Supernaut

A bronze statue of Bon Scott was unveiled in Fremantle, Western Australia in October 2008.

I decided to pull the trigger on one of my prized record collector items: the original press of The Misfits first single, Cough/Cool on Blank Records. This record was pressed and released in 1977 by the band itself in edition of 500. It doesn't have the same sound and feel as the subsequent material The Misfits are known for but it's still way cool. Why would I sell such a thing? Well, the simple fact is that it goes for so much money I just couldn't sit on it any longer. I got it close to 20 years ago when the KBD craze was in its infancy and many of the people who are buying this stuff now were still in diapers. I believe it went for about $100 then and I got it for next to nothing from a Jazz dealer who looked down his nose at such uncouth little items. My auction yielded $1,976, so I did well on my investment. Maybe it will increase in value in the future but then again, maybe it won't. I know I lose several inches of record collector penis by parting with this 45 but I'm adding several inches to my guitar penis, as the proceeds will more than cover the cost of the Gibson SG '61 Reissue that I recently purchased. So, there you have it. Fully justified. My pre-posting reserach showed, as many know, that this record has been booted innumerable times. Some say that Glen Danzig was responsible for some of the boots but one of my informants, who actually knows & played with Danzig, assured me that was not the case. I was told by one person to sell immediately because Danzig was sitting on a bunch of these and could flood the market with them at any time, thus deflating the market price it currently commanded. I'm not so cynical or conspiracy-minded to believe that but who really knows what the future or Glen Danza holds. I guess this blog posting is my memorial to this fine slab of wax. I will miss having it. There is no doubt about that. But I'm still left with just about every other damned Misfits single and LP, as well as the thousands of other singles and LP's that are warping the floor in my apartment. Maybe there's a quality over quantity argument to be made. I have so much great music and there's only so much time in a day, week, month, etc., to dedicate to listening. How will I ever get to it all? Now that I have a spiffy new guitar for inspiration, perhaps I'll spend more time making music than listening to others'. The auction drew a lot of interest, as there were over 1,300 different viewers and about 150 watchers. There were 7 or 8 bidders including usrname thingsdogsdo, who had a very provocative article written about him on the KBD Records website. Nice to know that I'm rubbing elbows with such legendary characters.

Obsession is a great new double LP released on Bully Records. It is a collection of first-rate hard rock and psych rarities spanning the years 1967 thru 1974 compiled by stoner rock connoisseur extroadinare, Mike Davis. This collection makes the unatainable gems that psychedelic dreams are made of accessible to mere mortals for the first time. Even if you are well-versed and equally obsessed with the compulsive world of collectible and obscure records, you will still find stuff on this release that will raise more than an eyebrow. Included in this incredible treasury are South American rock luminaries like La Barra De Chocolate and Los Chickichaka; Tropicalia rarities from Quarteto Nova Era, Flavio Kurt and Suely e Os Kantikus; and Turkish legends Arif Sag & Erkin Koray, to name just a few. The centerpiece of this project, Obsession, by India's most popular rock band, Atomic Forest, is alone worth the price of admission into this mystical foray around the globe. Each track is a total monster and will have you wondering how the hell you made it this far in life without ever hearing this stuff before. There's a mighty 15 tracks in all. Both the deluxe gatefold LP and CD contain liner notes providing a brief bio and a few words about each selection. If you like your rock-n-roll guitar nice-n-fuzzy with extra wah, then this, my friend, is for you. Contact Academy Records directly to obtain a copy of this killer before they're gone. You won't regret it.

Here are the tracks:

1) Atomic Forest - Intro / Obsession '77 (Inida 197?)
2) Quarteto Nova Era - De Repente (Brazil 1968)
3) Arif Sag - Osman Pelivan (Turkey 1972)
4) Sonora Casino - Astronautas A Mercurio (Peru 1972)
5) Flavio Kurt - Walderez Walderea (Brazil 1971)
6) Erkin Koray - Hor Gorme Garibi (Turkey 1972)
7) Novos Bahianos - Globo Morto (Brazil 1971)
8) Los Chikichaka - Musica Mulata (Uruguay 1973)
9) Arnaud Rodriguez - Murituri (Brazil 1972)
10) Ovni 87 - Sueno Un Camino (Uruguay 1968)
11) Suely e Os Kantikus - Esperanto (Brazil 1968)
12) Jean Paul "El Troglodita" - Everything Is Gonna Change (Peru 1972)
13) Ersen - Gonese Don Cicegim (Turkey 1974)
14) Barra De Chocolate - Ladron De Un Prisonero (Argentina 1967)
15) Atomic Forest - Obsession '77 Version 2 (India 197?)

