.F.’ LP, and the more I listen to it, the more I like it. It's no Hi-Fi for sure, but I like the fact that's it's the exact opposite of ‘Revisited’ version: the French LP sounds almost "unmixed". Vocals have no reverb, it's like demos. The drums on "I Wanna BeLoved" intro (or "Baby Talk") sound very, very thin but very natural. The French (or probably any non-UK LP) is definitely different from "The Lost 77 Mixes". Acoustic guitar on "It's Not Enough" is mixed upfront on "The Lost 77 Mixes", while it's not on the French LP. I guess that most people would prefer "The Lost 77 Mixes", but I don't. As for the ‘Revisited’ version, it's almost a joke. It sounds like it was remixed by a kid. The way the drums are far too much "enhanced" on "Pirate Love" is beyond silly. But I love it! It's ‘LAMF’ still! Anyway, I checked UK vs. French original LPs, and here's what I noticed:

* All of side one and "Goin' Steady" on side two are different, and the French LP is much better, especially on "Born To Lose" and "Chinese Rocks" which are pretty bad on the UK LP.
* The rest (side 2 minus "Going Steady") is the same mastering/mix. I hear differences on these tracks, but I think it's a matter of pressing quality. Despite its obvious mastering problems (on side 1), the UK version is a better pressing than the French one, as it's got more bass.
* "It's Not Enough" doesn't fade out on the French LP, but it does on the UK LP. I guess that ending a song that way is a studio job, not a pressing plant job: the UK and French pressing plants didn't receive the same "tapes". So that's not just a manufacturing problem?”

Didn’t I tell you? When it comes for rock & roll we’re 100% geeks and junkies! We‘re corroded to the bone but we’ll never see it as an academic work, OK? It’s an adventurous and uncompromising trip for the truth behind the legend. Anyway, I gave a (two, three, four) listen(s) and I wasn’t able to go against my buddy. After all he’s the WTS Analog Department Engineer (we have a loose screw, right!?  - it’s obvious now), I’m the guy with the long lasting adherences (the doc said I have already too much inside my head to deal with more...) and his conclusions destroyed twice my thoughts! Thanks mate! Aaarrrgggg! My wife for two months now grumping (OK I know, she’s totally right, she married a mentally ill person) that when our kids go to bed, I rush myself to the headphones or the library but… I CAN'T HELP STOP DOING IT. (Sorry babe, you knew what you had in your hands, don’t tell me I didn’t warned you!) As long as I was trying to gather information from a million possible sources, or to reply JP in what changes maybe we should make for the CD Covers (a whole lot different but same ball bustin’ story – try find on the net a good resolution Heartbreakers pic and you’ll understand…) my friend was keep sending me bombs. 'Another pressing, another story' to paraphrase Only Ones’ signature song. For example, I wanted to buy a Jap “Revisited” version to see if there were more in there (and actually THERE ARE MORE IN THERE!) but my part for one more time was catching me up. I was enthusiast at first, wrecked in the end. Another damn version to discover, master and have an upshot at it… Fuck!  And I knew already that the Heartbreakers singles and EPs have sounded ‘different’ to my ears but I didn’t have the knowledge to express things. To cut a long story short, JP’s comments in every email of the countless we exchanged were GREAT (we stopped at 69 as I see now, ALL for this nut case), enlightening, but on the majority of the things we put our hands upon, we faced the reality of the non identical versions, making things dizzier (in diverse with what Walter Lure have told me, I’m quite sure now that THEY DO EXIST 300 plus different mixes!), so I started go back and forth to this ‘chain-message’ shit gmail has, to see how to edit and place in this post the information that maybe some of you wanted to know. Not longer than 30 minutes of occupation, I go ‘@#$%’!!! Man, it’s easier to steal Monica Bellucci from Vincent Cassel’s hands, than to do this... In the end I gave up things. I ‘enforced’ JP to gather up his audiophile stuff (you have no idea how HARD was that too, I had to play at the same time early Gun Club and Cramps records, mumbling on top some voodoo spells a witch from the French side of New Orleans have taught me – a great chocolate chick btw, and menace him with transmogrify into Sarah Palin’s animal print bikini –  I’m sure some of you might find it not a bad change, and all these just to write a few words...) cause I’m not going to write a bloody book here, OK? Believe it or not, it worked! It needed still a little editing but hey, my part rejected all his fears about writing (I told you man, I’m no Hemingway either!). So more or less this is our conclusion:

