The Green Telescope - The Green Telescope Complete? (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.6)

The brilliant early '80s garage/psychedelic band from Edinburgh, Scotland. I mean, fuck yes! The Scots have produced so many amazing bands in so many genres and styles over the years, from garage punk and neo-psychedelia to C86, jangle pop, shoegaze and noise pop. I guess there must be something in the water.

I had the pleasure of meeting Lenny many years ago at a Thanes gig in Athens, Greece. Most of the conversation was between John Alexopoulos of The Sound Explosion and Lenny. I was just sitting there, watching in awe at how well-informed he was. Back then, I was more into the Velvet Underground-inspired bands than the Velvets themselves. But Mr. Helsing put an end to that.

Anyway, the band's original line-up consisted of Lenny Helsing on guitar and vocals, Bruce Lyall on organ, and Colin Blakey on bass. Before any records were made, Colin Blakey left and was replaced by Alan McLeann and the group then added a drummer, Gavin Henderson, soon after. Steve Fraser temporarily took over from Alan, playing bass on the three tracks the group recorded for the Psycho label compilation, 'The Waking Dream'. He also played on the recording of Pink Floyd's "Scream Thy Last Scream", which featured on the Syd Barrett tribute LP 'Beyond the Wildwood', released on Alan Duffy's Imaginary label a few years later, in 1988. The "Face in a Crowd' b/w 'Thoughts of a Madman" debut single was issued in 1986 with a new drummer, Mal Kergan on Wump.

The four-piece line-up of Helsing, Lyall, McLean and Henderson recorded the 'Two by Two' EP for Imaginary again. After this they would change their name to The Thanes Of Cawdor then shorten that to The Thanes. For some (really) strange reason, this outfit lacks a proper reissue treatment of their records or a complete works compilation, so I had to create one myself to secure new fans for them and their legacy.

Dig!

The Charlatans - The Early Singles: 1989-1994 (WTS Popkid No.1)

Let's go back to the 90s, when I was entering adolescence and taking my first steps beyond the Beatles and Elvis. That's when you start listening to other things besides what's in your parents' record collection (and mine didn't have much, they were mainly fans of the Greek new wave and obviously of Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hadjidakis) and you unwittingly start getting into subcultures without knowing it, adopting their dresscode, hairstyles and behaviors.

The radio played mostly Greek music-let's say a good 90% of it, which made the whole endeavor even more difficult. Of the remaining 10%, 9% was mainstream nonsense. Those were difficult times. Until the indie scene boom came to MTV, we were literally living in a desert. The fanzines and clubs of Athens were two hours away from where I grew up, and it took me a few years to go there to study.

So, apart from what I've already written, the first song that blew my mind was 'The Only One I Know' by The Charlatans. I first heard it at a local disco at a dance held by my school. I don't know if the DJ was just playing whatever was a hit or if he knew what he was doing and managed to slip this into the programme, but either way, it did the job. The Hammond organ stuck in my mind. The vocals were unlike anything I had ever heard before: ethereal and carefree. I just started dancing in pure euphoria.

To cut a long story short, I came across that song again and finally found out what it was and who sang it while I was tuning in to one or two radio stations in Athens that played 'different' kind of music one weekend when I was visiting my grandmother. That's where I caught the virus. To this day, I still consider The Charlatans to be one of my favourite bands. Outsiders and survivors of any music trend of the industry. Baggy, Britpop, you name it.

Their early years, of course, still hold a special place in my heart. The way they married dance rhythms played by non electronic organs and 60s sounds are still unbeatable. Don't get me wrong; I love most of the Inspiral Carpets and like-minded bands, and I have them in my record collection, but the Charlatans did it better. Their neo-psychedelic, maddening drumbeat and the crazed Hammond pays tribute to both ? & The Mysterians and Deep Purple Mk1. It's no surprise that they were fans of The Prisoners.

I have collected all of their singles and EPs, along with all of the B-sides, from their early days until they changed direction while retaining their significance. At first, I had thought about including the demos too, but I decided that the musical journey is already long enough for those of you who decide to follow it.

