Bam Caruso Records (Caff Fanzine No2, 1987)

Caff Corporation was a short-lived Brit indie label founded by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne fame. The label operated under the names Caff, Caff Records and Caff Corporation. Established in 1989, it ran until 1992, releasing seventeen 7-inch singles. The label grew out of a fanzine that Stanley produced with a fellow band member, Pete Wiggs. 

Here's a piece about the legendary (now) Bam Caruso label, founded by Phil Smee in 1983. Bam Caruso Records was a pioneering British independent label dedicated to reissuing rare '60s psychedelic, freakbeat, and garage pop/popsike music. The label is best known for its 'Rubble' series, a compilation of obscure British psychedelic tracks, quite similar in terms of quality to 'Nuggets' or 'Pebbles'. 

(Right click and select 'open link in new tab' for full scans resolution)

The Someloves – Something Or Other (Mushroom, 1990)

 

The Someloves were spearheaded by Dom Mariani and Darryl Mather, who were also members of two other (now legendary) Australian garage revival outfits, The Stems and The Lime Spiders. Following the dissolution of The Stems, Mariani formed the new band with Mather.

In 1989, Mushroom Records allocated a budget of $60,000 for an album. Most of the recordings took place at Planet Studios in Perth with various musicians, including Robbie Scorer on drums, Tony Italiano on bass, and Mitch and Angie Easter on guitars and keyboards respectively. The resulting album, Something or Other, was released in 1990.

The Someloves' sole LP is one of the greatest lost power pop masterpieces of the modern era — words like 'jangly', 'chiming' and 'hook-filled' don't even begin to do it justice. Although the album was originally released to unanimous critical acclaim, the band refused to perform live. As a result, the label dropped them, which essentially killed the band and drove a wedge between the two friends.

The production (with overdubs and mixing done at Mitch Easter's studio) is more layered and nuanced than many such releases, occasionally, it evokes the sounds of a more indie pop-oriented Big Star. It would have been a hit. But it wasn't. This means it is mainly (sadly) appealing to the power pop cult. Whatever...

Primal Scream - Kill All Hippies (WTS Popkid No.2)

 

Once upon a time, Kris Kristofferson sat down and wrote "Me and Bobby McGee". My younger self would not have appreciated the reference, by the way. Punk rock put me through a fanatically anti-hippie phase, and this is something that I admit has not yet gone away. Could this humble blog post paraphrase this classic song as "Me and Bobby G"? After all, Primal Scream was a mainstay of my music diet since I left my parents' record collection to find my own way. Back when the internet was still the stuff of a sci-fi writer's imagination, I obviously didn't have the knowledge I have now. I grew up just by listening to a band that sounded like the Byrds at first and then like the MC5 and the Stones, and I had no problem with that. Even their acid house delirium seemed fantastic to me!

I now know though that Bobby Gillespie and I have a lot in common — more than I once thought. We both come from working-class families and our parents instilled in us a sense of political awareness, Marxism and pride in our social background. We are still fanatical supporters of the football clubs we grew up with and we love the music, books and films that shaped us as individuals with the same passion. Although Bobby is a little older than me, he is just as fanatical about rock 'n' roll mythology as I am. I imagine he still spends his money on records and books, just like he did back then — and just like I do.

We are also different in (many) other ways. He is the leader of one of the greatest British bands the last 40 years, while I am a network engineer doing nothing that interesting. He used to be the drummer in the most influential band of his generation, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and I am still a network administrator. An when I'm bored and have a little free time, I sit down and write little stories on my blog that probably no one cares about. OK I also share some knowledge and geekiness about the subcultures that shaped us and music that companies normally shouldn't chase. But we live in a capitalist society, so at least we know what to expect.

So, as my typical habits dictated, I wanted to make a compilation to transfer to my iPod for my summer vacation. I wanted it to contain a mix of well-known and obscure tracks. So I did just that and the more I listened to that selection, the more confident I became that this is perhaps the best collection of Primal Scream songs ever compiled by someone (the little devil on my shoulder tells me to relax, but I won't). Companies always concentrated on singles and greatest hits material, but I strongly believe that this one has everything for both newcomers and Primal Scream aficionados.

I then thought, "What's to stop me sharing it in my usual socialist way?" And here it is!

The Chords by Paolo Hewitt (NME Essentials, 2004)

(Right click and select 'open link in new tab' for full scans resolution)

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!