D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities
Episodes
Wednesday May 18, 2022
Yet MORE First Recordings of Famous Songs.
Wednesday May 18, 2022
Wednesday May 18, 2022
The Blue Cats - Nowhere Man (196?) I'm gonna guess 1966 since this band released three albums of covers of their time plus some instrumental originals. Probably German studio guys bringing the Western hits of the day to their homeland.
Diane and Annita - Groovey Kind of Love (1965) Fans (?) of this release propose that this might not even be the titular singers (who sound nothing like the voices on this recording) but actually the writers, Carol Bayer-Sager and Toni Wine. Annita Ray also recorded a one-off novelty single with Eden Ahbez, the writer of "Nature Boy," in 1956. It was titled "Frankie's Song" b/w "Elvis Presley Blues."
Wikipedia: The melody is from the Rondo from Muzio Clementi's Sonatina, Opus 36, No. 5. Even though Wine and Sager claim full songwriting credits, they mainly wrote the lyrics and just slightly modified Clementi's music. Bayer Sager originally pitched the song to pop star Lesley Gore in early 1965, but Gore's producer at the time, Shelby Singleton, rejected it, as he found the word "groovy" too slangy.
Gene Cotton - Let Your Love Flow (1975)
The Undisputed Truth - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (1972) This version actually preceded the Grammy-winning version by The Temptations, and the two are pretty similar. The Undisputed Truth had their biggest hit with a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong as well, "Smiling Faces Sometimes", which was originally recorded by The Temptations! This is another trivia question you can ask your friend.
Beau Williams - C'est La Vie (1984)
Black Magic! - Miss Jessie (1970)
Brian Wilson - Just Say No (1986)
C.W. McCall - Kidnap America (1980)
The Soul Searchers - We The People (1972)
Roogalator - Cincinnatti Fatback (1976) Note the Stiff Records logo on the upper left corner. This was one of the first Stiff releases. Danny Adler was an American ex-pat living in England. This was the second version of Roogalator (formed in 1972), and as much as this track smokes, the band got virtually no support from the label, and constant personnel changes killed the group. Could you have hung on that long with an entire movement (that you helped start) bubbling under your feet, only to be ignored and ultimately ripped off?
Cliff Bennett and his Band - Back In The U.S.S.R. (1968)
Con-Funk-Shun - Clique (1974)
Sesame Street - Cracks (1976) "Cracks" is an animated musical insert produced for Sesame Street in the 1970s. A young girl is unable to go outside to play because of the rain, and so she imagines the cracks in her wall form a camel. The camel takes her on an adventure through the wall where she meets a hen and a monkey, also made out of cracks.
The voice is the one and only Dorothy Moskowitz, who I featured on a recent show. She is mostly known as the female voice of The United States of America.
Debby Dobbins - How You Gonna Feel (1979)
A selection from the one and only album by Don Thompson - Fanny Brown/Just Plain Funk/Night Ladies/Hang Loose (1977)
God, I love this funk.
From Dusty Groove: The one and only album from drummer Don Thompson – a funky Brunswick classic from the 70s, and one of the most unique records we've ever heard from the label at the time! Don's got this style of singing that has a bit of a southern twang at times, but he works with grooves that are definitely northern in their orientation – served up in a range of styles that includes the funky drum break of the title cut, some mellow-stepping moments on a few other tunes, and the bouncing boogie that's really become the album's calling card over the years! There's loads of great bass work on most cuts, which really grounds that album alongside Don's drums – and titles include "Just Plain Funk", "Fanny Brown", "Lovin To The Bone", "Night Ladies (part 1 & 2)", and "Hang Loose".
Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto (1970) His early records were expansive and unique, and his voice was second to none. He was every bit the equal of Stevie and Marvin, but you know him from his duets with Roberta Flack.
Wikipedia: During the peak of his career, Hathaway began suffering from severe bouts of depression and exhibiting unusual behavior. In 1971, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia for which he was prescribed various medications. At one point, Hathaway was prescribed fourteen different medications that he was to take twice a day. After Hathaway was diagnosed and began taking medication, his mental state improved. However, Eulaulah Hathaway has said that her husband became less than diligent about following his prescription regimen when he began feeling better and often stopped taking his medications altogether. From 1973 to 1977, Hathaway's mental instability wreaked havoc on his life and career and required several hospitalizations. The effects of his depression and severe mood swings also drove a wedge in his and Flack's friendship; they did not reconcile for several years, and did not release additional music until the successful release of "The Closer I Get To You" in 1978. Flack and Hathaway then resumed studio recording to compose a second album of duets.
You should investigate his discography, especially this stunning debut album, Everything Is Everything. He was brilliant.
Donny Hathaway - To Be Young, Gifted, and Black (1970)
Donnie Most - Rock Is Dead (1976)
Enoch Light and the Light Brigade - Pick Up The Pieces (1975) John Miller on bass.
Enoch Light and the Light Brigade - Puppet Man (1970)
Fleetwood Mac - Sentimental Lady (1972) POACA will remember that Bob Welch rerecorded this with a more prominent Christine McVie backing vocal part. The singing members of Fleetwood Mac circa 1977-1980 could have crapped on a cracker and it would have gone gold.
The Mothers of Invention - Help, I'm a Rock (Suite In Three Movements)
I. Okay To Tap Dance
II. In Memoriam, Edgard Varèse
lll. It Can't Happen Here (1966)
Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons To Be Cheerful (Pt. 3) (1980)
Kelly Gordon - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (1969) First version. Beautiful.
Kid Creole and the Coconuts - Indiscreet (1983) Live. Goddammit, Carol Colman on bass.
