Gone

Over the past few days , have been reading and watching the many reviews of 2009 including a truly awful one last night on ITV (how long is this station going to survive ?) with the absolutely loathsome Piers Morgan and they all at some point have a list of notable lives that have died over the previous year . Just wanted to put a few You-Tube vids up to honor a few guys that made a difference to me and who rarely got mentioned , if at all, in any of the mainstream medias round up of 2009. A touch sentimental maybe but sod it , it's the season for it . Have a good one .

Ron Asheton

John Martyn

Lux Interior

and from the telly

Tony Hart

Keith Floyd

Mentions for Alton Ellis ,Steven Wells,David Carradine,Michael Jackson and Bobby Robson

African Rubber Dub Volume 2 - Bim Sherman

The posting of the first volume of African Rubber Dub seemed to be quite popular and after receiving an anonymous request for volume two thought I would show goodwill to all mankind and offer it up for all interested parties. Once again, not certain of the whole Bim Sherman connection , as he is only listed as one of the percussionists and the vocal snatches are even briefer than the first volume so I suppose as before what we have are dubs of Bim Sherman cuts . Overall a less "dense" and organic production, more of the Adrian Sherwood style type mixes , no King Tubby this time . Some familiar rhythms throughout. Although not quite up to the very high standards of the first volume this is still very much worth a listen especially if you got into the first volume . Track five "Nightmare" is the highlight for me complete with train whistles , Bim Sherman whispers and a weird wobbly metallic sounding instrument (does have a name but it's long slipped from my mind) that I strangely remember from Rentaghost .Vol 2 here.

Four On 4 - Trash On The Tube

Hot on the heels of previous post, thought I'd offer another Sting-Rays related quickie. Remember seeing this at the time in 1984 on everyones favourite Friday tea time music show of the 80s' The Tube. There was a feature on current garage bands featuring Thee Milkshakes ,The Prisoners, The Sting-Rays and The Tall Boys and this ep was released by Big Beat to coincide with it . You can't go wrong with Thee Milkshakes with the mighty Billy Childish at anytime for me , but the real highlight for me on re-listening is The Prisoners with their psychedelic Hammond organ and trash guitar sound .A lot of the , er "madchester" sort of bands must have been taking lotsa notes . They passed me by at the time but gonna definitely investigate further . Here is the EP.

And here is the whole sequence , thought I'd never see this again . I bow down once again to the miracle of YouTube and the saints who have been digging up all their old VHS and maybe Betamax and Philips 2000 tapes so we can gawp and sometimes cringe at this stuff again .

Oh and look out for Tracy Enim bouncing around , who was Billy Childish's partner at the time leading to his name being featured in her artwork "The Tent"

The Stingrays - Dinosaurs

The debut album from The Stingrays released in 1983 , probably owes more to psychedelia and prime 60s' Nuggets type garage than the psychobilly scene that that they were often lumped in with.It still retains a frantic rockabilly beat on some tracks especially "Blue Girl" complete with great slap bass playing . "My Flash On You" and the sly " Joe Strummer's Wallet " are particular highlights on this very diverse album . The last track on the album "Ah What! " stands up really well, it sort of reminds me of Love and is probably my favourite on the album at this moment in time .

Psychobilly was mostly ignored or briefly mentioned with a snobby attitude by the music press of the time , so I am not holding out for any articles in any of the retro music mags anytime soon , am getting pissed off with repetitive Beatles , Stones , "how great the 60s' were " type articles and endless 50 best of whatever lists content of these mags at the moment. They must be taking us for fools . And I subscribe to one of them . And I have just renewed it and got a free CD wallet . Hold on ! Oh well, it's something to read on the bog .

Vinyl Dinosaurs here .

African Rubber Dub - Bim Sherman

Am crediting this as a Bim Sherman dub album, although as there is so little info about this that I am not so sure. At the moment this album seems to be a bit hard to get hold of as well . Mixes by King Tubby, Prince Jammy and tellingly Adrian Sherwood as this has a very distinctive On U Sound type flavour to the overall sound ,although I suppose to define a definitive "On U Sound" sound is near impossible . Musicians include Style Scott, Bingy Bunny , Sly & Robbie , Roots Radics Band and The Gladiators . Lots of Niyabinghi style drumming ,warm percussive instruments , horns and Bim Sherman vocals drifting in and out make up a sort of soothing dub album , although as I have a bit of man flu at the moment this may be influencing my feeling towards it but whatever state Im in I still love this album. I do have volume 2 as well so if anyone wants this too , let me know . For now vinyl rip here .