Hola amigos! Here's an amazing south of the border gem that my wife scored for me to help ring in a little holiday cheer. El Diablo's "The Devil Made Me Do It" picture disc LP. It's a wicked modern metal record that is stuck in the 70's in the best possible way. Released by the band in 1999 as a pressing of 300, the material was recorded live at the Fixion Club in Oaxaca, Mexico, in front of their 8 fans, their girlfriends and the wait staff at the bar. The music is an unholy mix of heavy metal dirge and hard rock riffing replete with psychedelic interludes and fuzzed-out bass tones. It's a gnarly amalgam of Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath and the first Metallica record with a heavy dose of Hawkwind and Krautrock. It's the kinda thing you've always hoped for but for some reason no band ever quite realized; that is, until El Diablo. I know very little about this band. There's a bio providing a bit of info on their website, which hasn't been updated since 2003 (click on the title above for link). I don't think they're still a band but for all intents and purposes - it just doesn't matter. They begat this impious slab of wax and are thus immortalized in stoner rock heaven (and they certainly were a hell of a band). I've uploaded the monsterous 12 minute epic, Mirror Love, which truly epitomizes this record.
EL DIABLO - Mirror Love

I now have a new hero. His name is Rambo. No, not everyone's favorite 'roid bloated geriatric, John Rambo, as portrayed by Sly. The Rambo I am infatuated with is a 20th Century ninja on a motorcycle with a penchant for red knit caps. This Rambo is the scruffy protagonist in Umberto Lenzi's Syndicate Sadists (1975). This Rambo is a true loner, rebel and all 'round outsider who allies himself with only the highest moral and ethical standards. He asks for no thanks or recognition; good deeds are done because they ought to be. Money means nothing to him, if it did he would've been rich a long time ago. He's as quick with his wit as he is with his fists. And, perhaps best of all, he has a kick ass synth-fueled theme song. Unfortunately, I don't think there has ever been a soundtrack released for this film. I'm a huge fan of 60's & 70's Italian cinema and I especially love giallo films (gialli ?). I've never seen a giallo I didn't like. Probably because there's nothing not to like: highly stylized camera work, highly stylized wardrobes, fascinating hairdos (and don'ts), incredible soundtrack music, outrageous criminals with text book psychoses, over-the-top violence, plot twists galore, expository epilogues, mucho sexy ladies, tiny cars I've never seen in the States, the lovable English dubbing ... the list goes on. Well, Syndicate Sadists is really a crime film and not a giallo but it's not much of a stretch. All the crucial elements listed above transcend genres and help define this fine piece of Euro Cinema. If you want to read a nice write-up of this film and all the technical DVD elements that I don't quite understand, check DVD Drive-In. They've done a much better job than I ever could.

Stumbled across this photo of the Mapledurham Watermill yesterday. Boy that looks familiar I thought, then I realized what I was looking at. I photoshopped in the Sabbath album cover to complete the picture. Click to enlarge.

Here's an incredible find. While flipping through the new arrival bin two days ago at Academy Annex (arguably the best record store in NYC) I stumbled upon this gem. An absolute mystery to me, FURR, on Magna Glide Records from 1977, definitely falls in the what the fuck? catagory of noodle-scratchers. Though Sid & Marty Krofft immediately come to mind, the credits indicate that this is actually a Kasenetz and Katz production, but for some reason this one didn't have quite the same success as 1910 Fruitgum Company or Ohio Express. The music itself is generally hard rock with dual guitarists brandishing enough tasty licks to sprain your wrist while playing along on air guitar. But these puppies aren't so one-dimensional because just when you get your mullet flappin', FURR gets a bit funky and for a second, a brief second, you think that you are listening to an Ohio Players record. Wild! I cruised around the ol' web for a bit trying to learn something about these funky canines but there is a vast void in cyberspace, and that void is the abscence of FURR. Perhaps they are only obscured by dark matter and there is in fact something out there but I'm just incapable of seeing it. That being said, if the Truth is out there - I need to be enlightened. If anyone has some info on this band, please share. Here's a taste of FURR to help spread the mumbo jumbo. Is it just me, or does anyone else hear someone doing their very best Ritchie Blackmore impersonation in this one?
FURR - Sorcery

