D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities
Episodes
Friday Feb 18, 2022
Music Mrs. Neal Can’t Stand
Friday Feb 18, 2022
Friday Feb 18, 2022
Carla Bley - Enormous Tots (1974) The vocalist is Julie Tippetts, formerly Julie Driscoll, who sang on releases by Bob Dylan and Donovan. You've heard her before on this show, singing on the Centipede album. Her band of note in the late '60s, Brian Auger and The Trinity, starred in the rarely-seem 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee, a post-Head TV special, more psychedelic than the movie if you can believe that. As you know, I love Carla Bley. Her early '70s stuff is amazing. Like Zappa. More abstract.
The Move - Feel Too Good (1970)
The Carla Bley Band - Musique Mecanique I (1979) This suite is meant (I think) to sound like a mechanical device brought to sentience. I could and probably am very wrong. I love it.
The Carla Bley Band - Musique Mecanique II (At Midnight) (1979)
The Carla Bley Band - Musique Mecanique III (1979)
Electric Light Orchestra - Boy Blue (1974)
Electric Light Orchestra - Laredo Tornado (1974)
Electric Light Orchestra - Poor Boy (1974) I don't know if it was this album's legend or the fact that there's mostly a real orchestra/chorus, or the wonderful cover, but when I bought this I felt like I was holding something special. It really is a wonderful pop album. Their second-best.
Pink Floyd - Dogs (1977)
A filmstrip record from American Motors used to train salesmen how to sell the Rebel Machine. (1970) I know nothing about cars. But I did find this record and wanted to play it for you.
Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports - Can't Get My Motor To Start (1981) This is a Carla Bley vanity project that was released under Nick Mason's name. He has said he liked the record he did with Rick Fenn (who was in 10CC after Godley and Creme left to develop the Gizmo) better, but it's not nearly as interesting as this. No one knew what to do with this, and people expecting The Wall were probably amused or stunned or both.
Louie and the Rockets - Stay Away From Karen (Unholy Rollers) (1972) "Behind-the-scenes life of the Roller Derby circuit... A beautiful young woman joins a Roller Derby team, but her fierce independence and competitive spirit get her into trouble."
This song was written by Bobby Hart, one half of the Boyce-Hart team that wrote "Come A Little Bit Closer" as well as a bunch of hits for The Monkees' first couple albums. And the theme. And they toured with Dolenz and Jones in 1975. Louie and the Rockets have a website.
Marvin Gaye - "T" Stands For Trouble (1972) From the film "Trouble Man", Marvin Gaye's one and only soundtrack album.
Yes - Going For The One (1976)
Tuesday Nov 30, 2021
The Moody Blues
Tuesday Nov 30, 2021
Tuesday Nov 30, 2021
Were The Moody Blues "prog"? I don't think so. They weren't virtuosos in any sense, although they were all very competent (or somewhat competent - Graeme Edge wasn't asked to do much, really) but they WERE unique and extremely popular. And every album has a treat or two. At least the ones before 1983. All you had to do was light a marijuana joint with the pot leaves and let the gentle mellotron patina take you to a new land. I guess the key to The Moody Blues' success was that they never asked too much of the listener (like Yes or King Crimson), but never insulted them (like Chicago would, eventually.) In 1975 they all recorded solo albums, and they were also pretty good.
Justin Hayward - Forever Autumn (1978)
Ray Thomas - Hey Mama Life (1975)
Graeme Edge Band - Somethin' We'd Like To Say (1975) Trivia! Barry St. John sang backup on this album. She appeared on "Dark Side of the Moon" and of course, she was in Les Humphries Singers.
Graeme Edge Band - Be My Eyes (1977)
John Lodge - Into to Children of Rock 'n' Roll (1977)
John Lodge - Children of Rock 'n' Roll (1977) Featuring Kenny Jones on drums. He was in The Small Faces, then The Faces with Rod Stewart, and then released a single in 1974 ("Ready or Not") and then this. He also played in Paul McCartney's supergroup Rockestra around this time. Maybe this is where he met Pete Townshend.