20 Reggae Classics - The Music That Inspired A Generation

After seeing The Specials blow the roof of Hammersmith last Friday night thought I would post this Trojan compilation released in 1984 which acknowledges ,via the cover art ,Two Tones role in releasing covers of tracks first released in the UK on Trojan Records in the late 60s' and early 70s' .It was through listening to The Specials,The Selecter, Madness etc as a kid that led me ,and probably many out there, to Reggae,Ska,Dub,Rocksteady. It contains tracks covered and made hits or featuring on best selling albums by artists including The Specials,The Selecter,Bad Manners,UB40 and err Boney M amongst others .All tracks absolute classics and all have been available on numerous compilations ,you know the ones ,out during the summer cos Reggae to the masses seems to be all about sun kissed beaches,palm trees,Shaggy and Big Mountain. But this one is quality , if you don't have all of these tracks get them now . Vinyl rip here.Then buy Trojans "Tighten Up!" series .

1. Red Red Wine - Tribe, Tony
2. Sweet Sensation - Melodians
3. Love Of The Common People - Nicky Thomas
4. Johnny Too Bad - Slickers
5. Pressure Drop - Toots & The Maytals
6. Liquidator - Harry J & The All Stars
7. Skinhead Moonstomp - Simaryp
8. Long Shot Kick De Bucket - Pioneers
9. Please Don't Make Me Cry - Winston Groovy
10. Many Rivers To Cross - Cliff, Jimmy
11. 007 (Shanty Town) - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
12. Rudie A Message To You - Dandy Livingstone
13. Version Girl - Boy Friday
14. Cherry Oh Baby - Eric Donaldson
15. Fattie Fattie - Clancy Eccles
16. Keep On Movin' - Bob Marley
17. Time Hard - The Pioneers
18. Monkey Man - The Maytals
19. Rivers Of Babylon - Melodians
20. Train To Skaville - Ethiopians

Oh yeah , The Specials. Saw them at Brixton in May and at Hammersmith on Friday , bruised all over and got an accidental smack in the mouth but loved every minute . Must admit after watching them on Jools Holland earlier in the year I was a bit apprehensive but was completely blown away both times . It must be a world tour next , after that who knows ? New material ? With or without Jerry ? Even if they just left it that ,well, its been an absolute blast and far beyond what I could have imagined.

Dr. Phibes And The House Of Wax Equations - Live Glastonbury '93

Been meaning to re-upload this for sometime, was available through Last FM page but link has expired . Anyway here is Dr. Phibes' performance from Glastonbury '93 where they had a large "Dr. Phibes" balloon hovering over the festival for the duration of most of the festival (Im sure there is a story about it losing it's mooring and causing chaos at higher altitudes above the site to a plane or hopefully a police helicopter).I did go that year but got sort of distracted and missed them , as you do or did at Glastonbury , but managed to pick up a C90 of the set the next day . Audience recording but still very much worth a listen . Apologies in advance as I'm not 100% on the correct track-listing and also for the piss poor knocked out "cover" ,novice at photoshop/image type software, feel free to make a better one and send it to me.Check out wiki and first post for more on the "should of been massive" and seriously under appreciated Dr. Phibes & The House Of Wax Equations. Glasto '93 here.

Thanks to Keith for these links to some quality French broadcast recordings .

http://dl.free.fr/rs8ltGsRu

http://rapidshare.com/files/281224805/Phibes.exe.html

King Tubby Meets The Aggrovators At Dub Station - Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators

Another classic dub set featuring King Tubby and The Aggrovators along with the mighty Tommy McCook leader of The Skatalites . Produced by Bunny Lee and mixed by King Tubby, this contains more tracks worth a place in anyones playlist type thing of dub, including the much used hook to "Ring Of Fire" on "Happy Dub" ,a version of Dave Brubecks "Take Five" on "Jah Love Rockers Dub" and the deeply cavernous sound of the title track "Dub Station" ,the set is worth having for this track alone.Yet another example of the genius of King Tubby. First released in 1975 and re released in 2007 with 12 extra tracks . Here .

King Tubby's Special 1973 - 1976

There seem to be hundreds of compilations out there claiming to be the work of King Tubby and all of varying quality.This one issued by Trojan not long after his death in 1989 must rank as one of the must haves. The first thirteen tracks comprises an album Tubby mixed for Niney Holmes with The Observers rhythm section ,don't know which album as the otherwise excellent sleeve notes by Steve Barrow don't say. The remaining tracks is a compilation of mixes Tubby provided for Bunny Lee with The Aggrovators . Contains a lot of mixes to familiar rhythms to some such as " Ali Baba" , "Skylarking " and "Queen Of The Minstrels" . Listen out for snatches of vocals in places from the likes of Horace Andy,U. Roy ,Dennis Brown and Delroy Wilson . This whole set would make an ideal introduction to old school dub , and once your hooked there is no going back as you may also find yourself on a never ending quest for the perfect dub album . I never seem to come across any bad ones especially those with production dating to the 70's and have avoided most digital productions so far.Has been issued on CD but this is a quality vinyl rip . Here .

