The Morning After

J. Geils Band - "The Morning After" (1971) - Atlantic Records

Hello Friends,

Its Worcester's best bar band, The J. Geils Band, back with their second LP and because of the implied sleaziness of the album's title, we couldn't wait to get this one on the turntable.

We were NOT disappointed!

Good old fashioned, upbeat blues rock that sounds as good today as it did upon its release in 1971 featuring lead vocals by Peter Wolf, some fantastic blues harp by Magic Dick and some fine lead guitar by J. Geils himself.  (Yes kids, unlike Jethro Tull or Pink Floyd, J. Geils was actually a guys name in the band!) 

Side A is home to "I Don't Need You No More", live-staple instrumenal "Whammer Jammer", "So Sharp", "The Usual Place" and "Gotta Have Your Love".

Side B gives us the frantic single, "Looking for A Love", "Gonna Find Me a New Love", "Cry One More Time" (which Gram Parson's covered on his seminal 1973 LP, GP), "Floyd's Hotel" and "It Ain't What You Do (It's How You Do It)".

    

The album's cover photo of the band was literally taken the morning after a wild night of partying at an L.A. hotel!  

Just living the rock & roll lifestyle here on Vinyl in the Valley!

RATING: 4.5 Magic Dicks out of 5

The Rum Diaries: Coruba Jamaican Rum

Hello friends,

Going back and forth from the tiki bar to the turntable all night long really makes you work up a mean, mean thirst!  

Tonight we're taking a break from record reviews and instead we're focusing our attention on one of the world's most delicious (and misunderstood) libations-- RUM.

Described by Marco Polo in the 14th Century as "very good wine made of sugar", the history of rum is as interesting and complex as the drink itself.  The story of Rum is the story of slavery, of pirates, of Navies, of the New World, of exploration, colonization, capitalism, rebellion and of course, hot, drunk college girls on Spring Break!  

YO HO HO, indeed!

CORUBA JAMAICA RUM

Distiller: The Rum Company
Country: Kingston, Jamaica

Cost: $21.00
Proof: 80
Size: 1 liter

Description: Dark Jamaican Rum made from Molasses.

Ned Tugent says: "Very sweet. Too sweet on its own. Tastes almost as if someone's adding caramel syrup right to the bottle! Also, kind of caustic. Good for mixing! Grade: C"

Tiki T says: "Smelling notes: maraschino cherries, vanilla bean and a touch of chlorine.  Very boozy. Caustic on the finish. Grade: C+"

Racist?

Decent, not great Jamaican Rum.  With the help of some fresh limes and blended bananas it would make a good daiquiri.  Would also probably do well in a Planter's Punch.  There's no shortage of good rum coming out of Jamaica and this one is a decent mixer but nothing to write home about! 

Happy Fall!

Fall Fantasy with Donna Loren

 

Prog Rock Saturday: Aqualung

Jethro Tull - "Aqualung" (1971) - Chrysalis

Hello Friends,

The wind is picking up, the nights are growing long and there's a chill in the air; another Summer has drawn to a close and with it, our final Prog Rock Saturday!

We're going out with a classic tonight... Jethro Tull's fourth (and best) album, 1971's Aqualung.

Aqualung is the record the record that really put Jethro Tull on the map.  Songs like "Aqualung", "Cross-Eyed Mary", "Hymn 43" and "Locomotive Breath" became classic rock radio staples as well as fixtures in Tull's live shows.

Following a loose concept, the album touches on some pretty lofty (and pretty non-proggy) themes of homelessness, despair, teenage angst, religious hypocrisy and the role of god in modern England.  There's some pretty great guitar riffs throughout (courtesy of Martin Barre)-- including one of rock & roll's most famous opening riff's on the title song-- but there's also a fair amount of folk guitar and flute-playing which lends an Olde English, Renaissance Faire feel to the record.

(Legend has it that the song/concept/character of "Aqualung" was inspired by some startling photos that frontman Ian Anderson's wife, Jennie Franks, took of homeless men living along the Thames!)

Side One (labelled as "Aqualung" on the record) starts with the hard rocking one-two punch of the aforementioned "Aqualung" and "Cross-Eyed Mary".   Two classics.  Then there's three acoustic songs in a row-- "Cheap Date Return", "Mother Goose" & "Wond'ring Aloud"-- which feature Anderson in full minstrel mode.  The side ends with the terribly under-appreciated, "Up To Me".  Take you to the cinema, And leave you in a Wimpy Bar...