Much love and respect to Rob Collins, Jon Brooks and all the surviving members who are continuing the legacy.

Knave - Detourists (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.4)

This band seems to have been forgotten by the gods of rock 'n' roll. Try doing a Google search and you'll find even fewer of the kids on your street who picked up instruments a week ago and are brazenly playing in their old man's garage. Even their label, the legendary Detour Records, which is well known in garage, mod and freakbeat circles, only shares two lines about them in their website and points that they were former members of The Clique. And that's it! Their two singles are available for download only and if you want something more, you should go to Discogs and try your luck there. And yet, Knave was a short-lived band that had nothing to envy from its cult ancestors, The Clique!

If the aforementioned had the mid-60s mod/R&B zeitgeist in mind, as well as the freakbeat that came a little later, Knave seem, to my ears at least, to be a missing link between the hard psychedelic soul of the late Small Faces and the garage punk that was revived by the Prisoners, the one who wasn't ashamed to say that he liked Jimi Hendrix and early Deep Purple as much as The Who, The Creation and The Fleur De Lys. 

As far as I know, the tracks you'll find here are all those that have been released in one way or another, officially. I'm pretty sure though that there are still some more in some old dusty box of tapes, but I'll have to wait until someone bets on a certain economic failure and makes a compilation with the ones you'll hear here and the ones all the rest of us haven't heard. Yet...

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!

Dead Moon - "Echoes of the Past" (2xCD, Sub Pop - 2006)

I woke myself up today to the sad news of Andrew Loomis departure. Dead Moon for us the few rock & roll infected here in Greece were and still are something special and something different. We knew and we cared about them when nobody else gave a shit around the world and I'm fuckin' proud for it. I mean, even the fuckin' local Metal Hammer back then, gave them coverage... 

I've seen them play live always with the same set-up (all three placed together in the same row right in front of the stage), from small venues to open air festivals luckily many-many times. And Andrew was always in the middle of Fred and Toody and you knew that the show was about to begin when this old Jack Daniels bottle full of melted candle on the drum kit, was catching fire again. He used to shoot beer on the drumskins quite often too, such a show off, he-he...

Dead Moon were the last true and pure garage punk outfit. Not garage rock. Fuck it, this is punk!  Forget all the lame ass retro shit bands full of squares in paisley shirts and beatle boots. They were crude, they recorded themselves even cruder and they pressed (themselves again) their own vinyls (CD? wtf are you talkin' about man?!) on the same ancient lathe that The Kingsmen cut "Louie Louie". I have always been fascinated by this tale but it was their dark (and I mean, DARK) rock & roll approach that made me a longtime fan. And their privitism. Man, they were cavemen enough to annoy even Tim Warren, but hey no surprise we're talkin' about a Fred Cole leading gang, remember? And they reminded the whole world that you didn't have to be a straight edge hardcore punk loyal to be a "D.I.Y." pioneer as well. And they stayed that way, way too long to have any right to call themselves "indie", but never cared much about it. But there's I guess where lies the difference between a way of life and a trend...

Anyway, this one here is a perfect example of what a perfect compilation is. I still feel strange looking at the label logo though but the guys over Sub Pop let wisely Fred Cole himself to pick up the material so no further questions about the quality I suppose. 

R.I.P. Andrew. Sex Murder Art...

The Berry Pickers - "Watcha Tryin' Todo/ All Aboard / Wee Wee Hours" (7" single, Dionysus - 1986/87)

The Berry Pickers were an excellent and dirty R&B band from East Hollywood, with a hard fixation for Chuckster as their name proudly announce (and two outta three songs on this slice), Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed and John Lee Hooker. As far as I know as long as they were together, they released only this EP on Dionysus but there are rumors for some more recorded material that stays in the can and waits patiently to breath. I dig them obviously cause they chose the hard way back then for not going psych or garage as the trends ordered. OK, I dig them actually cause I'm too a totally R&B oriented one track mind prick but you know that already, don't you?! Very much in The Crawdaddys and Tell Tale Hearts style and look (Rolling Stones circa 1964 in fact). Don't know also if it's in real MONO, but any band that wore proudly its monophonic obsessions, are this blog's pets!