Space - KLF & The Orb

Quite rare Jimmy Cauty (of the KLF) solo project released under the alias of Space , originally intended as The Orb's debut album .After Jimmy Cauty left the original line up of The Orb to concentrate on the KLF he took the tapes with him and removed all of Dr. Alex Patterson's contributions and released it on the KLF communications label .This makes a great companion piece to The Orb's proper debut "Adventures Beyond The Ultra World" taking the listener on a journey through space from blast off to splash down via a quick trip through the solar system from Mercury to Pluto and all planets in between with the aid of synthesizers , samples , classical music , space coms , and a creepy take on "Twinkle , Twinkle , Little Star". Early ambient house classic much darker than the KLF's earlier groundbreaking "Chill Out" album ( if anyone wants this do the comment thing) and described by Jimmy Cauty as " a record for 14 year old space cadets to go and take acid to for the first time" . If your older than 14 and have no acid at hand , a dark room and a bottle of red may get you slightly off the launch pad or just as a good bit of classic ambient to chill to, either way this is still a 38 minute trip worth taking . The limited CD issue was split into tracks indicating the planets visited on the journey track it down if you can. This is a good ol' vinyl rip consisting of two tracks , Space 1 and Space 2 . Here.

Hardcore Holocaust - The Peel Sessions

Here's one to blow the old cobwebs away or listen to first thing in the morning instead of sipping your favourite branded caffeine stimulant to get your day started .Twenty five tracks recorded for John Peel over twenty years ago that still seem as startling now as they did all those many moons ago . John Peel seemed to love dropping a bit of hardcore in to his show , god knows what the indie kids of the time made of this coming up after the The Pastels .A few of the sessions from The Stupids ,Doctor And The Crippens and Electro Hippies are closer to US hardcore/skate type punk, the rest from the likes of Extreme Noise Terror and Napalm Death (probably two of the greatest names for groups ever IMHO ) are full throttle 1000mph riffing drumming and sometime twin vocals although probably closer to Tibetan throat singing recorded in the depths of hell than conventional vocal duties . I believe da kids of today now refer to this as grindcore . For best effect go straight to Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror and take in small doses ,most tracks are around the 1 minute mark apart from Bolt Thrower's epic "Attack In The Aftermath at 3.29.

Tracks:
Heard It All Before, Dog Log - The Stupids
Sheep, Chickens, Mother - Electro Hippies
False Profit/Another Nail in the Coffin/Carry on Screaming/Conned Through Life - Extreme Noise Terror
Attack in the Aftermath/Psychological Warfare - Bolt Thrower
Skate Bored/Intense Degree/Day Dreams/Bursting - Intense Degree
Voice Your Opinion - Unseen Terror
Moral Crusade/M.A.D./Divine Death/Control - Napalm Death
Pink Machine Gun/Garden Centre Murders/Skin Tight - Doctor & The Crippens
Exploitation/No Religion - Doom

For some songs concerning war,skateboards,religion,vegetarianism ,dogshit,death and more death come here .

Burning Ambitions : A History Of Punk

This was a recent eBay "win", as the eBay money making machine likes to inform you on their emails. Remember seeing this back in the day but being only twelve years of age and not having the sort of cash to buy a double album for about a tenner I just had to content myself with staring at the Sgt Pepper spoof/homage cover instead and long for my own copy of this one stop shop punk rock comp minus Pistols,Clash,Banshees,Jam and a few other notable omissions. Despite these absences this is still a killer compilation with hardly a duff track which covers 1976 to 1982. Currently grooving to The Exploited's evergreen classic "Dead Cities" and Anti-Pasti's "No Goverment".