Installment Three: French new wavers GAZOLINE and 84 FLESH. Here are two bands I know very little about. Both hail from Paris, they were both short-lived and both released some pretty damn good singles. Alain Kan was the singer / front man for GAZOLINE. Alain had an interesting music career dating back to the mid-Sixties and he apparently disappeared in 1990. GAZOLINE released two singles, Sally, and, Killer Man, which was comped on Killed By Death Vol. 1. Killer Man is classic nutzo late '70's punk and one of the best featured in the KBD series. I wish I found Killer Man but I'm not complaining about the Sally single. Released in 1977, this single is really ahead of its time (though the photo of the band tends to date it). The titular a-side is not as interesting and less abrassive than the b-side, Electric Injection (which I included below). Electric Injection is a truly nifty piece with mechanical, atonal guitar riffing and frantic, nasal vocals. If nothing else, this song shows that the band could get a little artsy as well as rock. I bought it from a French-Canadian dealer who actually used that fingertip kissing hand gesture thing that seems so stereotypically French to express his opinion about GAZOLINE. All I could say in return was, oui oui! 84 FLESH is a band I know even less about. I know this is their only 7" single and that it was released in 1978. I believe they had a couple of songs on a comp but that's it. They used to be called 1984 and were also included on one of the early Killed By Death comps (Vol. 3). I am providing the same song as that KBD, Salted City, since the b-side, D-Section, is not as strong. It's not terrible by any means but it is the a-side that does it for me. I don't want to reveal exactly how much I spent on these, but I will say that together they set me back less than $50. Not a bad deal since Popsike shows that the GAZOLINE has sold for as much as $70 in the past. Now you can check 'em out for free.
GAZOLINE - Electric Injection
84 FLESH - Salted City

Installment Two: FRUMPY. Here's a real find from the WFMU Record Fair - a sealed copy of the second Frumpy record, aptly titled, FRUMPY 2. This is an excellent addition to any Krautrock collection, especially mine. Originally issued on Phillips in 1971 with a different cover, this particular pressing was released by Fontana in 1976 as part of its "Attention!" series. The jaw-dropping artwork is mesmerizing. One cannot help but stare in both awe and disbelief at the dated yet still ahead-of-its-time look of the cover and its incredible likeness of the band's singer. Brilliant. I recently learned of Frumpy while watching the Krautrock DVD collection previously discussed on this blog. I don't know much about 'em other than they formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1969, the singer's name is Inga Rumpf and the band's name means unbecoming. Inga had a long & healthy career in Germany after Frumpy disband, as did other members of the group. The music on this record is total stoner rock with classical organ riffs and jazz overtones. I know that makes it sound a bit gross but it's not. It's a great record that I cannot get enough of. I look forward to getting my hands on other Frumpy releases. To date, this is the only one I've heard. I know the band was great live, as there are at least three different live tracks on the Krautrock DVD set & they're all quite captivating. Check out one of my faves from Frumpy 2 below. This is also the shortest song on the record.
FRUMPY - Take Care Of Illusion