Side Two (labelled "My God") begins with "My God"-- another song which builds on the theme of religious hypocrisy with lyrics about "the bloody Church of England", "plastic crucifixes" and "the God of nothing".  Anderson's distinctive vocals coupled with the way the song slowly builds it reminds us a little of early Black Sabbath (if early Black Sabbath had a flute player!)

"Hymn 43" absolutely rocks while the acoustic "Slipstream" is once again a return to the Renaissance Faire sound.  The bluesy, "Locomotive Breath" is one of the band's most famous achievements about a loser ("an all time loser") whose wife is having an affair with his best friend and decides to end his life by... stealing a train?!?!  

The album closes with the terrific ballad, "Wind Up", which ties up all the themes of religion, god, hypocrisy, etc. with lamenting lines like, "You had the whole damn thing all wrong... he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays".  Great ending to a great album! 

Jethro Tull were in a different class than the other major players in 1970's prog-rock often sounding more like Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin than Yes, ELP or King Crimson.  We like to think of them more as a blues band that did some weird things rather than a collection of musical aficionados who step over each other to show how proficient they are in their playing skills.  Its heady without being math-y.  Complex without being overwhelming. And to their credit they also seemed to have a sense of humor about things-- including themselves...

Now bring on the fall!

RATING: 5 salvations a la mode and cups of tea out of 5

Pebbles volume 2

Pebbles, volume 2 (1979) - BFD Records 

Hello Friends,

Tiki T. and I have recently started collecting the Pebbles LP series courtesy of the BFD & AIP Record labels.  Awesome compilation records, first released in the late 70's, subtitled as "Artyfacts from the First Punk Era".  

They're a good companion to the more popular NUGGETS series-- records filled with 2 or 3 minute punk masterpieces mostly from the years of 1966 thru 1969.  Bands consisting of pimply-faced kids in basements and garages scattered throughout the country.  Some bands (and band members) would go on to bigger and better things, but most would only end up playing local teen centers, VFW Halls, dive bars and local college radio stations.  Only a few would be fortunate enough to open for a touring national act like Herman's Hermits, The Jefferson Airplane or The Animals.  A handful would be fortunate to record a 7" or two and then call it a day fading off into rock & roll obscurity.  

One-Hit and No-Hit Wonders. Footnotes in the Rock & Roll History Books.

Some of the greatest rock and roll songs ever written may have only been heard by a handful of ears. These records provide a time capsule into an honest and less-cynical past.  Behind every band, there's a story; some are triumphant; some are tragic; many are uneventful... but who doesn't love a good rock & roll story?    

Tonight we've got the second Pebbles LP on the turntable.  Sixteen more tracks (plus one fun bonus track!) that are pure garage rock gems!   

Side One
1. "Makin' Deals" - The Satans.  WOW!  What a great song to start things off!  A 1966 fuzz-fueled rocker about selling your soul to the devil and told from the point of view of Satan himself!   It bears more than just a passing resemblance to the Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" (released in 1968!) It even contains the repeated line, "Can you guess my name?"  Is it possible that Mick Jagger would have heard this song while touring the States in '66 or '67?  Maybe Keith Richards picked up the record in a West Coast record store and played it on the tour bus!  One never knows! The Satans hail from Fullerton, California.

2. "99th Floor" - The Moving Sidewalks. Have you ever wondered what guitarist Billy Gibbons was up to before he formed ZZ Top?  Well the answer, kids, is shredding guitar in the Texas psych-blues band, The Moving Sidewalks.  A Houston-based band that would gain a lot of local recognition touring the area with Roky Erickson and The Thirteenth Floor Elevators.  Great song!   

3. "Feathered Fish" - The Sons of Adam.  And we're three for three with great songs! This band started out in Baltimore, MD (where they were called Fender IV) but relocated to sunny, Southern California where they would frequently play clubs along the Sunset Strip and eventually be produced (and renamed) by Kim Fowley.  Guitarist & singer Randy Holden would later form The Other Half and join Blue Cheer. If you think this song sounds a little like the band Love, extra points for you!  It was written by Arthur Lee!

