Recorded at Berry St. Studios, London, January 1985, except "Atom Bomb Baby", recorded at Soundwork Studios, Brussels.
jueves, 8 de abril de 2021
martes, 2 de marzo de 2021
LES SINNERS - Sinerisme [Canada garage 1967] 2018 Oldays Records ODR6634
Les Sinners flitted between English and French-speaking Montreal, a place where the stone structures along Rue St.-Jacques, once the storehouse of stolid anglo wealth, sat just around the corner from the bars and cafes along St.-Denis in the Quartier Latin. The mostly francophone band of singer Francois Guy, bassist Charles Prevost-Linton, drummer Louis Parizeau and a host of revolving guitarists formed in the Quebec metropolis in the summer of 1965, issuing a few singles and then delivering their first long-player to the shops by 1967.
The bilingual Sinerisme straddles the normally estranged worlds of anglo garage rock and the lilting cool of French pop. It alternates between surly garage nuggets sung in English (the fuzzed-out riffs on 'Nice Try', for example, found their way onto Pebbles Vol. 13 way back in 1984) and French pop ditties with languid harmonies and relaxed, sultry rhythms. The anglo cuts, while steeped in the requisite Jaggeresque snarl and standard blues riffs, are ultimately formulaic. However, in this post-Stereolab, post-Gainsbourg world, it is the French tracks that are the most intriguing here, as anyone who hung out in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood in the 00s can attest to. 'L'Hymn a Zoe', for instance, is a relaxed, almost nonchalant pop affair, while the springy 'Elle est Revenue' is steeped in understatement, with its bold bouncing bass, strident yet minimal guitar and almost subtly cool harmonies.
That same year, Parizeau and Guy appeared in a film by Jacques Godbout called Kid Sentiment, contributing music and songs to the soundtrack. As well, 1967 would see the release of what would be Les Sinners' biggest hit, a French version of 'Penny Lane'. The following year, Guy would leave to form La Revolution Francaise and Les Sinners would soldier on with considerable success until 1975, releasing some five more albums as well as a fascinating historical shard, a 7" called 'Go Go Trudeau' in 1968 with a French version on the a side and an English version on the flip.
PUSHUPS - Is Pop 1979-80 [USA power pop 1979-80] 2021 HoZac Records, HoZac Archival HZR-217, 39
After the short, bright light on the musical horizon from the other-worldly and alien-borne ZOLAR X in the mid 1970s had fallen away, original members Zory Zenith and Ed Dorn formed another short-lived outfit, AURORA PUSHUPS, and forged ahead with their original material to try their hand at a modernized sound. By 1979 they had solidified their debut tracks and self-released a 7” single, “Angels on Runway One” b/w “Victims of Terrorism” to moderate fanfare and enthusiastic radio play, but this early lineup wouldn’t last as Zory’s role began to fade. Soon after Zenith’s exit, Ed took the reins and put together the frequently-changing band that would record and perform over the next few years as simply ‘PUSHUPS.’ They evolved into a tight-knit unit that rivaled an American TUBEWAY ARMY with INCREDIBLE KIDDA BAND flourishes of Brit-soaked power pop, and even some moves that could have easily been swiped from THE CARS or THE QUICK.
THE PRETTY THINGS & FRIENDS - Rockin' the Garage [UK garage rock 1994] 2010 Floating World, Retroworld FLOATM6073
In December 1992, Phil May and Dick Taylor of The Pretty Things joined together with members of the Inmates and Matthew Fisher, who used to play with Procol Harum to pay tribute to 1960’s garage rock.
Raw, basic and exciting. This is rocky R&B to get excited about and it’s going to make you want to move.
My only beefs are that the album is so short at just 35 minutes that it leaves you wanting much more and the idealist principle that I really want a recording from the late 1960s with this sound quality. This is proof that you can’t have it all but it doesn’t stop it from being a great listening experience.
JULIAN LEAL - Julian Leal [USA power pop 1985 JLI Records 1157] 2019 HoZac Records HZR-203
Julian Leal, behold the Romoeville Ripper! His name is always heard around pop cognoscenti circles due to his irresistible and impossible to find 1985 debut LP and a handful if blisteringly good singles, all self-released homemade power pop magic from the near Chicago south suburbs. With a self-taught confidence and a knack for sophisticated synth-soaked bubblegum hooks, Leal gigged around the local band circuit and pitched his material to anyone that would listen, but ended up forming his own imprint and tackling the record pressing head on, as well as handling almost ALL of the instrumentation on his own. Wading through all the skinny ties and goofy New Wave haircuts of the mid 80s landscape, somehow his independent releases found their way to a few crucial ears. Most notably, was some continued encouragement from Bomp! founder Greg Shaw, as well as even landing a rating session on beloved teen TV show American Bandstand.
domingo, 21 de febrero de 2021
RICK DANKO BAND - Live On Breeze Hill [Canada rock 1999] 2008 Breeze Hill Records/Woodstock Records
Rick Danko's solo album Live On Breeze Hill, released in August 1999 on Woodstock Records, is an 11-song collection of inspired performances from The Band's legendary bassist and lead singer.
Backed by some of the finest musicians in the business (including Band-mate Garth Hudson and long-time collaborator and Band producer Aaron "Louie" Hurwitz), the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is in fine form on this outing, which is sure to please Danko fans old and new.
Live On Breeze Hill captures the intimacy, immediacy and excitement of Danko's live, electric performances, and features creative reworkings of requisite staples "Twilight" and "Stagefright", ingenius versions of long-lost gems "Caledonia Mission", audience favourites "Crazy Mama", singalongs "Blaze Of Glory" and classics "It Makes No Difference" and "The Shape I'm In". The CD also includes a bonus studio track, a new arrangement of Danko's "Sip The Wine" which ardent fans will recognize from its first appearance in The Last Waltz.
Danko's nine-piece band also features Letterman horn player Tom "Bones" Malone (trombone, baritone sax), former Tower Of power saxophonist and current leader of the Saturday Night Live band Lenny Pickett (tenor sax, clarinet) and renowned studio player Jim Hynes (trumpet).
THANATOPSIS - Golden Voice [USA garage, psychedelic pop 1968] 2018 Alona's Dream Records ADR CD 025
This album was recorded c. 1968 at Golden Voice Recording by Jerry Milam and unheard until 2018. Thanatopsis treats us to everything from baroque pop to psychedelic teenbeat garage.
This release contains the first and only official reissue of the songs from their sought-after Golden Voice 45 as well as 10 other cuts, ranging from Mothers Of Invention inspired wackiness to sincere late ’60’s teen pop. Thantaopsis pushed the limits of the freshly built four-track studio with new sounds and experimentation.
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