Tracklisting:
Boredom - Buzzcocks
Bingo Master's Breakout - The Fall
1, 2, X U - Wire
Life - ATV
Keys To Your Heart - 101'ers
I'm Alive - 999
Gary Gilmore's Eyes - Adverts
Justifiable Homicide - Dave Goodman and Friends
Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone? - Slaughter and the Dogs
(Get a) Grip On (Yourself) - The Stranglers
Your Generation - Generation X
Baby Baby - The Vibrators
Identity - X-Ray Spex
Read About Seymour - Swell Maps
I'm Stranded - The Saints
Chinese Rocks - Heartbreakers
Lock It Up - Eater
Ain't Got A Clue - Lurkers
Lady - Adam and The Ants
Love Song - The Damned
Looking After No. 1 - Boomtown Rats
Where's Captain Kirk? - Spizzenergi
In A Rut - The Ruts
Angels With Dirty Faces - Sham 69
Stranglehold - UK Subs
Flares and Slippers - Cockney Rejects
The Wait - Killing Joke
No Government - Anti-Pasti
Holiday In Cambodia - Dead Kennedy's
Dead Cities - The Exploited
Last Rockers - Vice Squad
Harry May - The Business
Police Story - The Partisans
Someone's Gonna Die - Blitz
City Baby Attacked By Rats - GBH
Complete Disorder - Disorder
Russians In The DHSS - Attila The Stockbroker
Lust For Glory - Angelic Upstarts

Not too bad vinyl rip here...

...and The Exploited introduced by David "Kid" Jensen on Top Of The Pops in 1981

Hawkwind Warrior On The Edge Of Time

Hawkwind seem like Britain's harder edged version of the Grateful Dead who still attract a loyal following to this day of travellers,hippies,punks,freaks,heads,ravers,metalheads or just about anyone atrracted to a bit of good old psychedelic space rock . My favourite Hawkwind album , a near classic in my opinion and strangely never been given the big remastered treatment as have their other albums from the 70s' .Only had a brief CD release in the late 90s' which now seem to go for silly money . A great review on Julian Cope's site Head Heritage gives a much better view on this album than I ever can ....

"This album was Hawkwind’s most polished at the time, and one that would signal the abrupt end of the group’s tenure on UA, which was a pity. But this sixth and final album (discounting the contract-fulfilling, cross-faded “Roadhawks” compilation) was where Hawkwind’s initial burst of space-metal punk blur-outs joined at the hips with druggie busking would be in full force for the final time as pan-galactic mystery tunes are interspersed between nocturnal instrumental bridges. Lead guitarist Dave Brock was on a total songwriting high as “Warrior” held three of his stupendous psychedelic traumas in the shape of both sides’ respective openers: “Assault And Battery”/“Golden Void” on side one and “Magnu” on side two.

Hawkwind’s personnel lineup had always differed wildly from album to album, and “Warrior On The Edge Of Time” was no exception. ‘Speculative fiction’ author Michael Moorcock was brought in to fulfill a less-crazier Robert Calvert spoken word role, and was an excellent choice as it was he who previously collaborated with the band with his written piece “Sonic Attack.” A second drummer, ex-Chicken Shack skinsman Alan Powell was added on drums alongside Simon King, while keyboardist Simon House had already been integrating more keyboards (and occasional treated violin runs) than ever before into Hawkwind for the past year, evolving their sound into one verging on precision. And an equally precise Lemmy Thunderbird bass line opens “Assault And Battery” over mellotron washes followed up by the double drumming kick in and the ever-changeless, over amplified Dave Brock power strum as his vocals proceed to rip off Longfellow with the nonetheless great line “Lives of great men are reminders/We may make our lives sublime…” over Nik Turner’s weaving flute melodies. But the whole thing is a gigantic WALL of sound that pushes further and further on into time, only breaking for the chorus where it remain a wall, but only a slightly higher one for Brock’s just lurched into another chord. It runs immediately into the Bardo-weaving “The Golden Void” as the mellotron curtain is parted with what initially sounds for all the world a piercing mid-seventies Moog oscillation when in fact it is Simon House’s screeching violin through multiple phase and delay units. The churning musical mess has still lingered from “Assault And Battery” but slowed down into a trudging out-of-bodiness as Brock intones a reappearing “corridor of flame” as all backing instrumentation melts into the background with super-slowed tempo that is steady and altogether tripped out. Then the great build towards the finish with even more unleashed Brock power-strums through the biggest psychedelic amp he still owned and Nik Turner enters the fray in the coda with a “feel” solo on sax that absolutely surpasses his own complete lack of expertise with a beautifully-parped passage evocative of the journey to come: which does soon enough with the first of three spoken links.

“The Wizard Blew His Horn” is all echoed vocals with synthesizer and drums resigned to essentially what amounts to haunted house effects in the background. The phased and bashed cymbals carry over his cries for “a champion… CHAMPION… CHAMPION…” crossfading just before Hammer Horror time into “Opa Loka” -- an instrumental whose title is taken, perplexingly enough, from a town in Florida (albeit misspelled) and not some mythical planet that ties in with the vague Moorcock conceptual story line. But something else it most definitely is, is a totally NEU!-driven instrumental with linear pacing and a feel like a more spaced-out and organic relation of “E-Musik.” And it continues with all the directness of NEU! as a veritable gallery of synthesizer soundscapes pass overhead. “The Demented Man” ends side one, a lugubrious Brock acoustic and drum-less ballad as seagulls wheel and cry and mellotrons reinforce the whole “We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago” 12-string styled rumination.