PS: Happy new year! Hope this new run of months to bring everyone better news and a better life. Health and joy, nothing else matters.

***********************************DIG!************************************

 

 

 

The Prisoners - "Hurricane, The Best of The Prisoners" (CD, Big Beat - 2004)

The Prisoners were among the best (if not THEE best) European garage outfits of the last 25 years or so, period! And if this post would have to end for some reason on the previous quote, it would have been as well completed and justice given!
Really now, I don't know what else to say about them except of the same old cliché that luck was never on their side, as in (m)any of the cult heroes in the history of rock & roll... And that many of the 90s Britpop heroes had them as an obvious blueprint and icons. The Charlatans, The Stone Roses, The Inspiral Carpets, The Shed Seven and The Ocean Color Scene are for sure some among them. None of them though had the guts and the gusto The Prisoners had. I mean, look at The Strypes... Are they an imitation of a lower quality or what?! OK they're not, actually they're quite good but I had to abuse a little the current trends, you know...
Heavy influenced by the Pretty Things of the "Emotions" era and the Kinks (of course!) with a nice ad of Booker T & the MG's, were as much mods as garage revivalists.  Great songwriting skills, danceable rhythm section, raw sounding guitars and heavy Hammond grooves are (in) the Prisoners' DNA. And Graham Day's one of the best and most faithful Marriott students ever. There's a whole lotta soul in here, I'm not joking. These guys really knew where to look for inspiration in the midst of a decade full of bad taste. And as usual Ace/Big Beat guys, did a hell of a good job with this cause that's indeed band's "finest moments all wrapped up on a single CD". Forget Paul Weller, this is still Britain's best kept secret, this is the real shit! Then came the Prime Movers and the James Taylor Quartet...

Pic taken from Ace website

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!

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!

The Basements "I'm Dead" out now on Lost In Tyme Records!

Ha, now that’s good news! A 100% all Greek release of filthy primitive cave (OK, basement...) psych punk, next week hits the streets not fearing at all financial disasters or Euro ejects! Lost in Tyme records (division of the well known garage punk same named zine – you 're gonna have another issue out or what you lazy creep?!) did it at first, persisting at next. The Basements are probably well known to the bottlenecked circles of 60s go 80s punk fanatics from their first 7inch (“Heart of Stone” EP) and are ready to go further. Thessaloniki’s newest Neanderthals on a twelve song roller-coaster to their jasper cellar and back! Deserving flaming torch holders of the Sound Explosion and (early) Last Drive garage tradition of Greece, in a psyched out and furious state! You can pre-order the damn thing here! "I'm Dead" will be officially out next week in a limited edition release of 350 black & 150 purple vinyl slices. A good amount of 300 CDs as well for the "make my life easier with ripping" guys.Hurry up!

LIT Records
The Basements Myspace

Previews:

"I Don't Want You No More"     "I'm Dead"    "Go Away"    "Wrong"

 

The Skeptics "Spider Baby" EP out now on Chickpea Records!

It’s always cool when you get back home from the job (especially on a tough day) and a new package’s waiting for you patiently there, to open it and blow up your home stereo.