Mike Pinder - The Promise (1976) My favorite Moody released the blandest solo record of the lot. Maybe he found religion and not just mysticism. Whatever the case, I was disappointed by this. "Solar heaven?"
Mike Pinder - Free As A Dove (1976) This was co-produced by Robert Margouleff, one of the main forces behind Stevie Wonder's golden era. He and his partner Malcolm Cecil brought (and tamed) synthesizers from their unwieldy beginnings into unlikely mainstream dominance. He worked with Billy Preston, The Isley Brothers, Devo, Syreeta Wright, and Stevie. Also, a curious album was released in 1980 by a group that was ubiquitous at the time, The Bus Boys. Remember? Their hit was "(The Boys Are) Back In Town." They recorded a song with Eddie Murphy in 1988 called "Never Giving Up." I wonder what happened to them to stop their momentum. Does either of you know offhand?
John Lodge - Natural Avenue (1977)
The Graeme Edge Band - Paradise Ballroom (1977)
The Graeme Edge Band - We Like To Do It (1974)
The Moody Blues - The Word/Om (1968)
Ray Thomas - Adam and I (1975)
The Moody Blues - The Balance (1970) This song was co-written by Edge and Thomas. Most Moody Blues songs were written by one member.
The Moody Blues - In The Beginning/Lovely To See You (1969) This record came with a booklet that included all the lyrics and credits, ornately written. To wit:
The Moody Blues - The Dream/Have You Heard (1969)
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 Sep 19, 2020
"Catch My Soul" was a Rock and Roll Othello.
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Chicago - A Hit By Varèse (1972) There was a time when Chicago was a VERY political (left-leaning) band. Endorsing "the revolution in all its forms". I remember being extremely excited with the sense of discovery collecting their discography. You would play a Chicago album, and you could be sure of two things: Hits that you've heard all your life on the AM radio, and talk of man's inhumanity to man, in vague but unmistakable terms.
Chicago - Prologue, August 29, 1968
Chicago - Someday (August 29, 1968)
I love Chicago like I love the memory of an old girlfriend during the good times. I saw them at Melody Fair in Buffalo, NY. I had strep throat from my first girlfriend. She said, "I have strep throat." I said, "I don't care! Kiss me!" I parlayed a neighbor's ticket booth gig into front row seats for my Fonzie, Rick Angle, and myself. And it was during their "comeback" tour. "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" was their hit. OUR song. Great show! Despite my pain.
I could do a whole show about Chicago. I know much about this resilient band. Suffice it to say: Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
Hank Ballard - How Ya Gonna Get Respect (When You Haven't Cut Your Process Yet) (1968) Co-written by James Brown. I'm reading his biography. This was the brief time when JB let himself have an afro instead of his rather specific coif.
Liverpool Scene - The Day We Danced At The Dole (1969) The Liverpool Scene was a poetry band, formed around 1967. Their first record was produced by Liverpool DJ John Peel, who was then working on the pirate radio station Radio London. Despite his support, the album achieved little success, as did the other three.Public performances by the band included a (financially unsuccessful) 1969 tour when they opened for Led Zeppelin. The Liverpool Scene disbanded in April 1970.
Liverpool Scene - The Raven (1969)
Liverpool Scene - Love Is (1970)
The Liverpool Scene - Tramcar To Frankenstein (1968)
The Liverpool Scene - The Woo-Woo (1969)
Catch My Soul - Original Cast Recording - Side 1 (1971)
Goats and Monkeys/Wedding Chant/Ballad of Catch My Soul/Drunk/If Wives Do Fall/Cannikins
Among the luminaries, Lance LeGault's trademark voice was at one point featured on self-guided tour cassettes at Elvis Presley's Graceland. PJ Proby had a hit with the Lennon-McCartney "donation" "That Means A Lot". Bob Tench sang with Jeff Beck, Humble Pie, and was a highly regarded session guitarist/singer.