Brock’s other side is reflected in side two’s kick off, “Magnu.” Rain and wind beat against the Hawklords as that Brock riff from not only side one but EVERY previous Hawkwind album continues on over a lesser-NEU! groove that opens up a path for synthesizer and then violin outlays with a loosely squonked sax rhythm. But the tracks begins to spiral slowly out of control and into a tornado funnel as the brutal repetition trance out of the groove continues for so long that the vocals begin to draw into a black hole of backwards echo, turning the chorus into a into a mesmerising trance that gently begins to bend pitch, speed and shape the further the track proceeds forward. The chorus is great: although it’s completely indecipherable even before its metamorphosis into the phased, phased guitar overdubs and unrelenting skittering, echoed violin vamping through far too many effects extends into the next dimension. The crossfading continues into the Nik Turner echoed-vox a lot intonation of “Standing At The Edge,” which goes into the Simon House instrumental “Spiral Galaxy 28948” (the numeral date being House’s birthday) like a Moog passage meeting the Allman Brothers in a cosmic roller-rink. This then blurs out to “Warriors,” the last spoken piece heavy on dramatic tympani and distorted vocals pronouncements from Moorcock. “Dying Seas” is an equilibrium-threatening track that opens with Lemmy’s solo sludge-funking bass that pound through Nik Turner’s phased, echoed vocals as the two drummers crash out a beat too simple for one drummer, but it only adds to the disorientation of it all. And Turner proceeds to throw another free-sax freak out at the fade. “Kings Of Speed” hurries up the end of the album with opening bass/drums/guitar walloping and a totally uncalled for synthesizer WHOOOOOOSH that signals a return to their previous quick-paced songs, this time with near-Johnny Thundering plectrum exercises and Simon House hoedowning for all it’s worth in the middle bridge. Brock’s vocals return, now echoing backwards. It’s a mindless street anthem/football chant mess and an all-too-well-earned self-coronation of amphetamine abuse.

Sadly, this selfsame substance would lead to a Canadian bust that saw Lemmy sacked and Hawkwind immediately reduced to sub-cosmic debris. Try as one may, the following two albums for Charisma -- even with the inclusion of Paul Rudolph on able-bodied bass -- pale greatly besides their six years of recording for United Artists. But beyond this?

Four words: ‘Proceed with extreme caution.’

The Sethman 2000

Wiki here for more info . WOTEOT here.

Lee Scratch Perry Battle Of Armagideon

After Mikey Dread's World War 3 on previous post the the apocalyptic reggae theme continues with one of Lee Perry's most successful 80s' releases . Eleven tracks from inside the mind of Lee Perry concerning politics,ganja,sex,religion and himself amongst many other things . Don't often listen to this as Perry's Black Ark magic always seem to draw me in more but have played this quite a bit recently and find this album stands up well next to it .Great cover with ganja smoking skeleton (Colly Jesus Christ )who seems to be proclaiming judgement on the USA and the Soviet Union (This was the 80s'), Thatcher ,The Queen,one of her corgis or maybe the entire human race . The back cover has a picture of Perry wearing a gas fireplace as a hat .This album preceded two more superb albums Lee Perry recorded with Dub Syndicate , Time Boom X De Devil Dead and From The Secret Laboratory both well worth tracking down . Vinyl rip here .

The Meteors Live

Legendary psychobilly album,well at least in these parts, released in 1985 of The Meteors recorded live in Glasgow for a local radio show although I'm not sure if all of it or a heavily edited version was broadcast as P Paul Fenech is at his sarky and arrogant best ,who's between song banter is worth the price of admission alone . An absolutely storming live album nearly all performed at breakneck speed with a couple of slowies to get your breath back .Highlights for me are "Lonesome Train","Ain't Gonna Bring Me Down","I Don't Worry About It" and "These Boots Are Made For Walking" but it's all really worth a listen in one go for the full effect.Will post more psychobilly posts again soon.For now ,as Mr. Fenech says "Swing it Ginger".