The Residents - Die In Terror (1980)
Hoover Commercial with Brian Johnson of AC/DC on vocals. (1979)
Carpenters - Suntory Pop Jingle (1977)
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
For my 200th Podcast, I wanted to thank you all. Greatest Hits, Part 1.
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
There are enough people out there who yearn for the arcane, the odd, the unsuccessful, the strange, and the historically overlooked to justify 200 podcast episodes of D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities.
This makes me happy, and the topics are inexhaustible. From the strange singles of Freddie Cannon and Lou Christie to the occasionally wonderful singles of Les Humphries Singers, Doris, Os Mutantes, to the strange paths to fame like The American Breed ("Bend Me Shape Me") evolving into Rufus, and then Chaka Kahn, and then "I Feel For You", her biggest hit, written by Prince, but the Kahn version was actually the 4th release and, had Patrice Rushen opted to try it (she turned it down), the 5th. A Prince song with Stevie Wonder playing harmonica over his own voice being sampled.
To me, pop music is styles and the biggest records tend to be styles smooshed together. People like dangerous white music and safe black music. People like rap, but with a melodic vocal hook. While the Bee Gees were not a disco group, the Saturday Night Fever movie was a perfect petri dish. Combine Travolta's white-hot star power with the zeitgeist of Disco and the very odd recordings the Bee Gees were doing at that time. It was the success and the playing it safe in the movie's wake that doomed them.
The Beatles were preternaturally gifted with a work ethic that would kill the musicians of today. But their fame was also born of withering luck. A producer and a manager (and record company) that didn't really know what they were supposed to do with these four tough guys. None of them tried to make The Beatles pick a lead singer, so, like their live act, all four would do it. Because they had the shocking temerity to say "Nope, we're not doing that song...", it was like saying to someone with a gun In your face, "Go ahead. We've come this far. You don't know WHAT we've seen. We see through you, over and over. In Germany. In Sweden. In Wales. We never said 'no' to a gig, no matter how much driving or begging or lack of sleep, and if the Reeperbahn couldn't stop us, what makes you think YOU will?" And their genuine love of Black music somehow broke the barriers for generations of singers, players, etc.
Imagine that moment. You're in The Beatles, you've struggled and burned the roads up and played innumerable gigs, and sat, nose to nose, creating songs in your room that people would be singing and playing for 60 years hence. But now, the sessions begin, and the man in the tie wants you to record a "ringer". And you try it, but it doesn't really do anything. It's ok. But you have to decide. Play the game? Or risk this dude's red pen.
Or show up with something better.
And the guy with the tie has been through some shit as well. And he's tired of being relegated to 2nd string and he resents being put in a place where these four punks dare question his choice. Do better. I'm tired of this shit.
And "Please Please Me" is as black a record as anything any band from England before them had tried. And that little phrase can be attributed to everything they tried after that. Because they proved it, in that ONE shot across the bow that would resonate for what will be eons, that your old choices for ringers, publishing company favors, Brill building production lines, plug-and-play Motown stuff, etc., were going to either fade or have to adapt.
I stop my show pretty much at 1980 because that's when drum machines and synths became songwriting devices. I never liked Joy Division. I just don't get it. At that point, and with exceptions, sure, drum programming and synth programming made songwriting easy. That didn't make the songs any better. Just easier to make. Someone else can do that show.
Anyhow, this is to say thank you to all the folks that have listened and downloaded.
THIS show is me delivering a preamble and then playing 4 hours of music from past shows that I really like. Let's call this "Part 1" because the show, as I originally tried to put it together, lasted 10+ hours. So consider this show when you're on a long drive, doing work, making love to your woman, or man, or both, or none.
So......
This is the setlist, but they’re not all ‘good songs’. Some are meant to show you the arcane nature of what I find most enjoyable. Song-poems (“The Beatle Boys”), artists coping with the end of their heyday (Gary Glitter) and ill-prepared for life after that, or artists way before they found their niche (The Gap Band). And, of course, groups I love like Rose Tattoo, The Free Design, and SAHB.
Leo’s Sunshipp - Give Me The Sunshine (1978)
The Free Design - My Very Own Angel (1969)
GLS United - Rapper’s Deutsch (1980) Samples “Rapper’s Delight”, which samples “Good Times” by Chic, “Here Comes That Sound Again” by Love De-Luxe with Hawkin’s Discophonia (which i played on one of my previous shows), and a quote from the movie Five on the Black Hand Side, specifically, a scene in the barbershop that predated the advent of Rudy Ray Moore’ Dolemite character by 2 years.
Louis Armstrong - The Creator Has a Master Plan (1970) w/ Leon Thomas
Rick Wakeman - I’m So Straight, I’m a Weirdo (1980) I just like playing this awful oddity from the keyboard player from Yes. This record defies description. But if you see the video on Youtube, look for a young Boy George.
James Last - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (1971) From the album Voodoo-Party.
Billy Preston - My Sweet Lord (1970) One of two albums he released on Apple Records.
Rod Rogers (really, Rod Keith) and the Swinging Strings - The Beatle Boys (196?)
The Gap Band - Magician’s Holiday (1974)
Gary Glitter - A Little Boogie Woogie in the Back of My Mind (1977)
The Free Design - There Is A Song (1972) I will never stop praising this wonderful group.
Stuart Damon - Eros (1970) Dr. Alan Quartermaine from General Hospital had a brief singing career.
The Millennium - There Is Nothing More To Say (1968) Lou Christie lifted this wonderful melody for his own “Canterbury Road" later that year. From the film “Till [sic] Kingtom Comes”.
XTC- Across This Antheap (1987) I never tire of this amazing track. It’s my show.
