Viv Prince (1941-2025)

 

I just read Mike Stax's post about Viv Prince's passing. Prince made Keith Moon look like a Catholic schoolgirl in terms of both drumming and wildness, partying and lunacy! According to Jimmy Page, the young Keith Moon attended several Pretty Things concerts in order to study Viv's style. Prince was also the one to coin the nickname 'Moon the Loon' for Keith, with whom he was on good terms.

He was the first British rock 'n' roll musician to face a drug-related charge in court. The Kinks repeatedly approached him to become their drummer, but he chose to join the wildest of them all, The Pretty Things.  The mayhem culminated in a tour of New Zealand in August 1965, during which he paraded around in a leopard-skin pillbox hat and carried a dead crayfish on a string. He also started plotting pranks and setting fires on stage, resulting in a lot of bad publicity. Following an altercation with the crew, he was thrown off the plane taking the band home after the tour and had to find his own way back to England. He was quite a character, as well as a musician. Safe travels motherfucker!

Various Artists - Modernist Jukebox: Paul Orwell

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

Get well soon Mike!

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

 

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

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

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

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

AUTHENTIC 50s PUNK! 

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

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

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

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

Enjoy your weekend lads and lasses!

Muddy Waters - Messin' With The Man / Muddy Waters Twist (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.12)

 

This is an imaginary single of mine, similar to the previous Bo Diddley compilation I did. 
I believe it's the same story: Chess tried to modernize Muddy's hard R&B sound by trying to fit it into the trends of Soul and Twist with these floorfillers. I don't know if he liked it at all, probably not, I mean, these guys weren't particularly keen to compromise. Nevertheless, I think both tracks are incredible! One with lots of horns and the other with an organ that colors wonderfully his tough electric Chicago blues and make no mistake both are absolutely danceable monsters!

Baby Jean - If You Wanna, The Singles (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.11)

The problem with artists who don't have many releases in their arsenal is that information about their lives and careers is minimal to non-existent. Such is the case with Baby Jean Hamilton, sister of Chicago-based singer Small Paul Hamilton. The two-sider "If You Wanna/Oh Johnny" from 1962 on Stacy has become a soul rockin' dance classic over the years, and deservedly so. There's another pair of gritty R&B dance numbers on Picadilly and that was that. Such a same... 

Lester Young - Lester Young Story (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.10)

Lester Young, not the same person as the legendary tenor sax player of the same name, was a hugely talented R&B thug/guitarist/singer who recorded and released a slew of 45 rpm singles of R&B/Pre-Soul nuggets, sometimes under the Lester Young and The California Playboys moniker, with thunderous and danceable results! No matter how much I searched the internet, I couldn't find much about him and his life. The first time I became aware of him was through the fantastic compilation "Whip! Wobble! And Grind!" from 2004 and from then on, every time I came across another track of his in a set, I was finding  myself blown away again. So I decided to make an anthology of this bad motherfucker's career on my own. If any of you guys and gals know anything more about the hero of my post, please comment, I consider him one of the best I've ever heard of for not knowing anything about him...

Bo Diddley - Soulfood (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.9)

I'm out of town for the Easter break and doing nothing but listening to music, reading (mostly about music) and making new compilations, I guess some things never change, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, as they say, can you?

Of course, I don't have to tell you who Bo Diddley was, what he did, etc. A couple of centuries ago we had made a cοmp of all the Originator's instrumentals. Now I've decided to collect everything he tried in a more soulful vein, and prove most people who seem to find this material "bad", "poor" or "unfocused" wrong.

Because I'm a clumsy bastard, while I absolutely adore this period (1965-1969), I find the later, more funk-oriented one annoying, and yeah, I can't stand any of "The Black Gladiator", I'm guilty, I don't care - piss off! I also don't know if Bo or Chess were making a conscious effort to recapture both the black audience that had abandoned him and the white audience that bought all those soul records, but if The Pretty Things think the 'slicker' sounding Diddley is brilliant, everyone else had better shut up and listen to those recordings again more carefully.

And the fact that Bo was supported by the Cookies was a killer decision. The Cookies sing their hearts out while Bo tries his hand at some songs that would have fitted well on one of The Miracles' first albums. What we get is a sexy and raucous Diddley doing the boogaloo better than most, because he was still the man!

PS: I'm not good with thank yous; I don't do them for that anyway, but I thank all of you who feel like leaving a comment on what I post.

Kid Thomas - Wail, Baby Wail, The Complete Singles (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.8)

 

"Kid Thomas, aka Tommy Louis, aka Tommy Lewis, was and is one of the great unsung heroes of that crazy kind of music that skirts the fine line between blues and straight-out rock & roll. Though success constantly eluded him throughout his career, it wasn't for lack of talent. With a powerful voice that could emit banshee wails and Little Richard howls with consummate ease, and a harmonica style that, at his best ("Rockin This Joint Tonight"), sounded like Little Walter powered by a vacuum cleaner, Kid Thomas was a man who knew how to rock the joint, indeed." - Cub Coda

Chronicling Kid Thomas' entire recorded output is an ongoing affair, I guess. I tried not to mess with the alternate takes or acetates, I just wanted to create a compendious selection by this underrated maverick that brings together all officially released recordings for beginners (or not). And that's what you get this time, the Federal debut (an upbeat workout on Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning" that kills), and all the wild West Coast recordings made under the various names that you read already in the first lines.