Abattoir Dogs Rock N Roll Weirdness

Now and again the compilation freebies given away with the music mags can throw up some real goodies and for me this was one is bang on. This compilation was give away with the now defunct Vox magazine in 1995 . A sort of imaginary soundtrack in tribute to Quentin Tarintino , I think Pulp Fiction had just come out at the time ,and there isn't a duff track on it . All tracks were licensed by Ace records so there is a strong slant to some brilliant rockabilly along with cajun , surf,Link Wray,The Cramps,garage, and a little country.There is a bit of Tarantino/gangster like narrative between some tracks which probably seemed like a good idea at the time but these can be safely skipped or deleted . Try here .

Link Wray - Deuces Wild
Johnny Allen - The Promised Land
Richard Berry - Big Break
John Lee Hooker - Hoogie Boogie
The Run-A-Ways - Night Creature
The Phantom Chords - Screaming Kid
Sparkle Moore - Flower Of M Hart
The Embers - I Waked All Nght
Link Wray - The Wild One
The Cramps - Everything Goes
The Gladiolas - Little Darlin'
Elmore James - Can't Sop Lovin' You
Margaret Lewis - Reconsider Me
The Fatback Band - (Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop
Tommy McLain - Sweet dreams

BBC Space Themes

A collection of theme tunes released on BBC Records in 1978 based on more of a 70s' looking futuristic theme than space/sci fi specifically as the title implies . As well as containing some absolutely peerless classical music ,Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001 A space Odyssey) , Fanfare For the Common Man ( Apollo Soyuz ) , At The Castle Gate ( The Sky At Knight ) and Mars, The Bringer Of War ( Quatermass) ,all tunes which even those of who know next to nothing about classical music must surely love, it also contains some real gems . The Tomorrow's World theme tune by The Johnny Dankworth Big Band sounds like 1973 dreamt up by someone wearing a beige safari suit in an early 1972 cocktail lounge. " Space For Man And The Case Of The Ancient Astronauts " by Peter Howell and The Radiophonic Workshop has some great prog rock type moments with a dash of Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream thrown in . I had forgotten the theme tune to Blake's 7 but just listened to it ,"yeah that's how it went" even down to the last two wobbly synthesized notes . Also includes a bizzare rendition of the Star Trek theme incuding funky wah wah guitar and the classic Delia Derbyshire Dr. Who theme . Vinyl rip so a few clicks and pops here and there. Here.

The Stone Roses Live Manchester 30/05/89

Little known Manchester indie group The Stone Roses re-mastered debut album recently entered the top 5 . Now available as a 20th anniversary edition as a box set,USB stick (lemon shaped),vinyl,CD,DVD rereleased by Silvertone for the god knows how many times . I have so far resisted the temptation to buy it again on which will be the 3rd time , not counting the remixes CD. Seems to be a whole load of criticism against them at the moment by the cool kids focusing on the usuals: Ian Brown's singing , overrated , Byrds/Can copyists ,responsible for Brit Pop ,blah , blah ,blah. I suppose you either got/get it or you didn't/don't . We needed The Stone Roses in 1989. Wish they had stayed together longer but oh well it wasn't to be . Anyway here is a rip of a tape I picked up in 89 (Live Manchester 30/05/89) , not listened to it since probably then . Good quality audience recording (drops out a bit on "Going Down"), good performances all round especially "Waterfall","Sally Cinnamon" and "She Bangs The Drums". Hear Ian yelping like a dog and heckling the crowd , " I've come here to watch you" and after Ian loudly announces " I Am The Resurrection " it sounds like some wag in the crowd shouts "you twat" and another tells him to "fuck off" . All good stuff. According to thestoneroses.co.uk in attendance that night was John Leckie seeing them for the first time ,who would go on to produce the debut, and Liam and Noel Gallagher who attended the gig with the person who recorded this bootleg . Could it be him heard on intro to "I wanna be adored" saying "How's it going mate ?"'or "Fine and you?" or maybe"Trying to get backstage"? . I love hearing bits and pieces of the audience for me it adds to the atmosphere and intimacy of some boots , but not some twat yakking all the way through though . Just decided ,20th Anniversary Legacy Edition (2xCD, 1xDVD) is the one for me , you can never have too much of a good thing . Until Ian,John,Reni and Mani decide to get it together again , try this here ....

The Godfathers

The Godfathers were formed by Peter and Chris Coyne after the short lived Sid Presley Experience split up in 1985 . The band attracted a loyal following due to a fearsome live reputation in the UK , Europe and the USA where they made the Billboard top 40 with "Birth,School,Work,Death". The debut album "Hit By Hit" released in 1986 was a collection of their independent single releases contains top tunes " I Want Everything","This Damnation" and a monumental cover of Rolf Harris's "Sun Arise" which is almost as good as Rolf's original version . There is not a weak track on the whole album . The major label debut "Birth,School,Work,Death" is equally as good.Another contender for "shoulda been massive" ,real raw punk rock 'n' roll and out of sync of what was classed as rock in the 80s' , a good few years before the rise of Britpop and Oasis. Reformed and recording new material . Try "Hit By Hit" .

