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....."