Aerosmith -Nobody’s Fault (1976) I like Aerosmith’s ’70s albums very much. They were all loaded with hidden gems, and to me, “Nobody’s Fault” was just the most succinct example of a band that made consistently good/great albums.
Frank Zappa - Andy (1980) A great, difficult tune (you try it with your band.) Recorded live in Buffalo.
Annette Peacock - The Succubus (1979)
The Red Shadow - Anything Good (1975)
Carpenters - B’wana She No Home (1977)
Bruford - Back To The Beginning (1978)
Frank Sinatra - Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown (1974)
Barry McGuire & The Doctor - South Of The Border (1970) I love this song. We are on the eve of destruction indeed. Might as well…
Beach Boys - Rollin’ Up To Heaven (1972?) This is so insane, and especially from a major artist, that it defies categorization.
Rose Tattoo - We Can’t Be Beaten (1982) Ferocious.
Billy (Crash) Craddock - Knock Three Times (1971)
Led Zeppelin - Black Dog (1972) Unbelievable live version from “How The West Was Won”. Listen to those bass drum tricks. Especially during the coda. I wish Robert Plant never smoked. A normal drummer would go crazy with fills. Bonham put them where they belonged, no more. He showed amazing restraint at times. You wouldn’t think so, but he was a grooving monster above all else.
Black Oak Arkansas - Hot And Nasty (1971)
Michael (Mick) Jackson - Blame It On The Boogie (1978)
Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle (1969)
The Kids From The Brady Bunch - Candy (Sugar Shoppe) (1972) So inappropriate that I wonder what the record company/TV show producers were thinking. Good song and a nice performance by the studio band.
Bread - Everything I Own (1972)
Carla Bley - Rawalpindi Blues (1972)
Nick Mason - Do Ya? (1980)
Liberace - Say Ciao (1970) Liberace puts it into words and music..."Never Say Goodbye, Say Ciao"...capturing the mood of Ciao Liqueur...the imported new liqueur with the elusive new taste. I can’t find another song that Liberace wrote himself.
Crack The Sky - Surf City (Here Come The Sharks) (1975)
Les Humphries Singers - Dancing Queen (1976) You can still hear Jimmy Bilsbury’s straining, smoky tenor in the choruses. “Having the time of your life…” Poor guy.
Eddie Kendricks - Me 'N Rock 'N Roll Are Here To Stay (1974)
Denny Greene - The Great Escape (1981) Ex-Sha Na Na member trying to break type like J Jocko tried a few years before. I love this. This is a dance mix of the original he did in 1977.
Dennis Wilson - River Song (1977)
Doris - Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby? (1970) No one knows who Doris is. I’d rather listen to her and this crazy Swedish band for a year before I ever give any time to Janis Joplin.
Rotary Connection - Didn’t Want To Have To Do It (1967)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This is a wonderful remix of the original fluke hit.
The Move - Do Ya (different version) (1971)
Jeff Lynne - Doin’ That Crazy Thing (1977)
Rick Nelson - Don’t Blame It On Your Wife (1968)
Sha Na Na Anti-Drug PSA (197?)
Doris - Beatmaker (1970)
Dschinghis Khan - Rocking Son Of Dschinghis Khan (1979)
Edith Head Fashion Prescription
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Trilogy (1973)
Utopia - Eternal Love (1976)
Alix Dobkin - View Form Gay Head (1973)
Fats Domino - Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey (1968)
John Farrar - Falling (1980)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Feelin’ Blue (1969)
Laverne and Shirley - Five Years On (1976) Written by Michael McKean. His story is too long for me to get into. For POACA he was "Lenny" of Lenny and Squiggy. Or he was David St. Hubbins in Spinal Tap. Or he was Saul Goodman's brother in Better Call Saul.
Genesis - Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974 (1974)
Fonzie Impressionist Track (Aaaaay, Cool, Nerd, Sit On It) (1976) One of the weirdest things in my collection. Why does it exist? And then it repeats in reverse!!
Friday Mar 18, 2022
One Bad Apple
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Friday Mar 18, 2022
John Paul Joans - Got To Get Together Now (1970)
John Davidge was a politically motivated and confrontational stand-up comedian In 1970, he made a record for the UK Christmas market. His manager arranged for Eric Stewart, Lol Creme, and Kevin Godley (later of 10CC) to write the song with him. It was "Man From Nazareth" with the flip side "Got To Get Together Now". Both were recorded at Strawberry Studios and released on Mickie Most’s RAK label.
The song was tipped as a 1970 Xmas #1 but lost its momentum because the other John Paul Jones objected, necessitating that all the records be recalled, destroyed, and reprinted! The song peaked at No. 25 in January 1971 after a belated post-Xmas Top of The Pops performance.
A selection from Andrea True's Europe-only third album War Machine (1980)
Open Up Baby/Hootchie Kootchie Floozies/War Machine
Babatunde Olatunji - Soul Makossa (1973) Originally recorded by Manu Dibango, and borrowed for Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
Earth and Fire - Memories (1972)
Earth and Fire - 21st Century Show (1970)
Earth and Fire - Circus (1975)
Serge Gainsbourg - Joanna (1965)
OST from the film "ComeTogether" - ComeTogether/Get Together (1971)
Something Weird: Come Together is one of those great, unique, hard-to-categorize European films that would best be described as a slice of life from the "free love" hippie generation.
TONY ANTHONY plays Tony, a free-wheeling American stuntman working in Italian films, who tries to pick up two swinging American tourists, Lisa (LUCIANA PALUZZI) and Ann (ROSEMARY DEXTER). His persistence pays off and he gives them a tour of Rome in his new sports car. As the trio develop a friendship, we find that Ann is still suffering stress from an abortion, and Lisa was recently involved in a messy affair with an older married man. Tony has his own mental baggage: he was the only survivor when his unit was massacred in Vietnam. All three are searching for an intimate relationship.