Crazyhead

Had a spot of ebay therapy recently and picked up a few late 80s' indie slices of vinyl one of which was Crazhead's debut " Desert Orchid".Crazhead were another midlands band lumped in with the so called "Grebo" scene of the late 80s' . As with fellow grebos' ,Gaye Bykers On Acid , Crazhead's debut album "Desert Orchid" was also seen as a bit of a dissapointment upon it's release in 1988 due to the slightly polished production .I was only familiar with the singles of the time , "Have Love Will Travel" and "What Gives You The Idea That You're So Amazing Baby?". Although the singles are the standout tracks on the album the rest of the album is much better than I had expected , the photo above should indicate how they sound , rock n roll maaaan , with a touch of the The Stooges , which is no bad thing . Was suprised to find out that they only split up as recently as 2000 and there is talk of some form of reunion . Named after the much loved national hunt horse, "Desert Orchid" is here .

Link Wray

Part Shawnee Indian one lunged former Korean war veteran Link Wray was as much as an innovative guitarist as Hendrix but hardly known outside the muso community . He was using distortion, feedback and overdriven guitar nearly ten years before Hendrix and Townshend .The US and British hit "Rumble" had the mighty distinction of being banned on many radio stations at the time for "glorifying juvenile delinquency" despite being an instrumental .Neil Young and Bob Dylan both witnessed Link play live early on and have both cited him as an influence as has Jimmy Page,Jeff Beck,Townshend,Hendrix,Marc Bolan,Billy Childish and Mark E Smith amongst many others.There are seven track on this compilation recorded in the eighties that really don't stand up (way too much drum machine) but the other sixteen tracks including Rumble,Ace Of Spades and the storming Jack The Ripper more than make up.Wiki here.Link Wray Original Rumble here.

Joe Gibbs African Dub All Mighty Chapter 3

Classic dub from 1978 recorded by The Professionals at Joe Gibbs studio engineered and mixed by Errol Thompson. The third in the African Dub series and along with the fourth chapter the most commercially successful due to its crossover appeal to the punky reggae party crowd and heads of the time . Featuring doorbells,buzzers,phones,whistling birds and gunfire added into the mix over popular rhythms and melodies dating from the late sixties to the mid seventies , listen out for the melody to Bread's soft rock classic "Make It With You" ! These track are less heavy than Lee Perry's work of the time down the road at Black Ark Studio and King Tubby's hypnotic dubs , certainly easier listening , some might say more , er ... " tuneful" but still managing to make the right impact . Anyway if you love dub , and you should , this is a must listen . Lookout for all four chapters in a box set currently available for a low price at the online retailer named after a mighty South American river , not orinoco.com , the other one . Try chapter three here.

Robert Johnson

Have recently been on a memorable road trip from Atlanta to New Orleans via Nashville,Memphis and down the Mississippi where one of the most influential musicians that ever lived spent most of his short life . Had this compilation for some time , this contains most of Robert Johnson's known recordings. Not much else to say but if you need more info on the legend and mythology surrounding Johnson go to the good old Wiki here and for some spooky voodoo,acoustic blues listening go here.

Gaye Bykers On Acid

This bunch were "The Next Big Thing "of 86/87 and much lauded by the music press at the time . Gaye Bykers On Acid were lumped in the music journo created "Grebo" scene along with Crazyhead ,Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction,Pop Will Eat Itself and a few others long forgotten by me. Long hair,biker gear,spraypaint,effects pedals,patchouli oil,drum machines,samplers along with a hint of narcotic allsorts seemed to be some of the elements in the make up of this very brief lived genre.After a couple of indie eps GBOA were signed to Virgin Records in 1987 ,to much expectation. Unfortunately when the debut album (and accompanying movie !) "Drill Your Own Hole" came out it was almost underwhelming after the hype the band successfully generated. Dominated by drum machines , wah wah guitar and samples the album still comes across as gimmicky in places but Git Down , After Suck There's Blow and T.V Cabbage are worthy of a place on anyones alternative 80s' playlist.The next album in 1989s' "Stewed To The Gills" was a a major improvement but it was too late for Virgin and the band were dropped due to poor sales. Two more albums were released on thier own label before before splitting in the early 1990s'. Style over substance ? Dunno but they sure brightened up the dull and over earnest mid to late 80s' indie scene before the rise of Madchester.Some of it still sounds ok to me ,the mentioned tracks from the debut , Nosedive Karma ,Everythang's Groovy and most of Stewed To The Gills are all worth a listen. May post these tunes at a later date in the meantime here is the debut to start with .