“It's a well known fact something went wrong with the mix and / or mastering of the original Track 1977 LP. Well that's not exactly true. The 1977 UK LP has a muddy mix indeed, but UK 7"/12" or LP for other countries is fine (but harder to find). The 1994 ‘Lost 77 Mixes’ sounds pretty good, but it's not exactly the original mix. If you want to know how the original UK LP sounds, play the ‘Lost 77 Mixes’ on your stereo and put a blanket on your speakers. No high frequencies. The original French pressing is much better (play the ‘Lost 77 Mixes’ on your stereo, remove the blanket from the speakers, but kick the woofer as hard as you can, you'll get the idea: no low frequencies). Now, we found the original Italian LP and is as good as it gets, with the right balance between frequencies, a real good in-yer-face mix, nothing muddy or thin here, that's why most of the tracks we selected for your listening pleasure are from this rare LP. Pressings from other countries (Germany, Sweden, Holland) are probably good too (or even better), but please remember we have to save some $/€ for feeding our kids. And no, we haven't heard the cassette version (please share it if you can). ‘The Lost 77 Mixes’ is cheap & easy to find, but it's definitely different from the original mixes. For example, the 'Pirate Love' guitar intro (right channel) on the Italian LP has much more "crunch" (it KILLS!), and there's less reverb on the drums. 'It's Not Enough' has much more acoustic guitar on the ‘Lost 77 Mixes’ than on the Italian LP, and so on. The 1984 remix, known as 'Revisted' is so-so, but it has its moments, that's why we included some tracks from it, presented here in the best sounding version we could find, that is a Japanese vinyl. Neighbour warning: 'Pirate Love' has wall-shaking bass drum. 'Do You Love Me' for example is from the original 1977 'One Track Mind' EP. It's the same take as on 'Lost Mixes' 1st CD, but with a completely different 'pogo dancing' mix (much more bass). Now you can hear that Billy Rath is actually playin'. We had a hard time gathering the best sounding ‘L.A.M.F.’ & ‘L.A.M.F.’-related tracks from our vaults, and we hope you'll enjoy'em as much as we do. Play it loud, of course!”

We started this as a ‘just for kicks’ project like always, exactly the way we created all other WAX CDs. We have absolutely no intention to replace original, ‘Revisited’ or ‘Lost ’77 Mixes’. You must see our aspect like a cassette tape we used to create by tons us older ones; 15-17 years ago for our own listening pleasure, our friends and nothing else. We‘re HUGE Heartbreakers and Johnny Thunders fanatics and since we’re hooked enough, we thought this was a great idea to dive in, feast our hearts out from our every day routine, and give a possible ‘new look’ on one of our VERY favorite records ever. It just happened to share it with more, haha! As you can see for yourself we didn’t use the usual nowadays stamp of ‘Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers’ for our ‘L.A.M.F.’ version but the original of ‘Heartbreakers’ cause in our minds Johnny was just an equal member of the four. Waldo and Jerry created many songs together; possibly the best and they were a kick ass fine songwriting combo to not to be mentioned by yours truly! Billy’s another story, a happily after MANY years of no sign, and on going (check out the Broken Hearts and the Street Pirates). And it’s a bloody shame as the years gone by, the legend of JT to grow up (so) alone and those of ‘the other three’ to stay in the shadow. For the White Trash Soul duo, when we’re talking about the Heartbreakers, we‘re not having in our minds the Traveling Wilburys blonde guy’s band, OK..?

It was a quite enough busy winter for both of us. We’d like to thank you all for the continuing support. If it weren’t for you all, giving us your attention by commenting or just ‘hitting’ our site, then we have no reason to do all these! We’re gonna slow down a little a bit for the summer, cause we need some rest. Crank this fucker up high just like Johnny used to say: “Turn this shit P.A. up! Yo, gimme some fuckin’ reverb!”

As usual no bootlegging on WAX CDs. Share and dance loosely!

We hope all of you guys and gals to have a great summer!!! See ya around!