Tony is hired to play a Mexican bandit in a spaghetti western in Spain -- fans of the genre won’t want to miss these scenes -- and finds himself missing the two girls. When he returns, the three take a trip to Pompeii, get turned on by the ancient erotic paintings (not an easy thing to do) and plunge into a ménage à trois. However, Tony is pretty freaked out by this and drives off to sort things out. It doesn’t take him long to return and accept the relationship for what it is. It all comes to a head with a jaw-dropping out-of-left-field ending that would never fly with today’s test audiences...
Mr. Anthony, "best known" [quotes mine] for his spaghetti western Stranger character (Stranger in Town), is hilarious (sometimes unintentionally) and his ’60s voice-over philosophy is a hoot. He’s also a real fashion casualty of the times in his floppy hippie hat and Mickey Mouse denim jacket. A standout scene shows him as a gigolo in bed with a whacked-out client, lots of poodles, and a vibrator. Gorgeous Luciana Paluzzi is best known as James Bond’s love interest in Thunderball.
Hardcore Beatles fanatics should be alerted that the soundtrack for Come Together was released on Apple Records. Co-director SAUL SWIMMER was also involved with Let It Be, and Ringo Starr and Tony Anthony starred together in Blindman.
Justin Hayward and John Lodge - Blue Guitar (1975) With 10CC.
John Lodge - Street Cafe (1980)
Robert Lamm - Song for Richard and His Friends (2006?)
Robert Lamm - Temporary Jones (1974)
The Four Seasons - Silver Star (live) (1980)
Laura Brannigan - Deep In The Dark (1983)
Dave Clark 5 - Children (197?)
The Osmond Brothers - Flower Music (1967)
Firyuza - Native land (1979)
The Searchers - Love Potion #9 (1975) A pointless reinvention.
The Residents - Bach Is Dead (first version) (197?)
Robert Lamm - A Lifetime We (1974)
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Bruford - Age Of Information (1980) I guess, if I'm going to call the Bowie band of 1975-1980 the best band of the decade, this group would come close to that. With the inimitable style of Jeff Berlin on bass and the wonderful Bill Bruford on drums, this album might have been the closest Prog came to the elusive jazz/pop hybrid bred into the bone for so many of the Prog hopefuls of the era.
Jan Hammer Group - Don't You Know (1977)
Can - I Want More (1976) Can was a sometimes impenetrable German Prog outfit. Their music in the early part of the decade wasn't something I could say I liked, even though I tried like heck. This was a single, which kinda makes sense. All Prog was catching a terminal disease at this juncture, but no one knew it.
Renaissance - Flight (1983) I messed this song up on my show, but this is not a bad record. Renaissance had some great moments in the '70s, and if you are interested, go find Scheherazade and Other Stories from 1975. Like Close to The Edge, it only has three songs, but I think that record is their apex by a mile, and I like the other albums. This was from their last "Golden Era", Time-Line album, although it had been a while since they could get a record company to pony up the do-re-mi for an orchestra.
Discogs: Renaissance was originally formed in London, UK, in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty who wanted to explore a new sound blending elements of rock, folk, and classical music. Relf assumed the role of guitarist, and they were joined by bassist Louis Cennamo, keyboardist John Hawken, and vocalist Jane Relf. This lineup recorded the first self-titled album and most of the second album, Illusion (1971). A rapid series of personnel changes followed. Guitarist and composer Michael Dunford first appeared on Illusion. Before his departure from the band Hawken recruited new vocalist Annie Haslam. By 1972, when the Renaissance recorded their third album, Prologue, none of the original members remained though McCarty still wrote music for the band.By 1973 the lineup had stabilized with Haslam, Dunford, keyboardist John Tout, bassist and vocalist Jon Camp, and drummer Terry Sullivan. This lineup produced a string of relatively successful albums over the remainder of the decade. They had one Top 10 single in the U.K., "Northern Lights", from the album A Song For All Seasons (1978).By 1980 Sullivan and Tout departed leaving Haslam, Dunford, and Camp as the stable core of the group with various other musicians coming and going through the early and mid-1980s. The group released two albums, Camera Camera (1981) and Time-Line (1983) which were not well received by either fans or critics. Renaissance went into the studio to record a further album but found themselves without a label willing to release it. Material for this album as well as discarded tracks from the sessions for the previous three releases finally saw the light of day as Songs From Renaissance Days in 1997. [Ed: Which I gobbled up the day it came out, as there was no other domestic CD of this group available at the time.]
Yes - The Revealing Science of God (1973) There are moments in this song that, to me, are just amazing, transcendent, and still cause chills maybe 40 years after the first time I heard them ("Getting over overhanging trees...") like almost all of Yes' epic side-long monsters. There's a reason Prog fans like me are filled with sadness that the people who made this magic for us cannot seem to just stop recreating or trying to recreate these moments with an ever-shifting group of lesser talents. The Beatles did it right. They just stopped, resisted the potentially lucrative urge to make themselves stand there again, together, and recreate sounds from which they had long ago moved past. I like this. There's a real fire that people might have forgotten these very young men possessed.
King Crimson - Thela Hun Jinjeet (1981) So this might be #3. Tony Levin played on some later Yes albums, as well as Peter Gabriel (he plays the Chapman Stick, a strapped upright instrument with both tenor and bass strings). He also played with Paul Simon and hundreds of others. Robert Fripp played with David Bowie on his Berlin Trilogy, and Bill Bruford was amazing in Yes, his own band, Bruford, and...Genesis during a tour! Bowie and...Adrian Belew!! Who is here after stints with Talking Heads, Zappa, Tom Tom Club....it goes on and on, but I really like anything Bill Bruford played on.