(Bonus Track) "Vox Wah-Wah Pedal Commercial" - The Electric Prunes.  Fun little nugget with the Electric Prunes shilling the Vox Wah-Wah pedal! 

4. "You Rub Me The Wrong Way" - The Road.  Not much is known about this band of Ohio teens (also sometimes known as The Hard Road) except for the fact they knew how to play their Fuzz!

5. "So What!!" - The Lyrics.  Great bluesy garage tune (with some killer harmonica) from Cardiff, California band.

6. "Lost Innocence" - The Buddhas.  Next we head North to Bakersfield for this fun, psychedelic garage tune.

7. "Bad Girl" - Zakary Thaks.  Good British Invasion rockin' blues tune from Corpus Christi garage band.  This single gained some national attention and the band even got to open for The Yardbirds (their heroes), The Jefferson Airplane and fellow-Texans, The 13th Floor Elevators!

8. "Green Fuz" - Randy Alvey & The Green Fuz.  What a lo-fi treat courtesy of this teenaged Texas quintet.   I'm sure most listeners in 1968 would have criticized this track as being poorly recorded, but its muddled, crude and raw sound predates the Punk movement of the late 70's and the indie DIY movement of the early 90's.  Primarily a covers band playing around the dance halls in and around the Dallas/Ft Worth area, The Green Fuz would, unfortunately, only record this one single (b/w their song, "There is a Land").  The Cramps would cover this little nugget on their 1981 record, Psychedelic Jungle.     

Side Two
1. "Go Ahead" - The Squires.  This B-side to the amazing, "Going All The Way" (from Pebbles Volume 1) is heavy on the Byrd's influence.  Nice song, not nearly as amazing as its A-side, however.

2. "I Can Only Give You Everything" - The Little Boy Blues.  Bunch of college kids from University of Chicago covering Them.  What they lack in blue-eyed soul, they make up for in fuzz!  (You might recognize that opening guitar riff, Beck sampled the Them version of this song for his song, "Devil's Haircut".)

3. "She's Gone" - The Dovers. Great, catchy, jangle pop song from Santa Barbara, CA garage rock band who despite recording a number of late 60's gems, never had any national exposure and only released 4 singles in 1965/1966.   

4. "I Must Run" - Phil & The Frantics.  If the Stones, um, borrowed some inspiration from The Satans for "Sympathy for the Devil" then Phoenix, Arizona's Phil & The Frantics probably owe some royalties to The Zombies for their song "I Must Run" which seems to be heavily inspired by the Zombie's 1965 B-Side, "I Must Move". No matter, The Zombies will be remembered as one of the architects of the British Invasion, while Phil & The Frantics probably played some pretty cool pool parties back in the day!  This track was produced by Waylon Jennings.

5. "What Am I Going To Do" - The Dovers. The B-side to "She's Gone".  More great harmonies and jangly guitars! 

6. "It's Cold Outside" - The Choir.  Amazing Brit-influenced pop song by The Pride of Cleveland, Ohio, The Choir.  The Choir started out in various garages around Cleveland in 1964 as The Mods.  After taking Cleveland by storm, the boys went up to Chicago to record some song and changed their name to The Choir.   In 1966, "It's Cold Outside" was released as a single on the Canadian-American label but it was re-released by Roulette Records in the Spring of '67 and actually charted (at number 68) on the Billboard Charts. The Choir would go through several lineup changes and would eventually disband in 1969. Some of the members of The Choir would recruit fellow Clevelander, Eric Carmen, and form the power pop band, The Raspberries, in 1970.  Our pick for best on the record!  

7. "Wine Wine Wine" - Bobby Fuller.  With a title like that, this could be Tiki T's theme song!  Great Texas Rockabilly by that Bobby Fuller ("I Fought the Law") who would die under incredibly mysterious circumstances less than 2 years later!

8. "I'm A Man" - The Litter.  Minneapolis, Minnesota's The Litter kicked things off for us on Volume 1 with the great "Action Woman".  Now they're back to close things out on Volume 2 with their version of the Bo Diddley classic, "I'm A Man" and boy do they bring it! Clocking in at 4 and a half-minutes, the entire second half of this song is a strange, feedback-fueled psychedelic frenzy.  Its tough to say, but their version gives the more famous, Yardbirds' version, a run for its money!   