The Sid Presley Experience

The Sid Presley Experience were a band from South London operative from 1984 until 1985 who released two singles/eps before splitting up ,with two of their members ,Peter and Chris Coyne going on to form the more successful The Godfathers . Looking like 60s' gangsters with a sound influenced by the Sex Pistols they were certainly different from what was happening in the shiny and bright pop or dull and gloomy indie/goth music scene of the mid 80s' . The full on yob rock of "Hup Two Three Four" ,recently use to promote the latest series of Top Gear ,was originally released in 1984 backed by the frantic instrumental "Public Enemy Number One" complete with the sound of police sirens and gun fire.This was followed in 1985 by a storming cover of John Lennons' "Cold Turkey" along with "F For Fake" and "Firewater".Get them all here.

"Calling The Meek And The Humble ,Welcome To Blackboard Jungle...."

Two Lee Perry /Upsetter albums feature on this long unavailable Clocktower Cd .The first ten tracks comprises "Scratch & Company" one of the better and earliest Lee Perry compilations . Featuring alternate versions and dubs selected from Perry's vast selection of mind boggling work at Black Ark Studio. These awesome dubs are then followed by the classic "Blackboard Jungle Dub", one of the earliest and best ever dub albums . Using well known rhythms from The Upsetters and The Wailers and an almost hypnotic King Tubby mix this is a must listen for any Reggae fan . Although the phrase "Chill Out Music" is used to describe any old new age whale lift type music , I think this album is much closer to what I want from "Chill Out Music" , taking you to another place , with a few surprises on the way and not boring you to sleep. A real earthy organic sound , laden with horns ,one or two Lee Perry trademark cow type noises, appearances from Dillinger and I-Roy and more ,all this mixed together still sounds totally original now , let alone on its very limited first release in 1973."So don't you fumble , just be humble....."

Rockabilly Psychosis And The Garage Disease

Just listened to this again for the first time in near on twenty years and am now a total convert to the track I initially hated on first listening all those years ago on a C90 tape , The Legendary Stardust Cowboy's "Paralysed" . Not sure if its a work of total genius or complete insanity ( I like to think both ...) but it puts a smile on this particular face . An absolute outsider music gem along with Hasil Adkins' "She Said" , another track included on this compilation issued on Big Beat in 1984.The first side has 60s garage classics - The Trashmen's " Surfin' Bird" , The Sonics' "Psycho",and The Novas' "The Crusher" . The second side has tracks by Psychobilly greats The Meteors , The Sting-Rays, The Guana Batz and a rare recording by The Cramps backing Jimmy Dickinson - "Red Headed Woman ". Also included , maybe a little out of place , "Jack on Fire" a track from The Gun Club's storming classic debut album . A very influential compilation at the time which led to an oubreak of flat tops , quiffs ,spikes and horns all perched on top of shaven heads (and that was just the girls ! boom boom !). Sure still sounds good to me . As this is a CD rip , I have included "Love Me" by The Phantom (Taken from "Songs The Cramps Taught Us") as this was on original vinyl issue and omitted from CD reissue along with cover scans and sleevenotes. For "The Most Devastating Trip Into The World's Most Warped Musical Minds " go here ......

Here is a clip of The Legendary Stardust Cowboy being mocked by a popular American comedy duo in the 60s' , I guess they'd never come across the likes of The Cowboy at their members only golf club .

Dr. Phibes And The House Of Wax Equations

This three piece hailing from the north west were often compared,rather obviously ,with The Jimi Hendrix Experience .Two white guys on bass and drums,Lee Belsham and Keith York, fronted by a black guy,Howard King Jr, playing dynamic lead guitar laden with effects and feedback as if in a wild jamming session.Although lumped in with the indie scene of the time there was much more to this unique band as suggested by supporting Hawkwind , Killing Joke and Spiritualized which acknowledges their heavy ,tripped out psychedelic edge.They gigged extensively throughout the early 90s along with two appearances at Glastonbury gaining a good live reputation .I have regretted not seeing them since as I very much doubt we will hear from them again as tragically Howard King Jr is currently serving time at her majesty's pleasure after being found guilty of murder in 1997 .The debut album Whirlpool was released in 1991 and was followed by a handful of e.ps along with their last album Hypnotwister in 1993. All their recorded output is worth tracking down along with Peel and Mark Radcliffe sessions and a live Glastonbury bootleg. Click here for the brilliant debut.