Bruford - Gothic 17 (1980) I've played stuff from Bruford's first record with Annette Peacock. This is in that funky, other-worldly combination of jazz and pop. I love Jeff Berlin's voice. I wish they had dome more records together. Go find "Joe Frazier" off this album. Whoo boy.
Gentle Giant - Interview (1976)
Genesis - One For The Vine (1977) Genesis at their peak. It's hard to believe it now, but this was composed solely by Tony Banks. The scope and drama, pathos, and virtuosity amaze me especially when one considers that he (and they) never created anything this beautiful again. Who was the best keyboard player in Prog? I think about it and Kerry Minnear comes to mind, as he really was the creative force in Gentle Giant. But neither he, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, or any of the others, as good as they were, authored something as wonderful as this.
Rush - Jacob's Ladder (1980) I don't care what you say. This album is peak Rush. After years of album/tour/album/tour, "The Spirit of Radio" captured their amazing musicianship, their cool humor, and the fact that you could be groovy in 7/8. I think of this record as the end of the beginning, but not in a good way. I played this in a band once. We were terrible. I had a tiny Casio keyboard (it was all we could afford) and I couldn't play the last bit on bass with anything resembling speed. Our drummer was great.
Discogs: Rush's seventh studio album.The cover depicted the famous incorrect headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" on a newspaper in the bottom left corner.However, the Chicago Tribune (the paper that originally published the error) pressured the band to remove the headline. Some versions appear altered with either "Dewei Defeats Truman" or a blanked section.The billboards in the distance (mid-right) originally read "Coca-Cola." However, the cola company objected to the use of their logo and the cover was changed to display the band members names in a similar typestyle to the original logo.Trivia: The woman on the cover of this album is model Paula Turnbull. Contrary to rumor, the guy waving in the background on the cover is not one of the members of Rush, it's actually Hugh Syme, the art director of the album.
UK - In The Dead of Night/By The Light Of Day/Presto Vivace and Reprise (1978) One of the first Prog supergroups, members of other big groups smooshed together. In this case, John Wetton of King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, Mogul Thrash, etc., Bill Bruford, the amazing Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine, Gong) , and Eddie Jobson (Zappa, etc.) make a great album. Then Bill leaves, and Terry Bozzio (Zappa) records another record and a live album, and then...Asia.
Joe Simon - Before The Night Is Over (1977)
I don't consider The Moody Blues or Pink Floyd prog.
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
Chris Dedrick
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
Gilbert O'Sullivan - We Will (1972) Just a nice pre-'US fame' song I thought you might like.
Michael Johnson - Rooty Toot Toot For The Moon (1973) His big hit was "Bluer Than Blue" in 1978. Produced by Chris Dedrick.
Merry Clayton - Sly Suite (1980) Arranged by Chris Dedrick. Merry Clayton was the backup singer on the Stones' "Gimme Shelter".
From Brute Force's 1980 album (released in 2009), Planetwork. All tracks were arranged by Chris Dedrick.
Driving to the Stars
Fantasy of Nationality
Spinning Rock Lullaby
Spinning Rock
Our man recorded one solo record in 1972 (Be Free), but it wasn't released until 2000.
Chris Dedrick - Begin Work
Chris Dedrick - I'll Go Away
Chris Dedrick - I'm a New Man
Chris Dedrick - Someday
Halo - Have You Ever Felt That Feeling (1981) Produced by Lawrence Hilton Jacobs of Welcome Back, Kotter fame.
Halo - Let Me Do It (1981)
Hudson and Landry - Hippie and the Redneck (1971)
Carpenters - California Dreamin’ (1967/1999)
Hudson and Landy - The Gas Man (1974)
Pere Ubu - 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (1975)
Pere Ubu - Heart Of Darkness (1975)
Rob Agerbeek - Ob-la-di Ob-la-da (1973)
Rob Agerbeek - The Word (1973)
The Chantels - It's Just Me (1966)
Y Dyniadon Ynfyd Hirfelyn Tesog - Dyddiau Fu (1970)
Gene Marshall - Shake Your Good Stuff (?)
Jeff Reynolds - Music For Four Footers (?)
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Some Great Songs From Past D-Sides Episodes!
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Stevie Wonder - Light My Fire (1970) Listen to that bass player.
Syreeta Wright - Spinnin' and Spinnin' (1974) No one was EVER as hot as Stevie in the '70s, and the album this came from proves that even occupied with his own music, he can lovingly produce one of the best female-sung records of the '70s. I love this factoid from Wikipedia:
Three artists who performed on this album (Stevie Wonder, Deniece Williams, Michael Sembello) would all have Billboard number one songs ("I Just Called to Say I Love You", "Let's Hear It for the Boy", and "Maniac", respectively) within a year of each other, a decade after this album's release. Another artist on this album, Ollie Brown of Ollie & Jerry, would have a Billboard top ten single, "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us", in the same one-year period.
The song "Come And Get This Stuff" was originally intended for Rufus, but lead singer Chaka Khan refused to do the song. Instead, Stevie wrote "Tell Me Something Good" for them which appeared on their album Rags to Rufus.
There's no word to describe how good he was in this five-year period.
This song made it to #49 in the UK, and never a peep in the US, which is a shame.
Gentle Giant - Weekend Cowboy (1970) I love their sound on these early demos. Less prog than they would become, a sort of The Band meets Harry Chapin. Through the filter of England, of course.
Godley and Creme - Random Brainwaves/I Pity Inanimate Objects (1979) When Gary Storm played this on Buffalo's WIZR 107.7, I had never heard anything like it. I still love what they did with the backing vocals.
Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Dance Across The Floor (1978)
Lawrence Hilton Jacobs - Larry's Theme (1978) He was Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington on Welcome Back, Kotter and Michael Jackson's father Joe on The Jacksons: An American Dream ("Get the switch!") but I actually find his albums in the late '70s very listenable, especially this. So much shit came out from TV stars around that era. Scott Baio was the worst.
Les Humphries Singers - Mexico (1972) Included here because doing this show helped me discover them. My one-man raison d'être is to make you a believer! It's not that good. Just a strange pre-sampling curio.
Nino Tempo and April Stevens - Love Story (1972) From Buffalo, NY! Their biggest hit was "Deep Purple" from 1963. They were siblings. God, she was beautiful. Her first record came out in 1950 (!) but her biggest solo hit was "Teach Me, Tiger" from 1960. She reprised this in 1965, but this was virtually the same recording, with dialog implying that she had kidnapped one of The Beatles in order to seduce him. Just wow. I love it.
Men At Work - Down Under (original, non-hit version) (1980)
A brief retelling of The Greg Ham Story. Don't Do Drugs.
Mudcrutch - Don't Do Me Like That (original, non-hit version) (1974) The almost note-for-note prototype for the Tom Petty hit a few years later.
The Osmonds - War in Heaven (1973)
Sammy Davis Jr. - John Shaft (1972) Ok, ok. Shaft. Ok! Shut up and let me finish my dinner.
Sha Na Na PSA (1972)
Pink Floyd - Scream Thy Last Scream (1967) I was surprised to learn that Nick Mason sang this.
Bee Gees - Lovers (1976) This is a very strange and wonderful album track from a band on its....third ascension?
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Dolphins (1979) I love this song as much as any I have ever played on D-Sides. I never would have heard it if not for this show.
The Langley Schools Music Project - The Long and Winding Road (1977) You should read about this. I think I read about this in RE/Search magazine.
The Residents - Give it To Someone Else (1980) Every song on The Commercial Album is about 60 seconds long. There are 20 per side.
Wild Cherry - Baby Don't You Know (1977) A wonderful, horrible attempt to recapture the lightning of the last single, "Play That Funky Music". THIS is how you follow up a fluke hit:
One more timeWell we play that funky musicAnd we were looking so good yeahElectrified funky feelingWas coming down like I thought it wouldSo we went out on the road yeahTry to get ourselves aheadAnd on the way I was surprised to discoverThat all those funky peopleHad been misled, they were shouting outBlack? NO! White? Right!, Oh what a sight!I really didn't know the suckers was whiteBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowThat the honkey's got soulBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowThat the honkey's got soul
Roger Nichols and Small Circle of Friends - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1968) So beautiful, especially the "Middle 8". Just amazing harmonies.
The Free Design - Day Breaks (2001) This will be my funeral song. I don't WANT a funeral. Just a little party for people to remember funny stories about me. In life, very few people are still in touch with me in an earnest sense. People have come and gone and sometimes I look around and wonder if someone should have bought me a ball gag long ago. Still, even after all the mistakes I have made in my life and my dealings with people I have lost, I know deep down that some people will be genuinely touched by the fact that we met and decided to be in each other's lives for as long as we had. If you listen to this song and put yourself in that place, celebrate the people who DID choose to be with you, no matter WHAT you said. Everyone is broken. Everyone. You're not alone.
Co-written by my friend Bruce Dedrick.
The Free Design - Friendly Man (1971)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This song is being used for a commercial in the US. I like to think it's because of me.
The Beatles - Revolution (Take...Your Knickers Off!) (1968)
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Hodge Podge of Rarities
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Gaylord & Holiday - Dixie (1977) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show.
Santiago - Nice And Slow (1976) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show.
Bobby Hatfield - Messin' In Muscle Shoals (1971) One half of the Righteous Brothers records some forgettable pseudo-Americana, but you can't take the pure show-biz mawkishness out of the delivery.
Bruce Haack & Miss Nelson – (Excerpt from) Dance, Sing, And Listen Again & Again! (1963) Included here because this was an early attempt to use synthesizers for more than burps and squeaks. A children's album that's pretty strange but not bad.
Charles Dodge – (Excerpt from) Synthesized Voices (1976) Liner notes: "A1 and B realized at the Columbia University Center of Computing Activities and the Nevis LaboratoriesA2 realized at the Bell Telephone Laboratories"
Pretty strange synthesized vocal music.
Cradle - Man Is A Man (1970) The Quatro sisters record a kind of Moody Blues meets Blue Cheer hybrid of prog. Suzi Quatro quit to become a solo star (mostly in England) and as Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days. Patti Quatro appeared on Fanny's Rock and Roll Survivors album. The single from that album was a cover of "I've Had It", which I remember them performing on American Bandstand, but it didn't help. I still felt kinda funny watching them.
Don Powell - Black Man (1972)
Tronquista - Hoffa's Blues (1966) Rare 1966 blues release by an anonymous R&B / blues singer in a tribute to Teamster’s President Jimmy Hoffa who was very popular with African-Americans for his stand on equal rights. It was pressed in 1966 for the Teamster’s convention in Miami and was available only at this event. The name Tronquista is the name used for the Teamsters union in Puerto Rico so this may be a clue to the identity of the artist and suggests it was privately pressed in the Miami area rather than union headquarters in Detroit.
John Strand - Remembering Laci (2003)
From WFMU:
"Remembering Laci" was written and performed by John F. Strand, a guard at Tracy, California's Deuel Vocational Institution.
Here's the Wikipedia article.