It was a crazy October. Between work and various extracurricular activities I've had little time to relax. I've been engaged in many blog-worthy activities but no time to post. This past weekend was no exception. The annual WFMU Record Fair and Cavestomp! monopolized all of my time and sapped all of my energy. As I sit here still recovering, I must say, it is a good kind of tired. I will try to post & share something about all of the records I scored at the fair, but it will take me a few days to get it all together. Installment one: The UGLY DUCKLINGS. A few weeks back, I saw some oh so brief video footage of the Ugly Ducklings in a documentary on Canadian bands. The Ducks were sandwiched in bewteen a brief piece on The Haunted and The Sparrows but they didn't escape my attention. As I was perusing the Sundazed table at the fair I came across the Ducks' Nothin' single. It was early in the morning & I had a touch of the Irish flu, so I was at first indifferent to what I had just picked up but added it to my pile of potential purchases anyway. Then I spotted the header card on the LP's that said Ugly Ducklings and it hit me - ah ha! that Canadian band. I went to grab one & there were none. A dealer had just nabbed the last of 'em. Well, it was my lucky day because the dealer was still at the table and let me take one from him. A proper re-issue of the Ducks' 1966 release, Somewhere Outside, outstanding! I eagerly completed my purchase and scurried like an excited child through the crowd to show my wife. She was more excited than I was. A short while later, I went to check a Canadian vendor we know and I found another Ugly Ducklings LP. This one is a comp with an amazingly cheesey cartoon cover and features tracks from Somewehere Outside, some unreleased tracks and their 1967 single, Gaslight. It was released by Yorktown (the label that issued the original Ducks record) sometime in the early 80's. It's an excellent supplement to the Somewehere Outside LP. The major difference in this Yorktown LP and the Sundazed re-issues is that the Sundazed stuff is mono and the Yorktown is not (a difference I can live with, though I do love the mono). Along with the Nothin' single, which has a swell version of I Can Tell on the flip, this may be all that is available from this obscure yet excellent Toronto band. Below you will find a few samples of the Ducks' greatness. Nothin' is a classic garage punker with a wicked fuzz guitar solo that slices right through your speakers. Windy City is a dark, spacey, psyched-out instrumental that captures the cold winter nights in the Great White North perfectly. Gaslight feels like an English freak-beat raver to me, and that ain't not bad. If you are into records in general and into garage punk in particular, Somewhere Outside is one to get from Sundazed. It's worth every penny & much, much cheaper than the original!
UGLY DUCKLINGS - Nothin'
UGLY DUCKLINGS - Windy City (Noise At The North End)
UGLY DUCKLINGS - Gaslight

Belgium produced some great punk rock in the late 70's and two total killers have been re-issued on vinyl recently: the Hubble Bubble LP from 1977 and Raxola's 1978 self-titled LP. These re-presses are brought to us by the good people at Radio Heartbeat Records, located in Brooklyn, NY. With a name like Radio Heartbeat, one might expect a catalogue full of light-weight, limp-wristed nancy boy bands that always pose knock-kneed with skinny ties, leg warmers and pouty lips and play songs about scented love letters with thin, wimpy stereo chorus saturated guitars amped somewhere between 5 and 6. Well, that's only some of what you get with Radio Heartbeat. You can also get genuine rockers like Raxola and Hubble Bubble. Both re-issues are done properly and are fully licensed and all that fun legal stuff. The pressings are good. The sound is great. Nice cover reproduction. Both worth the money. I like the Hubble Bubble better but that's not a knock on the Raxola. Hubble Bubble is more quirky with weird pop hooks and unique production. The record holds the test of time and really doesn't sound like anyone else. Even when they're chugging through a relatively cliche riff, they're distinctive. Raxola is more of a straight ahead punker with crafty songs of varying tempos. You can decide for yourself which you like better by sampling a little of each below, but you really should buy 'em both.
HUBBLE BUBBLE - New Promotion
HUBBLE BUBBLE - Freaks...Out!
HUBBLE BUBBLE - Sweet Rot
RAXOLA - 84's Man
RAXOLA - Thalidomide Child
RAXOLA - Panic In The Sewers

A short time ago, I got a handful of singles by New Orleans' favorite power trio, Die Rotzz. These fine Southern gentlemen recently came to New York to kick some Yankee ass, and that's just what they did. They played a local Brooklyn establishment, Don Pedro's, on the 22nd of September to a relatively empty house. Despite the thin crowd, Die Rotzz gnarled through a tight 15 minute set with amps and attitude on 11. I must say, Don Pedro's certainly knows how to treat a band like shit. Die Rotzz had to beg for a complimentary beer while they were in the middle of their set and the best that anyone could do for our out-of-town guests was to bring them a few crappy Coronas. Nasty. For a band that has been described as sounding like Hitler farting into a fan miked to a Fender Twin w/holes in the speakers, they're pretty damn good. In fact, how could one not like a band that evokes such wicked words. I read other reviews that referred to them as hate punk and scuzz punk. I don't know what either of those terms mean. To me, it's just simple, good ol' boy rock-n-roll played by a bunch of troublemakers. One could ask for little more when seeking something to clench a fist or some teeth to. For the vinyl junkies of the world, Die Rotzz has put out a number of very limited seven inch singles on various labels, including Jeth-Row Records, Big Black Hole Records and Die Slaughterhaus Records. Though some of their cover art has that homemade, slapped together during a hangover at Kinkos look, the band is capable of getting a little artsy (see the excellent Bongoût Graphics pic sleeve art featured above). A few of their singles are splits. One with the Carbonas (who do a spot-on version of Zero Boys' Stoned To Death on it) and another with Scripts. I like all the singles that I have and share a couple samples of this band's greatness below. If you dig these, check their website for more mp3's & info on how to order their fast-selling singles.
DIE ROTZZ - What I Need
DIE ROTZZ - Uptown Ruler