RATING: 4.5 Things in my pocket keep a lot of folks alive out of 5

Pull The Trigger of My Love Gun

KISS - "Love Gun" (1977) - Casablanca

Hello Friends,

You better be locked & loaded because we've got the Love Gun out tonight!  

Love Gun is an important album in the KISS canon because it would be the last to feature all four original members playing on all of the songs.  Its their sixth studio album and its followed up by a live album (Alive II), the four KISS solo albums and 1979's Dynasty which would feature drummer Anton Fig, instead of Peter Criss, playing drums on most of the tracks!  

It also important because its the first KISS record to feature a song with Ace Frehley on lead vocals!  And its about time!

Things get kicked off with the great, Paul Stanley-penned "I Stole Your Love" (which also became the opening song on the Love Gun tour!)   Never to be undone, Gene Simmons follows up with the super creepy, "Christine Sixteen" with lyrics like, "She's been around / But she's young and clean / I've got to have her / Can't live with her" it reads likes a pedophile's journal entry!

Gene's "Got Love for Sale" follows featuring yet another great Frehley solo.  

And speaking of Ace, "Shock Me" is Frehley's song which recounts an incident on the Rock and Roll Over tour in which he was electrocuted before taking the stage.  Its not the first song he wrote for the band, but its the first one that he wrote and sang lead on. Arguably, the album's best!  

Side One is rounded out by "Tomorrow & Tonight", a Paul Stanley song that seems a bit similar to the earlier hit, "Rock And Roll All Nite".

Side Two begins with the incredible, hard-rocking anthem, "Love Gun"-- a staple at KISS live shows ever since! 

Side Two also gives us two more sleazy Simmons' rockers, "Plaster Caster"-- an ode to famed groupie Cynthia Plaster Caster who became famous for making plaster molds of rock stars' penises(!)-- and the scary-sounding, "Almost Human".  Peter Criss contributes the song, "Hooligan", which is just eh.

The album ends with an unfortunate cover of the Phil Spector/Crystals song, "Then He Kissed Me" which of course is changed to "The She Kissed Me".  No Homos here!  Good grief!   

Despite the lackluster conclusion, Love Gun is another KISS Classic! 

Great cover art by Connecticut's own Ken Kelly, who previously did the album artwork for 1976's Destroyer.

RATING: 4.5 tokens of my love for her collection out of 5

Prog Rock Saturday: Ramshackled

Alan White - "Ramshackled" (1976) - Atlantic Records

Hello Friends,

Summer is winding down kids and we're down to our last couple of Prog Rock Saturdays for the year and tonight we're listening to an album called Ramshackled by Alan White.

Oh boy, where do we start with this one?

So Alan White was a drummer for The Alan Price Set, Joe Cocker, John Lennon's Plastic Ono band, George Harrison and starting in 1972, for the Prog Rock supergroup, Yes.    

In 1976, White released his first (and only) solo album entitled Ramshackled and since its Prog Rock Saturday here on Vinyl in the Valley, we've decided to give it a spin!

Our first impression of this record is how un-proggy it really is.  We were expecting overlong songs full of complex drum solos and weird time signatures and what we found instead was a very MOR, mid-Seventies rock album with a little prog and some jazz fusion thrown in for good measure!

The funky opener, "Ooh Baby (Goin' To Pieces)" sounds more like something from Van Morrison or Santana (or, better yet, Van Morrison singing in Santana) than anything Yes has ever done!  "One Way Rag" is next and was occasionally performed by Yes live on their 1976 tour.

"Avakak" (aka "Twelve Ways to Drink Meths") is a jazz-inspired, very Zappa-sounding instrumental which is also the album's proggiest track!

Side One concludes with bandmates Jon Anderson & Steve Howe helping out on a song with lyrics based on a poem by William Blake.  "Spring-Song of Innocence" sounds like Yes-lite.  Uninspired and kind of boring.

Side Two doesn't fare much better.  "Giddy" is a very Middle of the Road rock song while "Silly Woman" is a pretty terrible (and very white) attempt at reggae.  "Marching Into A Bottle" is a Renaissance Faire sounding instrumental which I believe does not even contain any drums!