Lila - Step Into Time (1978)
Liner notes:
Dear Friend,
We are happy you are listening to our songs of the Mother. This album was inspired by the ideals of Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886) and his wife Sarada Devi (1853-1920), great devotees of the mother, who dedicated their lives to loving tolerance and appreciation between devotees of all religions and all paths. "All the main religions and spiritual paths are true", Ramakrishna said, after practicing 80 of them one by one. "God is Form and Formless Mother, and Father, Son, Friend, Beloved. He is available in whatever way the individual heart yearns for him". We hope our songs help you in your own way. We bow to your soul and individuality.
Everyday day at noon, we pray for a new world of Love and Harmony. Join with us if you would like.
Lila
Lou Christie - Mickey's Monkey (1969) You know I am a big fan (for various reasons) of Lou Christie's Buddah Records period. From the late '60s to the early '70s, he made some pretty odd recordings, but he also made the wonderful Paint America Love. This was the album before that.
The Mam'selles - Oye Coma Va (1969)
Voodou Juju - The VooDou Ju Ju Obsession Part 1 (1969)
Richard O'Brien - Shock Treatment (1981) You kids love that Rocky Horror Picture Show. But you might not know is that there was a sequel. It was called Shock Treatment. It was not very good. And it went virtually unnoticed. In fact, it only showed at midnight movies (as did the Rocky Horror zeitgeist in time). But without the electric Tim Curry on screen, it was just another "let's make a move, guys!" dynamic. I saw RHPS once and I felt horribly embarrassed. And it takes a lot to embarrass a man who mixed plaids with stripes. I cannot imagine this. This version of the theme song is not on the OST, as it is slightly more radio-friendly (in its time) than the cast version.
Bobby Pickett and Peter Ferrara - Star Drek (1976) Yeah, the same Bobby Pickett that had a big hit with "Monster Mash". That one oddball hit kept him in cheap capes and attempts at all sorts of permutations, including comedy and disco.
Stephen Kalinich - If You Knew (1969) In 1969, he recorded his only album, A World of Peace Must Come, with production by Brian Wilson. It was unreleased until 2008. The Beach Boys appear on some of the tracks from the album. While under contract as an artist signed to the Beach Boys' Brother Records, Kalinich co-wrote several songs released by the group including "All I Want to Do", "Be Still", "Little Bird", as well as "A Time to Live in Dreams" with Dennis Wilson. Many Beach Boys completists are unaware of their collaborations with Kalinich and Charles Lloyd. These people are idiots.
Stephen Kalinich - The Magic Hand (1969)
Stop Smoking...Stop Over-Eating With Reveen (1978) Excerpt from this nutty record out of Canada. Peter Reveen quickly gained fame across North America with his stage shows.AKA Reveen The Impossibilist.
Supernatural Family Band - Thank You (Falettenme) (1976) "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" was a 1969 hit for Sly and the Family Stone. This is a crazy cover with young girls offering up the least soulful interpretation since Ann Margret. But somehow all the craziness works for me. I don't know. The tuba? The harmonica?
The Average Disco Band - I Want You (She So Heavy) (1976) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show. Listen closely and you can hear a swarthy male voice intone "J'taime". Maybe some Serge Gainsbourg floating around? This song bears almost no resemblance to the Beatles version.
The B.C. & M. Choir - Stealing In The Name Of The Lord (1969) "B.C.& M." stands for "Baptist, Catholic & Methodist Choir."
The Eric Burdon Band - City Boy (1975)
The Mighty M.C.'s - Drugs, Don't Get Involved (1986)
The Minute Men - Please Keep The Beatles In England (1964)
The United States of America - Osamu's Birthday (1968) To be rerecorded by Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies the following year. In THAT version, the vocals were recorded phonetically with backward backing, then reversed. Interesting, but she was no Dorothy Moskowitz.
Bruce Haack & Miss Nelson – (Excerpt from) Dance, Sing, And Listen Again & Again!
Bill Niles and His GoodTime Band - Bric-a-Brac Man (1967)
Bill Spiller - Hot Pants Girls (1971)
Byron MacGregor - How Good You Have It In America (1974)
Carol Channing & Jimmy C. Newman - Lousiana Cajun Rock Band (1978)
Senator Sam Ervin - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1974)
Stop Smoking With Reveen Excerpt (LP)
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
The Uncoolest Band In The World!!!
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
You would be right to think of Sha Na Na as a goofy amalgam of caricatures from a bygone era that might not have actually existed. But there was a time, JUST before their crowning achievement: their show being syndicated, when they attempted to be real, songwriting artists. Not of their self-appointed time and place, but as legitimate pop singers. I DO like some of their stuff. Scott Simon, J Jocko, and Denny Greene released solo records. They were not successful. None of these songs were, either. Scott Simon co-wrote "Sandy" for Grease.
ShaNaNa (letter-spacing is intentional - this is how the label reads) - Top 40 (1971) Reached #84, the closest thing they ever had to a hit record. Produced by Eddie Kramer, a South African-English recording producer and engineer that collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including the Beatles, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, the Kinks, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, John Mellencamp, and Carlos Santana.
Also Anthrax, Joe Cocker, Loudness, Peter Frampton, John Mayall, Ten Years After, Mott the Hoople, John Sebastian, Carly Simon, Dionne Warwick, Small Faces, Sir Lord Baltimore, and Whitesnake.
(Deep breath) Kramer's film soundtrack credits include Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight, Festival Express, Jimi Plays Monterey, Jimi Plays Berkeley, Live at the Fillmore East, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, The Pursuit of Happiness, Rainbow Bridge, The Song Remains the Same, and Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More. And this album by ShaNaNa.