After years of collecting music videos, I have finally stumbled on the Holy Grail (well, my Holy Grail anyway) of punk rock concert footage: San Francisco's first and only rock-n-roll band, CRIME. I'm not talking about the Target Video San Quentin footage. What I have my grimy little mitts on is a full 55 minutes of live footage from several different shows. Some looks like pro-shot (on film) stuff perhaps produced for promo videos. It's amazing (see below). Then there's footage of the band hanging out in a hotel room before or after a show with a whole crowd of happy party goers. Some are wearing CRIME Fun Bus badges, which probably means that this carousing bunch was filmed in Los Angeles on one of CRIME's few trekks outside of the Bay Area. Legend has it, that way back in March 1979, the band packed into a van and, with rabid fans packed into a bus in tow, went south for some gigs. In LA they set up base at the Tropicana Hotel in Hollywood. I suspect that this is where this party footage is from. At some point during these hi-jinks, Darby Crash walks in and people start calling him ugly. It's defintely an ouch, but, then again, Darby was a bit of an ugmo. There's also the live "Piss On Your Dog" from San Quentin that is commonly seen as part of the Target Video promo reel. However, this version is sans Target Video logo. Nice! There's also a live show from I don't know where. The video here is over exposed and considerable whiting-out occurs but it is still very watchable. You can see all the action and the band sounds great as they belt out 10 songs with complete authority. There's a couple of other different live things on the VHS tape but what I described above is the heart of it. I am looking for anyone who might have info on actual dates and places for these shows. Please let me know if, based on the scant description above or video below, you think you might be able to assist me in discovering the origins of these recordings. I've been told that the VHS tape was once owned by a legendary collector who claimed that he got it from the band. At first it sounded like a tall tale but after watchig it (repeatedly) I believe it is very probable. Of course I wouldn't expect my discernible reader(s) to believe something simply because it's posted on the internet. So, I have included a taste of what I am talking about. Check it Out!

Well, well well...More than a month has passed since my last post. I have neglected my poor little blogger page while still in its fledgling stage. Shame on me. I guess the best way to make good is to post something. Something amazing. I recently got enough gumption (i.e., money) to step up to the collector scum bullies and assert my need for this unmitigated classic punker from middle America - the Zero Boys Livin' In The 80's 7" EP from 1980. Okay, I must confess, I only had the scratch - common sense dictates here - to get the 1990's "re-issue", which, since one can clearly see that the matrix numbers in the run-off groove have been scratched out, is just a euphemism for bootleg. It still cost me a pretty penny but far from the $600 - $700 range the original Z-Disc pressing sells for. This press comes with a lyric sheet insert and sounds great. There's nothing like holding a record in your hands and staring at the cover art as you soak in the sounds oozing from your speakers and this one has excellent cover art. It's simple and oh so cool (a bit reminiscent of early Chrome). Zero Boys were based in Indianapolis, Indiana, which might surprise listeners. There's a polished edge and worldliness that smacks of big city slickness like the Ramones possessed but there's still an element of crude simplicity and nastiness that makes it the type of snotty riff raff all the sophisto music enthusiasts crave. It contains the best of both worlds - a bit of pop with a touch of hardcore before hardcore ruled the plains. I actually feel like an ass attempting to intellectualize this piece of punk history, since it is meant to be felt and not pondered by a midle-aged weenie kneading his chin as he searches for just the right adjective to put the reins on it (oh brother). That being said, I guess I will have to let my faithful reader(s) decide if this is the winner I purport it to be. As you listen, keep this in mind - I pity the fool who doesn't dig this record.
Livin' In The 80's
Stoned To Death (For Sexual Offenses)
Stick To Your Guns
I'm Bored
A Piece Of Me