This kid’s probably the next Billy Childish! He got SO much talent (fuck, I just used the wrong word for a garage punk review…) and in so many fields that makes my self sure about the snotty sulfurous Childish comment. I know Johnny or Cherry Boy or Bart from his first steps, when I and my mates were printing a fanzine. I got to know him through a social network, when I was still using these shit in order to wind up interviews. He bombed me with tons of cool stuff! His bands (the Pneumonias, the Wild Zeros), his A5 DIY photocopied kbd-smelling Frantic City zine and of course with some 7inch TNTs from the same named label, all his! You can say that this kid knows his rock & roll and definitely breathe through it… We lost contact since then (the last time we spoke, had as a cause the Mean Things CD release through my friends Peris and John, Lost In Tyme Records) but til then nada. He relocated from France to Belgium; I got married and my two little cavemen that came after while left me with not much time for finding old friends...  I’m in a caution this period of re-striking my old punk rock records. This drove me back to his zines and then to an email. Fuck the Mummies, digital age has obviously certain goodies. The Pneumonias and the Mean Things have not much time these days, the Wild Zeros are no more (FUCK, the best garage punk outfit in the DMZ spirits the last ten years, no kidding!) but the Skeptics are still here! A band which at first consisted by him only and started as a killing time ‘project’ has by now a full line up an’ a new kick ass cave punk EP out there through Chickpea Records. Did I have to tell you how good it is? Well I found til the moment these lines been written no reviews ‘round the net but if I had to bet my money, I would have say this: There’s no way this cavernous thing to be liked by many, so called ‘punk’ zines (sites included)! It’s too dirty, too haunting and too spooky for a generation of ‘fans’ suppose the Black Keys as ‘garage’! Thanks to Tim Warren’s sick personality, there’s a whole new generation of Stone Age men carrying the torch of ‘Back from the Grave’ institution. This one’s here probably the coolest! 

You can hear the Skeptics scream, here!

The Skeptics Facebook page

Frantic City Records (Official site's link on 'Find Your Poison' window, below) 

The Cannibals - "The Submarine Song/Paralytic Confusion" (HIT together with Bucketful Of Brains Magazine, 1984)

Morning lads! More trash by our favorite Cannibal here at White Trash Soul headquarters! Possibly a rarity (I'm not sure though, cause every time i write something for something 'rare', record collectors hit on me on how much this may cost or how many slices pressed, so i really don't know!). As a big fan of Mike Spenser's 'work' you 're getting me unlearnt this time...! I mean, i knew the existence of the single but i never saw it or heard it before. But i don't feel bad cause there's virtually NOTHING on the net for this, anywhere! Not on the Count Bishops sites, nor on record collectors'... And we are offering this thanks to JP who wormed it out perhaps from a trash pail! It doesn't really matter though cause what we are talking about here is rock & roll, and on these two sides is plenty and raucous! As you read on the title, this 45 rpm came out with some Bucketful of Brains issue back in 1984 but that's too a mystery! Whatever, if anyone of you guys and gals knows more, we're here to put our pince-nez and teach us a lesson.
Later!

1313 Mockingbird Lane - "Triskaidekaphobia" (Midnight Records, 1993)

If I remember correctly, the first garage band I ever heard was 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Not the Fuzztones, not the Chesterfield Kings or any other of the 'big' names by the rebirth 80s era. Strange, right?  I do remember also that first read about the whole 'garage punk' revivalism and then came to like it for their sounds, and that’s because of the band pictures I was seeing in fanzines and magazines (for some strange reason, Greece’s kind of mainstream 'rock' press had a good coverage to many garage bands at the time!). Yep, sometimes image is everything! I was full on punk. Not the 90s punk... OK, some of it maybe, but I had a passionate relation with the '77 movement and its bands. So, everything had a 'punk' synthetic, was a target for the little prick here. For another and even stranger reason, a classmate of the 'not so cool' stockyard (that’s not an impression of mine, as I recall the ‘neat chicks’ was ranking him that way - btw I'm still proud and obdurate by the way treated them, all these bitches deserved every little insult and mockery...), had a TDK C-60 from his cousin with most (if not all...) of the "Triskaidekaphobia" plus a good shot of "Have Hearse Will Travel" toons on the side B . So, he handed me the tape, because it had "no signs of heavy metal" and “it was badly played music” and wished me luck ironically... Thanks pal! I still owe you and it’s a pity we lost contact (you know, I hate re-unions and I detest Facebook!) cause in a way your power metal strains (what?), had opened me a whole new and exciting scene that in any way I HAD TO DISCOVER!  Anyway, every time I was coming to Athens with my parents to visit grandma, a quick hike with specific chases (cause my dad was boring to death from my record stores enticements) was taking place. In one of those hunting saunters, grabbed two of the Lane’s singles but by then, nada! Of course all other band’s singles through the years appeared in front of me but with salty prices as an accessory… Sorry, not enough money to spend. Thanks to some same minded bloggers, I got lucky and had at least the chance to hear them. And I really wonder why doesn't start yet a 80s garage re-issue tsunami? There are SO MANY things remaining in unavailability...!
Anyway, from a band with SUCH A COOL name, an anti-Beatles song in their canon, a former Link Wray drummer, a huge Flamin’ Groovies admiration, some more cool influences by side (instead for the 'standard' garage trademarks their 'comrades' did, here they pick on Freddy Cannon, Johnny Kidd and of course the Groovies!), a Greek superstitious title for the bad luck day of Friday the 13th, and some damn well tones of fuzz, screams and haunting organ, you really don’t expect more... Am I right?!