Sha Na Na - Bounce In Your Boogie (1972) Produced by Jeff Barry, who co-wrote "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Then He Kissed Me", "Be My Baby", "Chapel of Love", and "River Deep - Mountain High" (all written with his then-wife Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector); "Leader of the Pack" (written with Greenwich and Shadow Morton); "Sugar, Sugar" (written with Andy Kim); "Without Us" (written with Tom Scott), etc.
And he produced this album for Sha Na Na.
Sha Na Na - Glasses (1972) This is the only song I could find in their discography that was written by John "Bowser" Bowman.
She Na Na - Only One Song (1971) This might be their best original, save for the clunky drum punch-ins and mediocre preaching.
John Lennon's backing band of choice from 1971-1973 or so also tried to succeed on their own terms, first as a kind of hippy-dippy second-rate peace-loving band of conscience, and later as a hippy-dippy second-rate peace-loving band of conscience that had backed John Lennon. Carly Simon was in the band for a brief time.
Elephant’s Memory - Old Man Willow (1969) This is from the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack. I love Buddah Records.
Elephants Memory - Crossroads of the Stepping Stones (1969) Produced by Wes Farrell who was the music director for The Partridge Family.
Elephant’s Memory - Mongoose (1970)
John Lennon - Woman is the Nigger of the World (1972) With Elephant’s Memory and Invisible Strings. I happen to love this song and Yoko's lyrics are truer every day.
John Lennon - Sunday Bloody Sunday (1972) Which is better? This, or McCartney's "Give Ireland To The Irish"?
Chuck Berry - Bio (1973) Backed by Elephant's Memory.
Elephant’s Memory - Running Man (1974)
Someone gave Ringo Starr a big pile of cocaine (a hell of a drug) and convinced him that he could run a record label, or at least serve as a tax-dodge for someone else. From the website Rare Beatles:
As early as 1970, Ringo had involvement with a production company, Beachport Company Ltd. (in fact, most of the RING O’ RECORDS releases feature this name). On July 26, 1973, Ringo started a new music publishing company, Wobble Music Ltd.. However, his own compositions were published by two other Ringo-owned companies, Startling Music Inc. and Richoroony Ltd.. Ringo purchased Tittenhurst Park, John and Yoko’s old manor, on September 18,1973 and immediately made the in-house studio, re-christened Startling Studios, available for use by other recording artists.
With Apple Records not being fun anymore and virtually little product being released, George formed Dark Horse Records Ltd. on May 23, 1974. Hot on George’s heels, on June 28, 1974, Ringo started a company called Reckongrade Ltd.. By December 11, Ringo changed the name to Pyramid Records Ltd.. On April 4, 1975, Ringo officially declared that RING O’ RECORDS was open for business, even though one single and an album had already been released! Just to add more confusion to the paper trail, the RING O’ name and logo were trademarks of another Ringo company, Wibble Records Limited.
RING O’ RECORDS actually signed artists and produced records. However, Ringo was not, personally, an active participant in the company, nor was he signed to the label. Over a three-year period, seven albums, and 17 singles were released. [Ed: Click that link for a complete discography.]
In North America, Capitol Records distributed the first two singles and the first album of the fledgling label. Polydor issued the label throughout the rest of the world. But distribution problems and the lack of a personal recording deal saw Ringo put his floundering company on hiatus for 18 months.
Polydor became the worldwide distributor for the newly re-launched RING O’ RECORDS in March 1977. Only a handful of artists (eleven) recorded for the label.
In 1978, RING O’ RECORDS, in Europe, became a production company, the Able Label. Ringo’s financially disastrous venture into the record business was over.
Bobby Keys - Gimme That Key (1975)
Dirk and Stig - Ging Gang Goolie (1977) Listen for Eric Idle. This is him and Ricky Fataar, late of the South African band The Flames, The "So Tough"-era Beach Boys, and The Rutles, of which this record is a precursor. If in name only.
Someone gave George Harrison a big pile of cocaine (a hell of a drug) and convinced him that he could run a record label, or at least serve as a tax-dodge for someone else. At least his discography is more extensive. Among same:
Henry McCullough - You Better Run (1975) Late of Wings. One wonders how this signing happened. If you listen to "Money" by Pink Floyd, Henry is the one saying "I was really drunk at the time..." They also recorded Paul and Linda but they didn't offer much in the way of insight. Any Beatle fan knows this label.
Attitudes - Ain’t Love Enough (1975) Yes, THAT David Foster.
Jiva - Don’t Be Sad (1975) Jiva was the first American act signed to Dark Horse Records. According to Geoffrey Giuliano's George Harrison biography, Harrison signed Jiva because they were followers of the young Indian Guru Maharaji, to whom he had been introduced by his future 2nd wife Olivia.
Stairsteps - Posado (1976) This was originally The Five Stairsteps and Cubie, and then just The Five Stairsteps. Then Five Stairsteps. And then, for a brief time, "Dr. Jimmy and His Amazing Dancing Uvula", and finally, just Stairsteps. They recorded "O-o-h Child", the huge hit from 1970.
Ravi Shankar - I Am Missing You (1974)
Ravi Shankar - Dreams (1974)
The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack (long version) (1970)
The Lundstroms with Tiny - The B-I-B-L-E (?)
Think - Gotta Get To Know Each Other (1971) Think had an oddball Top 10 hit in the US with "Once You Understand".
Traffic Safety Tip (Public Service Announcement) (?)
Spike Jones Without His Orchestra - What is a Disc Jockey? (1954)
Vox Populi - Ah! (1969)
Wayne Newton - Charade (1964)
We All Together - It's Us Who Say Goodbye (1973)
Werner Müller - The Stripper (1972)
William Shatner - That’s Me Trying (2004)
Wilson Malone Voice Band - Penny Lane (1968)
Xerox - Bit By Bit (?)