My wife often accuses me of being an anti-social shut-in who does little more than listen to records and watch the same Family Guy episodes over and over again. That position is clearly not supported by the fact that I am a dynamic go-getter who's always on the move and does more in a week than most cranky 39 year-old fatsos accomplish in a month. In support of my position, I will now relate the events of a typical weekend night in the life of me. Last night was the usual warm evening one expects during the summer in NYC. My wife & I had some friends over for dinner. After we ate, we watched an array of interesting music videos including Korla Pandit, Chuck Berry, Takeshi Terauchi, The Atlantics, Black Diamonds, Antoine and, as previously discussed on this blog, the Move. We had a few drinks & then went off to see some bands. First stop, the Lost & Found Bar in Greenpoint to see Big Fun; a very good all-girl pop punk outfit from Brooklyn. We had high hopes for the Lost & Found Bar. It offers free hot dogs with every drink order...hmmm...interesting. It has a Simpsons pinball machine and live bands with no cover charge. A winning combination if ever there was one. But, after last night, all I can say is shame on the Lost & Found Bar. First, there's a full bar but the bar service sucks. My wife ordered a Tom Collins. Sure, it's a blast from the past and not the most common mixed drink in today's Appletini world but it's not the most obscure or difficult cocktail either. The hipster douchebag behind the bar did not know how to make a Tom Collins and instead of being honest and admitting so, he made some bizarre concoction more akin to a glass of piss and tried to pass it off. It was downright nasty and when my wife returned it, he admitted he didn't know how to make a Tom Collins and gave her a bottle of beer in its stead (he should stick to simply opening bottles - it does require a bit more skill than he probably possesses but at least there's no recipe to follow so more often than not he'll get it right). Second, the sound system at Lost & Found sucks ass. The band sounded miserable but it was not their fault. I have seen Big Fun before and have their very solid 7" single, so I know what they're capable of sounding like. The PA at Lost & Found did them a great injustice, as you could not hear the bass or the lead vocal and the guitar sound was weak and thin. Though there is a stage there, the band had to set up on the floor in front of it. No big deal but it did make me wonder why the stage wasn't utilized for the live bands. Big Fun performed admirably despite the handicap of being in the middle of Lost & Found's abysmal accomodations. Bottom line: Big Fun good - Lost & Found lame. About midnight we hopped back in the car and drove out to the Far Rockaways to see Simon & The Bar Sinisters at the Tap & Grill on Rockaway Beach Blvd. Simon Chardiet is a virtuoso guitarist who has played and recorded with many greats. He's a rock-n-roller in the most basic sense, but he's a truly diverse rocker equally adept playing surf, rock-a-billy (yes, this also means psycho-billy), traditional blues, three-chord garage-style punk, etc. For whatever reason, he's been overlooked and never received a whole lot of attention for his talents. I first saw him in 1989 at the Nightingale Lounge on 2nd Ave in Manhattan. He was great then and even better now. We missed most of the set but saw enough to get excited about. An interesting crowd of locals and the omnipresent Bobcat, who is at every show I go to these days, seemed to appreciate the set as much as I did. How did the bartender at the Tap & Grill fare you wonder? He pours a mean Guinness sans pretense. Bottom line: Simon & the Bar Sinisters great - Tap & Grill great.