The Hound described perfectly on his blog the Ricardito like screamers of that era: "Wail Baby Wail" is another full on Little Richard inspired rocker in the same vein as "Rockin' This Joint Tonight", only this one features guitarist Marshall Hooks' insane soloing which sounds like Ike Turner undergoing electro shock therapy.

Kid Thomas to me is what Esquerita was to Norton records. Ma blog's fret pet and icon. The uncelebrated hero I always wanted to find. I mean, he sat with Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and Little Walter, he played with Hound Dog Taylor, Magic Sam and Otis Rush and idolized the one and only Little Richard! In the late 60s, he worked for everything from cheap beer bars to private parties (he was hired by Dean Martin at one of them for fuck's sake!) or as a truck driver to make the rent. One day accidentally he ran over a young child. Poor kid's father killed him with a shot in the head outside the court and that was the end. A sad finish to a life of almost making it... 

Larry Williams & Johnny Guitar Watson - Boss Lovin': 1965-69 (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.7)

The transformation phase.

In the second half of the 50s, Larry Williams battled Little Richard for the title of King of Rock'n'Roll at Specialty Records and almost got it. In the early 60s and after a brief stroll at Chess Records, where he was still recording some fine singles, he became embroiled in a drug affair for which he received a three-year sentence reward. Things looked bad for the old guard until those guys from Liverpool checked them out and Lennon called Larry his favorite rock'n'roller.

Larry had met the excellent R&B thug/guitarist Johnny 'Guitar' Watson a few years earlier and they became friends for life. In the mid-60s, the two played together and shared the stage in the clubs of L.A. One morning, the phone rang and they were both called to a major tour of the UK. A young band from Guilford, called The Stormville Shakers was chosen to accompany them.

The collaboration and friendship between Larry Williams and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson would of course continue for a number of years. In 1967 they released another LP and several singles together for Okeh, concentrating mainly on Soul (and producing ex-rival Little Richard on most of his Okeh sides, among others).

But the mighty fine and sadly overlooked (outside the UK) album of upbeat and sometimes even frenetic soul material is not our cup of tea on this self-assembled compilation. The guys, sometimes solo and sometimes together, have crafted some strong material to rival similar urban-soul efforts of the Chicago and Detroit scenes, with great arrangements and inflamed guitar/horn interactions and call-and-response routines, and on tracks where Watson shows off his R&B or jazz prowess on piano (it was after all his first instrument).

Even to those who like their Soul in a more slick Motown vein laden with horns, first class vocal work and occasional appetizing Funk, R&B or Doo-Wop flirtations, can’t go wrong with all of these tracks. They even backed by LA's kings of psychedelia, Kaleidoscope! As I was wondering around their stuff I discover that many of their singles sides on Okeh were drastically different mixes or recordings than the ones on their LP, tougher, grittier and to my ears better (for example just hear the brutal "I'd Rather Fight Than Switch" Larry Williams delivering). 

This enormous, and to some of you possibly exhaustive, selection of 35 songs is, in my opinion, a great illustration of what these bad motherfuckers were capable of when they weren't abusing drugs and guns.

I nicked and enriched the cover for my treasury from the Sleazy Records 2018 single. The sound may varies (not all my rips) but the 320 bitrate is still present, so don't worry.

Bunker Hill with Link Wray & The Raymen - The Mala Singles (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.6)

It was either "Back From The Grave 4"or "Talkin' Trash" compilation that I've crashed for the first time this manic piece of rock'n'roll at a certainly young age. In any case it was Tim Warren's fault. I can still clearly remember my reaction to this Little Richard loaded on speed drugs type of recording. Perhaps the first time ever punk rock was documented. The echo, the sloppy fierce band playing (at the time I wasn't aware that Link and his gang was behind), everything came and gone in less than two minutes leaving my mind, my stereo speakers and my place burnt down.

Then times moved nearer the internet age and Norton Records' "Missing Links" series. I was already a huge fan of Linkster but I knew nothing about Bunker Hill. I was still in the process to discover who this cat was. To make a long story short and not boring you with my personal memories after MANY hours of google searching and fanzines reading (Kicks of course included) I found out that Bunker Hill was a professional boxer and a gospel singer with The Mighty Clouds of Joy, under the name of David Walker. 

When the other DC cat of our story heard him for the first time he nearly lost his mind. The Wray brothers (Link on guitar, Doug on drums and Vernon as a producer along with Shorty Horton on bass) rushed him into their home studio and set up two sessions. David as a singer of a very prestigious gospel group like The Mighty Clouds was afraid to record with his real name for the devil's music, so the gang decided to baptize him again as Bunker Hill. 

In 1962 Vernon took the master tapes to Arthur Yale and Jack Fine, who ran Mala Records, and the company released all three Bunker Hill singles within the next two years. All three records sold amazingly well. Hell, "Hide & Go Seek Parts 1&2" even climbed into Billboard's Hot 100!
Mala Records had still some inaugural Bunker Hill material in their vault (including nowadays lost track "Jungle Dan"), and they were planning to produce a whole album. For reasons unknown to me this sadly never happened. The last Bunker & Raymen single came out in September 1963 and it originated from the same '62 session as the previous recordings, this time with "The Girl Can't Dance" included. The flip was "You Can't Make Me Doubt My Baby", as adjusted from "You Can't Make Me Doubt" by The Gospelaires.

I have never really recovered from that first time I told/wrote you in the first lines. Everybody knows that I'm a faithful pilgrim to the Little Richard's chapel but I've never witnessed the King and Queen of Rock'n'Roll screams his lungs out like a sermon preacher in a fire & brimstone black church nor any other ever since!