I picked up this album while I was vinyl-happy a month or so ago, and noticed that it hadn't been issued on CD. Quite obscure, and I think it deserves to be heard. As I said in the promo, Rosey Grier was, at one time, cast as Othello. And Jerry Lee Lewis was in the first cast as Iago. By all accounts, he was incredible. Can you imagine?
Here is an article about Jerry Lee Lewis' time in the cast.
David Gilmour - Cry From The Street (1978) Gilmour's pre-Pink Floyd band Bullitt reunited for this pre-Animals solo album. Bass player Rick Wills was in Foreigner later on. It's inoffensive but about as intense as oatmeal.
Rick Wright - Holiday (1978)
Rick Wright - Against The Odds (1978)
Roger Waters and Ron Geesin - Give Birth To A Smile (1970) Featuring Pink Floyd (uncredited).
Nick Mason - Wervin' (1981)
Catch My Soul - Original Cast Recording - Side 2 (1971)
Put Out The Light/You Told A Lie/Very Well-Go To/Willow/Seven Days And Nights/Why/Black On White/Death Chant
Lou Christie - Guitars and Bongos (1966)
Mae West - Criswell Predicts (1956) POACA will recall Mae West.
The Wayward Bus - The Prophet (predictions by David Hoy) (1968)
Wikipedia: In the early 1980s, the federal government had begun cracking down on outspoken tax protesters, whose numbers were then estimated by the Internal Revenue Service at 40,000 or more. In 1985 Tupper Saussy was found guilty of willfully failing to file a tax return for the year 1977, and sentenced to serve one year in Atlanta Federal Prison Camp. (Technically, he filed a Fifth Amendment return, a discredited tax dodge that was popular with tax protesters in the 1970s and early 1980s. He also issued something called PMOC, or "Public Money Office Certificates," and used them instead of money to pay for some services while living in Sewanee.) Saussy fled in 1987 rather than begin serving a sentence at the federal prison in Atlanta. Thus began a game of cat-and-mouse with U.S. marshals that only ended in November 1997 outside his home in Venice Beach, California.
Saussy's appeal was denied by the Supreme Court. Saussy eventually served a 14-month sentence at Taft Correctional Institution in Taft, California. Saussy was given the job of chapel music director and piano instructor to prisoners. Saussy was released from prison on May 12, 1999
Otis Redding - Stay In School PSA (1967)
Donny Most - Rock Is Dead (1976)
Ross Bagdasarian - Come-On-A-My House (1966) The man behind The Chipmunks craze offers up a swinging version of his own composition.
Nick Mason - Hot River (1981)
Wednesday Jun 17, 2020
Pink Floyd and The Cowsills meet in a bar...
Wednesday Jun 17, 2020
Wednesday Jun 17, 2020
Pink Floyd - Candy and a Currant Bun (1967)
Pink Floyd - Scream Thy Last Scream (1967)
Pink Floyd - Vegetable Man (1968)
The Cowsills - Anything Changes (1969)
The Cowsills - II x II (1969)
The Cowsills - The Prophecy of Daniel & John the Divine (1969)
Can - Dizzy Dizzy (1974)
Can - Paperhouse (1971)
Can - Spoon (1971)
Donny Osmond - I Can't Stand It (1977)
Donny Osmond - I Can't Put My Finger On It (1976) Written by the guy that wrote "Rock The Boat" for The Hues Corporation, perhaps the first disco song.
Donny Osmond - Old Man Auctioneer (1976) A strictly Osmond Brothers affair. Hilarious.
Pink Floyd - Lucy Leave (1965)
Gentle Giant - Pantagruel's Nativity (1971)
Gino Vanelli - Mama Coco (1975)
Moody Blues - Had To Fall In Love (1978)
Supertramp - Hide In Your Shell (1974)
Renaissance - Scheherazade (1975) Awesome scope, melody, performance. One of the peaks of 70's prog. There are some records I think would have been stunning to hear in a big studio for the first time. This is one of them. Yes' "The Gates of Delirium", Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions", "Sergeant Pepper", and this for sure. A side-long song that never bores. Definitely their peak.