I recently came into possession of a bunch of Krautrock videos & live performances on DVDR. I regularly trade music DVDR's with people around the globe. Europe tends to be the most fruitful territory and that's the origin of a six disc Krautrock collection (more than nine hours!) I got a few months back, which still has me reeling. So many great bands are included: Amon Duul II, Can, Frumpy, Lucifer's Friend, Ton Steine Scherben, Achim Reichel, Floh De Cologne, Guru Guru, Tiger B. Smith ... the list goes on (unfortunately no Faust - bummer). I had seen almost none of this stuff before & I have been collecting music video for many years. One of my favorites from this lot is a live Kraftwerk performance of "Ruckzuck" from 1970. The shots of the audience members in black turtlenecks smoking cigarettes while nodding their heads to the trance inducing sounds is amazing. The band, just a 3 piece here, is phenomenal. If you are only familiar with the late 70's early 80's Kraftwerk records you might be surprised by the loose, organic and improvisational feel of early Kraftwerk. That is not to say that they were strictly an improvisational band early on, but they certainly did not have the systematic and mechanical style they were later famous for. I cannot recommend the early Kraftwerk enough. It's years ahead of its time and still sounds fresh and relevant today, as does much of the Krautrock stuff on these discs. There is also the pre-Kraftwerk band Organisation doing a version of "Ruckzuck" included amongst the videos. Organisation looks like the quintessential hippie band, bongos and all. Seeing Florian with his freak flag flying high while tooting away on his flute is something to behold. I don't have the Organisation record but I see that there is a re-issue of it available, so maybe soon I'll be doing a post about that record. Too bad that the Krautrock DVDR comps are not available commercially, because it's all great. If you are interested in getting your mitts on the Krautrock discs you can try here: Jolly Roger Trading Post. I've provided an mp3 of "Ruckzuck" from Kraftwerk 1 (1970) for your appreciation and listening enjoyment.

KRAFTWERK - Ruckzuck

Just got my hands on this little gem today. Not the most obscure single on the planet but that doesn't mean that it's not great and not worth a post on the Supernaut blog. This particular pressing is German with a nifty pic sleeve. Front man Roy Wood took great pride in his always interesting approach to fashion and he is in prime late 60's mustachioed form on the sleeve (the handsome man on the right). "Blackberry Way" was released in December 1968 and went to number one in the U.K. The song is reminiscent of the Beatles' "Penny Lane" with a much darker feel and theme. The Move is a band that I really didn't dig the first so many times I heard them. But once I developed an ear for 'em, I started to understand their appeal and they became quite addictive. "Blackberry Way" epitomizes the vocal style that makes the Move and the psychedelic tinge of the over-all production is wicked. I'm hardly an expert on the Move (or anything else I spew about) and am not in a position to give a full or even accurate history. But I do know this, they were formed in Birmingham, England in 1966 by founding members Roy Wood (voc/gtr) & Bev Bevan (drums). They never "made it" in the U.S. They had a freak-beat/psych period in the late 60's and became more of a heavy rock band in the early 70's. Jeff Lynne joined somewhere along the way and the Move morphed into ELO. Roy Wood left ELO and formed the uber glam rock band, Wizzard. The Move had some really amazingly heavy rock songs on the 1970 release "Looking On." The two stand-out numbers for me are "When Alice Comes Back To The Farm" and "Brontosaurus." Those songs are total stoner rock with a twist of mod. Awesome. In 1983 I saw Bev Bevan drum for Black Sabbath on the "Born Again" tour. I remember saying, "Who's that dork with the afro on drums?" I hope Bev Bevan can forgive me, as I now know that I am the dork. In celebration of my obtaining this single, everyone should have a listen.