The Cannibals - "Christmas Rock 'N 'Roll" (HIT, 1986) / "Good Guys" (Big Cock Records, 1977) / "Nadine EP" (HIT, 1978)

Hi again. I really struggle to keep things going on in here too. You really have no idea what it's happening in this small place of the world called Greece, onetime cradle of civilization... But i don't want and i won't let those bastards grind us down as my beloved Motorhead used to say! You know, with two little fellas 'round the house it's kinda easier to get in the mood for Christmas and that's what I'm going to do!  I tried with my faithful partner in crime/buddy from a long distance, Jean Philippe to catch up the holidays with a brand new WAX CD but too much work for both of us... Maybe it's better this way, cause with a new year rising on our heads and some new hopes together, hopefully we will be ready to introduce our new essay along with the celebration of this blog's existence for two years now and stalking/heading for a third, in the same vein, with the same guts and the same rock & roll energy! I had prepared something else for the occasion but I'll save it for a little later cause some hours before, came to my mail this Christmas present for all you White Trash Soul-sters out there! Of course the reliable mind behind these rips is Jean Philippe and i like to thank him one more time in public for being a patient fellow traveler and a very good friend behind a computer screen. Yeah, they do exist such friendships! I'd like to thank you one more all you guys and gals for keeping our flame alive with your (daily?) presence, leaving comments, sharing thoughts and sometimes links but most of all your love. Jean Philippe and me want to express our gratitude for making this page a cool meeting place and we're giving a new rendez-vous for the next year. Have fun with your families, your friends and all the persons that making your lives worthy, throw parties, make sex, drink loads of booze and enjoy every minute of the holidays are coming. For the history these are three mighty ass rock & roll singles from the gang of Mike Spenser, the one's on the days spirit. Run Run Rudolph!
See ya next year!

The Cannibals - "The Rest of The Cannibals" (GMG, 1985)

Oi! What's up? I'm writing you these lines outta home for business, from a low limit access wi-fi connection of a semi-good hotel, here in Thessaloniki. Not much time for babble and not in a good cheer either. So, what we got here's maybe thee best 'album' of Mike Spenser's Cannibals. Or for better, the logical next step for someone looking for an expedient for the first Count Bishops line up. I wish Mike had done more with the Bishops but hey, that's a mighty fine kick ass rock & roll record too! The punkish R&B we all like here, with a more 60s garage approach on this. And that means sloppy fun playing by the band and its countless members, tons of beer cans (of course empty!) and disposal for savageness! Something like the Inmates in a possessed Motorhead state! 'The Rest of the Cannibals' is a compilation, probably never re-released on digital format with all the groups singles circa 1977 - 1979, "Good Guys" included (yep - the Standells classic), which is their first and John Peel's favorite. Cheers!
*A Jean-Philippe rip and offering

Re-Up! The Stomachmouths singles ("This is... The Stomachmouths" , Sunlight - 1985 & "I'm Going Away", Got To Hurry - 1986)

The Nomads - "16 Forever/Salvation By Damnation" (7" - Amigo, 1987)

