Happy Monsters LP - Funk for children!

I've always had a soft spot for children's records that dates back to Rolf Harris' Two Little Boys 7" and an LP by Pinky & Perky that were jointly owned by me and my older brother. The Pinky And Perky LP had a version of The Kinks' Apeman on. I reckon it now resides in my mum and dad's loft. One of these days I'm going to get up there and dig that beauty out. I always root kid's records when they're in with a chance of the Christmas number one slot too, if a children's record can't be number one at Christmas then there's something wrong. It seems po-faced and churlish of us to wish otherwise.

Those seeking some vintage and slightly creepy children's records should check out the excellent Fuzzy Felt Folk compilation that came out on Trunk Records a few years ago. Sinister early '70s acid folk for kids, great stuff. Trunk Records also recently released an album of music recorded for the classic kid's TV show Fingerbobs, also well worth tracking down.

I was a happy man to find this LP called Happy Monsters in my local charity shop for the princely sum of £1. Released on the American Happy House label and dating back to the early '70s. Side one features a story about Betty and Bobby meeting some friendly monsters in the land of Ooog. Flip it over to side two and you're treated to five instrumental funk tracks augmented with klaxons, quacks and horns. Versions of CC Rider, Kiss Me Goodnight and perhaps best of all James Brown's Papa's Got A Brand New Bag. Click on the music player and take a listen, you'll never hear the original in the same way ever again. Please feel free to use the comments section to recommend you own favourite kid's records. Stay young folks!



Muzicons.com

Lemon Jelly - Ramblin' Man (2002)

 

In honour of me finally renewing my passport after a couple of years dithering I'm doing a post on one of the greatest travel songs ever. And also one of the best list songs too, right up there with Hello by The Beloved. Now I'm not a very well travelled chap, in fact I sometimes get a nosebleed walking to the corner shop for a newspaper, but there's something about this track that stirs a desire in me to go-a-globetrottin'. Despite its title conjuring up images of worn out shoes and dusty roads, it's decidedly more Dan Cruickshank in spirit than it is Woody Guthrie, and that's a large part of its appeal. 

(Click over the jump for more on Lemon Jelly's Ramblin' Man.)

The Primitives - Echoes And Rhymes

Coventry's indie popsters return with a feast of obscure '60s covers.

Wait around long enough and it seems every band eventually reforms. The allure of the stage and public adoration is just too much to resist. Whether it's The Stone Roses or The Beach Boys, Cast, The Verve, Pulp, Blur or Dodgy, it seems they just can't help get back back together for one more bite of the cherry. I'm not knocking this at all, in fact I'm quite looking forward to seeing The Stone Roses at Heaton Park. What does gall me though is their tendency and desperation with any new material to attempt to prove what geniuses they were all the time, and to hint at our foolishness in not noticing it. Refreshing then that indie guitar band The Primitives have instead chosen to release an album of obscure '60s pop tunes. There's a dignity and sense of realism in this that I like. The resulting album is something of a triumph made all the more so as taste gets the better of ego. Much like The Detroit Cobras who only ever release versions of old soul and R&B tracks, The Primitives have delved into the world of lesser celebrated '60s beat groups and singers in search of the material that makes up their comeback LP Echoes And Rhymes.

Click over the jump for more on The Primitives' Echoes And Rhymes.

My Goodness - C'Mon Doll

It wasn't all that long ago that blues duos could only be found in juke houses of America's deep south. However since Jack and Meg White saved rock 'n' roll 10 years ago in the time honoured fashion of re-packaging  music of black origin for white folk, it looks like the duo format is here to stay. I'm all for it. Just geetar, drums and voice. Such a stripped down sound means you better have something to say and it better be said succinctly, make people feel good, and be punky and funky. There's nothing extraneous. No overdubs, no hiding behind smoke, mirrors or massive production so you'd best make it good punks.

A pleasure then to learn that Seattle garage duo are currently on tour in the UK this May supporting We Are Augustines. A double pleasure to find that their debut single C'Mon Doll is released at the end of the month. If you dig Fat Possum Records, The White Stripes, The Black Keys, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, raw blues, or gritty and grainy garage rock this is right up your alley. There's to be a full length album later in the year but for now this will do nicely.


Click over the jump to see the video for C'Mon Doll by My Goodness.

Three Minute Tease - Three Minute Tease

Latest band and album from the criminally unknown Anton Barbeau and pals.

Got a favourite song with the word onion in the title? The Beatles' Glass Onion maybe? Green Onions? What about Cheese And Onions by The Rutles? OK, there's not that many to choose from I guess. Right up there with the best of them is Love Is Onion, the opening track on this eponymous album from Three Minute Tease. A perfectly constructed piece of psych-pop, with spiralling raga guitar scales, mid '60s McCartney bass-line, and best of all, cryptically engaging lyrics that challenge the very notion of what pop music can say, and how it might say it.