The MOVE - Blackberry Way

This past Sunday my wife & I were in New Jersey for a family function. It was nice and all that but after a day of niceness we needed to be reminded that we were actually alive. We needed to see our rock-n-roll doctor. We needed to be blown away. The Hunchback and Ergs! show in New Brunswick seemed like the perfect prescription. We know (and love) Hunchback and have seen them many times. Each time they've been better than the time before. We'd heard much about the Ergs! but hadn't seen them yet. It seemed like the thing to do so we hopped in our car and sped off to New Brunswick. We arrived fashionably late and, as a result, missed the Measure, Ghost Town Trio and Delay. I'm sure they pleased the crowd, as it was a full house and the smell of those sweaty young men packed in like sardines was enough to make you sick or giddy - depending on which team you play for. The show was in some sorta yoga facility with that earth-loving hippie ethic, which really shouldn't be coupled with punk rock. But what the hell do I know. Hunchback were great as always. They're a together band and there's something unique about each song. Influences can be heard but there's inevitably some element about each song that is distinct and sets the band aside from its peers. Sometimes it's the harmonica, sometimes it's the keyboards, sometimes it's a guitar riff, sometimes it's simply the fact that each band member will take the lead vocal spot. It all works well for Hunchback. Mike Hunchback is a fantastic guitarist. He has a great sound and a multidimensional approach to his playing that adds to the individual sound that the band has. I was really ready to leave after the Hunchback set. The room was hot as hell and the all-ages crowd was chock full of pimply kids with spotty, pubic hair beards and smarmy tee-shirts. I did over-hear some interesting conversations though. Perhaps the best was this gem, "...my friend really likes big boobs but not when they're pushed together because then they look like an ass." When such pithy conversation abounds I am usually amused to no end but it had been a long day. We decided to stay, as we really wanted to see the much talked about Ergs! Well, they are a really good band - fast, tight and they really got the crowd going. The songs are simple with a pop element that is easy to digest. That being said, I didn't care for 'em. There was a kiddie punk / shopping mall aspect that I just couldn't get past. It was too much like nice, clean fun without the down and dirty danger factor that raises concern in parents. It was still a worthwhile show. It was the cure that the doctor ordered. I'm glad I got to see the bands on their home field. Almost all the shows I see are here in NYC so seeing different, unfamiliar surroundings and faces was a treat. This was the first in a series of all ages shows at this venue (Yoga Vayu, 354 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ). Hunchback will be playing there again July 15.

Here's a recent viewing that I recommend to any schlock cinema head looking for a few yucks. The long-awaited (by me anyway) release of Trog (1970) on DVD. Sure, it's been available on VHS and it's hardly the type of film that garners critical acclaim. So what. I pity the fool who cannot appreciate the likes of Trog. Joan Crawford stars as "noted" Anthropologist (whatever noted means), Dr. Brockton. She desperately wants the world to appreciate Trog, the missing link, who was discovered in caverns below the moors by some young spelunkers. Mean old Mr. Murdock - played by one of my favorite character actors, Michael Gough - doesn't see Trog as a value to science and/or humanity. He wants Trog destroyed because he (Trog - or Murdock?) is nothing more than an uncivilized beast. Dr. Brockton shows Trog is a sensitive, new-age kinda guy capable of speech (only after some type of ill-defined surgery) and catching a ball that is slowly rolled to him. Murdock, fearing the public will side with Brockton, attempts to sabotage the anthropologist's efforts by destroying her lab and framing Trog as the culprit. Now free and enraged, Trog slaps Murdock around and heads for town where the poor, misunderstood woolly bully has to defend himself against angry shopkeepers. Trog eventually makes for the caves he used to call home. That's pretty much it. I don't want to spoil the ending where Trog is destroyed - oops! What a film. I love the Trog make-up. It's actually a mask but who cares. The film is rife with scientific inaccuracies and loaded with silly lines that make one scratch his or her head in disbelief. Unfortunately, they just don't make 'em as lovable as this anymore.

Well, days passed and I thought of nothing to post. Then today, after three longs weeks of waiting on that ever-so-slow international shipping, I got a yellow slip in my P.O. Box. The "Never Mind The Pistols Here's The Kids" 7" EP I won on eBay way back when finally arrived from Germany. Now I have some inspiration for a new post, I thought. Yes, those bloody Belgians, the Kids. They're worth talking about. So I cracked it open and slapped it on the ol' turn table. Not to say that I'm dissapointed, but I'm glad I didn't pay a whole lot more than I did (about $26). The cover is a booklet with photos, newspaper articles, a discography and a 1995 interview with Ludo, the singer / guitarist (he's the sassy looking one in the striped wife-beater). The record contains 6 songs. It kicks off with "No Work", an unreleased studio cut from 1977 that would fit in nicely with their first record, which, if you haven't heard, is a must. Aside from the studio cut, there are 5 live songs from 1978 including a cover version of Wire's "12XU." It's all vintage material released by Wild Wild Records out of France. I don't see it on the discography on the Kids' website, so I assume it's an unofficial release. Frankly, I don't care. In later years, the Kids became more of a power pop outfit (I really hate to use that phrase), as the naive edge dulled & the music became more polished. Ludo still tours as The Kids. They played in Texas a few months ago with a friend's band. I really should ask him about that show. If you haven't heard the unreleased track from '77 included on this record, here it is for your listening pleasure.
The KIDS - No Work