"Everybody" sounds like the band is channelling Dr. John.  What the fuck is going on here?

Luckily, the record is slightly redeemed by the closing track, "Darkness Pts 1 - 3".  Like I said, slightly.

Overall, this is not a great record. Alan White was one of the most important drummers in the prog rock genre and Ramshackled is certainly not going to be his legacy!  

RATING: 2.5 Alley Cats Scratching in the Trashcan out 5

Movie Night: Sunset Strip (2012)

Hello Friends,

Grab your popcorn and pull up a stool, its Movie Night again on Vinyl in the Valley!

Tonight we've got a documentary about one of the most famous streets in American film & music history, Sunset Strip.  

The 2012 film plays like a bland Wikipedia entry about the mile and a half strip of road that joins Hollywood and Beverly Hills.  Because 'the Strip' lies outside the jurisdiction of L.A.'s city limits (its governed by L.A. County), it historically became a notorious hotbed for drinking, drugging, whoring, gangsters, night clubs, gambling, rock & roll and all around debauchery!  Sounds fun?  Too bad this movie doesn't quite hit the mark when capturing the Sunset Strip's mystique of Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll!

The locations covered in the movie plays like a veritable Who's Who of classic L.A.: Schwab's Drug Store, Ciro's, The Trocadero, The Garden of Allah Apartments, The Chateau Marmont, The Roxy, The Whisky A Go Go, Pandora's Box, The Viper Room, etc.

While the "talent" assembled to tell these stories plays like a veritable Who's That of Hollywood!  (Thanks to Tiki T. for that one!)  Many of the documentary's contributors actually contribute very little (I'm looking at you, Stephen Dorff!)  And the ones that do have something to say have really boring and useless anecdotes.  Come on guys, this is a strip of road with nearly 100 years of seedy & grimy history and you're showing Keanu Reeves riding his motorcycle around town; Kelly Osbourne talking about losing her viriginity; and Fergie singing Heart's "Barracuda" while Slash tries to hide in the shadows?!?!  (Not to mention a fat Dan Aykroyd talking about something or other with a bottle of his Crystal Skull vodka prominently displayed front & center!  What a SHILL!!) 

Super disappointing!  Even Mickey Rourke, Kenneth Anger & uber-creep, Kim Fowley can't save this film! 

Sorry, friends, this one's a waste of time!  If we had to rate it, we'd give it one spilled glass of scotch! 

We'll see you next time, friends, until then the Tiki Bar is closed*.  

(* not really)

The Rum Diaries: Angostura Reserva

Hello friends,

Going back and forth from the tiki bar to the turntable all night long really makes you work up a mean, mean thirst!  

Tonight we're taking a break from record reviews and instead we're focusing our attention on one of the world's most delicious (and misunderstood) libations-- RUM.

Described by Marco Polo in the 14th Century as "very good wine made of sugar", the history of rum is as interesting and complex as the drink itself.  The story of Rum is the story of slavery, of pirates, of Navies, of the New World, of exploration, colonization, capitalism, rebellion and of course, hot, drunk college girls on Spring Break!  

YO HO HO, indeed!

ANGOSTURA RESERVA RUM

Distiller: Angostura Ltd
Country: Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies

Cost: $17.00
Proof: 80
Size: 750 ml

Description: Charcoal-filtered white rum made from fermented Molasses.  Aged for three years.

Ned Tugent says: "Smooth and vanilla-tinged rum without the bite found in the likes of Bacardi. Its great on the rocks with a hint of mint and a slice of lime! Grade: B+"

Tiki T says: "Notes of brandied-raisins. Creamy & smooth.  Nice, non-flammable finish! Grade: B+"

The "House of Angostura" on the Caribbean island of Trinidad has been known in the U.S. for years mainly because of their famous line of Bitters. Fortunately, the Rums that were once only available on the island have (since 2011) become available in the United States, as well. Great tasting Rums due in part to the pure spring water available from nearby rain forests.  In their branding efforts, the folks at Angostura chose the symbol of a butterfly to grace their bottles.  Why?  Well, first because Trinidad is home to the largest variety of butterfly species on Earth and, secondly, because of the belief that the number of butterflies flying above a sugar cane field indicates that its time for harvest! Plus it makes a great-looking bottle for some great tasting rum! Here's their website.