Led by Sacramento born songwriter Anton Barbeau, and ably abetted by former Soft Boys Andy Metcalfe (bass) and Morris Windsor (drums), Three Minute Tease are proof that great pop is no longer simply the property of youth. In fact, if anything Barbeau's knack of knocking out ever so slightly lysergic guitar pop has been perfected by years of relative obscurity. He could well be the greatest cult songwriter that you've yet to hear. I previously reviewed Anton Barbeau's career overview compilation Empire Of Potential (to read my review click here). Whereas that album by its very nature was something of a sonic shapeshifter and showcased different eras of Barbeau's long career, this latest album benefits from it's coherent band sound. OK, so it breaks no new ground musically but then why should it? It's sweetly melodic and accessible but spiked by the acidity of Barbeau's top notch lyrics.

It's hard to resist song titles such as the previously mentioned Love Is Onion, Thanks For Lifting My Leg and Sensual Pleasure Of Pie. And with cryptic mentions of Cuban heels, The Beatles, Jan & Dean and Norman Mailer you can be sure you're in the company of a unique songsmith, a rare commodity these days. Like all the best art (and drugs) it may change the way you look at the world, and you may never be the same again. But in a good way, and without a nasty taste in your mouth come morning time.

www.threeminutetease.com

Rob Johnson Music - Throw The Sun Into The Sea

One of the albums I've enjoyed recently has been Fawn, the debut offering from Young Astronaut (see post here), so it was a very welcome surprise to find out that the album's producer, Geoff Swan, has also produced “Throw The Sun Into The Sea” by London-based composer Rob Johnson. Beautifully recorded, the album slowly reveals its charms over the course of the ten instrumental tracks. It's an album that owes more to film scores and neo-classsical composers than it does to rock, dance or pop, and would happily sit alongside albums by the likes of Mike Oldfield or Nitin Sawhney.

Click over the jump for more on Rob Johnson

Infernal Overdrive - Last Rays Of The Dying Sun (Small Stone Records 2012)

 Debut album of classic rock riffage from New Jersey's hard rocking quartet.

Having recently reviewed a couple of their releases for www.audioscribbler.co.uk, I've recently become an admirer of Small Stone Records, a record label that's based in Detroit, Michigan. Home to an ever growing roster of classic rock, hard rock, blues rock, metal, and stoner rock bands, they're purveyors of a sound that wouldn't cut it with your Shoreditch fashionista but has a loyal and discerning worldwide audience. Defiantly anti-fashion, it's a label that does what it likes and likes what it does.

I also like the label's tradition of fantasy fuelled album covers. Each illustrated cover harking back to hard rock's golden era, usually featuring some sort of mythical beast emerging from the earth, sky or sea to endanger the lives of your humble rock band and fan. The cover of Last Rays Of The Dying Sun, the debut album from New Jersey's Infernal Overdrive is no exception; a horned, winged, red-skinned monster/devil peers over a hillside, his fiery tongue merging with the road on which our hapless heroes travel along in their souped up automobile. The inside sleeve shows a burning road sign declaring it “Route 666”. Crikey! Shall we go for a ride then?

Click over the jump for more on Infernal Overdrive

The Story Of Rock 'n' Roll Comics DVD

 

This fascinating documentary gets a DVD release on April 24th. It tells the story of Todd Loren, the man behind the San Diego publishing house Revolutionary Comics. Loren was born in 1960 and grew up with a love for both comic books and the burgeoning rock music bursting forth from both sides of the Atlantic. After amassing a considerable amount of money from hosting comic book and record conventions, aged 18 he went on to open a shop and mail order business selling mostly bootleg music memorabilia. This in turn led to the formation of Revolutionary Comics where he was to combine his two passions with the "Rock 'n' Roll" series of comics, producing comic book biographies of rock's biggest hitters. Their inflammatory tagline was "Unauthorized And Proud Of It".

Click over the jump for more on Rock 'n' Roll Comics along with the official movie trailer.

The Best Of Perception & Today Records

Due for release on BBE Records in April is this double CD, (or 2x2LP with 2x7" vinyl) featuring the best output from Perception Records, a label which was operational from the late '60s until 1974. A strangely and admirably eclectic roster presided over by label president Terry Phillips and Boo Frazier. Although overshadowed at the time by more renowned labels such as Motown and Philadelphia International, (perhaps because unlike such labels it didn't have an instantly recognizable in-house production style), its time has come for a re-appraisal. Ranging in genre from soul and funk, through to proto-disco, latin, jazz and rock. It represents the best of Manhattan's then dancefloor orientated musical output. Sounds great already doesn't it!

To read my full album review click here. If you'd like to hear a taster check out this beauty - "Surrender" by Black Ivory.

Muzicons.com

Small Faces 4 classic album deluxe reissues ... (and the best gig I never went to.)

On May 7th Universal Music will be releasing deluxe editions of four Small Faces studio albums. Namely Small Faces (Decca 1966), From The Beginning (Decca 1967), Small Faces (Immediate 1967) and the classic Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (Immediate 1968). All releases will be expanded into 2-disc editions (3 in the case of Ogden's).

There are people who claim The Small Faces to be a greatest band of the '60s, better than The Who, The Rolling Stones and even The Beatles. These people mostly populate the Medway towns though so such claims should be taken with a contrary pinch of salt.

(Click over the jump for more on The Small Faces and the best gig I never went to)