Hi there! Nothing's change, I'm still a bored misanthrope in a phase of self searching... This old records safari i was telling you on the previous post, drove me in places i forgot how great they were. But it's kinda strange to be shown in here... i guess... I mean, I'm in a HUGE Monster Magnet re-appreciation and maybe you can't really understand how much JOY I'm receiving listening to the "Spine of God" or "Dopes to Infinity" albums. I'm feeling like this covertly fag marine on 'American Beauty', full of guilt's being in a pleasure by listening to these new hippie freaks! And let's not forget about Tim Warren... I'm sure he's going to write me off of his books as a true punk n' roll fanatic if he ever read this, but hey -  hedonism is hedonism what can you do, right?
A garage punk band I've always loved and respected, Sweden's boast - the Nomads, never being afraid of fans' clamor. They always loved the Sonics and the Stooges as much as they loved the Blue Oyster Cult. My fave record by them (and they are MANY!) it's the Dictators' lost gem "16 Forever". They taught me the song and wasn't in my hands until recently when the good Norton fellas and their official release, gave the chance to stop my holy grail crusade on this. I still like the statement of the song! "You ain't gonna make a grown-up out of me!". Yeah, I've gotta make my wife listen just once to this song with the hope to stop bothering me for why i still like to wear my converse all stars or band t-shirts anywhere and everywhere. '16 forever' babe, sorry! B-side's "Salvation by Damnation" and it's a damn great song too, but had the bad fortune to be gathered along with the teeniest anthem ever!
PS: I'm cheating a lil bit here, cause I'm too lazy to rip the original vinyl single and what i included it's the (slightly different) album version of the song, but hey it's still great even without these 'annoying' scratches!

Thee Mighty Caesars - "Caesar's Pleasure" (Big Beat, 1994)

I’m sure I told you this before but I’m never bored to repeat myself in some things. For White Trash Soul  there are only two people who can wore proudly the tag of the true mastermind behind the 80s whole "garage revival" movement/trend: Jeff Connolly and Billy Childish. And as much I complain for the first one for not having much recorded work out in the streets often, I do the same from the opposite for the second! It’s quite impossible to have all recorded output by Billy gathered in your record vault. And to tell you the truth you don’t have to. There are Childish works that’s (obviously) essential and there are those who simply are an unnecessary overproduction (not sonically speaking of course). I mean, I rate the man very high and he’s for sure one of the more influential figures the last 20 years but as a punk rock monolith he is should have probably know better the old punk moto of “Less Is More”, right?
But enough with complaining let’s start on what I’d like to do. I haven’t decide yet if I do it in a row or with spaces, but I want to bring you in touch with some of the best songs and groups Billy got  involved through the years, one way or another. And that means the Pop Rivets, the Milkshakes, the Mighty Caesars, the Headcoat Sect, the Delmonas etc. For sure my favorites are the Caesars and the ‘Shakes. Primitive, raw, cheap recorded rhythm & blues and rock & roll, the way 50s masters taught us. The Mighty Caesars were the punkier approach of these elements. Imagine the Damned of the first record trying play 60s R&B (where's "B" there's BEAT!) with Kinks riffs and you’re in! I’m not on the Mummies’ mind but I bet my Link Wray long plays that the Caesars were if not the basic blueprint of their sound, then one of the most important. The band was born from the ashes of the Milkshakes minus one guitar. This line up hold up for just the debut release and from their second, came to fill the drum stool no other than the ex-Prisoners hipster Graham Day! By the time the two cool chicks (Sarah of the Delmonas an' Fay Hallam of Makin' Time) came to picture, Thee Mighty Caesars were the best yet criminally ignored garage punk outfit around the globe! Make some noise and hail to Caesar!

-image taken from mindrocker.net and the Young Pennsylvanians Weblog-

Re-Up! The Wylde Mammoths EPs ( "Four Wolly Giants", 1986 - Mystery Scene / "Help That Girl", 1987 - Crypt / "Misty Lane EP", 1994 - Misty Lane )